[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68774-68775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27449]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2013 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 68774]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 50 and 55
[NRC-2012-0031]
RIN 3150-AJ11
Onsite Emergency Response Capabilities
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Preliminary proposed rule language.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is making
available preliminary proposed rule language that would strengthen and
integrate onsite emergency response capabilities. The NRC will
periodically make publicly available a series of documents related to
the ongoing proposed rulemaking effort to amend its regulations
regarding onsite emergency response capabilities. The availability of
these documents provides increased awareness to interested stakeholders
and provides preparatory material for future public meetings. The NRC
does not plan to institute a public comment period for these materials
when making them publicly available.
DATES: At this time, the NRC is not soliciting public comments on the
materials identified in this document. There will be an opportunity for
public comment on the proposed rule when it is published in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0031 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information for this document. You may
access publicly available information related to this document by any
of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0031. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this final rule.
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: Jennifer Tobin, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2328; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
As a result of the events at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power
Plant in 2011, the NRC's Near-Term Task Force (NTTF) created a series
of recommendations intended to outline a path to increased readiness of
nuclear power plants to respond to severe accidents. In its report,
``Recommendations for Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The
Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi
Accident'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML111861807), the NTTF proposed
developing additional requirements to strengthen and integrate
licensees' onsite emergency response capabilities. Specifically, this
proposal, called Recommendation 8 in the NTTF report, identified four
areas of focus for onsite emergency response: accident mitigating
procedures, command and control structures, training and qualification
programs, and severe accident exercises. In response to the NTTF
report, the NRC staff developed SECY-11-0137, ``Prioritization of
Recommended Actions to be Taken in Response to Fukushima Lessons
Learned'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML11269A204). The NRC staff recommended
issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to initiate
regulatory action to address NTTF Recommendation 8. Following
Commission approval of the staff's recommendation, the NRC issued the
ANPR on April 18, 2012 (77 FR 23161), as the first step in the
rulemaking process. After receiving stakeholder comments on the ANPR,
the NRC drafted a regulatory basis with the goals of identifying any
regulatory deficiencies in the area of onsite emergency response
capabilities and developing a revised regulatory approach. The
regulatory basis was published on October 25, 2013 (78 FR 63901), at
which time, the proposed rule stage of the rulemaking process began.
II. Preliminary Proposed Rule Language
As the NRC continues its ongoing proposed rulemaking effort to
amend portions of parts 50 and 55 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC is making documents publicly available on
the Federal rulemaking Web site, www.regulations.gov, under Docket ID
NRC 2012-0031. The NRC is now making preliminary proposed rule language
that would require licensees to: (1) Have strategies and guidance for
mitigating the consequences of severe accidents; (2) integrate event
and accident mitigating procedures; (3) identify command and control
roles, responsibilities, and authorities during the progression of an
event or accident; (4) conduct related drills, exercises or both; (5)
provide training; and (6) incorporate severe accident situations in
written examinations and operating tests for all types of operators.
This preliminary proposed rule language does not represent a final
NRC staff position, nor has it been reviewed by the Commission.
Therefore, the preliminary proposed rule language may undergo
significant revision during the rulemaking process. The NRC is not
requesting public comments on the preliminary proposed rule language.
III. Petitions for Rulemaking
Included in the regulatory basis for this proposed rulemaking
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13101A324) is a discussion of a petition for
rulemaking (PRM), PRM-50-102 (76 FR 58165;
[[Page 68775]]
September 20, 2011), submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC). The NRDC requested that the NRC conduct a rulemaking to address
training and exercise requirements for severe accident mitigation
guidelines and extensive damage mitigation guidelines. The NRC
determined that the issues raised in PRM-50-102 are appropriate for
consideration and will be considered in this Onsite Emergency Response
Capabilities rulemaking.
IV. Publicly Available Documents
By making documents publicly available, the NRC seeks to inform
stakeholders of the current status of the NRC's rulemaking development
activities and to provide preparatory material for future public
meetings. The NRC is not instituting a public comment period on these
materials, but the public is encouraged to participate in related
public meetings. In addition, the public will be given opportunity to
provide comments on the proposed rule upon its publication in the
Federal Register. The NRC may post additional materials, including
other preliminary rule language, to the Federal rulemaking Web site at
http://www.regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2012-0031. The Federal
rulemaking Web site allows you to receive alerts when changes or
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the
docket folder (NRC-2012-0031); (2) click the ``Email Alert'' link; and
(3) enter your email address and select how frequently you would like
to receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly).
V. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner
that also follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or
field and the intended audience. Although regulations are exempt under
the Act, the NRC is applying the same principles to its rulemaking
documents. Therefore, the NRC has written this document, including the
preliminary proposed rule language, to be consistent with the Plain
Writing Act. There will be an opportunity for public comment on the use
of plain language when the proposed rule is published in the Federal
Register.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of November, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shana Helton,
Acting Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation .
[FR Doc. 2013-27449 Filed 11-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P