[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 233 (Monday, December 5, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75771-75772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31012]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 233 / Monday, December 5, 2011 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 75771]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50 and Part 52

[NRC-2008-0122]
RIN 3150-AI10


Emergency Planning Guidance for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of NUREG documents and interim staff guidance.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Supplement 3, ``Guidance for Protective Action Strategies,'' to NUREG-
0654/FEMA-REP-1, Revision 1, ``Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation 
of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of 
Nuclear Power Plants;'' NSIR/DPR-ISG-01, ``Interim Staff Guidance 
Emergency Planning for Nuclear Power Plants;'' and NUREG/CR-7002, 
``Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies;'' all 
dated November, 2011. These documents update implementation guidance 
regarding, and support recent changes to, the NRC's emergency 
preparedness regulations.

DATES: Effective December 5, 2011.

ADDRESSES: 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]. Supplement 3 of NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, NSIR/DPR-
ISG-01, and NUREG/CR-7002 are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML113010596, ML113010523, and ML113010515 respectively.
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and 
supporting materials related to this action, including the final rule 
can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID 
NRC-2008-0122. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 
telephone: (301) 492-3668; email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For Supplement 3 to NUREG-0654 contact 
Randy Sullivan; telephone: (301) 415-1123, email: 
[email protected]. For NSIR/DPR-ISG-01 contact Don Tailleart; 
telephone: (301) 415-2966, email: [email protected]. For NUREG/CR-
7002 contact Jeff Laughlin; telephone: (301) 415-1113, email: 
[email protected]. All contacts are in the Division of Preparedness 
and Response, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. NSIR/DPR-ISG-01

    The NSIR/DPR-ISG-01 will provide guidance for addressing new 
emergency planning (EP) requirements for nuclear power plants based on 
changes to EP regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities,'' specifically Section 50.47, ``Emergency 
Plans,'' and Appendix E, ``Emergency Planning and Preparedness for 
Production and Utilization Facilities'' that were published as a final 
rule in the Federal Register (FR) on November 23, 2011 (76 FR 72560). 
Additional guidance on one topic not directly related to the EP final 
rule (i.e., integrating offsite response methodologies with onsite EP 
programs) is also provided in this guidance. The NRC staff will 
incorporate the updated guidance information in NSIR/DPR-ISG-01 into 
future revisions of NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 and other EP guidance 
documents.
    The statement of considerations for the EP final rule discussed 
that rule's compliance with applicable backfitting provisions (76 FR 
72560; November 23, 2011 at Page 72594). Portions of NSIR/DPR-ISG-01 
present the NRC staff's first guidance addressing compliance with 
revised Part 50, Appendix E, Sections IV.A.7, IV.D.3, IV.E.8.a, 
IV.F.2.a, IV.F.2.b, IV.F.2.d, IV.F.2.f, and IV.F.2.g, and the newly-
added Part 50, Appendix E, Sections IV.A.9, IV.C.2, IV.E.8.b, IV.E.8.c, 
IV.E.8.d, IV.F.2.c.(4), IV.F.2.c.(5), IV.F.2.i, IV.F.2.j, and IV.I. The 
first issuance of guidance on a changed rule provision (adopted in a 
rulemaking amending the rule provision) or newly-added provision of an 
existing rule does not constitute backfitting or raise issue finality 
concerns, inasmuch as the guidance must be consistent with the 
regulatory requirements in the newly-changed or newly-added rule 
provisions and the backfitting and issue finality considerations 
applicable to the newly-changed or newly-added rule provisions must 
logically apply to this guidance. Therefore, issuance of guidance 
addressing the newly-changed and newly-added provisions of the amended 
rule does not constitute issuance of ``changed'' or ``new'' guidance 
within the meaning of the definition of ``backfitting'' in 10 CFR 
50.109(a)(1). Similarly, the issuance of the guidance addressing the 
newly-changed and newly-added provisions of the amended rule, by 
itself, does not constitute an action inconsistent with any of the 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. Accordingly, no further 
consideration of backfitting or issue finality is needed as part of the 
issuance of this guidance addressing compliance with the newly-changed 
provisions of part 50, Appendix E, Sections IV.A.7, IV.D.3, IV.E.8.a, 
IV.F.2.a, IV.F.2.b, IV.F.2.d, IV.F.2.f, and IV.F.2.g, and the newly-
added Part 50, Appendix E, Sections IV.A.9, IV.C.2, IV.E.8.b, IV.E.8.c, 
IV.E.8.d, IV.F.2.c.(4), IV.F.2.c.(5), IV.F.2.i, IV.F.2.j, and IV.I.

