[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 175 (Monday, September 10, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55429-55430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22185]


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 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. 77, No. 175 / Monday, September 10, 2012 / 
Proposed Rules  

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 26

[NRC-2009-0090]
RIN 3150-AI58


Fitness-for-Duty Programs

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory basis and preliminary proposed rule language.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
will periodically make publicly available a series of documents related 
to the ongoing proposed rulemaking effort to amend its regulations 
regarding Fitness-for-Duty Programs. The NRC does not plan to institute 
a public comment period for these materials when making them publicly 
available. This document announces the availability of two rulemaking 
documents: The regulatory basis and preliminary proposed rule language 
for requiring personnel performing certain quality control and quality 
verification (QC/QV) duties to comply with the work hour provisions. 
The availability of these documents provides increased awareness to 
interested stakeholders and provides preparatory material for future 
public meetings.

DATES: At this time, the NRC is not soliciting formal public comments 
on the materials identified in this document. There will be an 
opportunity for formal public comment on the proposed rule when it is 
published in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2009-0090 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for this document. You may 
access information and comment submittals related to this document, 
which the NRC possesses and are publicly available, by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2009-0090.
     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, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (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 document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott C. Sloan, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1619; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    As the NRC continues its ongoing proposed rulemaking effort to 
amend portions of part 26 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Fitness-for-Duty Programs,'' subpart I, 
``Managing Fatigue,'' the NRC will periodically make preliminary 
documents publicly available on the Federal rulemaking Web site, 
www.regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2009-0090. By making these 
documents publicly available, the NRC seeks to inform stakeholders of 
the current status of the NRC's rulemaking development activities and 
provide preparatory material for future public meetings. The NRC is not 
instituting a public comment period on these materials, but the public 
is encouraged to participate in related public meetings. In addition, 
the public will be given opportunity to provide comments on the 
proposed rule upon its publication in the Federal Register.

II. Petitions for Rulemaking

    A discussion of a September 28, 1999, petition for rulemaking 
(PRM), PRM-26-2 (64 FR 67205; December 1, 1999), is included in the 
Regulatory Basis for this proposed rulemaking. This PRM was partially 
considered in the March 31, 2008 (73 FR 16965), Fitness for Duty 
Programs final rule. In this proposed rulemaking, the NRC is 
considering PRM-26-3 (76 FR 28192; May 16, 2011), PRM-26-5 (76 FR 
28192; May 16, 2011), and PRM-26-6 (76 FR 28191; May 16, 2011).

III. Publicly Available Documents

    The NRC has posted for public availability on www.regulations.gov, 
the regulatory basis for requiring personnel performing certain quality 
control and quality verification (QC/QV) duties to comply with the work 
hour provisions of 10 CFR part 26, subpart I. This regulatory basis was 
completed in 2010 and documents the reasons why the NRC determined 
rulemaking was the appropriate course of action to remedy a regulatory 
shortcoming.
    When the regulatory basis was completed, the NRC had not yet begun 
the rulemaking that provides a voluntary alternative to the Minimum 
Days Off (MDO) requirements found in Sec.  26.205(d)(3). That 
alternative became effective on August 11, 2011 (76 FR 43534). However, 
initial technical analysis indicates that the alternative to the MDO 
requirements does not change the basis for this rulemaking.
    In addition, the NRC has posted preliminary proposed rule language 
related to these QC/QV personnel on www.regulations.gov. This 
preliminary proposed rule language contains one portion of the NRC's 
planned proposed changes. This language does not represent a final NRC 
staff position, nor has it been reviewed by the Commission. Therefore, 
the preliminary proposed rule language may undergo significant revision 
during the rulemaking process.
    The NRC is not requesting formal public comments on the regulatory 
basis or the preliminary proposed rule language. The NRC may post 
additional materials, including other preliminary rule language, to the 
Federal rulemaking Web site at https://www.regulations.gov, under 
Docket ID NRC-2009-0090. The Federal rulemaking Web site allows you to 
receive alerts when changes or

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additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-2009-0090); (2) click the ``Email Alert'' link; and 
(3) enter your email address and select how frequently you would like 
to receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly).

IV. Plain Writing

    The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal 
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner 
that also follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or 
field and the intended audience. Although regulations are exempt under 
the Act, the NRC is applying the same principles to its rulemaking 
documents. Therefore, the NRC has written this document, including the 
preliminary proposed rule language, to be consistent with the Plain 
Writing Act. There will be an opportunity for formal public comment on 
the use of plain language when the proposed rule is published in the 
Federal Register.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this August 22, 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Sher Bahadur,
Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-22185 Filed 9-7-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P