[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58811-58812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23282]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0237]


Event Reporting Guidelines

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: NUREG; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing NUREG-
1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1, ``Event Reporting Guidelines: 10 CFR 
50.72(b)(3)(xiii).'' This final NUREG-1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1 
endorses the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 13-01, ``Reportable Action 
Levels for Loss of Emergency Preparedness Capabilities,'' dated July 
2014. NEI 13-01 provides specific guidance for reporting to the NRC any 
event that results in a major loss of emergency assessment capability, 
offsite response capability, or offsite communications capability.

DATES: The final NUREG is effective on September 30, 2014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0237 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain 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-2011-0237.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain 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 final NUREG-1022, 
Revision 3, Supplement 1 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML14267A447. NEI 13-01, dated July 2014, is also available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML14197A206.
     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.

II. Background

    The NRC staff issued a Federal Register notice on May 2, 2014 (79 
FR 25158), that requested comments on a draft NUREG-1022, Revision 3, 
Supplement 1. The NRC received one public comment from the Nuclear 
Energy Institute (NEI). A disposition of the comments may be found in 
Appendix A of NUREG-1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1. The final NUREG-
1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1 will become effective immediately.
    NUREG-1022, Revision 3, ``Event Reporting Guidelines: 10 CFR 50.72 
and 50.73,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13032A220) contains guidelines that 
the NRC considers acceptable for use in meeting the requirements of 
Sec. Sec.  50.72 and 50.73 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR). The NRC uses the information reported under 10 
CFR 50.72 and 10 CFR 50.73 in responding to emergencies, monitoring 
ongoing events, confirming licensing bases, studying potentially 
generic safety problems, assessing trends and patterns of operational 
experience, monitoring performance, identifying precursors of more 
significant events, and providing operational experience to the 
industry. Sections 1 and 2 of NUREG-1022, Revision 3 contain general 
guidance applicable to all event reports. Section 3 of NUREG-1022, 
Revision 3 contains guidance for each of the specific reporting 
criterion found within the rule. Section 4 of NUREG-1022 Revision 3 
contains additional general guidance applicable to reports submitted 
under 10 CFR 50.72. Section 5 of NUREG-1022, Revision 3 contains 
additional general guidance applicable to reports submitted under 10 
CFR 50.73.
    Section 3.2.13 of NUREG-1022, Revision 3 provides guidance for 
reporting to the NRC the events listed under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii): 
any event that results in a major loss of emergency assessment 
capability, offsite response capability, or offsite communications 
capability. Although some of the guidance is specific, much of the 
guidance is general in nature. In many areas, the decision to report 
under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii) involves a licensee's use of engineering 
judgment. A licensee's use of engineering judgment can result in 
inconsistent application. During public meetings conducted on April 3, 
2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13100A390), and on May 7, 2013 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13109A228), the NRC discussed with external 
stakeholders, including the NEI, what specific considerations might be 
evaluated against when the NRC determines if acceptable engineering 
judgment was applied by a licensee. NEI 13-01, ``Reportable Action 
Levels for Loss of Emergency Preparedness Capabilities,'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13281A794) was then drafted with the purpose of 
providing a detailed uniform approach to reporting under 10 CFR 
50.72(b)(3)(xiii). By letter dated October 8, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13281A780), NEI requested NRC's endorsement of NEI 13-01.
    On May 2, 2014 (79 FR 25158), the NRC proposed to endorse NEI 13-01 
dated October 2013 via a Draft for Comment NUREG-1022, Revision 3, 
Supplement 1 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14114A384). The NRC received five 
comments from NEI (ADAMS Accession No. ML14149A243). On July 3, 2014, a 
public meeting was held to discuss the comments (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14192B164). A summary of how the five comments were dispositioned is 
found in Appendix A of NUREG-1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1.
    NEI 13-01 was then revised to reflect the discussions held on July 
3, 2014. By letter dated July 16, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14197A205), NEI requested NRC endorsement of NEI 13-01 dated July 
2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14197A206). NEI 13-01 provides more 
specific guidance for reporting under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii) and, as 
a result, reduces the need for engineering judgment. It should also be 
noted that some of the specific guidance found in NEI 13-01 differs 
from certain specific positions found in Section 3.2.13 of NUREG 1022, 
Revision 3.
    NUREG-1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1, ``Event Reporting Guidelines: 
10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii)'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML14267A447) endorses 
NEI 13-01, ``Reportable Action Levels for Loss of Emergency 
Preparedness Capabilities,'' dated July 2014, as an acceptable 
alternative to guidance found in Section 3.2.13 of NUREG-1022, Revision 
3, for reporting considerations associated with 10 CFR 
50.72(b)(3)(xiii).

[[Page 58812]]

    Since Sections 1, 2, and 4 of NUREG-1022, Revision 3 contain 
general guidance for event reporting that would still be applicable to 
reports submitted under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii), these sections are 
not considered superseded by licensee adoption of NEI 13-01.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    NUREG-1022, Revision 3, Supplement 1, provides guidance on the 
method that the NRC staff finds acceptable for a licensee to meet the 
information and collection requirements of 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii). 
The issuance of this guidance is not backfitting, as the term is 
defined in 10 CFR 50.109, or inconsistent with the issue finality 
provisions on 10 CFR part 52, because information collection and 
reporting requirements are not included within the scope of the NRC's 
backfitting protections or part 52 finality provisions.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of September 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott A. Morris,
Director, Division of Inspections and Regional Support, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2014-23282 Filed 9-29-14; 8:45 am]
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