II. NUREG/CR-7002

    The NUREG/CR-7002 updates previous NRC guidance concerning the 
development of evacuation time

[[Page 75772]]

estimate (ETE) studies. This document provides guidance for addressing 
new EP requirements for nuclear power plants based on changes to EP 
regulations in 10 CFR 50.47 and Appendix E to Part 50 in the November 
23, 2011, final rule. The NRC is issuing guidance for the development 
of ETEs that recommends that licensees analyze several scenarios that 
consider all directions and distances within the emergency planning 
zone, time of day, day of week, adverse and normal weather conditions, 
and peak population special events. The ETE updates will support 
offsite protective action decision-making and evacuation planning 
efforts.
    The NUREG/CR-7002 presents the NRC staff's first guidance 
addressing compliance with the newly-changed and newly-added part 50, 
Appendix E, Section IV, paragraphs 2 and 4-7. The first issuance of 
guidance on a changed rule provision (adopted in a rulemaking amending 
the rule provision) or newly-added provision of an existing rule does 
not constitute backfitting or raise issue finality concerns, inasmuch 
as the guidance must be consistent with the regulatory requirements in 
the newly-changed or newly-added rule provisions and the backfitting 
and issue finality considerations applicable to the newly-changed or 
newly-added rule provisions must logically apply to this guidance (76 
FR 72560; November 23, 2011 at Page 72594). Therefore, issuance of 
guidance addressing the newly-changed and newly-added provisions of the 
amended rule does not constitute issuance of ``changed'' or ``new'' 
guidance within the meaning of the definition of ``backfitting'' in 10 
CFR 50.109(a)(1). Similarly, the issuance of the guidance addressing 
the newly-changed and newly-added provisions of the amended rule, by 
itself, does not constitute an action inconsistent with any of the 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. Accordingly, no further 
consideration of backfitting or issue finality is needed as part of the 
issuance of this guidance addressing compliance with the newly-changed 
provisions of Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV, paragraphs 2 and 4-7.

III. Supplement 3 of NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1

    The NRC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are 
updating protective action recommendation guidance by issuing 
Supplement 3 of NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1. The updated Supplement 3 
reflects insights gained through a study of the efficacy of the 
protective action strategy documented in NUREG/CR-6953, ``Review of 
NUREG-0654, Supplement 3, `Criteria for Protective Action 
Recommendations for Severe Accidents''' (see http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/contract/cr6953/). Supplement 3 of 
NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 resulted from close coordination between FEMA and 
NRC staff as well as extensive input from stakeholders. The guidance 
incorporates the following elements:
    1. Increased offsite response organization involvement in 
development of site specific protective action strategies;
    2. Increased use of information from updated and current site 
specific evacuation time estimates;
    3. Staged evacuation as the initial protective action at a General 
Emergency;
    4. Increased use of shelter-in-place for certain scenarios; and
    5. Guidance to improve communications with the public before and 
during an emergency.
    Licensees should meet the requirements of Appendix E, Section IV, 
paragraph 3 as soon as practical following the 180-day period in 
Appendix E, Section IV, paragraphs 4 and 6.
    Supplement 3 presents the NRC staff's first guidance addressing 
compliance with the newly-added part 50, Appendix E, Section IV, 
paragraph 3, which was part of the November 23, 2011, final rule. The 
first issuance of guidance on a newly-added provision of an existing 
rule does not constitute backfitting or raise issue finality concerns, 
inasmuch as the guidance must be consistent with the regulatory 
requirements in the newly-added rule provision and the backfitting and 
issue finality considerations applicable to the newly-added rule 
provision must logically apply to this guidance (76 FR 72560; November 
23, 2011 at page 72594). Therefore, issuance of guidance addressing the 
newly-added provision of the amended rule does not constitute issuance 
of ``changed'' or ``new'' guidance within the meaning of the definition 
of ``backfitting'' in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1). Similarly, the issuance of 
the guidance addressing the newly-added provision of the amended rule, 
by itself, does not constitute an action inconsistent with any of the 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR Part 52. Accordingly, no further 
consideration of backfitting or issue finality is needed as part of the 
issuance of this guidance addressing compliance with the newly-added 
provision of Part 50, Appendix E, Section IV, paragraph 3.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of November, 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark Thaggard,
Deputy Director for Emergency Preparedness, Division of Preparedness 
and Response, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.
[FR Doc. 2011-31012 Filed 12-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P