[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 94893-94896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29930]



[[Page 94893]]

Vol. 81

Friday,

No. 247

December 23, 2016

Part XXVII





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

  Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 247 / Friday, December 23, 2016 / 
Unified Agenda  

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0186]

10 CFR Chapter I


Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Semiannual regulatory agenda.

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SUMMARY: We are publishing our semiannual regulatory agenda (the 
Agenda) in accordance with Public Law 96-354, ``The Regulatory 
Flexibility Act,'' and Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and 
Review.'' The Agenda is a compilation of all rulemaking activities on 
which we have recently completed action or have proposed or are 
considering action. We have completed 13 rulemaking activities since 
publication of our last Agenda on June 9, 2016 (81 FR 37465). This 
issuance of our Agenda contains 26 active and 23 long-term rulemaking 
activities: 1 is Economically Significant; 7 represent Other 
Significant agency priorities; 39 are Substantive, Nonsignificant 
rulemaking activities; and 2 are Administrative rulemaking activities. 
Two of the NRC's rulemaking activities impact small entities. This 
issuance also contains our annual regulatory plan, which contains 
information on some of our most important regulatory actions that we 
are considering issuing in proposed or final form during Fiscal Year 
2017. Our regulatory plan was submitted to OMB in June 2016; updates 
have been reflected in the Agenda abstract for each rulemaking. We are 
requesting comment on the rulemaking activities as identified in this 
Agenda.

DATES: Submit comments on rulemaking activities as identified in this 
Agenda by January 23, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments on any rulemaking activity in the Agenda by 
the date and methods specified in any Federal Register notice on the 
rulemaking activity. Comments received on rulemaking activities for 
which the comment period has closed will be considered if it is 
practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given 
except as to comments received on or before the closure dates specified 
in the Federal Register notice. You may submit comments on this Agenda 
through the Federal Rulemaking Web site by going to http://www.regulations.gov and searching for Docket ID NRC-2016-0186. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions on any 
rulemaking activity listed in the Agenda, contact the individual listed 
under the heading ``Agency Contact'' for that rulemaking activity.
    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: Cindy Bladey, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-3280; email: [email protected]. 
Persons outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area may call, toll-
free: 1-800-368-5642. For further information on the substantive 
content of any rulemaking activity listed in the Agenda, contact the 
individual listed under the heading ``Agency Contact'' for that 
rulemaking activity.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0186 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this document. You may obtain 
publically-available information related to this document by any of the 
following methods:
     Reginfo.gov:
    [cir] For completed rulemaking activities go to http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaHistory?showStage=completed, select 
``fall 2016 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal 
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions'' from drop down menu, and select 
``Nuclear Regulatory Commission'' from drop down menu.
    [cir] For active rulemaking activities go to http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain and select ``Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission'' from drop down menu.
    [cir] For long-term rulemaking activities go to http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain, select ``Current Long Term 
Actions'' link, and select ``Nuclear Regulatory Commission'' from drop 
down menu.
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0186.
     NRC's Public Web site: Go to http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/rulemaking-ruleforum/unified-agenda.html and select 
fall 2016.
     NRC's Public Document Room: 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-2016-0186 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 the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (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.

Introduction

    The Agenda is a compilation of all rulemaking activities on which 
an agency has recently completed action or has proposed or is 
considering action. The Agenda reports rulemaking activities in three 
major categories: Completed, active, and long-term. Completed 
rulemaking activities are those that were completed since publication 
of an agency's last Agenda; active rulemaking activities are those that 
an agency currently plans to have an Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking, a Proposed Rule, or a Final Rule issued within the next 12 
months; and long-term rulemaking activities are rulemaking activities 
under development but for which an agency does not expect to have a 
regulatory action within the 12 months after publication of the current 
edition of the Unified Agenda.
    We assign a ``Regulation Identifier Number'' (RIN) to a rulemaking 
activity when our Commission initiates a rulemaking and approves a 
rulemaking plan, or when the NRC staff begins work on a Commission 
delegated

