[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 9, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21481-21482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09332]


 ========================================================================
 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. 88 / Tuesday, May 9, 2017 / Proposed 
Rules  

[[Page 21481]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 26, 50, 52, 73, and 140

[NRC-2015-0070]
RIN 3150-AJ59


Regulatory Improvements for Power Reactors Transitioning to 
Decommissioning

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Preliminary draft regulatory analysis; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting 
comment on the preliminary draft regulatory analysis to support a 
rulemaking that would amend the NRC's regulations for the 
decommissioning of nuclear power reactors. The NRC's goals in amending 
the regulations would be to provide for an efficient decommissioning 
process; reduce the need for exemptions from existing regulations; 
address other decommissioning issues deemed relevant by the NRC; and 
support the principles of good regulation, including openness, clarity, 
and reliability. The NRC plans to hold a public meeting in spring 2017 
to discuss the draft regulatory basis that was previously published in 
the Federal Register and the preliminary draft regulatory analysis to 
facilitate the development of public comments on those documents.

DATES: Submit comments by June 13, 2017. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
only able to ensure consideration of comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by the following method:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0070. 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.
    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: Christopher Howells, telephone: 301-
415-1381, email: [email protected]; or Fred Schofer, 
telephone: 301-415-5682, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of 
the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Discussion
III. Request for Comment
IV. Cumulative Effects of Regulation
V. Plain Writing

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0070 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-2015-0070.
     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 
preliminary draft regulatory analysis document is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML16271A511.
     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-2015-0070 in your comment submission. 
If you cannot submit your comments on the Federal rulemaking Web site, 
www.regulations.gov, then contact one of the individuals listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
    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 to not 
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. Please note that the 
NRC will not provide formal written responses to each of the comments 
received on the preliminary draft regulatory analysis. However, the NRC 
staff will consider all comments received in the development of the 
final regulatory analysis.

II. Discussion

    On March 15, 2017, the NRC published a document in the Federal 
Register issuing a draft regulatory basis to support the ``Regulatory 
Improvements for Reactors Transitioning to Decommissioning'' rulemaking 
to amend the NRC's power reactor decommissioning regulations (82 FR 
13778). The draft regulatory basis was made available for a 90-day 
public comment period (ending on June 13, 2017). In the draft 
regulatory basis, the NRC concludes that it has sufficient 
justification to proceed with rulemaking in the areas of emergency 
preparedness, physical security, decommission trust fund, offsite and 
onsite financial protection requirements and indemnity agreements, and 
application of the backfit rule. Further, the NRC is

[[Page 21482]]

recommending rulemaking to: (1) Require that the post-shutdown 
decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) contain a description of how 
the spent fuel stored under a general independent spent fuel storage 
installation license will be removed from the reactor site in 
accordance with the regulatory requirements in Sec.  50.82, 
``Termination of License,'' of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), 10 CFR 50.54(bb), 10 CFR 52.110, ``Termination of 
License,'' and 10 CFR 72.218, ``Termination of Licenses;'' and (2) 
amend 10 CFR 51.53, ``Postconstruction Environmental Reports,'' and 10 
CFR 51.95, ``Postconstruction Environmental Impact Statements,'' to 
clarify that the requirements for a license amendment before 
decommissioning activities may commence applies only to non-power 
reactors, as specified in 10 CFR 50.82(b).
    In the draft regulatory basis, the NRC concludes that regulatory 
activities other than rulemaking--such as guidance development--should 
be used to address stakeholder concerns regarding the appropriate role 
of State and local governments in the decommissioning process, the 
level of NRC review and approval of the PSDAR, and the 60 year limit 
for power reactor decommissioning. The NRC also determined that 
additional stakeholder input is needed prior to finalizing 
recommendations related to cyber security, drug and alcohol testing, 
certified fuel handler training and minimum staffing, aging management, 
and fatigue management. The NRC is seeking specific public input on 
these topics as part of the public comment request on the entire draft 
regulatory basis.
    To supplement the draft regulatory basis, the NRC has prepared a 
preliminary draft regulatory analysis, in which the costs, benefits, 
and other impacts of each rulemaking alternative are presented in order 
to determine the economic impact to industry and to government from the 
proposed rulemaking. The NRC prepared the preliminary draft regulatory 
analysis to support decision making during the preparation of the draft 
regulatory basis document, which includes an evaluation of possible 
regulatory improvements for reactors transitioning to decommissioning.

III. Request for Comment

    The NRC is requesting comment on the preliminary draft regulatory 
analysis that was prepared to support the draft regulatory basis for 
the ``Regulatory Improvements for Reactors Transitioning to 
Decommissioning'' rulemaking. As you prepare your comments, consider 
the following general questions:
    1. Is the NRC considering appropriate alternatives for each 
regulatory area described in the preliminary draft regulatory analysis?
    2. Are there additional factors that the NRC should consider in 
each regulatory area? What are these factors?
    3. Is there additional information concerning regulatory impacts 
that the NRC should include in its regulatory analysis for this 
rulemaking?
    4. Are all costs and benefits properly addressed to determine the 
economic impact of the rulemaking alternatives?
    5. What additional costs or cost savings will the rulemaking 
alternatives cause to society, industry, and government?

IV. Cumulative Effects of Regulation

    The cumulative effects of regulation (CER) describe the challenges 
that licensees or other impacted entities (such as State agency 
partners) may face while implementing new regulatory positions, 
programs, and requirements (e.g., rules, generic letters, backfits, 
inspections). The CER is an organizational effectiveness 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. In developing 
comments on the preliminary draft regulatory analysis, consider 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 new proposed requirements, including changes to 
programs, procedures, or the facility?
    (2) If current or projected CER challenges exist, what should be 
done to address this situation (e.g., if more time is required to 
implement the new requirements, what period of time would be 
sufficient, and why such a time frame is necessary)?
    (3) Do other regulatory actions (e.g., orders, generic 
communications, license amendment requests, and inspection findings of 
a generic nature) by the NRC or other agencies influence the 
implementation of the potential proposed requirements?
    (4) Are there unintended consequences? Does the potential proposed 
action create conditions that would be contrary to the potential 
proposed action's purpose and objectives? If so, what are the 
consequences and how should they be addressed?
    (5) Please provide information on the costs and benefits of the 
potential proposed action. This information will be used to support 
additional regulatory analysis by the NRC.

V. Plain Writing

    The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal 
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, 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 in the Federal Register on June 10, 
1998 (63 FR 31883). The NRC requests comment on this document with 
respect to the clarity and effectiveness of the language used.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of May 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory T. Bowman,
Deputy Director, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017-09332 Filed 5-4-17; 11:15 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P