[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 140 (Thursday, July 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47443-47444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17327]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2016-0146]
NRC Vision and Strategy for Non-Light Water Reactor Mission
Readiness
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft document; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting
public comment on a draft document, ``NRC Vision and Strategy: Safely
Achieving Effective and Efficient Non-Light Water Reactor Mission
Readiness,'' Revision 1. The draft document provides the NRC's vision,
mission, strategic goal, and strategic objectives for non-light water
reactors (non-LWRs). Supporting strategies and contributing actions
necessary to reach the objectives are also described in the draft
document. The NRC encourages and welcomes public comments that can help
it achieve mission readiness for these types of reactors.
DATES: Submit comments by September 19, 2016. 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:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0146. 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.
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, 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: Michael S. Jones, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-0189, 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-2016-0146 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. 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-2016-0146.
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
NRC's draft document is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML16139A812.
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-2016-0146 in 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 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 into ADAMS.
II. Discussion
The NRC's mission is to license and regulate the Nation's civilian
use of radioactive materials to protect public health and safety,
promote the common defense and security, and protect the environment.
As the NRC prepares to review and regulate a new generation of non-
LWRs, a vision and strategy has been developed to assure the NRC's
readiness to efficiently and effectively conduct its mission for these
technologies. The NRC has prepared a draft document to guide these
mission readiness preparations and is now seeking comments from the
public so that the agency may benefit from a wide range of stakeholder
input as the non-LWR vision and strategy is finalized.
The domestic and international non-LWR industries have changed
significantly since the last U.S. commercial non-LWR was shut down in
1989 (Fort St. Vrain, a high-temperature gas--cooled reactor). The NRC
now operates in an environment where potential non-LWR applicants have
a wide and varied range of technical, business, and regulatory
experience. Additionally, the non-LWR industry has become globalized,
and commercial non-LWR plants are being designed, constructed, and
operated abroad. This international activity provides opportunities for
information exchanges between the NRC and its international
counterparts about non-LWR operating experience, international codes
and standards, and computer modeling techniques and programs.
The NRC could review and license a non-LWR design today, if needed.
The agency needs to be effective and efficient as it conducts its
safety,
[[Page 47444]]
security, and environmental protection mission, without imposing
unnecessary regulatory burden. This requires the NRC to consider the
effects of a more dynamic domestic environment and a globalized non-LWR
industry. Furthermore, the NRC recognizes the benefits of having a
flexible regulatory framework, allowing potential applicants to select
a best-fit path towards regulatory reviews and decisions. Examples of
these flexibilities are described in the draft document.
The vision and strategy described in the draft document, once
executed, will achieve the goal of assuring the NRC's readiness to
effectively and efficiently review and regulate non-LWRs, while still
protecting public health and safety, promoting the common defense and
security, and protecting the environment. The strategy has three
strategic objectives: Enhancing technical readiness, optimizing
regulatory readiness, and optimizing communication. The steps needed to
reach the readiness target are described in a series of supporting
strategies and contributing activities, to be executed during near-
term, mid-term, and long-term timeframes. Example schedules that help
inform the vision and strategy implementation with potential non-LWR
development, application, construction, and operation timeframes are
also discussed in the draft document.
The NRC's approach under this non-LWR vision and strategy consists
of two phases. Phase 1 is the conceptual planning phase used to lay out
the vision and strategy, gather public feedback, and finalize the NRC's
approach. Phase 2 includes detailed internal work planning efforts and
task execution. Both phases began in 2016. Phase 1 is expected to be
completed in 2016, and Phase 2 has a target completion date of not
later than 2025.
The NRC's principles of good regulation--independence, openness,
efficiency, clarity, and reliability--are embodied in this vision and
strategy. While the NRC does not promote any particular reactor
technology, its responsibilities as a regulator include working
effectively with all stakeholders, clearly communicating its
requirements, and providing regulatory information and feedback in a
timely manner. Achieving this non-LWR readiness goal should also
provide significant regulatory certainty to the non-LWR industry,
potential applicants, and other stakeholders.
The NRC encourages all interested parties to comment on the draft
non-LWR vision and strategy document, particularly on the near-term
non-LWR regulatory review options. Stakeholder feedback will be
valuable in helping the NRC develop a final non-LWR vision and strategy
that has the benefit of considering the many views of the public and
the regulated industry. The NRC will consider the comments submitted
and may use them, as appropriate, in the preparation of the final
document; however, the NRC does not anticipate responding to individual
comments.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of July 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anna Bradford,
Chief, Advanced Reactor and Policy Branch, Division of Engineering,
Infrastructure, and Advanced Reactors, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-17327 Filed 7-20-16; 8:45 am]
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