[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]
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