[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47443-47445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19521]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 30, 40, 50, 52, 60, 61, 63, 70, 71, and 72

[Docket No. PRM-50-107; NRC-2013-0077]


Requirement To Submit Complete and Accurate Information

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking activity; denial of petition for 
rulemaking.

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[[Page 47444]]

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing 
a rulemaking activity, ``Requirement to Submit Complete and Accurate 
Information,'' and denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-50-107. 
This document informs the public of the NRC's action and describes the 
rationale for the action. The NRC will no longer track this rulemaking 
activity or PRM.

DATES: As of September 10, 2019, the rulemaking activity is 
discontinued and PRM-50-107 is denied.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0077 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for this action. You can 
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by using 
any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0077. 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.
     The NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in 
the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://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]. 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. In addition, for the 
convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in 
a table in the section of this document entitled, Availability of 
Documents.
     The NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of 
public documents at the NRC's PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yanely Malave, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1519; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Discussion
II. Availability of Documents
III. Conclusion

I. Discussion

    The NRC received a PRM dated April 15, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13113A443), from Mr. James Lieberman (the petitioner), a regulatory 
and nuclear safety consultant. The petitioner requested that the NRC 
revise its regulations relating to nuclear reactors at Sec. Sec.  50.1, 
50.9, 52.0, and 52.6 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) to expand its ``regulatory framework to make it a legal obligation 
for those non-licensees who seek NRC regulatory approvals be held to 
the same legal standards for the submittal of complete and accurate 
information as would a licensee or an applicant for a license.''
    The PRM was noticed in the Federal Register for public comment on 
June 10, 2013 (78 FR 34604). The NRC received two comments, both 
supporting the petition.
    On September 16, 2013, the petitioner amended the PRM (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13261A190) to expand its scope to include the 
regulatory framework for radioactive materials, waste disposal, 
transportation, and spent fuel storage (10 CFR parts 30, 40, 60, 61, 
63, 70, 71, and 72). In the amended petition, the petitioner also 
requested that the ``scope'' section for each of the parts be revised 
to add language to highlight that any person seeking or obtaining NRC 
approval for a regulated activity would be subject to enforcement 
action for violation of the completeness and accuracy provision of that 
part. The applicable sections pertaining to this issue include 
Sec. Sec.  30.1, 40.2, 50.1, 52.0, 60.1, 61.1, 63.1, 70.2, 71.0, and 
72.2. The amended PRM was noticed in the Federal Register for public 
comment on January 21, 2014 (79 FR 3328). The NRC received one 
additional comment in support of the amended petition.
    The petitioner stated that non-licensees (e.g., vendors and other 
contractors) who seek NRC regulatory approvals ``should be held to the 
same legal standards for the submittal of complete and accurate 
information as would a licensee or an applicant for license.'' When the 
Commission promulgated the ``Completeness and Accuracy of Information'' 
rule on December 31, 1987 (52 FR 49362) (the 1987 rule), neither the 
rule language nor the Statements of Consideration (SOCs) discussed non-
licensees submitting information to the NRC for regulatory approvals. 
The 1987 rule included nearly identical ``Completeness and Accuracy of 
Information'' requirements in 10 CFR parts 30, 40, 50, 60, 61, 70, 71, 
and 72. When the Commission added 10 CFR parts 52 and 63 to its 
regulations, it added ``Completeness and Accuracy of Information'' 
requirements to these parts (72 FR 49521; August 28, 2007, and 66 FR 
55732; November 2, 2001, respectively). The petitioner's specific 
concern is that NRC regulations do not require all persons who seek NRC 
approvals to provide the NRC with complete and accurate information in 
all material respects.
    On March 17, 2015 (80 FR 13794), the NRC informed the public that 
the issues raised in the amended PRM have merit and are appropriate for 
consideration in the rulemaking process. In addition, the PRM docket, 
PRM-50-107, was closed. However, the timing for conducting a rulemaking 
on any issue is dependent on the immediacy of the safety, 
environmental, or security concerns that have been raised; the rule's 
priority compared to other rulemakings; and the availability of 
funding. Using the NRC's Common Prioritization of Rulemaking 
methodology (ADAMS Accession No. ML15086A074), the NRC prioritized this 
rulemaking activity as low priority. The petitioner's February 3, 2017 
letter (ADAMS Accession No. ML17034A409) identified that this 
rulemaking had been assigned a medium priority; however, the NRC has 
confirmed that references to this rulemaking as medium priority in 
certain locations were errors, due to staff oversight, and that it was 
prioritized as low priority using the critical power ratio methodology.
    The NRC has not identified an immediate safety, environmental, or 
security concern, and the petitioner did not demonstrate how a lack of 
requirements in this area would contribute to such a concern. In 
contrast to the repeated past performance problems in the areas of 
design, design control, fabrication and quality control with holders 
of, and applicants for, a Certificate of Compliance under part 72 
(i.e., for non-licensed spent fuel storage cask certificate holders 
that were addressed in a final rule, ``Expand Applicability of Part 72 
to Holders of, and Applicants for, Certificates of Compliance'' (64 FR 
56114; October 15, 1999), the NRC identified only one other example 
where an entity other than an NRC licensee or applicant submitted 
incomplete or inaccurate information that resulted in a significant 
safety issue. That instance involved the submission of a reactor 
topical report on a fire retardant product that was based on falsified 
test data. While the case took several years to conclude, the NRC was 
able to exercise its current authority under the Atomic Energy Act 
(AEA) to resolve the safety issue and ultimately sanction the vendor.

