[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2017-0041]


Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory Guide; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P