[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45983-45984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18251]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. NRC-2013-0033]


Acceptability of Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle 
Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft NUREG; withdrawal and resolution of public comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing 
draft NUREG-2154, ``Acceptability of Corrective Action Programs for 
Fuel Cycle Facilities,'' based on receipt and review of public 
comments. The draft NUREG provided guidance to NRC staff on how to 
determine whether a submittal for a Corrective Action Program (CAP), 
voluntarily submitted by fuel cycle facility licensees, was acceptable. 
The NRC staff has reviewed public comments received on draft NUREG-2154 
and has decided to withdraw the draft NUREG and to proceed with the 
development and issuance of a draft Regulatory Guide (RG) to describe 
elements of an acceptable CAP for fuel cycle facilities.

DATES: Draft NUREG-2154 is withdrawn on July 30, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0033 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of

[[Page 45984]]

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-2013-0033. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) 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]. 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: Sabrina Atack, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-9075; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to the Commission's direction in 
the staff requirements memorandum (SRM) for SECY-10-0031 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML102170054), the NRC staff revised Section 2.3.2. of the 
NRC Enforcement Policy to disposition Severity Level IV violations for 
fuel cycle facilities as non-cited violations if the NRC determines 
that the licensee's CAP is effective, the licensee enters the violation 
in its CAP, and other criteria are met, as delineated in Section 2.3.2 
of the NRC Enforcement Policy. As part of its response to the SRM, the 
NRC staff also developed draft NUREG-2154, ``Acceptability of 
Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle Facilities'' (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML13036A029). The intent of the draft NUREG was to provide guidance 
to NRC staff on how to determine, based on a licensee's CAP licensing 
submittal, that a CAP is acceptable. The NRC staff issued draft NUREG-
2154 for public comment on February 20, 2013 (78 FR 11903).
    By letter dated April 22, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13133A219), 
the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) provided comments on draft NUREG-
2154. In the letter and its attachment, NEI suggested that the NRC 
consider converting the draft NUREG to a RG since RGs are typically the 
primary source of information for licensees and applicants filing for a 
license or requesting a licensing action. Further, during an April 11, 
2013, public meeting held in Atlanta, GA (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13113A251), members of industry identified that the burden of 
implementing a CAP could be eased if applicants and licensees were able 
to commit to a set of CAP requirements rather than undertake the 
process of submitting a written CAP for NRC review and approval. The 
comment resolution table that describes the NRC staff's resolution of 
the comments and recommendations related to draft NUREG-2154 is 
available for public review in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13158A143.
    Based on the review of public comment submissions and feedback at 
public meetings, the NRC has decided to withdraw draft NUREG-2154 and 
to identify the elements of an acceptable fuel cycle facility CAP in a 
draft RG. The NRC staff has determined that a RG can effectively 
describe measures for establishing a CAP that is adequate to support 
the application of the provisions of Section 2.3.2 of the NRC 
Enforcement Policy (ADAMS Accession No. ML12340A295) by fuel cycle 
facilities. This approach will minimize the burden to licensees who 
wish to implement a CAP by streamlining the licensing actions 
associated with incorporating CAP commitments into the license. 
Licensees will be able to submit a simple license amendment request 
committing to comply with the RG and implementing documents established 
thereto rather than submitting a detailed CAP description for NRC 
review and approval. The draft RG, DG-3044, ``Corrective Action 
Programs for Fuel Cycle Facilities,'' will be issued for public comment 
in a forthcoming Federal Register Notice.

Proposed Action

    By this action, the NRC is withdrawing draft NUREG-2154. The 
guidance contained in the draft NUREG will be reissued in the form of a 
draft regulatory guide (DG-3044, ``Corrective Action Programs for Fuel 
Cycle Facilities'').

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of July 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael X. Franovich,
Chief, Programmatic Oversight and Regional Support Branch, Division of 
Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2013-18251 Filed 7-29-13; 8:45 am]
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