[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41315-41316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16513]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2014-0021]
Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle Facilities
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a new
regulatory guide (RG) 3.75, ``Corrective Action Programs for Fuel Cycle
Facilities.'' This RG describes programmatic elements that the staff of
the NRC considers acceptable when developing corrective action programs
for fuel cycle facilities that are licensed under the NRC's
regulations.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0021 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0021. 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 notice (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced. Revision 0 of RG 3.75 is available in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML14139A321. The regulatory analysis may be found in
[[Page 41316]]
ADAMS under Accession No. ML14139A316.
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.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sabrina Atack, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-287-9075, email:
[email protected]; and Steve Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research; telephone: 301-415-7000, [email protected]. Both are
staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is issuing a new guide in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide''
series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the
public information such as 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.
Regulatory Guide 3.75 describes programmatic elements that the
staff of the NRC considers acceptable when developing corrective action
programs for fuel cycle facilities that are licensed under part 40 of
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic
Licensing of Source Material'' or 10 CFR part 70, ``Domestic Licensing
of Special Nuclear Material'' or holders of certificates of compliance
or approvals of a compliance plan for gaseous diffusion plants under 10
CFR part 76, ``Certification of Gaseous Diffusion Plants.''
II. Additional Information
Regulatory Guide 3.75 was issued with a temporary identification as
draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-3044. Draft regulatory guide, DG-3044,
was published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2014 (79 FR
8511), for a 30-day public comment period. The public comment period
closed on March 14, 2014. Public comments on DG-3044 and the staff's
responses to the public comments are available in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML14139A318.
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 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. Backfitting and Issue Finality
This RG describes programmatic elements that the staff considers
acceptable for corrective action programs (CAPs) for fuel cycle
facilities licensed under 10 CFR parts 40, or 70, and gaseous diffusion
plants holding certificates of compliance under 10 CFR part 76.
Applicants for such facilities and certificates of compliance, as well
as existing licensees and holders of certificate of compliance, may use
the guidance in developing, implementing or revising CAPs. Licensees
may choose to develop and implement CAPs that meet the guidance in this
RG for the purpose of applying Section 2.3.2 of the NRC Enforcement
Policy. The NRC staff may find methods or solutions that differ from
those described in this RG acceptable for the purpose of applying
Section 2.3.2 of the NRC Enforcement Policy if those methods or
solutions effectively implement controls to identify, document, and
correct conditions adverse to safety and security.
Applicants for, and holders of fuel cycle licenses under part 40
are not subject to backfitting protection, inasmuch as the NRC's
regulations do not provide backfitting protection to part 40 applicants
or licensees.
This RG does not constitute backfitting for any fuel cycle facility
applicants or licensees subject to backfitting protection under part
70, or applicants for or holders of certificates of compliance for
gaseous diffusion plants under part 76. No part 70 licensee or holder
of a part 76 certificates of compliance is required to comply with the
guidance, and a licensee or holder of a certificate of compliance is
free to demonstrate that its corrective action program is effective in
identifying, documenting, and correcting conditions adverse to safety
and security in order to be within the purview of Section 2.3.2 of the
NRC Enforcement Policy. With respect to applicants or potential
applicants for part 70 licenses and part 76 certificates of compliance,
such entities are not protected by the backfitting provisions in parts
70 and 76. Backfitting is intended to protect the reasonable
expectations of certain entities who have received NRC regulatory
approvals (e.g., a license), and was not intended to apply to NRC
actions which substantially change the expectations of current and
future applicants.
This RG does not apply to any nuclear power reactors subject to 10
CFR parts 50 or 52. Therefore, backfitting considerations under 10 CFR
50.109 or issue finality considerations under 10 CFR part 52 are not
applicable to this RG.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9 day of July, 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2014-16513 Filed 7-14-14; 8:45 am]
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