[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 185 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 48346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20699]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2017-0041]
Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory Guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.2, ``Preparation of Environmental
Reports for Nuclear Power Stations.'' This revision provides general
guidance to applicants for the format and content of environmental
reports (ERs) that are submitted as part of an application for a
permit, license, or other approval for a new nuclear power plant.
DATES: Revision 3 to RG 4.2 is available on September 24, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0041 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0041. Address
questions about dockets IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individuals 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 ``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]. Revision 3 to RG 4.2 and the
regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos.
ML18071A400 and ML16116A067, respectfully.
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: Jennifer Davis, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-3835, email: [email protected] and
Edward O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone:
301-415-3317, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing Revision 3 of RG 4.2, ``Preparation of
Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations,'' as a guide in the
NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to
describe and make available to the public information regarding methods
that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of
the NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating
specific problems or postulated events, and data that the staff needs
from applicants in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
The present guide dates to 1976, and an update was needed to align it
with changes in NRC regulations since 1976, changes in environmental
statutes and regulations, and Executive Orders. Consequently the guide
was updated to provide general guidelines for the preparation of
environmental reports supporting an application for a permit, license,
or other approval for a new nuclear power plant. The information
requested from applicants in this RG is based on the requirements
contained in part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions.'' Guidance from the interim staff
guidance, as it relates to information that applicants should include
in an environmental report, was incorporated into this RG, as
appropriate. The entirety of interim staff guidance will be terminated
when it is incorporated into permanent staff guidance in consistent
with staff guidance such as NUREG-1555, ``Environmental Standard Review
Plan: Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power
Plants'' (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML003702134 and ML003701937).
II. Additional Information
The NRC published a notice of the availability of the proposed
revision, temporarily identified by draft regulatory guide (DG) number,
DG-4026 for public comment in the Federal Register on February 13, 2017
(82 FR 10502) for a 60-day period. The public comment period was
extended to May 31, 2017 (82 FR 15544), based upon a request from the
Nuclear Energy Institute. The staff responses to the public comments
are available under ADAMS under Accession No. ML18071A401.
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Issuance of this RG does not constitute backfitting as defined in
10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule), nor would it be regarded as
backfitting under Commission and Executive Director for Operations
guidance, and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality
provisions in 10 CFR part 52.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of September 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2018-20699 Filed 9-21-18; 8:45 am]
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