[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 167 (Thursday, August 27, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52930-52931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18818]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 167 / Thursday, August 27, 2020 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 52930]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[NRC-2008-0122]
Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies
(NUREG/CR-7002, Revision 1)
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft NUREG; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for
public comment a draft NUREG, NUREG/CR-7002, ``Criteria for Development
of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies,'' Revision 1. This draft NUREG
provides guidance to meet NRC requirements for development of
evacuation time estimates (ETEs) to support emergency planning. This
revision reflects the importance of various ETE model parameters based
on the results of an applied research study on ETEs. The format and
criteria provided in this document will support consistent application
of the ETE methodology and will facilitate consistent NRC review of ETE
studies. The NRC is soliciting public comment on the contemplated
action and invites stakeholders and interested persons to participate.
The NRC plans to hold a public meeting to promote full understanding of
the contemplated action and facilitate public comment.
DATES: Submit comments by October 13, 2020. 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0122. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
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: Todd Smith, Office of Nuclear Security
and Incident Response, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-3744, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0122 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0122.
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 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. Revision 1 to NUREG/CR-
7002, ``Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies''
is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20233A700.
A. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2008-0122 in your comment submission.
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
https://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. Discussion
The ETE is a calculation of the time to evacuate the plume exposure
pathway emergency planning zone (EPZ), an area around a nuclear power
plant for which planning is needed to ensure prompt and effective
actions can be taken in the event of a radiological emergency. The ETE
is primarily used to inform protective action strategies within the EPZ
and may be used to assist in the development of traffic management
plans to support an evacuation. In November 2011, the NRC issued NUREG/
CR-7002, ``Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate
Studies'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML113010515), as guidance to support
compliance with ETE provisions added to the NRC's regulations in title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 50, appendix E,
section IV, in a final rule issued on November 23, 2011 (76 FR 72560).
The initial release of this guidance was based on previous advancements
in the development of ETE modeling and knowledge gained through
research of large scale evacuations and staged evacuations.
Draft NUREG/CR-7002, Revision 1, is based on an applied research
study to examine, through modeling and simulation, technical subjects
associated with the use of traffic simulation models for ETE studies,
documented in NUREG/CR-7269, ``Enhancing Guidance for Evacuation Time
Estimate Studies'' (ADAMS Accession No.
[[Page 52931]]
ML20070M158). Specific areas of research include the impact of shadow
evacuations, evacuation model boundary conditions, the use of manual
traffic control, and the sensitivity of various model parameters
important to ETE studies. The study provided a technical basis for
revisions to NUREG/CR-7002 to reflect current practices in
transportation modeling and an enhanced understanding of evacuation
dynamics. Proposed revisions also include guidance for developing ETEs
for various sized EPZs, updating ETEs, developing ETE studies in
support of early site permit applications, and using measures of
effectiveness for assessing model performance. The NRC's intent in
revising NUREG/CR-7002 is to ensure consistency in the development and
review of ETE studies.
III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of draft NUREG/CR-7002, Revision 1, if finalized, would
not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109,
``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC Management Directive 8.4,
``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and
Information Requests''; affect issue finality of any approval issued
under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certificates, and Approvals for
Nuclear Power Plants''; or constitute forward fitting as defined in
Management Directive 8.4, because, as explained in draft NUREG/CR-7002,
Revision 1, licensees are not required to comply with the positions set
forth in that document.
IV. Public Meeting
The NRC will conduct a public meeting to describe draft NUREG/CR-
7002, Revision 1, and answer questions from the public. The NRC will
publish a notice of the location, time, and agenda of the meeting on
the NRC's public meeting website at least 10 calendar days before the
meeting. Stakeholders should monitor the NRC's public meeting website
for information about the public meeting at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings.html.
Dated: August 21, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kathryn M. Brock,
Director, Division of Preparedness and Response, Office of Nuclear
Security and Incident Response.
[FR Doc. 2020-18818 Filed 8-26-20; 8:45 am]
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