[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 238 (Thursday, December 11, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73646-73647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29026]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0256]


Aquatic Environmental Studies for Nuclear Power Stations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-4023, ``Aquatic 
Environmental Studies for Nuclear Power Stations.'' This DG provides 
technical guidance for aquatic environmental studies and analyses 
supporting decisions related to nuclear power stations by NRC regarding 
major Federal actions and compliance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969.

DATES: Submit comments by February 9, 2015. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specified subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0256. 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.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN 06A-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Whited, Office of New Reactors, 
telephone: 301-415-1154, email: [email protected] and Edward 
O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-251-
7455, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-000

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0256 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly-available information related to this document, by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0256. 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 DG is electronically 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13186A085.
     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-2014-0256 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 in comment submissions 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 in their comment submissions 
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. 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. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public such information as methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific

[[Page 73647]]

parts of the NRC'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.
    The DG, entitled, ``Aquatic Environmental Studies for Nuclear Power 
Stations,'' is a proposed new regulatory guide, and it is temporarily 
identified by its task number, DG-4023. The DG provides technical 
guidance for aquatic environmental studies and analyses supporting 
decisions related to nuclear power stations by NRC. For purposes of DG-
4023, the term ``aquatic'' encompasses freshwater, estuarine, and 
marine environments. The DG addresses wetlands containing submerged 
aquatic vegetation but does not address wetlands also containing 
emergent vegetation. Instead, NRC's Regulatory Guide 4.11, 
``Terrestrial Environmental Studies for Nuclear Power Stations,'' 
addresses such wetland features, along with the terrestrial 
environment. Although the NRC is issuing separate regulatory guides 
addressing terrestrial and aquatic environmental studies, it recognizes 
that aquatic and terrestrial ecological issues often overlap and are 
often interrelated.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this DG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting 
as defined in Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) and would not otherwise be 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As 
discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of this DG, the NRC has no 
current intention to impose this DG, if finalized, on holders of 
current operating licenses or combined licenses.
    This DG, if finalized, may be applied to applications for 
construction permits, operating licenses, early site permits, combines 
licenses and limited work authorizations docketed by the NRC as of the 
date of issuance of the final regulatory guide, as well as future 
applications for construction permits, operating licenses, early site 
permits, combines licenses and limited work authorizations submitted 
after the issuance of the final regulatory guide. Such action would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) and would not 
be inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in 10 CFR 
part 52, inasmuch as such applicants or potential applicants are not 
within the scope of entities protected by the Backfit Rule or the 
relevant issue finality provisions in part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of December, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2014-29026 Filed 12-10-14; 8:45 am]
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