[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 7, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5373-5374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02402]
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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. 83, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2018 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 5373]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 20, 26, 50, 51, 52, 72, 73, and 140
[NRC-2015-0070]
RIN 3150-AJ59
Regulatory Improvements for Power Reactors Transitioning to
Decommissioning
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory analysis; availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a
regulatory analysis to support the regulatory basis for a rulemaking to
amend the NRC's regulations for the decommissioning of nuclear power
reactors. This regulatory analysis is based on receipt of public
comments for the preliminary draft regulatory analysis, which was
issued in the Federal Register on May 9, 2017. The NRC is making the
regulatory analysis available for public information.
DATES: The regulatory analysis is available February 7, 2018.
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 website: 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 ``Regulatory Analysis for Regulatory Basis:
Regulatory Improvements for Power Reactors Transitioning to
Decommissioning'' is ML17332A075.
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: Chris Howells, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1381, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC staff has prepared a regulatory analysis for the 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. The NRC is recommending rulemaking
in the areas of emergency planning, physical security, cyber security,
drug and alcohol testing, training requirements for certified fuel
handlers, decommissioning trust funds, applicability of backfitting
provisions, and offsite and onsite financial protection requirements
and indemnity agreements. These revised requirements would formalize
steps to transition a power reactor from operating status to
decommissioning while reducing the need for exemptions and license
amendments. The NRC staff is also recommending clarifying requirements
regarding topics such as spent fuel management and environmental
reporting.
Accompanying this rulemaking are updates to guidance that address
aging management, the appropriate role of State and local governments
in the decommissioning process, the level of NRC review of a licenee's
Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report, the options for
decommissioning, and the timeframe associated with decommissioning.
The regulatory analysis discusses the economic impact to the
nuclear power industry, government, and society that would result from
the rulemaking and guidance contemplated by the regulatory basis. The
regulatory analysis discusses the cost benefit analysis that was
completed for the various alternatives put forth by the staff, and
shows that the staff's recommendation for rulemaking and guidance
development is overall cost benefical to the nuclear power industry,
government, and society.
II. Cost Benefit Analysis Summary
The following table provides the quantified and non-quantified
costs and benefits for the staff-recommended alternatives discussed in
the regulatory basis for each area of decommissioning under specific
decommissioning topics and regulatory approaches. The complete analysis
discusses at length the NRC staff's process, alternatives considered,
and evaluation of costs and benefits for each area of decommissioning.
[[Page 5374]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP07FE18.000
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of February 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-02402 Filed 2-6-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P