[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]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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]
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