[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 95410-95412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31372]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 20 and 50
[NRC-2009-0279 and NRC-2014-0044]
RIN 3150-AJ29 and RIN 3150-AJ38
Rulemaking Activities Being Discontinued by the NRC
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Rulemaking activities; discontinuation.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing
the rulemaking activities associated with potential changes to its
radiation protection and reactor effluents regulations. The purpose of
this action is to inform members of the public that these rulemaking
activities are being discontinued and to provide a brief discussion of
the NRC's decision to discontinue them. These rulemaking activities
will no longer be reported in the NRC's portion of the Unified Agenda
of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Unified Agenda).
DATES: Effective December 28, 2016, the rulemaking activities discussed
in this document are discontinued.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket IDs NRC-2009-0279 and NRC-2014-0044
when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding
this document. You may obtain publicly-available information related to
this document using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket IDs NRC-2009-0279 and NRC-
2014-0044. 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 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 in this document
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that a document is referenced.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Lauron, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-2736, email: [email protected]; or
Cindy Flannery, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards,
telephone: 301-415-0223, email: [email protected]. Both are staff
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Process for Discontinuing Rulemaking Activities
III. Radiation Protection (RIN 3150-AJ29; NRC-2009-0279)
IV. Reactor Effluents (RIN 3150-AJ38; NRC-2014-0044)
V. Conclusion
I. Background
In SECY-16-0009, ``Recommendations Resulting from the Integrated
Prioritization and Re-Baselining of Agency Activities,'' dated January
31, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16028A208), the NRC staff requested
Commission approval to implement recommendations on work to be shed,
de-prioritized, or performed with fewer resources. Two of the items
listed to be shed (i.e., discontinued) were the rulemakings that would
have amended the radiation protection regulations in part 20 of title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), and the reactor
effluents regulations in 10 CFR part 50, appendix I. In the Staff
Requirements Memorandum (SRM) for SECY-16-0009, dated April 13, 2016
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16104A158), the Commission approved
discontinuing the two rulemaking activities and directed the NRC staff
to publish a Federal Register notice to inform the public that the
rulemakings are being discontinued.
A discussion of the NRC's decision to discontinue these two
rulemaking activities is provided in Sections III and IV of this
document.
II. Process for Discontinuing Rulemaking Activities
When the NRC staff identifies a rulemaking activity that can be
discontinued, the NRC staff requests approval from the Commission to
discontinue it. The Commission provides its decision in an SRM. If the
Commission approves discontinuing the rulemaking activity, the NRC
staff will inform the public of the Commission's decision.
A rulemaking activity may be discontinued at any stage in the
rulemaking process. For a rulemaking activity that has received public
comments, the NRC staff will consider those comments before
discontinuing the rulemaking activity; however, the NRC staff will not
provide individual comment responses.
[[Page 95411]]
After Commission approval to discontinue a rulemaking activity, the
NRC staff will update the next edition of the Unified Agenda to
indicate that the rulemaking is discontinued. The rulemaking activity
will appear in the completed actions section of that edition of the
Unified Agenda but will not appear in future editions.
III. Radiation Protection (RIN 3150-AJ29; NRC-2009-0279)
The NRC staff provided an analysis of the potential need to update
the radiation protection regulation in SECY-08-0197, ``Options to
Revise Radiation Protection Regulations and Guidance with Respect to
the 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on
Radiological Protection,'' dated December 18, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML091310193), to the Commission. SECY-08-0197 presented the regulatory
options of more closely aligning the NRC's radiation protection
regulatory framework (primarily set forth in 10 CFR part 20) with the
2007 recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological
Protection (ICRP) contained in ICRP Publication 103. In the SRM for
SECY-08-0197, dated April 2, 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML090920103),
the Commission approved the NRC staff's recommendation to begin
engagement with stakeholders and interested parties to initiate
development of the technical basis \1\ for a possible revision of the
NRC's radiation protection regulations, as appropriate and where
scientifically justified, to achieve greater alignment with the
recommendations in ICRP Publication 103.
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\1\ The terms ``technical basis'' and ``regulatory basis,'' as
used in this document, are synonymous. The NRC's Management
Directive (MD) 6.3, ``The Rulemaking Process'' (http://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1320/ML13205A400.pdf), explains that a regulatory basis is a
detailed analysis, prepared by the NRC staff, describing why a
regulation should be promulgated, amended, or repealed, and the
scientific, technical, policy, and legal rationale for that
potential regulatory action. If approved by the Commission, the
regulatory basis will be used by the NRC staff in its development of
a proposed rule.
