[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54789-54790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21710]


 ========================================================================
 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. 78, No. 173 / Friday, September 6, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 54789]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 51

[NRC-2012-0246]
RIN 3150-AJ20


Proposed Waste Confidence Rule and Draft Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to hold 
public meetings to receive public comments on its forthcoming proposed 
amendments to the NRC's regulations pertaining to the environmental 
impacts of the continued storage of spent nuclear fuel beyond a 
reactor's licensed life for operation and prior to ultimate disposal 
(proposed Waste Confidence rule). In addition, the NRC will receive 
public comment on its forthcoming draft generic environmental impact 
statement (DGEIS), NUREG-2157, ``Waste Confidence Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement,'' that forms the regulatory basis for the proposed 
amendments. The meetings are open to the public, and anyone may attend. 
The NRC is issuing this notice in advance of the release of the 
proposed Waste Confidence rule and DGEIS in order to maximize public 
participation at these meetings and ensure that as many parties as 
possible are able to attend.

DATES: The NRC plans to hold public meetings in October and November 
2013 during a planned, 75-day public comment period for the proposed 
Waste Confidence rule and DGEIS. This document contains specific 
meeting information in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0246 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for the proposed Waste 
Confidence rule and DGEIS. You may access publicly available 
information related to these documents by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0246.
     NRC's Waste Confidence Web site: Go to http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd.html.
     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 
PDR reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to 
[email protected]. The DGEIS is not yet finalized, but will be 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13224A106 before the public 
meetings. An additional Federal Register notice will be published to 
announce when the DGEIS is available.
     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: Sarah Lopas, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-0675; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of the public comment process, the 
NRC plans to hold 12 transcribed public meetings during the public 
comment period to solicit comments on the proposed Waste Confidence 
rule and DGEIS. The NRC plans to publish the proposed Waste Confidence 
rule and DGEIS in September 2013, and it will issue a notice of 
availability for the proposed rule and the DGEIS in the Federal 
Register at that time.
    The proposed Waste Confidence rule would amend the NRC's 
regulations pertaining to the environmental impacts of the continued 
storage of spent nuclear fuel beyond a reactor's licensed life for 
operation and prior to ultimate disposal. The DGEIS forms the 
regulatory basis for the proposed amendments in the Waste Confidence 
rule. The DGEIS examines the potential environmental impacts that could 
occur as a result of the continued storage of spent nuclear fuel at at-
reactor and away-from-reactor sites until a repository is available. 
The DGEIS provides generic environmental impact determinations that 
would be applicable to a wide range of existing and potential future 
spent fuel storage sites. While some site-specific information is used 
in developing the generic impact determinations, the Waste Confidence 
DGEIS does not replace the environmental analysis, performed pursuant 
to the National Environmental Policy Act, associated with any 
individual site licensing action.
    The NRC staff plans to hold the following public meetings during 
the planned, 75-day public comment period to present an overview of the 
DGEIS and proposed Waste Confidence rule and to accept public comments 
on the documents.
     October 1, 2013: NRC Headquarters, One White Flint North, 
First Floor Commission Hearing Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Maryland 
20852.
     October 3, 2013: Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport 
Convention Center, 15500 East 40th Ave., Denver, Colorado 80239.
     October 7, 2013: Courtyard by Marriott, 1605 Calle Joaquin 
Road, San Luis Obispo, California 93405.
     October 9, 2013: Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa, 5480 
Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad, California 92008.
     October 15, 2013: Hilton Garden Inn Toledo Perrysburg, 
6165 Levis Commons Blvd., Perrysburg, Ohio, 43551.
     October 17, 2013: Minneapolis Marriott Southwest, 5801 
Opus Parkway, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343.
     October 28, 2013: Radisson Hotel & Suites Chelmsford-
Lowell, 10 Independence Drive, Chelmsford, Massachusetts 01824.
     October 30, 2013: Westchester Marriott, 670 White Plains 
Road, Tarrytown, New York 10591.
     November 4, 2013: Hilton Charlotte University Place, 8629 
J.M. Keynes Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina 28262.
     November 6, 2013: Hyatt Regency Orlando--International 
Airport, 9300 Jeff Fuqua Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32827.
     November 14, 2013: NRC Headquarters, One White Flint 
North, First Floor Commission Hearing Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Maryland 20852.
     In addition to the meetings listed above, the NRC staff 
intends to hold a

[[Page 54790]]

meeting during the comment period in Illinois. Although the exact date 
and venue have yet to be arranged, the NRC staff will provide this 
information well in advance of the meeting.
    The ten regional public meetings will start at 7:00 p.m. local time 
and will continue until 10:00 p.m. local time. The two NRC headquarters 
meetings will start at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will continue until 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Additionally, NRC staff will host informal 
discussions during an open house 1 hour prior to the start of each 
meeting. Open houses will start at 6:00 p.m. local time for regional 
meetings and 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time for the NRC Headquarters meetings.
    To maximize the time for comment, the NRC staff will only be 
available to answer specific questions on the Waste Confidence rule or 
DGEIS during the open house. The public meetings will be transcribed 
and will include: (1) A presentation of the contents of the DGEIS and 
proposed Waste Confidence rule; and (2) the opportunity for government 
agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide comments on the 
DGEIS and proposed rule. No oral comments on the DGEIS or proposed 
Waste Confidence rule will be accepted during the open house sessions. 
To be considered, oral comments must be presented during the 
transcribed portion of the public meeting. The NRC staff will also 
accept written comments at any time during the public meetings.
    Persons interested in presenting oral comments at any of the 12 
public meetings are encouraged to pre-register. Persons may pre-
register to present oral comments by calling 301-287-9392 or by 
emailing [email protected] no later than 3 days prior to the 
meeting. Members of the public may also register to provide oral 
comments in-person at each meeting. Individual oral comments may be 
limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who 
register.
    If special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or 
present information at a public meeting, the need should be brought to 
the NRC's attention no later than 10 days prior to the meeting to 
provide the NRC staff adequate notice to determine whether the request 
can be accommodated. To maximize public participation, the NRC 
headquarters meetings on October 1, 2013, and November 14, 2013, will 
be Web-streamed via the NRC's public Web site. See the NRC's Live 
Meeting Webcast page to participate: http://video.nrc.gov/. The NRC 
headquarters meetings will also feature a moderated teleconference line 
so remote attendees will have the opportunity to present oral comments. 
To receive the teleconference number and passcode, call 301-287-9392 or 
email [email protected]. Meeting agendas and participation details 
will be available on the NRC's Waste Confidence Public Involvement Web 
site at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd/pub-involve.html and on the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm no later 
than 10 days prior to the meetings.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of August 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Director, Waste Confidence Directorate, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2013-21710 Filed 9-5-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P