[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.
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ADAMS Accession
No./Federal
Date Document Register citation/
link
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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]
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