[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62269-62270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25115]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2012-0235]
Draft Tribal Protocol Manual and Scoping for Proposed Policy
Statement
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
is seeking comments on its draft ``Tribal Protocol Manual'' dated
September 2012. After the Tribal Protocol Manual is issued, the NRC
intends to use it as a starting point for developing a policy statement
on consultation with Native American tribes. The NRC is committed to an
open and collaborative regulatory environment in the development of its
policies and licensing actions, and therefore is committed to
meaningful consultation and coordination with Native American tribes.
In addition to the request for comments on the draft Tribal
Protocol Manual, the NRC also seeks suggestions on the development of
the proposed tribal consultation policy statement from tribal
governments and organizations, the public, and other interested
parties. The questions found in section II are offered for
consideration. Respondents are not limited to these questions and are
encouraged to submit any comments/feedback they think would benefit the
NRC in developing a tribal consultation policy statement.
DATES: Submit comments on the draft Tribal Protocol Manual or on the
proposed tribal consultation policy statement by April 1, 2013.
Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical
to do so, but the NRC is able to assure consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related
to this document, which the NRC possesses and are publicly available,
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-
0235. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0235. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
NRC Home Page: A graphic displaying the Tribal Protocol
Manual will be prominently displayed on the NRC home page (http://www.nrc.gov) for a period of time, after which it will be moved to the
``Spotlight'' Section.
Mail comments 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.
Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cardelia H. Maupin, Office of Federal
and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-
2312; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments
A. Accessing Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0235 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this draft Tribal
Protocol Manual or the proposed tribal consultation policy statement.
You may access information related to these documents, which the NRC
possesses and is publicly available, by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0235.
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
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. The draft ``Tribal Protocol Manual'' dated September 2012,
is available electronically under ADAMS Accession Number: ML12261A423.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2012-0235 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into
ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.
II. Discussion
In January 2009, the Commission directed the staff to develop an
internal protocol for interactions with Native American tribal
governments \1\ that allows for custom tailored approaches to address
the interests of both the NRC and the tribal governments on a case-by-
case basis.\2\ On November 5, 2009, President Obama issued a
Presidential Memorandum that reaffirmed Executive Order 13175,
``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments,'' and
emphasized the importance of strengthening government-to-government
relationships with Native American tribes. In SECY-09-0180, ``U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Interaction with Native American
Tribes,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML092800263), dated
[[Page 62270]]
December 11, 2009, NRC staff reviewed its various interactions with
Native American tribes, and noted that these interactions were limited
to a small number of activities under the NRC regulatory authority. At
that time, staff concluded that a ``case-by-case'' approach had proven
effective in interactions with Native American tribes by allowing for
custom-tailored approaches that met Commission and tribal needs, and
that no formal policy was needed. The NRC staff also noted that the
internal guidance on tribal protocol would further enhance staff's
engagement with Native American tribes. The internal NRC guidance,
``Tribal Protocol Manual: Guidance for NRC Employees'' was developed
and issued in March 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For the purposes of this notice, the terms ``Native American
tribal governments'' and ``Native American tribes'' are used
interchangeably. In addition, these terms also include the term
``Native Hawaiian organization,'' as that term is defined in 36 CFR
800.16(s)(1).
\2\ Staff Requirements Memorandum, ``Briefing on Uranium
Recovery,'' M081211 (ML090080206) January 8, 2009.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As described in enclosure 1 to SECY-09-0180, the NRC has consulted
with several tribes, including some instances of government-to-
government meetings, regarding various NRC regulatory and licensing
activities. The subjects of these actions have included reactor
inspections of the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) in
Welsh, Minnesota, the renewal of PINGP's operating license, the
proposed Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository in Nevada, uranium
milling operations in New Mexico and Arizona, the potential placement
of a power reactor in Galena, Alaska, and the reclamation of the
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation site in Gore, Oklahoma. Recently, a
heightened interest in uranium recovery development and new nuclear
reactor construction has resulted in a significant increase in the
number and complexity of consultations between the NRC and Native
American tribes in order to address the obligations and requirements of
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
The NHPA was enacted in 1966 to coordinate and support public and
private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect historic properties.
Section 106 of the NHPA directs Federal agencies to consider the
effects of their proposed actions on historic properties as a part of
their decisionmaking process. Specifically, the regulations of the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which implement Section 106,
set forth requirements for a Federal agency's consultation with Native
American tribes.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 36 CFR 800.2(c)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In light of these increased interactions with Native American
tribes and to improve communication with tribal governments, the
Commission, by Staff Requirements Memorandum (COMWDM-12-0001), ``Tribal
Consultation Policy Statement and Protocol,'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML121430233), dated May 22, 2012, directed the NRC staff to develop a
proposed policy statement and protocol on consultation with Native
American tribal governments. As a part of these efforts, the NRC staff
identified minor revisions to the March 2010 ``Tribal Protocol Manual:
Guidance for NRC Employees,'' and produced the draft Tribal Protocol
Manual, dated September 2012. The NRC staff recognizes that additional
changes to improve the draft Tribal Protocol Manual may be needed and
is thus seeking public comment on the document in order to consider a
broad range of experiences and perspectives on tribal interactions,
including consultation and government-to-government meetings.
Therefore, the NRC is requesting comments on the draft Tribal Protocol
Manual and the development of a proposed tribal consultation policy
statement from tribal governments and organizations, the public, and
other interested parties. The questions in section III are intended to
assist the NRC in developing an effective tribal consultation policy
statement.
III. Questions on the proposed policy statement
Tribal governments and organizations, the public, and other
interested parties submitting comments are not limited to responding to
the questions set forth below and are encouraged to submit any comments
or other feedback they think would benefit the NRC in developing a
tribal consultation policy statement.
How can the NRC strengthen government-to-government
relationships with Native American tribes?
What practices have the NRC or other Federal agencies
employed that have been effective in identifying tribal interests and
resolving tribal concerns about proposed agency actions?
Are there specific Tribal Policy Statements in other
Federal agencies that could serve as
A starting point for the NRC efforts?
What unique tribal issues should the NRC be aware of as a
non-landholding,\4\ regulatory agency that issues licenses under the
Atomic Energy Act?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ A landholding agency, such as the Bureau of Land Management,
holds or controls land as part of carrying out its agency mission.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of October 2012.
Larry W. Camper,
Acting Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and
Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-25115 Filed 10-11-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P