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After extensive stakeholder engagement, the NRC staff determined
that an additional evaluation of the substantive policy issues was
needed. This additional policy evaluation was provided as SECY-12-0064,
``Recommendations for Policy and Technical Direction to Revise
Radiation Protection Regulations and Guidance,'' dated April 25, 2012
(ADAMS Accession No. ML121020108). The paper summarized the NRC staff's
interactions with stakeholders as directed by the SRM for SECY-08-0197,
and provided recommendations for potential revisions to the NRC's
radiation protection regulations.
In the SRM for SECY-12-0064, dated December 17, 2012 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML12352A133), the Commission approved in part and
disapproved in part the NRC staff's recommendations. Specifically, the
Commission approved the NRC staff's development of a draft regulatory
basis for a revision to 10 CFR part 20 to align with the most recent
methodology and terminology for dose assessment in ICRP Publication
103, including consideration of any conforming changes to all NRC
regulations. The Commission directed the NRC staff to develop
improvements in the NRC's guidance for those segments of the regulated
community that would benefit from more effective implementation of the
As Low As is Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) strategies and programs to
comply with regulatory requirements. The Commission also directed the
NRC staff to continue discussions with stakeholders regarding dose
limits for the lens of the eye and the embryo/fetus.
In addition, the Commission directed the NRC staff to continue
discussions with stakeholders on alternative approaches to deal with
individual protection at or near the current dose limit. Finally, the
Commission directed the NRC staff to improve reporting of occupational
exposure by the NRC and Agreement State licensees to the NRC's
Radiation Exposure Information Reporting System database. In the SRM
for SECY-12-0064, the Commission disapproved the NRC staff's
recommendations to develop a draft regulatory basis to reduce the
occupational total effective dose equivalent from 5 rem (50 mSv) per
year to 2 rem (20 mSv) per year. The Commission also disapproved the
elimination of traditional or ``English'' dose units to measure
radiation exposure from the NRC's regulations. Rather, the Commission
directed the continuation of the use of both traditional and
International System (SI) units in the NRC's regulations.
In response to the Commission's direction in the SRM for SECY-12-
0064, the NRC staff published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking
(ANPR) in the Federal Register (79 FR 43284; July 25, 2014), to obtain
input from members of the public and other stakeholders on the
development of a regulatory basis that would support potential changes
to the NRC's current radiation protection regulations. The ANPR stated
that the NRC's goal was to achieve greater alignment between the NRC's
radiation protection regulations and the recommendations contained in
ICRP Publication 103, primarily with respect to the recommendations
concerning dose assessment methodology and terminology.
The NRC received over 90 individual comment letters and almost
3,000 form letters on the 10 CFR part 20 ANPR. Although some comments
supported a potential revision of the NRC's regulations to align more
closely with ICRP Publication 103 methodology and terminology for dose
assessment, the majority of comments did not support revising the 10
CFR part 20 regulations. The major reasons given for not revising the
NRC's regulations were the following: (1) The NRC's current regulations
remain protective of both occupational workers and members of the
public; (2) the ICRP Publication 103 recommendations propose measures
that go beyond what is needed to provide adequate protection and are
unlikely to yield a substantial increase in safety that is justified in
light of its cost; (3) the industry's current operating procedures and
practices protect both occupational workers and members of the public
and go beyond the applicable regulatory requirements; (4) amending the
applicable regulations would place significant resource burdens on
licensees resulting in costly modifications to existing facilities that
would result in little, if any, improvement in occupational or public
radiological safety; (5) the cumulative effect of regulation (CER)
resulting from the changes described in the ANPR for 10 CFR part 20, in
conjunction with the prospective U.S. Department of Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) changes to 40 CFR part 190 and to 10 CFR part
50, appendix I, will place substantial resource burdens on licensees,
while yielding little or no additional protection of occupational
workers or the public; and (6) the NRC actions are premature without
the publication of the peer approved implementation documents for the
ICRP Publication 103 recommendations.
While some commenters supported the changes described in the ANPR
to more closely align with the ICRP Publication 103 methodology and
terminology, these commenters also acknowledged that consideration
should be given to the resource burden associated with implementation.
