[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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