[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 82 (Friday, April 27, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25104-25105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10193]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM-50-102; NRC-2011-0189]


Petition for Rulemaking; Submitted by the Natural Resources 
Defense Council, Inc.

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; consideration in the rulemaking 
process.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
will consider the issues raised in the petition for rulemaking (PRM), 
PRM-50-102, submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 
(NRDC or the petitioner), in the rulemaking process. The petitioner 
requested that the NRC amend its regulations to require more realistic, 
hands-on training and exercises on Severe Accident Management 
Guidelines (SAMGs) and Extensive Damage Mitigation Guidelines (EDMGs). 
The NRC determined that the issues raised in the PRM are appropriate 
for consideration and will consider them in the ongoing Fukushima Near 
Term Task Force (NTTF) Recommendation 8 rulemaking.

DATES: The docket for the petition for rulemaking, PRM-50-102, is 
closed on April 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Further NRC action on the issues raised by this petition 
will be accessible on the Federal rulemaking Web site, http://www.regulations.gov, by searching on Docket ID NRC-2012-0031, which is 
the rulemaking docket for the NTTF Recommendation 8 rulemaking.
    You can access publicly available documents related to the 
petition, which the NRC possesses and is publicly available, using the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Supporting materials related 
to this petition can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by 
searching on the Docket IDs for PRM-50-102 or the NTTF Recommendation 8 
rulemaking, NRC-2011-0189 and NRC-2012-0031, respectively. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone: 301-492-
3668, email: [email protected].
     NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): You may examine and 
purchase copies of public 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): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each document 
referenced in this notice (if that document is available in ADAMS) is 
provided the first time that a document is referenced.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Beall, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555; telephone: 301-415-3874; email: [email protected]; or Scott 
Sloan, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-1619; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petition

    On September 20, 2011, the NRC published a notice of receipt (76 FR 
58165) of six PRMs filed by the NRDC, including PRM-50-102. The 
petitioner solely and specifically cited the ``Recommendations for 
Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The Near-Term Task Force 
Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident'' (NTTF Report, 
ADAMS Accession No. ML111861807), dated July 12, 2011, as the rationale 
for the PRMs. For PRM-50-102, the petitioner cites Section 4.2.5, pages 
46-50, of the NTTF Report, regarding the strengthening and integration 
of onsite emergency response capabilities such as emergency operating 
procedures (EOPs), SAMGs, and EDMGs. At the time of receipt of the 
PRMs, the Commission was still in the process of reviewing the NTTF 
Report, and the NRC did not institute a public comment period for the 
PRMs.
    In PRM-50-102, the petitioner requests the NRC to institute a 
rulemaking proceeding applicable to nuclear facilities licensed under 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) parts 50, 52, and 
other applicable regulations to revise 10 CFR 50.63 to require more 
realistic, hands-on training and exercises on SAMGs and EDMGs for all 
staff expected to implement the strategies and those licensee staff 
expected to make decisions during emergencies, including emergency 
coordinators and emergency directors.

Reasons for Consideration

    The Commission has established a process for addressing a number of 
the recommendations in the NTTF Report, and the NRC determined that the 
issues raised in PRM-50-102 are appropriate for consideration and will 
consider them in the ongoing NTTF Recommendation 8 rulemaking based on 
Section 4.2.5 of the NTTF Report.
    The public will have the opportunity to provide comments on the 
issues raised by the petitioner in PRM-50-102 as part of the NTTF 
Recommendation 8 rulemaking. The NRC will consider the

[[Page 25105]]

issues raised by the remaining NRDC PRMs through the process the 
Commission established for addressing the remaining recommendations in 
the NTTF Report. This PRM docket is closed.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of April 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
R.W. Borchardt,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012-10193 Filed 4-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P