[[Page 47445]]

    The AEA stipulates that licensees or applicants are ultimately 
responsible for safety. The AEA includes the authority to revoke 
licenses for material false statements (AEA section 186) and to require 
written statements from applicants for licenses and licensees (AEA 
section 182). As described in the 1987 rule, Sec.  50.9 codifies in a 
more explicit and accessible way requirements already existing under 
the authority of the AEA (52 FR 49372). The responsibility for safety 
remains with the licensee or applicant for a license that relies on 
material provided by a non-licensee. Furthermore, the requirements in 
10 CFR part 21, ``Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance,'' apply to 
subjects such as safety-related analysis associated with component 
hardware, which may be addressed in the type of topical report 
referenced by the petitioner. The NRC, as well as licensees and 
applicants, have procedures in place to ensure that substantial safety 
hazards identified under 10 CFR part 21 are identified and corrected. 
Based on these considerations, the NRC finds that the subject 
rulemaking would likely have minimal practical benefit to the safety or 
security of NRC-regulated activities.

II. 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. For information on accessing ADAMS, see the ADDRESSES 
section of this document.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        ADAMS Accession
                                                          No./Federal
               Date                     Document       Register citation/
                                                              link
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 15, 2013...................  Letter from J.      ML13113A443.
                                    Lieberman,
                                    ``Completeness
                                    and Accuracy of
                                    Information,''
                                    PRM-50-107
                                    (Original
                                    Petition).
June 10, 2013....................  Federal Register    78 FR 34604,
                                    notification,       https://
                                    ``Submitting        www.gpo.gov/
                                    Complete and        fdsys/pkg/FR-
                                    Accurate            2013-06-10/pdf/
                                    Information''.      2013-13684.pdf.
September 16, 2013...............  Letter from J.      ML13261A190.
                                    Lieberman,
                                    ``Completeness
                                    and Accuracy of
                                    Information,''
                                    PRM-50-107
                                    (Amended
                                    Petition).
January 21, 2014.................  Federal Register    79 FR 3328,
                                    notification,       https://
                                    ``Submitting        www.gpo.gov/
                                    Complete and        fdsys/pkg/FR-
                                    Accurate            2014-01-21/pdf/
                                    Information''.      2014-01035.pdf.
March 17, 2015...................  Federal Register    80 FR 13794,
                                    notification,       https://
                                    ``Requirement to    www.gpo.gov/
                                    Submit Complete     fdsys/pkg/FR-
                                    and Accurate        2015-03-17/pdf/
                                    Information''.      2015-06107.pdf.
June 23, 2015....................  Common              ML15086A074.
                                    Prioritization of
                                    Rulemaking
                                    Methodology.
February 3, 2017.................  Letter from J.      ML17034A409.
                                    Lieberman ``PRM
                                    50-217,
                                    Rulemaking
                                    Petition To Amend
                                    the NRC
                                    Regulations for
                                    Completeness and
                                    Accuracy of
                                    Information--10
                                    CFR 30.9, 40.9,
                                    50.9, 52.6,
                                    60.10, 61.9a,
                                    63.10, 70.9,
                                    71.7, and 72.11''.
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III. Conclusion

    The NRC is no longer pursuing the ``Requirement to Submit Complete 
and Accurate Information'' rulemaking and is denying PRM-50-107 for the 
reasons discussed in this document. In the next edition of the Unified 
Agenda, the NRC will update the entry for this rulemaking activity with 
reference to this document to indicate that the rulemaking is no longer 
being pursued. These rulemaking activities will appear in the completed 
section of that edition of the Unified Agenda but will not appear in 
future editions. If the NRC decides to pursue a similar or related 
rulemaking activity in the future, it will inform the public through a 
new rulemaking entry in the Unified Agenda.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of September 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-19521 Filed 9-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P