[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