[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 70 (Thursday, April 13, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17768-17770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07502]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 70 / Thursday, April 13, 2017 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 17768]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 50 and 52
[Docket No. NRC-2015-0225]
RIN 3150-AJ68
Emergency Preparedness for Small Modular Reactors and Other New
Technologies
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft regulatory basis; public meeting, and request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting
comment on a draft regulatory basis to support a rulemaking that would
develop new emergency preparedness (EP) requirements for small modular
reactors (SMRs) and other new technologies (ONTs), such as non-light-
water reactors (non-LWRs) and medical isotope production facilities.
The new EP regulations would be consequence-oriented, performance-
based, and technology inclusive to the extent possible, and continue to
provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health
and safety. The new EP regulations would be applicable to SMR and ONT
facilities only. Large light-water reactors (LWRs), fuel cycle
facilities, research and test reactors and other non-power, non-
commercial, facilities are not in the scope of this rulemaking. The NRC
plans to hold a public meeting to promote full understanding of the
rulemaking and facilitate public participation.
DATES: Submit comments by June 27, 2017. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
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-2015-0225. 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.
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 20555-001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
MD 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: Andrew Carrera, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-1078, email: [email protected]; and
Arlon Costa, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301-415-6402, email:
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0225 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-2015-0225.
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
draft regulatory basis document is available in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML16309A332.
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-2015-0225 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
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. Discussion
The NRC is requesting comments on a draft regulatory basis to
support a rulemaking that would amend part 50 of title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and
Utilization Facilities,'' and part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' by adopting new EP regulations
for SMR and ONT licensees. The specific objectives of this rulemaking
effort are to establish new EP requirements for SMR and ONT licensees
that will recognize: (1) Distance to which planning for initiation of
predetermined protective actions is warranted, (2) time-dependent
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characteristics of potential releases and exposures, and (3) isotopic
characteristics of radioactive materials that can potentially be
released to the environment.
The scope of the draft regulatory basis includes EP for new SMR and
ONT facilities licensed under 10 CFR parts 50 and 52. Under current
regulations for large LWR designs, the plume exposure pathway emergency
planning zone (EPZ) size is about 10 miles (16 kilometers). However,
SMRs and ONTs may have comparatively smaller reactor core size and also
include passive design safety features, which result in potential
accident releases and offsite radiation dose consequences that are
smaller and may be delayed when compared to large LWRs. To account for
this difference as compared to large LWRs, the NRC plans to develop a
consequence-oriented, performance-based, and technology inclusive
approach to EP for these SMR and ONT designs. With the proposed
adoption of an approach for these designs where the plume exposure
pathway EPZ size is scalable in proportion with potential accident
consequences, the potential exists for this EPZ to be contained within
the site boundary. The draft regulatory basis, in part, explains why
the NRC believes the existing regulations should be updated, revised,
and enhanced; presents alternatives to rulemaking; and discusses costs
and other impacts of the potential changes.
III. Specific Requests for Comments
The NRC is seeking comments and supporting rationale from the
public on the following questions:
Scope of Draft Regulatory Basis
Is the NRC considering an appropriate approach for each
objective described in the draft regulatory basis?
Section 3 of the draft regulatory basis discusses the
regulatory concerns the NRC expects to address through rulemaking.
Section 4 presents the intended regulatory changes to address those
regulatory concerns, and also discusses alternatives to rulemaking
considered by the NRC. Are there other regulatory concerns within or
related to the scope of the rulemaking efforts (see Section 4) that the
NRC should consider? Are there other approaches or alternatives the NRC
should consider to resolve those regulatory concerns?
Are there any other alternatives for EP for SMRs and ONTs
to address beyond those discussed in the draft regulatory basis that
the NRC should consider?
Are there other EP related issues that the NRC staff
should consider in further developing this regulatory basis?
Is the scope of facilities to be included under the ONT
umbrella (see Section 1.1) appropriate or can you suggest additions or
deletions?
Performance-Based Approach
What are the benefits of a performance-based EP approach,
other than those described in the draft regulatory basis?
Should the NRC continue research to establish performance-
based criteria specific for SMRs and ONTs in the EP area? Examples of
such research that has been performed are discussed in SECY-14-0038,
``Performance-Based Framework for Nuclear Power Plant Emergency
Preparedness Oversight,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML14259A589).
Is it appropriate to establish combined risk-informed and
performance-based criteria, and can you suggest EP areas or methods
where they could successfully be implemented?
Regulatory Impacts
Section 5 of the draft regulatory basis presents the NRC's
initial consideration of costs and other impacts for a number of key
aspects of the potential regulatory changes. This initial assessment is
based on limited available data. The NRC is seeking additional data and
input relative to expected and/or unintentional impacts from the
desired regulatory changes. What would be the potential impacts to
stakeholders, such as applicants, licensees, and the public, from
implementing any of the desired regulatory changes described in this
draft regulatory basis? We are also seeking comments on reasonable cost
estimates for implementation of the EP for SMRs and ONTs regulations,
including one-time startup cost and annual cost?
What would the cost be for 10 CFR part 52 licensees to be
licensed under the proposed performance-based EP approach? What would
be the cost difference between this new EP approach and the current EP
approach in 10 CFR part 50?
What impacts, other than cost, would result from the
rulemaking action under consideration?
IV. Cumulative Effects of Regulation
The cumulative effects of regulation (CER) describes the challenges
that licensees or other impacted entities (such as State agency
partners, Tribal and local governments) may face while implementing new
regulatory positions, programs, and requirements (e.g., rules, generic
letters, backfits, inspections). The CER is an organizational 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 available resources (which may include
limited available expertise to address a specific issue). The NRC has
implemented CER enhancements to the rulemaking process to facilitate
public involvement throughout the rulemaking process. Therefore, the
NRC is specifically requesting comments on the cumulative effects that
may result from this proposed rulemaking. In developing comments on the
draft regulatory basis, consider and provide comments on 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 the final rule is published to the actual implementation
of any proposed requirements, including changes to programs,
procedures, and the facility?
2. If CER challenges currently exist or are expected, what should
be done to address them? For example, if more time is required for
subsequent implementation of the new requirements, what period of time
is sufficient?
3. Do other (NRC or other agency) regulatory actions (e.g., orders,
generic communications, license amendment requests, and inspection
findings of a generic nature) influence the subsequent implementation
of the proposed rule's requirements?
4. Are there unintended consequences? Does the draft regulatory
basis create conditions that would be contrary to the draft regulatory
basis' purpose and objectives? If so, what are the unintended
consequences, and how should they be addressed?
V. Availability of Documents
The NRC may post documents related to this rulemaking activity to
the Federal rulemaking Web site at http://www.regulations.gov under
Docket ID: NRC-2015-0225.
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-2015-0225); (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. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
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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.
VII. Public Meeting
The NRC plans to hold a public meeting during the public comment
period for this notice. The public meeting will provide a forum for the
NRC staff to discuss the issues and questions with external
stakeholders regarding the draft regulatory basis to add new EP
requirements for SMRs and ONTs. The NRC does not intend to provide
detailed responses to comments or other information submitted during
the public meeting.
The public meeting will be noticed on the NRC's public meeting Web
site at least 10 calendar days before the meeting. Stakeholders should
monitor the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule Web page for additional
information about the public meeting at http://meetings.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg.
The NRC will post a notice for the public meeting and may post
additional material related to this action to the Federal rulemaking
Web site at www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2015-0225.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of March 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert K. Caldwell,
Acting Director, Division of Engineering and Infrastructure, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2017-07502 Filed 4-12-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P