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rulemaking \1\ that does not require a rulemaking plan. The Office of 
Management and Budget uses this number to track all relevant documents 
throughout the entire ``lifecycle'' of a particular rulemaking 
activity. We report all rulemaking activities in the Agenda that have 
been assigned a RIN and meet the definition for a completed, an active, 
or a long-term rulemaking activity.
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    \1\ For information on delegated rulemakings see ADAMS Accession 
No. ML16040A011.
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    The information contained in this Agenda is updated to reflect any 
action that has occurred on a rulemaking activity since publication of 
our last Agenda on June 9, 2016 (81 FR 37465). Specifically, the 
information in this Agenda has been updated through September 2, 2016.
    The date for the next scheduled action under the heading 
``Timetable'' is the date the next regulatory action for the rulemaking 
activity is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register. The date 
is considered tentative and is not binding on the Commission or its 
staff. The Agenda is intended to provide the public early notice and 
opportunity to participate in our rulemaking process. However, we may 
consider or act on any rulemaking activity even though it is not 
included in the Agenda.

Common Prioritization of Rulemaking

    A key part of our regulatory program is an annual review of all 
ongoing and potential rulemaking activities. In conjunction with our 
budget and long-term planning process, we develop program budget 
estimates and determine the relative priority of rulemaking activities 
using our Common Prioritization of Rulemaking (CPR) methodology (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15086A074). The results of the most current annual 
review is available on the NRC's Rulemaking Priorities Web page at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/rulemaking-ruleforum/rule-priorities.html. The CPR methodology considers four factors and 
assigns a score to each factor. Factor A includes activities that 
support the NRC's Strategic Plan goals of ensuring the safe and secure 
use of radioactive materials. Factor B includes activities that support 
the Strategic Plan cross-cutting strategies of Regulatory Effectiveness 
and Openness. Specifically, this factor considers whether the 
rulemaking activity enhances regulatory effectiveness and/or openness 
in the way that the NRC conducts regulatory activities. Factor C is a 
governmental factor representing interest to the NRC, Congress, or 
other governmental bodies. Factor D is an external factor representing 
interest to members of the public, non-governmental organizations, the 
nuclear industry, vendors, and suppliers. The overall priority is 
determined by adding the factor scores together for each rulemaking 
activity.

Section 610 Periodic Reviews Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires 
agencies to conduct a review within 10 years of promulgation of those 
regulations that have or will have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. We undertake these reviews to 
decide whether the rules should be unchanged, amended, or withdrawn. At 
this time, we do not have any rules that have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities; therefore, we have 
not included any RFA Section 610 periodic reviews in this edition of 
the Agenda. A complete listing of our regulations that impact small 
entities and related Small Entity Compliance Guides are available from 
the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/rulemaking/flexibility-act/small-entities.html.

Public Comments Received on the NRC's Unified Agenda

    The NRC did not receive any written public comments on its last 
Agenda that published on June 9, 2016 (81 FR 37465).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of September 2016.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cindy Bladey,
Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch, Division of 
Administrative Services, Office of Administration.

           Nuclear Regulatory Commission--Proposed Rule Stage
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                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
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558.......................  Revision of Fee Schedules;         3150-AJ73
                             Fee Recovery for FY 2017
                             [NRC-2016-0081].
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            Nuclear Regulatory Commission--Completed Actions
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                                                           Regulation
       Sequence No.                    Title             Identifier No.
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559.......................  Controlling the                    3150-AH18
                             Disposition of Solid
                             Materials [NRC-1999-0002].
560.......................  Variable Annual Fee                3150-AI54
                             Structure for Small
                             Modular Power Reactors
                             [NRC-2008-0664].
561.......................  Revision of Fee Schedules:         3150-AJ66
                             Fee Recovery for FY 2016
                             [NRC-2015-0223].
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC)

Proposed Rule Stage

558.  Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2017 [NRC-
2016-0081]

