[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 136 (Thursday, July 16, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42067-42068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17442]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 136 / Thursday, July 16, 2015 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 42067]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM-50-111; NRC-2015-0124]
Power Reactor In-Core Monitoring
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a
petition for rulemaking (PRM) requesting that the NRC amend its
``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities''
regulations to require all nuclear power plant (NPP) licensees to use
in-core monitoring devices at different elevations and radial positions
throughout the reactor core. The PRM was submitted by Mr. Mark Edward
Leyse (the petitioner) on March 13, 2015, docketed by the NRC on April
24, 2015, and assigned Docket No. PRM-50-111. The NRC is examining the
issues raised in this PRM to determine whether they should be
considered in rulemaking. The NRC is not requesting public comment on
this PRM at this time.
DATES: The NRC received the PRM on March 13, 2015, and docketed it on
April 24, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0124 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information for this PRM. You may obtain
publicly-available information related to this PRM by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0124. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
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 (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room 01-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Natreon Jordan, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone 301-415-7410; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. The Petitioner
On March 13, 2015, Mr. Mark Edward Leyse, a consultant for public
interest groups and the author and co-author of papers, filed PRM-50-
111 with the Commission (ADAMS Accession No. ML15113B143). In PRM-50-
111, Mr. Leyse requests that the NRC amend its ``Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities'' regulations to require all NPP
licensees to use in-core monitoring devices at different elevations and
radial positions throughout the reactor core.
Mr. Leyse previously submitted a similar PRM (PRM-50-105, ADAMS
Accession No. ML12065A215) on February 28, 2012. Although only
pertaining to pressurized water reactors, this earlier PRM requested
that the NRC require all holders of operating licenses for NPPs to
operate NPPs with in-core thermocouples at different elevations and
radial positions throughout the reactor core to enable NPP operators to
accurately measure a large range of in-core temperatures in NPP steady-
state and transient conditions. The NRC docketed and noticed Mr.
Leyse's earlier PRM, in part based upon the NRC's determination that he
had demonstrated sufficient interest in the subject matters raised in
PRM-50-105 (77 FR 30435; May 23, 2012). Mr. Leyse's March 13, 2015, PRM
provides a more extensive description of himself and his interest in
the subject matter of the PRM, as compared with the discussion he
provided in PRM-50-105.
II. The Petition
The petitioner requests that the NRC amend part 50 of Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and
Utilization Facilities,'' to require all NPP licensees to use in-core
monitoring devices at different elevations and radial positions
throughout the reactor core. The petitioner states that in the event of
a severe accident, ``in-core temperature-monitoring devices would
enable NPP operators to accurately measure in-core temperatures,
providing crucial information to help them track the progression of
core damage and manage the accident.''
The petitioner asserts that the in-core monitoring devices would
``enable NPP operators to accurately measure a large range of in-core
temperatures in steady-state and transient conditions.'' The petitioner
further states that, in the event of a severe accident, the in-core
monitoring devices would give NPP operators crucial information to
``help them track the progression of core damage and manage the
accident.'' The petitioner states also that by improving the monitoring
of in-core temperatures, the in-core monitoring devices ``could
actually increase the electrical production of NPPs.'' For additional
information, see the PRM in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15113B143.
III. Conclusion
The NRC has determined that the PRM meets the threshold sufficiency
requirements for a PRM under Sec. 2.802, ``Petition for rulemaking,''
and it has been docketed as PRM-50-111.
The NRC will examine the issues raised in PRM-50-111 to determine
whether they should be considered in rulemaking. The NRC is not
requesting public comment on PRM-50-111 at this time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of July, 2015.
[[Page 42068]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-17442 Filed 7-15-15; 8:45 am]
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