[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]


 ========================================================================
 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. 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]
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