[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37324-37325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14313]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 51 and 54

[NRC-2008-0608]
RIN 3150-AI42


Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant 
License Renewal Applications

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2, Supplement 1 (RG 4.2S1), 
``Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Plant License 
Renewal Applications.'' This regulatory guide provides guidance to 
applicants in the preparation of environmental reports that are 
submitted with the application for the renewal of a nuclear power plant 
operating license. Applicants should use this regulatory guide when 
preparing an environmental report for license renewal to ensure that 
the information they submit to the NRC is complete and facilitates the 
NRC staff's review.

DATES: June 20, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0608 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0608. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     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]. Revision 1 of Regulatory 
Guide 4.2, Supplement 1, is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML13067A354.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's Public Document Room O1-F21, One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emmanuel Sayoc, telephone: 301-415-
1924, email: [email protected], or Edward O'Donnell, telephone: 
301-251-7455, email: [email protected]. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing regulatory guide in 
the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to 
describe and make available to the public information such as methods 
that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of 
the agency's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff 
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The NRC is publishing a final rule, ``Revisions to Environmental 
Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses'' (RIN 
3150-AI42; NRC-2008-0608), in the Rules and Regulations section of this 
issue of the Federal Register that amends its environmental protection 
regulations by updating the Commission's 1996 findings on the 
environmental impacts of renewing the operating license of a nuclear 
power plant. The NRC complies with the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) through the implementation of its regulations in Part 51 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (see Table B-1 in 
Appendix B to Subpart A of 10 CFR part 51). The environmental reports 
submitted by license renewal applicants are part of the process set 
forth in 10 CFR part 51. The final rule incorporates lessons learned 
and knowledge gained from license renewal environmental reviews 
conducted by the NRC since 1996. Specifically, the final rule amends 
Table B-1 by redefining the number and scope of the environmental 
impact issues that must be considered by the NRC during license renewal 
environmental reviews and amends other related regulations in 10 CFR 
part 51 (i.e., 10 CFR 51.53, 51.71, and 51.95). For renewal of nuclear 
power plant operating licenses, RG 4.2S1, Revision 1, provides guidance 
to applicants in the preparation of environmental reports.
    Also in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the 
Federal Register, the NRC is publishing Revision 1 to NUREG-1437, 
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear 
Plants'' (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML13106A241, ML13106A242, and 
ML13106A244); and Revision 1 to NUREG-1555, ``Standard Review Plans for 
Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants, Supplement 1: Operating 
License Renewal'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13106A246).

II. Further Information

    The NRC made the draft of Revision 1 of RG 4.2S1 available for 
public comment as Draft Guide (DG)-4015 on July 31, 2009 (74 FR 38238), 
with a 75-day public comment period. The NRC extended the public 
comment period for another 90 days, with a closing date of January 12, 
2010 (74 FR 51522; October 7, 2009). The NRC received 3 public comments 
from the Nuclear Energy Institute, New York State Office of the 
Attorney General, and the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency. The NRC staff's response to public comments is available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML13067A355.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This regulatory guide is a rule as designated in the Congressional 
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and 
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as designated in the 
Congressional Review Act.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This regulatory guide provides the NRC's first guidance on 
compliance with the revised provisions of 10 CFR part 51. The statement 
of considerations for the final rule that amended 10 CFR part 51 
explains that issuance of the final rule does not constitute 
``backfitting'' as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) of the Backfit Rule 
and is not otherwise inconsistent with the applicable issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52 (see Section XIX, ``Backfitting and Issue 
Finality,'' of the final rule). The first issuance of guidance on a new 
rule does not

[[Page 37325]]

constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the guidance must be consistent 
with the regulatory requirements in the new rule and the backfitting 
considerations applicable to the new rule must, as a matter of logic, 
also be applicable to this newly-issued guidance. Therefore, issuance 
of this new regulatory guide does not constitute issuance of ``new'' 
guidance within the meaning of the definition of ``backfitting'' in 10 
CFR 50.109(a)(1). Further, issuance of this guidance, like issuance of 
the final rule itself, does not constitute ``backfitting'' as defined 
in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) of the Backfit Rule nor does the issuance of 
this new regulatory guide, by itself, constitute an action inconsistent 
with any of the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of April, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-14313 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
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