[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 208 (Tuesday, October 28, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64149-64151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25540]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 37
[Docket No. PRM-37-1; NRC-2014-0172]
Physical Protection of Category 1 and Category 2 Quantities of
Radioactive Material
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing and request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a
petition for rulemaking from Anthony R. Pietrangelo on behalf of the
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI or the petitioner) dated June 12, 2014,
requesting that the NRC amend its regulations to ``remove unnecessary
and burdensome requirements on licensees with established physical
security programs.'' The petition was docketed by the NRC on July 17,
2014, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-37-1. The NRC is requesting
public comments on this petition for rulemaking.
DATES: Submit comments by January 12, 2015. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0172. 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 document.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and
[[Page 64150]]
Submitting Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Merri L. Horn, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7000, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0172 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this petition for rulemaking.
You may obtain publicly-available information related to this petition
by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0172.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2014-0172 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.
II. The Petitioner
The petition states that ``NEI is the organization responsible for
establishing unified nuclear industry policy on matters affecting the
nuclear energy industry, including the regulatory aspects of generic
operational and technical issues.'' The petition further states that
``NEI's members include all entities licensed to operate commercial
nuclear power plants in the United States, nuclear plant designers,
major architect/engineering firms, fuel fabrication facilities, nuclear
material licensees, and other organizations and individuals involved in
the nuclear energy industry. NEI asserts that it is responsible for
coordinating the combined efforts of licensed facilities on matters
involving generic NRC regulatory policy issues and generic operational
and technical regulatory issues.''
III. The Petition
Anthony R. Pietrangelo, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear
Officer, NEI, submitted a PRM dated June 12, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML14199A570), requesting that the NRC amend its regulations regarding
``Physical Protection of Category 1 and Category 2 Quantities of
Radioactive Material.'' The NRC has determined that the petition meets
the threshold sufficiency requirements for a petition for rulemaking
under Sec. 2.802 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ``Petition for rulemaking,'' and the petition has been docketed
as PRM-37-1. The NRC is requesting public comment on the petition for
rulemaking.
IV. Discussion of the Petition
The NRC's regulations at 10 CFR part 37, ``Physical Protection of
Category 1 and Category 2 Quantities of Radioactive Material,'' require
licensees that possess Category 1 and Category 2 quantities of
radioactive material to secure and protect the materials from theft or
diversion. Part 37 contains a provision, 10 CFR 37.11, which provides
for ``Specific Exemptions.'' The provision in 10 CFR 37.11(b), states
that ``[a]ny licensee's NRC-licensed activities are exempt from the
requirements of subpart B [`Background Investigations and Access
Authorization Program'] and subpart C [`Physical Protection
Requirements During Use'] of this part to the extent that its
activities are included in a security plan required by part 73 of this
chapter.'' The provision in 10 CFR 37.11(c) allows for certain waste
material to be subject to a different set of requirements as outlined
in 10 CFR 37.11(c)(1)-(4).
The petitioner is requesting that the rule be amended to clarify
and expand the exemptions in 10 CFR 37.11 in several ways. First, the
petitioner is requesting that the exemptions provide for a more direct
recognition of the extent to which facilities with robust 10 CFR part
73 security programs already meet the objectives set forth in part 37
and inherently protect byproduct material. Additionally, the petitioner
requests NRC codify certain provisions contained in an Enforcement
Guidance Memorandum (EGM) ``Interim Guidance for Dispositioning 10 CFR
Part 37 Violations with Respect to Large Components and Robust
Structures Containing Category 1 or Category 2 Quantities of Material
at Power Reactor Facilities Licensed Under 10 CFR Parts 50 and 52''
issued by the NRC on March 13, 2014 (ML14056A151).
Specifically, the proposed amendments to part 37 would include
adding definitions to 10 CFR 37.5 for Large Component and Robust
Structure. The petitioner also proposes amendments to 10 CFR 37.11(b)
that the petitioner claims will remove ``undue regulatory burden on
licensees by recognizing the extent to which facilities with robust 10
CFR Part 73 security programs already meet the objectives set forth in
Part 37 and inherently protect byproduct material.'' The petitioner
further recommends revisions to 10 CFR 37.11(c) that the petitioner
claims would help ``to improve its clarity, provide greater regulatory
certainty, and ensure licensees implement Part 37 consistent with NRC's
intent and expressed regulatory guidance.'' Moreover, the petitioner
recommends adding a new paragraph, 10 CFR 37.11(d), to codify key
elements of the EGM. Specifically, the proposed 10 CFR 37.11(d) would
exempt large components and material stored in robust structures from
part 37's requirements.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of October 2014.
[[Page 64151]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard J. Laufer,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2014-25540 Filed 10-27-14; 8:45 am]
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