[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19464-19466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09359]
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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. 83, No. 86 / Thursday, May 3, 2018 / Proposed
Rules
[[Page 19464]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Chapter I
[NRC-2017-0214]
Review of Administrative Rules
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is initiating a
retrospective review of administrative requirements to identify
outdated or duplicative administrative requirements that may be
eliminated without an adverse effect on public health or safety, common
defense and security, protection of the environment, or regulatory
efficiency and effectiveness. The NRC is providing an outline of its
strategy and is seeking public comment on the criteria that the NRC
proposes to use to identify administrative regulations for possible
elimination. This retrospective review of administrative regulations
will complement the NRC's existing strategy for retrospective analysis
of existing regulations.
DATES: Submit comments by July 2, 2018. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this
date. The NRC will not prepare written responses to each individual
comment, due to the NRC's schedule for completing the retrospective
review of administrative regulations.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0214. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Ms. 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.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
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: Ms. Margaret S. Ellenson, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-0894; email:
[email protected]; or Mr. Andrew Carrera, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-1078; email:
[email protected]; both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0214 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-2017-0214.
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 this
document.
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-2017-0214 in your comment submission.
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 not to
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.
II. Background
On August 11, 2017, the NRC announced that the agency is
initiating, beginning in the fall of the calendar year 2017, a
retrospective review of its administrative regulations to identify
those rules that are outdated or duplicative. Once identified, the
regulations will be evaluated to determine whether they can be
eliminated without impacting the agency's mission. The retrospective
review supports the NRC's ongoing regulatory planning and retrospective
analysis of existing regulations (ADAMS Accession No. ML14002A441).
The Retrospective Review of Administrative Regulations Strategy
On November 22, 2017, the NRC staff issued SECY-17-0119,
``Retrospective
[[Page 19465]]
Review of Administrative Regulations'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17286A069), which provided for Commission approval the NRC staff's
proposed strategy for the retrospective review of regulations. The
staff requirements memorandum associated with SECY-17-0119 approved the
NRC staff's proposal and directed staff to implement the strategy.
Overall, the goal of the retrospective review is to enhance the
management and administration of regulatory activities and to ensure
that the agency's regulations remain current and effective. The review
is intended to identify regulatory changes that are administrative in
nature that will make the information submittal, record keeping, and
reporting processes more efficient for the staff, applicants, and
licensees. The strategy takes into consideration the agency's overall
statutory responsibilities, including mandates to issue new
regulations, the number of regulations in chapter I of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, and available resources. This effort will
not impact the NRC's mission, as it will be limited to identifying
outdated or duplicative, non-substantive administrative regulations.
III. Discussion
This notice provides an outline of the NRC's approved strategy for
the retrospective review (see Table 1) and requests public comment on
the criteria the NRC proposes to use to evaluate potential changes to
the requirements. In summary, the retrospective review strategy
involves seven steps--(1) developing criteria to evaluate potential
regulatory changes to administrative requirements; (2) gathering NRC
staff input on administrative regulations that might fit the proposed
criteria; (3) reviewing historical correspondence documents submitted
to the NRC related to eliminating duplicative or outdated
administrative regulations; (4) including opportunities for public
comment; (5) interacting with the public throughout the review process
by conducting public meetings; (6) reviewing stakeholder input; and (7)
developing rules or rulemaking plans to eliminate or modify
administrative requirements, as appropriate.
Table 1--Retrospective Review Activity Description and Timeline
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Approximate completion
Action Description timeframe
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Step 1: Develop Evaluation Criteria Develop criteria to ensure administrative Finalize criteria after
regulations are evaluated in a consistent close of public comment
manner. The criteria will be used as guides to period for this notice
determine whether the administrative and after final review
requirement is duplicative or outdated and if and approval by the
the requirement(s) should be considered for Commission.
potential elimination or modification. The
criteria are being disseminated to external
stakeholders for comment via this notice and
will be discussed in a public meeting.
Step 2: Gather NRC Staff Input..... Provide an email address or other mechanism for Concurrently with request
NRC staff to provide input on administrative for public input as
requirements that may be outdated or outlined in Steps 1 and
duplicative and that the Commission should 4.
consider for elimination or modification.
Step 3: Historical Correspondence Review relevant historical letters received Beginning concurrent with
Review. from members of the public, other Federal Step 4.
agencies, State and local governments,
Federally-recognized Tribes, non-governmental
organizations, and representative industry
groups related to eliminating duplicative or
outdated administrative regulations.
Step 4: Request for Public Input on Request public input to identify administrative Within 4 months after the
Outdated or Duplicative requirements that may be outdated or public comment period
Administrative Requirements. duplicative and that the Commission should closes for this notice.
consider for elimination or modification. The
comment period will be open for a period of
approximately 60 days.
Step 5: Conduct Public Meetings.... Schedule public meetings (in-person, webinar, Meetings will be held
and teleconference-capable) during the comment during the public comment
periods to provide awareness and answer period for this notice
questions to clarify the purpose and scope of and during the public
the activity. Although verbal comments will comment period for the
not be accepted during the meetings, staff second notice (Step 4).
will provide instruction on how attendees can
submit written comments.
Step 6: Review Input............... Compile and analyze the input and assign to the Initial review and
regulation ``owner'' for the assigned office assignment of the input
to review each proposal to determine if it has will be targeted for
merit. after completion of the
public meetings (Step 5).
