[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11164-11165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4360]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. NRC-2012-0047]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Emergency Clearance 
Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information 
collection request for emergency review to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) and solicitation of public comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public 
comment about our intention to request emergency review and OMB 
approval of the information collection that is summarized below. We are 
required to publish this notice in the Federal Register under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 
35). In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we have submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) the following requirements for emergency 
review. We are requesting an emergency review because the collection of 
this information is needed before the expiration of the normal time 
limits under OMB's regulations at 5 CFR 1320.13. This is necessary to 
ensure compliance with requirements in Section 402 of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2012, ``* * *'' We cannot reasonably comply with 
the normal clearance procedures because the use of normal clearance 
procedures is reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of 
information as stated in 5 CFR 1320.13(a)(2)(iii).
    Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted:
    1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: New.
    2. The title of the information collection: Request for Information 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.54(f) Regarding Recommendations 2.1, 2.3 and 93, 
of the Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-
ichi Event.
    2. Current OMB approval number: Not applicable.

[[Page 11165]]

    3. How often the collection is required: One-time, on occasion.
    4. Who is required or asked to report: 104 power reactor licensees.
    5. The number of annual respondents: 104.
    6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement 
or request: The NRC estimates that it will require 13,300 hours per 
power reactor to respond to the information collection request, for a 
total of 1,383,200 hours (or 461,067 hours annualized).
    7. Abstract: Following the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi 
nuclear power plant resulting from the March 11, 2011, Great 
T[omacr]hoku Earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the NRC established the 
Near-Term Task Force (NTTF). The NTTF Charter, dated March 30, 2011, 
tasked the NTTF with conducting a systematic and methodical review of 
NRC processes and regulations and determining if the agency should make 
additional improvements to its regulatory system. Ultimately, a 
comprehensive set of recommendations contained in a report to the 
Commission (dated July 12, 2011, SECY-11-0093 (Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML111861807)) was 
developed using a decision rationale built around the defense-in-depth 
concept in which each level of defense-in-depth (namely prevention, 
mitigation, and emergency preparedness (EP)) is critically evaluated 
for its completeness and effectiveness in performing its safety 
function.
    On August 19, 2011, following issuance of the NTTF report, the 
Commission directed the NRC staff in staff requirements memorandum 
(SRM) for SECY 11-0093 (ADAMS Access No. ML112310021), in part, to 
determine which of the recommendations could and should be implemented 
without unnecessary delay.
    On September 9, 2011, the NRC staff provided SECY-11-0124 to the 
Commission (ADAMS Accession No. ML11245A158). The document identified 
those actions from the NTTF report that should be taken without 
unnecessary delay. As part of the October 18, 2011, SRM for SECY-11-
0124 (ADAMS Accession No. ML112911571), the Commission approved the 
staff's proposed actions, including the development of three 
information requests under 10 CFR 50.54(f). The information collected 
would be used to support the NRC staff's evaluation of whether further 
regulatory action was needed in the areas of seismic and flooding 
design, and emergency preparedness.
    On December 23, 2011, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public 
Law 112-074, was signed into law. Section 402 of the law also requires 
a reevaluation of licensees' design basis for external hazards, and 
expands the scope to include other external events.
    The NRC has concluded that it requires the information requested to 
verify the compliance with design bases at nuclear power plants and to 
determine if additional regulatory actions are appropriate. Therefore, 
the NRC will issue requests for information, pursuant to Section 182(a) 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and 10 CFR 50.54(f). 
Addressees to the NRC information request will be required to confirm 
receipt of the request for information within 30 days. Each attachment 
to the request for information contains a topic-specific schedule for 
response. The NRC is requesting OMB review and approval of this 
collection by March 6, 2012, with a 180-day approval period.
    Throughout the development of these letters, the NRC has solicited 
stakeholder input including feedback on the burden. The NRC made draft 
versions of the letters publically available and hosted seven public 
meetings to gather stakeholder feedback. Further, the Nuclear Energy 
Institute provided feedback to the NRC on the content of the letters, 
including the associated burden. The NRC considered all feedback in 
generating its burden estimate.
    Submit, by March 5, 2012, comments that address the following 
questions:
    1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC 
to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical 
utility?
    2. Is the burden estimate accurate?
    3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected?
    4. How can the burden of the information collection be minimized, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology?
    The public may examine and have copied for a fee publicly available 
documents, including the final supporting statement, at the NRC's 
Public Document Room, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. OMB clearance requests are 
available at the NRC Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/public_involve/doc_comment/omb/index.html. The document will be available on the NRC home 
page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice.
    Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer 
listed below by March 5, 2012. Comments received after this date will 
be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of 
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this date.

Chad Whiteman, Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs (3150-XXXX), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Comments can also be emailed to [email protected] or 
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4718.
    For additional information on the information collections, contact 
G. Edward Miller, Project Manager, Projects Management Branch, Japan 
Lessons Learned Project Directorate, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville, MD 20852. 
Telephone: (301) 415-2481; fax number: (301) 415-2444; email: 
[email protected].
    The NRC Clearance Officer is Tremaine Donnell, (301) 415-6258. 
Questions about the information collection requirements may be directed 
to the NRC Clearance Officer, Tremaine Donnell (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-
415-6258, or by email to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of February 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Tremaine Donnell,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information Services.
[FR Doc. 2012-4360 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
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