    Legal Authority: 31 U.S.C. 483; 42 U.S.C. 2201 ; 42 U.S.C. 2214; 42 
U.S.C. 5841
    Abstract: This rule would implement the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which requires the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission to recover approximately 90 percent of 
its budget authority in a given fiscal year, less the amounts 
appropriated from the Waste Incidental to Reprocessing and generic 
homeland security activities, through fees assessed to licensees. This 
rulemaking would amend the Commission's fee schedules for licensing, 
inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and licensees. 
The licensing and inspection fees are established under 10 CFR part 170 
and recover the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's cost of providing 
services to identifiable applicants and licensees. Examples of services 
provided by the

[[Page 94896]]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission for which 10 CFR part 170 fees are 
assessed include license application reviews, license renewals, license 
amendment reviews, and inspections. The annual fees established under 
10 CFR part 171 recover budgeted costs for generic (e.g., research and 
rulemaking) and other regulatory activities not recovered under 10 CFR 
part 170 fees.
    Timetable:

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               Action                    Date            FR Cite
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NPRM................................   01/00/17
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Michele D. Kaplan, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
Phone: 301 415-5256, Email: [email protected].
    RIN: 3150-AJ73

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC)

Completed Actions

559. Controlling the Disposition of Solid Materials [NRC-1999-0002]

    Legal Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2201; 42 U.S.C. 5841
    Abstract: This rule would add radiological criteria for controlling 
the disposition of solid materials that have no, or very small amounts 
of, residual radioactivity resulting from licensed operations, and 
which originate in restricted or impacted areas of NRC-licensed 
facilities. The NRC staff provided a draft proposed rule package on 
Controlling the Disposition of Solid Materials to the Commission on 
March 31, 2005, which the Commission disapproved (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML051520285). The rulemaking package included a summary of stakeholder 
comments (NUREG/CR-6682), Supplement 1 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML003754410). The Commission's decision was based on the fact that the 
Agency is currently faced with several high priority and complex tasks, 
that the current approach to review specific cases on an individual 
basis is fully protective of public health and safety, and that the 
immediate need for this rule has changed due to the shift in timing for 
reactor decommissioning. The Commission has discontinued action on this 
rulemaking.
    Completed:

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               Reason                    Date            FR Cite
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Discontinued........................   07/29/16  81 FR 49863
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Torre Taylor, Phone: 301 415-7900, Email: 
[email protected].
    RIN: 3150-AH18

560. Variable Annual Fee Structure for Small Modular Power Reactors 
[NRC-2008-0664]

    Legal Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2201; 42 U.S.C. 5841
    Abstract: This rule would amend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 
regulations governing annual fees to establish a variable annual fee 
structure for power reactors based on licensed power limits.
    Completed:

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               Reason                    Date            FR Cite
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Final Rule..........................   05/24/16  81 FR 32617
Final Rule Effective................   06/23/16
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Michele D. Kaplan, Phone: 301 415-5256, Email: 
[email protected].
    RIN: 3150-AI54

561. Revision of Fee Schedules: Fee Recovery for FY 2016 [NRC-2015-
0223]

    Legal Authority: 31 U.S.C. 483; 42 U.S.C. 2201; 42 U.S.C. 2214; 42 
U.S.C. 5841
    Abstract: This rule amends the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
licensing, inspection, special project, and annual fees charged to its 
applicants and licensees and, for the first time, the NRC is proposing 
to recover its costs when it responds to third-party demands for 
information in litigation where the United States is not a party 
(``Touhy requests''). These amendments are necessary to implement the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 as amended (OBRA-90), which 
requires the NRC to recover approximately 90 percent of its annual 
budget through fees.
    Completed:

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               Reason                    Date            FR Cite
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Final Rule Published................   06/24/16  81 FR 41171
Final Rule Effective................   08/23/16
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    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes.
    Agency Contact: Michele D. Kaplan, Phone: 301 415-5256, Email: 
[email protected].
    RIN: 3150-AJ66

[FR Doc. 2016-29930 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
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