Recommendations (i.e., no
action or accept for
regulatory change) should
be submitted to the
Commission for its review
and approval within 18
months after initiation
of the activities.
Step 7: Develop Rulemaking For any administrative requirements that have The schedule for any
Activities to Eliminate or Modify been identified for elimination or rulemaking activities
Requirements. modification, the potential outcomes could will be determined using
include: the budget and rulemaking
A consolidated administrative prioritization
rulemaking;. methodologies. Rulemaking
Inclusion into an existing planned plans will be submitted
rulemaking; or. to the Commission for its
A stand-alone specific rulemaking..... review and approval.
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Public input will be critical to identifying potential changes to
administrative requirements as well as to provide data on the benefits
and costs of existing NRC administrative regulations. The NRC will
conduct two public meetings to discuss the retrospective review process
and recommendations. In addition, the NRC will seek input from the
NRC's existing committees (the Committee to Review Generic
Requirements, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, and the
Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes), other Federal
agencies, State and local governments, Federally-recognized Tribes, and
non-governmental organizations. All input that the NRC receives will be
used to inform the retrospective review recommendations.
[[Page 19466]]
For the purpose of this review, administrative regulations are
those that impose recordkeeping or reporting requirements or address
areas of agency organization, procedure, or practice. Consistent with
Step 1 of the strategy, the NRC developed the draft criteria and goals
listed below to evaluate potential regulatory changes of this nature.
The evaluation criteria would serve as factors of consideration to
guide the staff's decisionmaking. The staff is not proposing to use the
criteria to make stand-alone determinations. Instead, the criteria will
be weighed against other activities outlined in the strategy, such as
staff programmatic experience and, comments received, and the
correspondence review. Draft criteria 1-3 are intended to ``screen-in''
regulations for inquiry for potential elimination or modification, as
they address whether a regulation is outdated or duplicative. These
screening-in criteria are not intended to be mutually exclusive. A
given regulation may satisfy one or more of the criteria. Draft
criterion 4 is intended to ``screen-out'' regulations from further
inquiry or for potential elimination or modification so as to avoid
unintended consequences. Specific points about which the NRC seeks
public comment are described in the Section IV, ``Specific Questions,''
of this document.
Draft Criteria for Selecting Changes to Administrative Requirements
1. Routine and periodic recordkeeping and reporting requirements,
such as directives to submit recurring reports, which the NRC has not
consulted or referenced in programmatic operations or policy
development in the last 3 years.
The goal of this criterion is to identify outdated requirements for
information collection.
2. Reports or records that contain information reasonably
accessible to the agency from alternative resources or routine
reporting requirements where less frequent reporting would meet
programmatic needs.
The goal of this criterion is to identify duplicative information
or overused collection requirements.
3. Recordkeeping and reporting requirements that result in
significant burden. For example, more than $100,000 overall per
potential regulatory change; or over 1,000 reporting hours for each
affected individual or entity over a 3-year period; or 10 hours for
each affected individual or entity each calendar year or per
application.
The goal of this criterion is to ensure that elimination or
modification of outdated or duplicative recordkeeping and reporting
requirements could result in appreciable reductions in burden for the
NRC, licensees, or both. The criterion is not intended to be used as a
stand-alone consideration, but rather as a tool to ensure that the
retrospective review is focused on efforts that will in fact result in
a reduction in burden.
4. Reports or records that contain information used by other
Federal agencies, State and local governments, or Federally-recognized
Tribes will be eliminated from the review.
The goal of this criterion is to decrease the potential for
unintended consequences. For example, the NRC collects certain
information on behalf of other government agencies. It is not the
intent of this effort to change that practice.
IV. Specific Questions
The NRC is providing an opportunity for the public to submit
information and comments on the criteria that the NRC proposes to use
to identify administrative requirements for potential modification or
elimination. You may suggest other criteria; please provide supporting
rationale for any alternative criteria you recommend that the NRC use
in conducting its review. The NRC is particularly interested in
gathering input in the following areas:
1. Do the proposed evaluation criteria serve the purposes described
in this notice? Why or why not?
2. The NRC is considering whether the burden reduction minimum is
appropriate. Is ``significant burden'' the appropriate measure? Are the
examples given for Criterion 3 appropriate or useful? Should the NRC
use different bases for measuring ``significant burden,'' and if so,
what are these measures and how would they result in a more accurate or
complete measurement of burden?
3. The NRC is considering multiple thresholds for different classes
of regulated entities, as a single threshold might not be useful to
identify burden reductions for all licensee types. What is the
appropriate threshold for your entity class (e.g., operating reactor,
industrial radiographer, fuel cycle facility)?
4. Are there other evaluation criteria the NRC should consider
using in its retrospective review of administrative regulations? What
are those criteria and why?
V. Public Meetings
Public input will be critical to identifying potential regulatory
changes as well as to provide data on the benefits and costs of
existing NRC regulations. The NRC will conduct two public meetings to
discuss the Retrospective Review process and recommendations.
The NRC will publish a notice of the location, time, and agenda of
any meetings in the Federal Register, on www.Regulations.gov, and on
the NRC's public meeting website at least 10 calendar days before the
meeting. Stakeholders should monitor the NRC's public meeting website
for information about the public meeting at: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of April, 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2018-09359 Filed 5-2-18; 8:45 am]
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