Some commenters supported the incorporation of the ICRP Publication 103
dose methodology in the form of revisions to include the weighting
factors for eight organs, which are the colon, stomach, bladder, liver,
esophagus, skin, brain, and salivary glands, but did not support
changes to
[[Page 95412]]
the current NRC dose terminology. On the other hand, one commenter
indicated that terminology should be adopted in order to be consistent
with the terminology used by the U.S. Department of Energy, as revised
in 2007, but use of the updated methodology should be delayed until the
updated dose coefficients are published by ICRP. Finally, one commenter
supported revision of 10 CFR part 20 to align more closely with ICRP
Publication 103 methodology and terminology, but acknowledged that the
realignment may result in little, if any, improvement in occupational
or public safety.
As explained in SECY-16-0009, the additional resource expenditure
in this area did not result in a recommendation for a revised rule. The
current NRC regulatory framework continues to provide adequate
protection of the health and safety of workers, the public, and the
environment. In addition, a majority of the comments submitted and
meeting feedback from stakeholders did not support the proposed
changes. Therefore, the NRC staff believes that there is minimal
adverse impact on the NRC's mission, principles, or values by
discontinuing this rulemaking. In the SRM for SECY-16-0009, the
Commission approved the NRC staff's recommendation to discontinue this
rulemaking.
IV. Reactor Effluents (RIN 3150-AJ38; NRC-2014-0044)
The NRC published an ANPR in the Federal Register (80 FR 25237; May
4, 2015), to obtain input from members of the public and other
stakeholders on the development of a regulatory basis for a potential
revision to 10 CFR part 50, appendix I, the NRC's regulations for
licensees of light water cooled reactors to meet the ALARA standard
with respect to radioactive effluents from such reactor sites. The
publication of the 10 CFR part 50, appendix I, ANPR was also in
response to the Commission's direction in the SRM for SECY-12-0064,
which stated that the NRC staff should, along with the development of
the draft regulatory basis for the 10 CFR part 20 regulations, engage
in a parallel effort to develop a draft regulatory basis for aligning
the 10 CFR part 50, appendix I, design objectives with the most recent
terminology and dose-related methodology published in ICRP Publication
103. In the ANPR, the NRC staff identified specific questions and
issues with respect to a possible revision of 10 CFR part 50, appendix
I, and related guidance. The NRC staff planned to consider public and
other stakeholder input on these questions and issues to develop the
regulatory basis.
The NRC received 20 comment letters on the 10 CFR part 50, appendix
I, ANPR. The comments, in addition to feedback from the August 24,
2015, NRC public meeting held in Rockville, MD, included the following:
(1) The potential revisions will result in intangible benefits such as
transparency in the regulatory process, consistent terminology and
methodology, and comparison of technologies and operations across
international borders and environmental media; (2) implementation of
the potential revisions will result in a resource burden; (3) the
potential revisions are unlikely to be cost-beneficial with little to
no incremental improvement in the health and safety of occupational
workers, the public, or the environment; (4) in lieu of the potential
revisions, limited changes in the NRC guidance to address changes in
methodology and terminology would require fewer licensee resources; and
(5) should the NRC proceed with rulemaking, consideration of on-going
work on the accuracy of the effluent doses to members of the public
could further inform the proposed rulemaking.
Overall, the commenters recognized a need to update the NRC's
regulations based on the advances in science and technology; however,
the implementation costs would be a significant burden to the industry
that would not be justified by improvements in public and occupational
protection. In addition, some commenters provided additional options
for the NRC to consider, should it continue with rulemaking, including
limited scope updates to existing NRC guidance.
As explained in SECY-16-0009, the staff recommended that this
rulemaking activity be discontinued because during the development of
the regulatory basis for the proposed rule change, the staff determined
that the regulations do not require changes at this time. Therefore,
based on this determination and consideration of the comments received,
the NRC staff believes that there is minimal adverse impact on the
NRC's mission, principles, or values by discontinuing this rulemaking.
In the SRM for SECY-16-0009, the Commission approved the NRC staff's
recommendation to discontinue this rulemaking.
V. Conclusion
The NRC is no longer pursuing the revisions to regulations in 10
CFR part 20 and 10 CFR part 50, appendix I, for the reasons discussed
in this document. In the next edition of the Unified Agenda, the NRC
will update the entry for these rulemaking activities and reference
this document to indicate that they are no longer being pursued. These
rulemaking activities will appear in the completed actions section of
that edition of the Unified Agenda but will not appear in future
editions. If the NRC decides to pursue similar or related rulemaking
activities in the future, it will inform the public through new
rulemaking entries in the Unified Agenda.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of December 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael R. Johnson,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2016-31372 Filed 12-27-16; 8:45 am]
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