[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 146 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44992-44993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18739]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0242]


Review of Management Directive 8.11

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Opportunity for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting public 
comment on Management Directive (MD) 8.11, ``Review Process for 10 CFR 
2.206 Petitions,'' dated July 1, 1999. MD 8.11 is a guidance document 
that details the internal procedures for NRC staff review and 
disposition of petitions submitted under Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206. Because some of these internal 
procedures directly impact the interaction between members of the 
public and the NRC, the NRC is soliciting comments from the public, on 
what, if any, revisions should be made to the agency's internal process 
as described in MD 8.11.

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than October 13, 2010. Comments 
received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do 
so, but the NRC is able to assure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0242 in the subject line of your 
comments. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be 
posted on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site 
Regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any 
identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against 
including any information in your submission that you do not want to be 
publicly disclosed.
    The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those 
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed.
    Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0242. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-492-3668; e-mail 
[email protected].
    Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements and 
Directives Branch (RADB), Division of Administrative Services, Office 
of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by fax to RADB at (301) 492-
3446.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this 
document using the following methods:
    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 O1 F21, 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 are 
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain 
entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems 
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. MD 8.11 is available electronically under ADAMS 
Accession Number ML041770328.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya M. Mensah, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-3610 or Toll Free: 1-800-368-5642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    MD 8.11, ``Review Process for 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions,'' is a 
guidance document that details the internal procedures for NRC staff 
review and disposition of petitions submitted under Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206. Because some of these 
internal procedures directly impact the interaction between members of 
the public and the NRC, the NRC is soliciting comments from the public, 
on what, if any, revisions should be made to the agency's internal 
process as described in MD 8.11. The 10 CFR 2.206 process is the 
primary mechanism for a member of the public to request Commission 
review of a potential safety problem with an NRC licensed facility, 
outside of a licensing or rulemaking proceeding. Any person may file a 
petition under 10 CFR 2.206 to request that the Commission modify, 
suspend, or revoke a license, or take any other enforcement-related 
action that may be proper. This process provides the public with a 
mechanism to raise issues of concern to the Commission. Each 10 CFR 
2.206 petition is reviewed by the

[[Page 44993]]

appropriate major program Office. Upon receipt of each petition, the 
appropriate program Office assembles a petition review board (PRB) 
typically consisting of a Senior Executive Service level manager, a 
petition manager, a petition coordinator, technical experts, regional 
inspectors, and legal and enforcement advisors. The PRB follows the 
guidance in MD 8.11 to determine if the petition meets the criteria for 
review. If the PRB determines that the petition meets the criteria for 
review, the office director issues a formal Director's Decision 
providing a specific disposition of the issues raised in the petition. 
If the Office Director finds that the petition raises a substantial 
safety concern, an enforcement order may be issued or other appropriate 
action taken, within the Office Director's discretion.

Discussion

    In support of the NRC's efforts to update each MD every five years, 
the NRC staff is evaluating MD 8.11, which details the internal 
procedures for NRC staff review and disposition of petitions submitted 
under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206. The 
purpose of this evaluation is to ensure that the 10 CFR 2.206 process 
is an effective, equitable, and credible mechanism for the public to 
prompt Commission investigation and resolution of potential health and 
safety problems. This evaluation is consistent with current Commission 
efforts to ensure openness in the Commission's decision making process. 
The NRC plans to consider comments provided by members of the public 
during its evaluation of MD 8.11.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of July 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Jolicoeur,
Chief, Licensing Processes Branch, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2010-18739 Filed 7-29-10; 8:45 am]
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