[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71458-71459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28418]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0255]


Review of Security Exemptions/License Amendment Requests for 
Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment.

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SUMMARY:  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on its draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) NSIR/DSP-ISG-
03, ``Review of Security Exemptions/License Amendment Requests for 
Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants.'' This document would provide 
guidance for NRC staff to ensure clear and consistent reviews of a 
licensee's request for licensing actions and amendments, the use of 
alternative measures, and requests for exemption from security 
regulations for nuclear power reactors after permanent cessation of 
plant operations.

DATES: Submit comments by January 8, 2015. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0255. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Garner, Office of Nuclear 
Security and Incident Response, telephone: 301-287-0929, email: 
[email protected]; Margaret Cervera, Office of Nuclear Security 
and Incident Response, telephone: 301-287-3659, email: 
[email protected]; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0255 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0255.
     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 
draft ISG is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14294A170.
     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-2014-0255 in the subject line of your 
comment submission.
    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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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 into ADAMS.

II. Background

    Currently, the power reactor physical security requirements in Part 
73 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and the NRC 
security orders that apply to licensees of operating nuclear power 
reactors also apply to decommissioning power reactor licensees, since 
the 10 CFR part 50 license is retained after permanent cessation of 
operations and removal of fuel from the reactor vessel. The NRC 
recognizes that licensees that have permanently ceased operations and 
have no fuel in the reactor vessel present a significantly reduced risk 
to public health and safety than operating reactors. Because of the 
lower comparative risk from a decommissioning power reactor, licensees 
typically make a case for exemptions on the basis that the application 
of a specific regulation in the particular circumstance of 
decommissioning plants is not necessary to achieve the underlying 
purpose of the regulations and orders.
    Licensees have historically used the NRC's existing license 
amendment and exemption processes to propose tailored security 
requirements for site-specific conditions at a decommissioning 
facility. Licensees must follow the process outlined in 10 CFR 73.5 
when applying for exemptions from security regulations.
    This draft ISG would provide guidance to NRC staff in processing 
exemption requests and license amendments from the security 
requirements for nuclear power reactors that are undergoing the process 
of decommissioning. Use of this draft ISG would result in consistent 
and timely reviews of requests for exemption from

[[Page 71459]]

certain security regulations. Annex 1, as noted in the description of 
Table 1 of this draft ISG, ``Physical Security Licensing Actions for 
Decommissioning Nuclear Power Facilities,'' is a standalone Safeguards 
document. Annex 1 is an internal cross reference document containing 
site-specific security information regarding previous licensing actions 
for licensees undergoing decommissioning. This document will not be 
published or otherwise made available for comment.
    The NRC staff is requesting public comment on the draft ISG. After 
the NRC considers any public comments, it will issue a Federal Register 
notice making a determination regarding a final ISG.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of November, 2014.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christiana Lui,
Director, Division of Security Policy, Office of Nuclear Security and 
Incident Response.
[FR Doc. 2014-28418 Filed 12-1-14; 8:45 am]
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