[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 224 (Monday, November 21, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 83171-83174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27944]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 71
[NRC-2016-0179]
RIN 3150-AJ85
Revisions to Transportation Safety Requirements and Compatibility
With International Atomic Energy Agency Transportation Standards
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of issues paper, public meeting, and request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering a
potential amendment to its regulations that would revise the
regulations on packaging and transporting radioactive material. The NRC
is gathering information about potential changes that may be proposed
in a subsequent rulemaking activity. The NRC is requesting public
comment on the issues paper about potential changes that is referenced
in this document. The
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NRC plans to hold a public meeting to promote full understanding of the
issues paper and to facilitate public comment.
DATES: Submit comments by January 20, 2017. 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 before this
date. A public meeting will be held December 5-6, 2016.
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-2016-0179. 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.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
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: Emma Wong, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7091; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0179 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-2016-0179.
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].
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-2016-0179 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 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
In accordance with Commission direction, the NRC has initiated a
rulemaking effort that addresses the need to make the regulations in
part 71 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material,'' compatible
with the most current revisions of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Specific Safety Requirements (SSR) No. SSR-6,
``Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material,'' (SSR-
6). The regulations in 10 CFR part 71 are based, in general, on the
specific safety requirements developed by the IAEA. The IAEA has been
revising its requirements on an approximate 10-year cycle, with the
last edition of IAEA SSR-6 published in 2012 and the current draft of
the new revision of SSR-6 expected to be published in 2018. Further, as
described below, the NRC is considering other changes to 10 CFR part 71
that are not related to SSR-6.
To facilitate discussion and public comments, the NRC has prepared
an issues paper that describes potential rulemaking issues (IAEA and
non-IAEA-related) for the next revision to 10 CFR part 71. The issues
paper will be posted at http://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NRC-2016-0179.
The issues paper was developed in coordination with the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), because the DOT and the NRC co-
regulate transportation of radioactive materials in the United States
and have historically coordinated to harmonize their respective
regulations to these IAEA revisions through the rulemaking process.
Coordination ensures that consistent regulatory standards are
maintained between the NRC's and the DOT's radioactive material
transportation regulations, and coordinated publication of any final
rules and associated regulatory guidance documents by each agency.
III. Regulatory Objectives
The NRC identified changes made in SSR-6 published in 2012 by
comparing it to the previous revision of SSR-6 published in 2009, and
then identified affected sections of 10 CFR part 71. Based on this
comparison, the NRC identified compatibility issues to potentially be
addressed through the rulemaking process. The NRC also identified
changes based on the current draft of the new revision of SSR-6, which
is expected to be published in 2018. These issues are discussed in
greater detail in the issues paper that will be posted at http://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NRC-2016-0179. The NRC identified
additional potential issues for incorporation in the rulemaking action
that are also discussed in the issues paper (i.e., changes related to
harmonization with DOT regulations and include administrative,
editorial, or clarification matters).
IV. Specific Considerations
The NRC is seeking to gauge perspectives from the public before
proceeding to the development of the proposed rule. The NRC is
particularly interested in receiving comment and supporting rationale
from the public about the potential changes in the packaging and
transportation of radioactive material requirements. The following
topics are discussed in the issues paper and will be discussed at the
public meeting:
[[Page 83173]]
Aging
Definitions
Fissile Materials
Low Specific Activity (LSA)--III
NRC-Identified Changes
Reduced External Pressure Requirement for Type A Package Test
Solar Insolation
Surface Contaminated Object (SCO)--III
Transitional Arrangements
Type C Package
UF6 Package
Specifically, the NRC is interested in public and industry comments
related to: (1) Quantitative information expressed as a realistic range
of estimated costs and benefits for the potential changes described in
the issues paper; (2) operational data about radiation exposures
(increased or reduced) that might result from implementing the
potential changes; (3) whether the potential changes are appropriate;
and (4) whether there are any additional changes that should be
considered, and if so, the supporting rationale and quantitative
information for the additional change. The NRC will consider the
stakeholders' comments to help quantify the potential impact of any
proposed changes.
The NRC will provide another opportunity for public comment in any
subsequent proposed rule that may be developed. Comments received in
response to this Federal Register document will be considered in any
subsequent rulemaking process.
