[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64029-64030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25256]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0237]


Cost-Benefit Analysis for Radwaste Systems for Light-Water-Cooled 
Nuclear Power Reactors

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) 1.110, ``Cost-Benefit Analysis for 
Radwaste Systems for Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactors,'' in 
which the NRC made editorial corrections and formatting changes with no 
substantive changes in the staff regulatory positions. This guide 
describes methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers 
acceptable for performing a cost-benefit analysis for liquid and 
gaseous radwaste system components for light water nuclear power 
reactors.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0237 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0237. 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]. Revision 1 of RG 1.110 is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13241A052.
     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: Stephen C. Burton, Region III, 
telephone: 301-415-7000; 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 guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. Regulatory guides were developed to 
describe and make available to the public information and 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 
typically seeks public comment on a draft version of a regulatory guide 
by announcing its availability for comment in the Federal Register. 
However, as explained in section III.F. of the NRC's Management 
Directive Handbook 6.6, ``Regulatory Guides,'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML110330475) the NRC may directly issue a final regulatory guide 
without a draft version or public comment period if the changes to the 
regulatory guide are non-substantive.
    The NRC is issuing Revision 1 of RG 1.110 directly as a final 
regulatory guide because the changes between Revision 0 and Revision 1 
are non-substantive. Regulatory Guide 1.110 was revised to incorporate 
editorial changes and the NRC's current format for regulatory guides. 
These changes were intended to improve clarity and did not alter the 
staff regulatory guidance.
    In the course of a periodic review of the guide, the NRC staff 
identified several technical issues (ADAMS Accession No. ML13238A095). 
Nonetheless, the current version is successfully being used by the NRC 
staff in their safety reviews and by applicants in preparing license 
applications under parts 50 and 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR).
    The NRC staff currently is considering revising RG 1.110 as part of 
rulemaking efforts being planned in response to the Staff Requirements 
Memorandum for SECY-12-0064, ``Recommendation for Policy and Technical 
Direction to Revise Radiation Protection Regulations and Guidance'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML12306A119). The rulemaking effort for 10 CFR 
part 50, appendix I, ``Numerical Guides for Design Objectives and 
Limiting Conditions for Operation to Meet the Criterion `As Low as is 
Reasonably Achievable' for Radioactive Material in Light-Water-Cooled 
Nuclear Power Reactor Effluents,'' will include the development of a 
technical basis, public meetings and industry workshops, and revision 
of NRC guidance documents and computer codes. This effort should also 
incorporate the update of the cost-benefit ratio for person-rem, which 
would be a significant update.

II. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final regulatory guide does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not 
otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10

[[Page 64030]]

CFR part 52. The changes in Revision 1 of RG 1.110 are limited to 
editorial changes to improve clarity and formatting changes to align 
with the NRC's new standardized regulatory guide format. These changes 
do not fall within the kinds of agency actions that constitute 
backfitting or are subject to limitations in the issue finality 
provisions of part 52. Accordingly, the NRC did not address the Backfit 
Rule or issue finality provisions of part 52.

III. Congressional Review Act

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

IV. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

    Revision 1 of RG 1.110 is being issued without public comment. 
However, you may at any time submit suggestions to the NRC for 
improvement of existing regulatory guides or for the development of new 
regulatory guides to address new issues. Suggestions can be submitted 
by the form available online at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. Suggestions will be considered 
in future updates and enhancements of the regulatory guide.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of October 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-25256 Filed 10-24-13; 8:45 am]
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