[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95655-95656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31375]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0256]


Aquatic Environmental Studies for Nuclear Power Stations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.24, ``Aquatic Environmental Studies for Nuclear 
Power Stations.'' This RG provides technical guidance to applicants for 
the development of aquatic studies involving environmental reviews that 
are part of NRC licensing actions related to new nuclear power 
stations.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0256 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-2014-0256. 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. Revision 0 of Regulatory Guide 4.24, is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15309A219. The regulatory 
analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13186A086.
     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: Peyton Doub, Office of New Reactors, 
telephone: 301-415-6703, email: [email protected] and Edward 
O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone 301-415-
3317, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing a new guide in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' 
series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the 
public information regarding methods that are acceptable to the NRC 
staff for implementing specific parts of the agency's regulations, 
techniques that the staff uses in evaluating specific issues or 
postulated events, and data that the staff needs in its review of 
applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 0 of RG 4.24 was issued with a temporary identification as 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-4023. This is the initial issuance of RG 
4.24. The purpose of this RG is to offer technical guidance to 
applicants for aquatic environmental studies and analyses supporting 
decisions related to new nuclear power stations by the NRC. The results 
of aquatic studies provided by applicants are analyzed by the staff as 
a basis for the staff's decisions related to nuclear power station 
siting, conducting baseline investigations, identifying important 
species and habitats, analyzing impacts and monitoring.

II. Additional Information

    Draft regulatory guide, DG-4023 was published in the Federal 
Register (79 FR 73646) on December 11, 2014 for a 60-day public comment 
period. The public comment period was subsequently extended to March 
11, 2015, to allow more time for comments. Public comments on DG-4023 
and the staff responses to the public comments are available under 
ADAMS Accession Number ML15309A217.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This regulatory guide is a rule as defined in the Congressional 
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and 
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the 
Congressional Review Act.

[[Page 95656]]

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this regulatory guide not constitute backfitting as 
defined in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. This 
regulatory guide does not apply to any construction permits, operating 
licenses, early site permits, limited work authorizations issued under 
10 CFR 50.10 for which the NRC issued a final environmental impact 
statement (EIS) preceded by a draft EIS under 10 CFR 51.76 or 51.75, or 
combined licenses, any of which were issued by the NRC prior to 
issuance of the final regulatory guide. The NRC has already completed 
its siting determination for those construction permits, operating 
licenses, early site permits, limited work authorizations, and combined 
licenses. Therefore, no further NRC regulatory action on siting will 
occur for those licenses, permits, and authorizations, for which the 
guidance in this regulatory guide would be relevant.
    The guidance in this regulatory guide may be applied to 
applications for early site permits, combined licenses, and limited 
work authorizations issued under 10 CFR 50.10 (including information 
under 10 CFR 51.49(b) or (f)), any of which are docketed and under 
review by the NRC. The guidance in this regulatory guide may also be 
applied to applications for construction permits, early site permits, 
combined licenses, and limited work authorizations (including 
information under 10 CFR 51.49(b) or (f). Such action does not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) and is not 
otherwise inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provisions in 
10 CFR part 52. Applicants and potential applicants are not, with 
certain exceptions, protected by either the Backfit Rule or any issue 
finality provisions under part 52. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the 
issue finality provisions under Part 52--with certain exclusions 
discussed below--were intended to every NRC action which substantially 
changes the expectations of current and future applicants.
    The exceptions to the general principle are applicable whenever an 
applicant references a Part 52 license (e.g., an early site permit) 
and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design certification rule) with 
specified issue finality provisions. The staff does not, at this time, 
intend to impose the positions represented in this RG in a manner that 
is inconsistent with any of the issue finality provisions applicable to 
early site permits (10 CFR 52.39) or combined license applications 
referencing an early site permit (10 CFR 52.83). If, in the future, the 
staff seeks to impose a position in this RG in a manner which does not 
provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality 
provision, then the staff must make address the criteria for avoiding 
issue finality as described applicable issue finality provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of December 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Edward O'Donnell,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-31375 Filed 12-27-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P