[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1376-1377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-214]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 6 / Monday, January 10, 2011 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 1376]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 73

[NRC-2009-0163]
RIN 3150-AI64


Physical Protection of Irradiated Reactor Fuel in Transit 
Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule: Extension of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On October 13, 2010 (75 FR 62695), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or the Commission) published for public comment a 
proposed rule to amend its security regulations in title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 73 pertaining to the transport of 
irradiated reactor fuel (for purposes of this rulemaking, the terms 
``irradiated reactor fuel'' and ``spent nuclear fuel'' (SNF) are used 
interchangeably). This proposed rule would establish generically 
applicable security requirements similar to those previously imposed by 
Commission orders issued after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 
2001. The proposed rule would establish the acceptable performance 
standards and objectives for the protection of spent nuclear fuel 
shipments from theft, diversion, or radiological sabotage. The proposed 
amendments would apply to those licensees authorized to possess or 
transport spent nuclear fuel. The proposed security requirements would 
also address, in part, a petition for rulemaking from the State of 
Nevada (PRM-73-10) that requests that NRC strengthen the regulations 
governing the security of spent nuclear fuel shipments against 
malevolent acts. The public comment period for this proposed rule was 
scheduled to expire on January 11, 2011. The NRC has determined that 
additional time is needed for public review of the potential impacts of 
the proposed requirements. In order to allow the public sufficient time 
to review and comment on the proposed rule, the NRC has decided to 
extend the comment period until April 11, 2011.

DATES: The comment period has been extended and expires on April 11, 
2011. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is 
practical to do so. The NRC is only able to assure consideration of 
comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID: NRC-2009-0163 in the subject line 
of your comments. For instructions on accessing documents related to 
this action, see ``Submitting Comments and Accessing Information'' in 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. You may submit 
comments by any one of the following methods.
    Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
search for documents filed under Docket ID: NRC-2009-0163. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone: 301-492-
3668, e-mail: [email protected].
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not 
receive a reply e-mail confirming that we have received your comments, 
contact us directly at 301-415-1677.
    Hand-deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. (Telephone 
301-415-1677).
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
301-415-1101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cardelia Maupin, Office of Federal and 
State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-
2312, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Submitting Comments and Accessing Information

    Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted 
on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site http://www.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.
    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, Room O-
1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland.
    NRC's Agency-wide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at 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 the 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, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    Federal Rulemaking Web site: Public comments and supporting 
materials related to this proposed rule can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID: NRC-2009-0163.

[[Page 1377]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Document                           PDR                     ADAMS                     Web
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental Assessment........................            X   ML092710448.......................            X
Regulatory Analysis.............................            X   ML102710278.......................            X
PRM-73-10.......................................            X   ML092540603.......................            X
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discussion

    The NRC published a proposed rule that would amend its regulations 
in 10 CFR part 73 to enhance the security requirements that apply to 
the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. The proposed rule would 
establish generically applicable security requirements similar to those 
previously imposed by Commission orders issued after the terrorist 
attacks of September 11, 2001. The proposed rule would also add several 
new requirements not derived directly from the security order 
requirements, but developed as a result of insights gained by 
performing security assessments of potential security vulnerabilities 
associated with spent nuclear fuel in transit. The proposed rule would 
establish the acceptable performance standards and objectives for the 
protection of spent nuclear fuel shipments from theft, diversion, or 
radiological sabotage. The proposed amendments would apply to those 
licensees authorized to possess or transport spent nuclear fuel. The 
proposed security requirements would also address, in part, a petition 
for rulemaking from the State of Nevada (PRM-73-10) that requests that 
NRC strengthen the regulations governing the security of spent nuclear 
fuel shipments against malevolent acts.
    The proposed rule was published on October 13, 2010 (75 FR 62695) 
and the public comment period was scheduled to expire on January 11, 
2011. The NRC has determined that additional time is needed for public 
review of the potential impacts of the proposed requirements. In order 
to allow the public sufficient time to review and comment on the 
proposed rule, the NRC has decided to extend the comment period until 
April 11, 2011.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of January 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew L. Bates,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2011-214 Filed 1-7-11; 8:45 am]
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