[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44925-44927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19023]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2018-0190]
Protective Order Templates for Hearings on Conformance With the
Acceptance Criteria in Combined Licenses
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft protective order templates; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking public
comment on draft protective order templates to be used in hearings
associated with closure of inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance
criteria (ITAAC). The templates have the purpose of facilitating quick
development of case-specific protective orders to support the
accelerated ITAAC hearing schedule. Participants in ITAAC hearings may,
but are not required to, use the templates as the basis for proposed
protective orders.
DATES: Submit comments by October 19, 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.
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-2018-0190. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For other questions, contact the
individual 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: Michael A. Spencer, Office of the
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; telephone: 301-
287-9115, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0190 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-2018-0190.
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 ``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]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
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-2018-0190 in your comment submission.
If you cannot submit your comments on the Federal Rulemaking website,
http://www.regulations.gov, please contact the individual 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 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 July 1, 2016 (81 FR 43266), the NRC published final procedures
for hearings on conformance with the acceptance criteria in combined
licenses (COLs) issued under part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) (ITAAC Hearing Procedures). The acceptance
criteria are part of the ITAAC included in the COL. In accordance with
10 CFR 52.103(g), the NRC must find that the acceptance criteria are
met before facility operation may begin. Section 189a.(1)(B) of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), provides members of the
public an opportunity to request a hearing on the facility's compliance
with the acceptance criteria. The ITAAC Hearing Procedures describe the
requirements for such hearing requests and the procedures to be used
throughout the hearing process. The procedures for a particular ITAAC
proceeding will be imposed by case-specific orders, and the ITAAC
Hearing Procedures reference templates to be used for such orders.
Some NRC proceedings involve sensitive information. For ITAAC
proceedings in particular, the NRC
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determined that a potential party may deem it necessary to obtain
access to Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) or
Safeguards Information (SGI) for the purpose of meeting Commission
requirements for intervention. Therefore, the ITAAC Hearing Procedures
include templates for orders governing requests for access to SUNSI and
SGI. If a hearing participant qualifies for access to sensitive
information, then a protective order and non-disclosure declaration
would be needed to ensure that the information is protected
appropriately. The presiding officer for a proceeding would issue the
protective order, and recipients of the sensitive information would
sign a non-disclosure declaration agreeing to protect the information
in accordance with the protective order. Typically, the presiding
officer issues a protective order in response to a motion from the
hearing participants proposing a draft protective order and non-
disclosure declaration for the presiding officer's consideration.
The NRC received comments on the proposed ITAAC Hearing Procedures
suggesting that model templates would facilitate quick development of
protective orders. In response, the NRC stated that protective order
templates would be developed in a separate process allowing for
stakeholder input.
To fulfill this commitment, the NRC has developed and is seeking
comment on two draft protective order templates, one for SUNSI (ADAMS
Accession No. ML18239A329) and one for SGI (ADAMS Accession No.
ML18239A322). The NRC staff will make a final determination regarding
issuance of the templates after consideration of any public comments
received in response to this request. The final templates will be
referenced in a future Federal Register notice. Participants in ITAAC
hearings may, but are not required to, rely on the final protective
order templates as the basis for proposed protective orders.
III. Discussion
The NRC has developed two draft protective order templates for
ITAAC hearings, one for SUNSI and one for SGI. Although the draft
templates were developed for use in ITAAC hearings, the vast majority
of the content is not specific to ITAAC proceedings. The draft SUNSI
and SGI templates have the following ITAAC-specific provisions:
The templates reflect the possibility that the presiding
officer might be a single legal judge assisted as appropriate by
technical advisors.
Consistent with the accelerated ITAAC hearing schedule,
petitioners are given less time to execute non-disclosure declarations,
and licensees and the NRC staff are given less time to provide SUNSI or
SGI to the petitioners, than is ordinarily the case.
The draft SGI template also has two additional ITAAC-specific
provisions:
Consistent with the ITAAC Hearing Procedures, the draft
template provides that SGI must be filed by overnight mail. Filings
with SGI will not be made on the E-Filing system because the E-Filing
system does not comply with SGI security requirements. This provision
does not appear in the SUNSI template because SUNSI filings will be
made through the E-Filing system.
The draft template quotes the ITAAC Hearing Procedures as
stating that the NRC will not delay its actions in completing the
hearing or making the 10 CFR 52.103(g) finding because of delays from
background checks for persons seeking access to SGI.
