[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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