[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 226 (Monday, November 27, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55954-55955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25552]


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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. 226 / Monday, November 27, 2017 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 55954]]



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: Regulatory basis.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing a 
regulatory basis to support a rulemaking that would amend the NRC's 
regulations for the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors. The 
NRC's goals in amending these 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 staff; and support the principles of good 
regulation, including openness, clarity, and reliability.

DATES: The regulatory basis is available on November 27, 2017.

ADDRESSES: 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. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual 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 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 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. The regulatory basis can be accessed 
in ADAMS at accession number ML17215A010.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alysia G. Bone, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1034, email: 
[email protected]; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 30, 2014, the Commission 
directed the NRC staff to proceed with a rulemaking on power reactor 
decommissioning in the staff requirements memorandum (SRM) for SECY-14-
0118, ``Request by Duke Energy Florida, Inc., for Exemptions from 
Certain Emergency Planning Requirements'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14364A111). The Commission also stated that the rulemaking should 
address: Issues discussed in SECY-00-0145, ``Integrated Rulemaking Plan 
for Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML003721626), such as the graded approach to emergency preparedness 
(EP); lessons learned from the plants that have already gone or are 
currently going through the decommissioning process; the advisability 
of requiring a licensee's post-shutdown decommissioning activities 
report (PSDAR) to be approved by the NRC; the appropriateness of 
maintaining the three existing options for decommissioning and the 
timeframes associated with those options; the appropriate role of state 
and local governments and non-governmental stakeholders in the 
decommissioning process; and any other issues deemed relevant by the 
NRC staff.
    The NRC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in 
the Federal Register (80 FR 72358; November 19, 2015) to obtain 
stakeholder feedback on the regulatory issues included in the SRM for 
SECY-14-0118. The NRC received public comments related to each of the 
regulatory issues outlined in the ANPR. Most public feedback pertained 
to the level of public involvement in the decommissioning process, the 
60-year limit for power reactor decommissioning, the NRC's approval of 
the PSDAR, the use of decommissioning trust funds (DTFs), and EP 
considerations. The NRC reviewed the comments and used input received 
from the comments to develop the options presented in the draft 
regulatory basis, which was issued for a 90-day public comment period 
on March 15, 2017 (82 FR 13778). The NRC received input from 
stakeholders in every area addressed in the draft regulatory basis. The 
NRC also received the most stakeholder input on the current regulatory 
approach to decommissioning, EP, and DTFs. The comments received on the 
draft regulatory basis were considered in the development of the 
regulatory basis.
    In the regulatory basis, the NRC staff concludes that it has 
sufficient justification to proceed with rulemaking in the areas of EP, 
physical security, cyber security, drug and alcohol testing, training 
requirements for certified fuel handlers (CFHs), DTFs, offsite and 
onsite financial protection requirements and indemnity agreements, and 
application of the backfit rule. Further, the NRC staff is recommending 
rulemaking: (1) to require that decommissioning documents in Sec.  
50.54(bb) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR); 
Sec.  50.82, ``Termination of license''; and Sec.  52.110, 
``Termination of license,'' or a combination thereof, contain 
information on spent fuel management planning, in accordance with the 
regulatory requirements in Sec.  72.218, ``Termination of Licenses''; 
(2) to amend Sec.  51.53, ``Postconstruction environmental reports,'' 
and Sec.  51.95, ``Postconstruction environmental impact statements,'' 
to clarify the environmental reporting requirements and add a reference 
to Sec.  52.110; (3) to

[[Page 55955]]

amend Sec. Sec.  50.82(a) and 52.110 to clarify that licensees must 
evaluate the environmental impacts of decommissioning, and whether they 
are bounded, in the PSDAR; (4) to amend Sec.  50.59(d)(3); Sec.  
50.71(c); 10 CFR part 50, appendix A, Criterion 1, ``Quality standards 
and records''; 10 CFR part 50, appendix B, Criterion XVII, ``Quality 
Assurance Records''; and Sec.  72.72(d) to remove certain record-
retention requirements for structures, systems, and components (SSCs) 
that no longer remain in service during decommissioning, as well as 
duplication requirements for spent fuel storage records; and (5) to 
amend 10 CFR part 20, appendix G, Section III.E, for investigating 
shipments of low-level radioactive waste (LLW) if the shipper has not 
received notification of receipt within 20 days after transfer, to 
allow a 45-day notification window based on operating experience that 
shows this is a reasonable delay for LLW shipments.
    Additionally in this regulatory basis, the NRC staff recommends 
guidance development and inspection procedure updates for minimum 
staffing of non-licensed operators and aging management of certain 
SSCs. The NRC staff also determined that fatigue management would not 
be addressed in this decommissioning rule.
    In the regulatory basis, the NRC staff reiterated conclusions from 
the draft regulatory basis that regulatory activities other than 
rulemaking--such as guidance development--can be pursued to address the 
appropriate role of State and local governments in the decommissioning 
process, the level of NRC review of the PSDAR, and the 60-year limit 
for power reactor decommissioning.
    In addition to the regulatory basis, staff plans to publish a 
revised preliminary draft of the regulatory analysis, which will update 
and refine the analysis of costs and benefits.
    The NRC staff plans to publish a proposed rule for public comment 
in 2018.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of November 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-25552 Filed 11-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P