[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 79 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19109-19110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9504]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2008-0500]


Proposed Revisions to the License Renewal Interim Staff Guidance 
Process and Regulatory Issue Summary 2007-16; Granting of Request To 
Extend the Comment Period

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Granting of request to extend the comment period.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Matthew Homiack, Division of 
License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone 301-415-
1683; or e-mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC published in the Federal Register, 74 FR 13272, on March 
26, 2009, a request for public comment on proposed revisions to the 
License Renewal Interim Staff Guidance (LR-ISG) Process and NRC 
Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2007-16, ``Implementation of the 
Requirements of 10 CFR 54.37(b) for Holders of Renewed Licenses.'' The 
proposed LR-ISG process revision incorporates changes to the existing 
process dated December 12, 2003, and basic framework for developing and 
implementing LR-ISGs. The proposed RIS revision clarifies the role of 
the LR-ISG process for including ``newly identified'' systems, 
structures, and components in accordance with Section 54.37(b) of Title 
10, Part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 
54.37(b)). After the NRC staff considers any public comments, it will 
make a final determination regarding the proposed revisions to the LR-
ISG process and RIS 2007-16.

II. Further Information

    The NRC staff requested receipt of comments on the proposed LR-ISG 
process and RIS revisions by April 27, 2009. By this action, the NRC 
staff is extending the comment period until May 27, 2009. Comments 
received after May 27, 2009, will be considered, if it is practical to 
do so, but the NRC staff is able to ensure consideration only for 
comments received on or before this date.

III. Request To Extend the Comment Period

Basis for the Request

    By letter dated April 6, 2009, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 
requested the following extension:
    ``On March 26, 2009, a Federal Register Notice was issued to 
request public comments on draft Revisions to the License Renewal 
Interim Staff Guidance Process (LR-ISG) and Regulatory Issue Summary 
(RIS) 2007-16. The Federal Register notice requested comments on these 
documents by April 27, 2009. We believe the industry will have 
substantive comments on these documents and feel that it would be 
beneficial to discuss the draft LR-ISG and the RIS in our next 
quarterly license renewal meeting (scheduled for April 28, 2009) before 
submitting our comments. Therefore, we respectfully request an 
extension of the April 27 date until May 29 to allow discussion with 
the Staff and time to collect industry comments after that 
discussion.''

Response to Request

    The request for an extension to the comment period is approved for 
30 days.
    The NRC staff understands that industry stakeholders may have 
substantive comments on the proposed document revisions. The NRC staff 
agrees that discussions at a public meeting could be beneficial so that 
NEI and other stakeholders can better prepare and submit their 
comments. The NRC staff believes that these comments could be helpful 
in finalizing the revised LR-ISG process and RIS 2007-16. Therefore, 
the staff is approving a 30-day extension to the original public 
comment period, with the public comment period to end on May 27, 2009. 
The staff plans to discuss the two documents with the NEI at a public 
meeting on April 29, 2009, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at NRC's headquarters 
in Rockville, MD. The public will be provided the opportunity to 
participate in this meeting prior to its closing. Interested members of 
the public may participate by teleconference. Additional details are 
available in the meeting notice available on the NRC's public Web site 
at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/idmws/ViewDocByAccession.asp?AccessionNumber=ML090830226.
    Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit comments 
electronically to http://www.regulations.gov. Search on Docket ID: NRC-
2008-0500 and follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments 
may also be sent by mail to Michael Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking and 
Directives Branch, Mail Stop TWB-05-B01M, Office of Administration, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Requests for technical information may be directed to the NRC 
contact, Mr. Matthew Homiack, Division of License Renewal, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, at (301) 415-1683, or e-mail to 
[email protected].
    You can access publicly available documents related to the March 
26, 2009, notice using the following methods:
    Regulations.gov: Documents related to this notice, including public 
comments,

[[Page 19110]]

are accessible at http://www.regulations.gov, by searching on Docket 
ID: NRC-2008-0500.
    NRC's Electronic Reading Room: Electronic copies of the proposed 
revisions to the LR-ISG process and RIS 2007-16 are available through 
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room on the NRC's public Web site. The 
proposed LR-ISG process revision can be found under tracking number LR-
ISG-2007-01 under the ``License Renewal'' heading at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg. The proposed revision to 
RIS 2007-16 can be found under the ``Documents for Comment'' heading at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm.
    NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have 
copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Public 
File Area O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland.
    NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The proposed 
revisions to the LR-ISG process and RIS are available under ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML082180346 and ML083500028, respectively. If you do not 
have access to the Internet or if there are any problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of April 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian E. Holian,
Director, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E9-9504 Filed 4-24-09; 8:45 am]
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