V. Public Meeting
The NRC will conduct a public meeting to describe the issues paper
and answer clarifying questions from the public about the potential
changes in the packaging and transportation of radioactive material
requirements. The NRC will not be accepting verbal or written comments
at the public meeting. All comments must be submitted as indicated in
the ADDRESSES section of this document.
The meeting will be held on December 5-6, 2016, at Two White Flint
North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738, between 9:00
a.m. and 5:00 p.m. in Room T02B03. Public access to the meeting room is
through the adjacent building located at One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike.
This is a Category 3 meeting. Public participation is actively
sought for this meeting to fully engage the public in a discussion of
regulatory issues. The purpose of the meeting is for the NRC to present
the potential changes to the requirements in 10 CFR part 71.
The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with
disabilities where appropriate. If reasonable accommodation is needed
to participate in this meeting, or if a meeting notice or other
information about this meeting is needed in another format (e.g.,
Braille, large print), please notify the individual listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in this document. Determinations on
requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case
basis.
Individuals should monitor the NRC's public meeting Web page for
information about the public meeting at: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm where the telephone bridge line and
passcode for the meeting will be available. All individuals should
register their attendance for the meeting by contacting the individual
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in this document,
or by completing the webinar registration at the NRC's public meeting
Web page.
The NRC may post additional materials to the Federal rulemaking Web
site at www.regulations.gov, under Docket ID NRC-2016-0179. The Federal
rulemaking Web site allows you to receive alerts when changes or
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the
docket folder (NRC-2016-0179); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or
monthly).
VI. Cumulative Effects of Regulation (CER)
The NRC has implemented a program to address the possible
cumulative effects of regulation (CER), in the development of a
regulatory basis for a rulemaking. The CER describes the challenges
that licensees or other impacted entities (such as shippers, receivers,
carriers, and State regulatory agencies) may face while implementing
new or revised regulatory positions, programs, and requirements (e.g.,
rules, generic letters, backfits, inspections). The CER is an
organizational effectiveness challenge that results from a licensee or
impacted entity implementing a number of complex positions, programs,
or requirements within a limited implementation period and with
resources which may lack expertise to address a specific issue. The NRC
is specifically requesting comment on the cumulative effects that may
result from the potential changes in 10 CFR part 71. In developing
comments on the potential changes relative to CER, consider the
following questions:
(1) In light of any current or projected CER challenges, what
should be a reasonable effective date, compliance date, or submittal
date(s) from the time a final rule is published to the actual
implementation of new or revised requirements in 10 CFR part 71
including changes to programs, procedures, or facilities?
(2) If current or projected CER challenges exist, what should be
done to address this situation? For example if more time is required to
implement a new or revised requirement, what period of time would be
sufficient and why would such a time frame is necessary?
(3) Do other regulatory actions (e.g., orders, generic
communications, license amendment requests, and inspection findings of
a generic nature) from the NRC, DOT or other agencies influence the
implementation of a new or revised requirement?
(4) Are there unintended consequences? Does a new or revised
requirement create conditions that would be contrary to the
requirement's intent? If so, what are the consequences and how should
they be addressed?
(5) Please provide information on the costs and benefits for a new
or revised requirement. The information should be expressed as a
realistic range of estimated costs and benefits. This information would
be used for the NRC's regulatory analysis of the proposed changes.
VII. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized
manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the
Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain
Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR
31883). The NRC requests comment on this document with respect to the
clarity and effectiveness of the language used.
VIII. Rulemaking Process
The NRC does not intend to provide formal comment responses for
information provided from the public comment period on the issues
paper. The NRC will consider comments on the issues paper in the rule
development process. If the NRC develops a regulatory basis sufficient
to support a proposed rule, there will be an opportunity for additional
public comment when the draft regulatory basis and the proposed rule
are published. If supporting guidance is developed for the proposed
rule, stakeholders will have an opportunity to
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provide feedback on it as well. Alternatively, if the regulatory basis
does not provide sufficient support for a proposed rule, the NRC will
publish a Federal Register document withdrawing this rulemaking
activity and addressing the public comments received on the issues
paper.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of November, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark D. Lombard,
Director, Division of Spent Fuel Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-27944 Filed 11-18-16; 8:45 am]
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