[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73738-73740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30716]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0270]


Solicitation of Feedback on the Effectiveness of the Reactor 
Oversight Process

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for public participation in survey.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is soliciting survey input from members of the public, licensees, and 
interest groups related to the effectiveness of the Reactor Oversight 
Process (ROP). This solicitation will provide insights into the self-
assessment process, and a summary of the survey results will be 
included in the annual ROP self-assessment report to the Commission.

DATES: Complete and submit survey forms by January 13, 2012. The NRC 
will consider survey forms received after this date if it is practical 
to do so, but is able to ensure consideration of only survey forms 
received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: The electronic, fillable version of the survey questions may 
be obtained at http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/2011ROPsurvey.pdf. For additional instructions on submitting surveys 
and instructions on accessing documents related to this action, see 
Section I, ``Submitting Surveys and Accessing Information,'' of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. If you cannot 
access the electronic, fillable version of the survey, contact the 
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document to receive a copy of the survey.
    You may submit survey forms by any one of the following methods 
(there is no need to submit via more than one method):
     Email the fillable survey forms: After completing the 
electronic, fillable version of the survey obtained from the Web site 
previously provided, select the

[[Page 73739]]

``Submit Survey'' button on the survey form.
     Email scanned survey forms to: [email protected].
     Mail survey forms to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001. Please include the Docket ID NRC-2011-0270 in the 
subject line of your submission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jocelyn Lian, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 
20555-0001; telephone: (301) 415-4666, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Submitting Surveys and Accessing Information

    Surveys 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 submission 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 
information received from other persons for submission to the NRC 
inform those persons that the NRC will not edit their submission to 
remove any identifying or contact information; therefore, they should 
not include any information in their submission that they do not want 
publicly disclosed.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this action 
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, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC 
are available online in the NRC Library 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, (301) 415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected]. The Federal Register notice Soliciting Feedback 
on the Implementation of the Reactor Oversight Process is available 
electronically under ADAMS Accession Number ML112030166.
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public survey submissions and 
supporting materials related to this action can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0270.
    Information regarding the ROP and licensee performance can be found 
at http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html. In addition, the 
Commission paper may be accessed at this link when completed.

II. Program Overview

    The mission of the NRC is to license and regulate the Nation's 
civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to 
ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, promote the 
common defense and security, and protect the environment. This mission 
is accomplished through the following activities:
    1. The NRC issues licenses for the possession, use, and disposal of 
nuclear materials;
    2. The NRC develops and implements requirements governing licensed 
activities; and
    3. The NRC inspects licensee activities to ensure compliance with 
regulatory requirements and the law.
    Although the NRC's responsibility is to monitor and regulate 
licensees' performance, the primary responsibility for safe operation 
and handling of nuclear materials rests with each licensee.
    As the nuclear industry in the United States has matured, the NRC 
and its licensees have learned much about how to safely operate nuclear 
facilities and handle nuclear materials. In April 2000, the NRC began 
to implement more effective and efficient inspection, assessment, and 
enforcement approaches, which apply insights from these years of 
regulatory oversight and nuclear facility operation. Key elements of 
the ROP include NRC inspection procedures, plant performance 
indicators, a significance determination process, and an assessment 
program that incorporates various risk-informed thresholds to help 
determine the level of NRC oversight. Since ROP development, the NRC 
has frequently communicated with the public by various initiatives: 
conducting public meetings in the vicinity of each licensed commercial 
nuclear power plant, issuing Federal Register notices to solicit 
feedback on the ROP, publishing press releases about the process, 
conducting multiple public workshops, placing pertinent background 
information in the NRC's PDR, and maintaining an NRC Web site 
containing easily accessible information about the ROP and licensee 
performance.

III. NRC Public Stakeholder Comments

    The NRC is seeking feedback from members of the public, various 
public stakeholders, and industry groups on their insights regarding 
the effectiveness of the ROP in Calendar Year (CY) 2011. Responses 
received will provide important information for ongoing program 
improvement. A summary of the survey results obtained will be provided 
to the Commission and included in the annual ROP self-assessment 
report. The past reports can be found at http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/program-evaluations.html#section3.
    This solicitation of public comments has been issued each year 
since ROP implementation in 2000. Currently, the external survey 
frequency is biennial.

IV. Survey

    An electronic, fillable version of the survey questions may be 
obtained at http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/2011ROPsurvey.pdf. 
If you have problems accessing the electronic, fillable version of the 
survey, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document to receive a copy of this survey. You 
may submit the survey to the NRC by any one of the methods listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this document. The NRC does not plan to 
provide specific responses to the submissions received during this 
solicitation. The survey submissions will provide insights into the 
self-assessment process and a summary of the survey results will be 
included in the annual ROP self-assessment report to the Commission.

V. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This survey contains information collections that are subject to 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These 
information collections were approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), Approval Number 3150-0197, which expires August 31, 2012.
    The burden to the public for these voluntary information 
collections is estimated to be 45 minutes per response. The information 
gathered will be used in the NRC's self-assessment of the reactor 
oversight process. Send comments regarding this burden estimate to the 
Information Services

[[Page 73740]]

Branch (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, or by Internet electronic mail to 
[email protected]; and to the Desk Officer, Chad Whiteman, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, NEOB-10202, (3150-0197), 
Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a request for information or an information collection 
requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid 
OMB control number.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of November, 2011.

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Lubinski,
Deputy Director, Division of Inspection & Regional Support, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-30716 Filed 11-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P