Both templates are based on current requirements and policies, and
would, if appropriate, be updated as those requirements and policies
change. For example, NRC policies will change in response to the
National Archives and Records Administration's final rule, ``Controlled
Unclassified Information,'' (81 FR 63324; September 14, 2016) (CUI
Rule). The CUI Rule establishes government-wide requirements for
protecting sensitive unclassified information. The CUI Rule applies
both to the Federal government and to non-Federal entities receiving
CUI from the Federal government. The NRC has not yet implemented the
CUI Rule and does not expect to achieve implementation before the ITAAC
hearings for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. But any future updating of the
templates for subsequent ITAAC proceedings would reflect consideration
of the CUI Rule and associated guidance.
A. Draft SUNSI Protective Order Template
The NRC uses the term SUNSI to refer to a broad spectrum of
sensitive information that is neither classified nor SGI. While there
are many types of SUNSI, the draft SUNSI protective order template is
directed at protection of proprietary and security-related information,
as discussed in SECY-15-0010 (January 20, 2015) (ADAMS Accession No.
ML14343A747). The NRC focused on these types of SUNSI because of the
NRC's experience with hearings involving reactors and its knowledge of
the matters subject to ITAAC. If an ITAAC hearing involves another type
of SUNSI with different protection requirements, the template can be
adjusted accordingly.
In developing the draft SUNSI template, the NRC considered
protective orders for proprietary and security-related information
issued after 2006. The NRC also considered guidance in NRC Regulatory
Issue Summary (RIS) 2005-26, ``Control of Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information Related to Nuclear Power Reactors'' (ADAMS
Accession No. ML051430228), dated November 7, 2005. RIS 2005-26 is
specifically directed at protection of security-related information for
reactors and states that such information is protected in much the same
way as commercial or financial information.
Finally, the NRC considered the CUI Rule. Although the CUI Rule has
not yet been implemented at the NRC, many CUI requirements are
consistent with the existing protective provisions for SUNSI that
provided the basis for the draft template. By aligning the provisions
and terminology in the draft SUNSI template with the corresponding
elements of the CUI Rule, the NRC hopes to facilitate any future update
of the template to comply with the CUI Rule. The introductory
discussion in the draft template identifies those CUI provisions that
were excluded because they differ from, or go beyond, existing
protective provisions for proprietary and security-related SUNSI for
external stakeholders.
B. Draft SGI Protective Order Template
Safeguards Information is a special category of sensitive
unclassified information defined in 10 CFR 73.2 and protected from
unauthorized disclosure under AEA Section 147. Although SGI is
unclassified information, it is handled and protected more like
Classified National Security Information than like other sensitive
unclassified information (e.g., privacy and proprietary information).
Requirements for access to SGI and requirements for SGI handling,
storage, and processing are in 10 CFR part 73.
The SGI protective order template does not rely on prior SGI
protective orders because they predate significant changes to the NRC's
regulations on SGI and adjudicatory filings. Instead, the NRC combined
general provisions from the draft SUNSI template with the SGI
protection requirements in 10 CFR part 73 and the adjudicatory filing
requirements in 10 CFR part 2. Also, while the NRC considered the CUI
Rule when developing the draft SGI template, the draft template does
not reflect any specific CUI provisions. The NRC has not yet
implemented the CUI Rule, and in accordance with 32 CFR 2002.4(r), most
CUI requirements do not apply to
[[Page 44927]]
SGI because the authorizing law and regulations for SGI provide
specific handling controls.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
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ADAMS accession No./Federal
Document Register citation
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Draft Template for Protective Orders ML18239A329.
Governing the Disclosure and Use of
Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards
Information (SUNSI) in Hearings Related
to Conformance with Inspections, Tests,
Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC).
Draft Template for Protective Orders ML18239A322.
Governing the Disclosure and Use of
Safeguards Information (SGI) in Hearings
Related to Conformance with Inspections,
Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria
(ITAAC).
Final Procedures for Conducting Hearings 81 FR 43266.
on Conformance With the Acceptance
Criteria in Combined Licenses, dated July
1, 2016.
SECY-15-0010, Final Procedures for ML14343A747.
Hearings on Conformance With the
Acceptance Criteria in Combined Licenses,
dated January 20, 2015.
Final Rule: Controlled Unclassified 81 FR 63324.
Information, dated September 14, 2016.
NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2005-26, ML051430228.
Control of Sensitive Unclassified Non-
Safeguards Information Related to Nuclear
Power Reactors, dated November 7, 2005.
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The NRC may post materials related to this document, including
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2018-0190. The Federal
Rulemaking website allows you to receive alerts when changes or
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the
docket folder (NRC-2018-0190); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or
monthly).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of August 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Susan H. Vrahoretis,
Assistant General Counsel for New Reactor Programs, Office of the
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2018-19023 Filed 8-31-18; 8:45 am]
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