[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 156 (Friday, August 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53507-53508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19195]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2016-0160]
Termination of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Reactors
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; withdrawal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.86, ``Termination of Operating Licenses for
Nuclear Reactors.'' This RG is being withdrawn because there is more
up-to-date guidance in other NRC regulatory documents, making RG 1.86
obsolete.
DATES: The effective date of the withdrawal of RG 1.86 is August 12,
2016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0160 when contacting the,
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publically-available information related to this document,
using the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0160. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individuals 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 Document 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 in this notice (if
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a
document is referenced. The basis for the withdrawal of RG 1.86 is
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16099A267.
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.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zahira Cruz, Office of Nuclear
Materials Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-3808; email:
[email protected], and Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2493; email:
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC staff issued RG 1.86 in June 1974,
to provide guidance for termination of licenses for nuclear power
plants, including the decommissioning of reactors. In addition, RG 1.86
includes information in Table 1, ``Acceptable Surface Contamination
Levels,'' regarding acceptable average and maximum surface
contamination criteria.
The guidance in RG 1.86 is no longer needed because it has been
updated and replaced by NRC's regulations and other regulatory
guidance. This guidance can be found in RG 1.179, ``Standard Formant
and Content of License Termination Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors''
(ADAMS Accession No. ML110490419); RG 1.184, ``Decommissioning of
Nuclear Power Reactors'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13144A840); and RG
1.185, ``Standard Format and Content for Post-Shutdown Decommissioning
Activities Report'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13140A038), which provide
the NRC staff guidance on implementing the NRC's regulations related to
decommissioning and license termination requirements as amended in 1996
and 1997, respectively.
In addition, various NUREGs, including NUREG-1700, ``Standard
Review Plan for Evaluating Nuclear Power Reactor License Termination
Plans'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML003713038; and Volume 2,
``Characterization, Survey, and Determination of Radiological
Criteria'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML032530405), of NUREG-1757,
``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance,'' provide up-to-date
information that aligns with RGs 1.179, 1.184, and 1.185. Specifically,
NUREG 1757, Volume 2, Revision 1, includes: (1) Tables of screening
criteria (concentrations) applicable to surface contamination of
buildings and to surface soils (Tables H.1 and H.2); and (2) guidance
on determining site-specific criteria for buildings and soils remaining
onsite at license termination (Chapter 5 and Appendix I).
Also, RG 8.21, ``Health Physics Surveys for Byproduct Material at
NRC-Licensed Processing and Manufacturing Plants'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML003739577); RG 8.23, ``Radiation Safety Surveys at Medical
Institutions'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML003739603); and RG 8.30, ``Health
Physics Surveys in Uranium Recovery Facilities'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML021260524), provide information similar to that included in Table 1
of RG 1.86. Specifically, Table 1 in RG 1.86 is now included in RG 8.23
and is titled, ``Table 3 Acceptable Surface Contamination Levels for
Uncontrolled Release of Equipment.''
Because RG 1.86 is no longer needed, the NRC is withdrawing RG
1.86. Withdrawal of a RG means that the guide no longer provides useful
information or has been superseded by other guidance, technological
innovations, congressional actions, or other events. The withdrawal of
RG 1.86 does not alter any prior or existing NRC licensing approval or
the acceptability of licensee commitments to RG 1.86.
[[Page 53508]]
Although RG 1.86 is withdrawn, current licensees may continue to use
it, and withdrawal does not affect any existing licenses or agreements.
However, RG. 1.86 should not be used in future requests or applications
for NRC licensing actions.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of August, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-19195 Filed 8-11-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P