[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75057-75058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25905]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0144]


Information Collection: NRC Online Form for Requesting 
Alternatives to Regulatory Codes and Standards

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of submission to the Office of Management and Budget; 
request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public 
comment on our request for review and Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval of the information collection that is summarized below. 
The information collection is regarding a NRC Online Form for 
requesting alternatives to regulatory Codes and Standards requirements.

DATES: Submit comments by December 24, 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 
on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

[[Page 75058]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Cullison, NRC Clearance Officer, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-2084; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0144 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-2020-0144. A copy of 
the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained 
without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2020-0144 on this website.
     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]. A copy of the collection of 
information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by 
accessing ADAMS Accession No. ML20302A440. The supporting statement is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20225A233.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents is currently closed. You may submit your request to 
the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
     NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of 
information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by 
contacting the NRC's Clearance Officer, David Cullison, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2084; email: 
[email protected].

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed in your comment submission. All comment submissions are 
posted at https://www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment 
submissions are not routinely edited to remove identifying or contact 
information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the OMB, 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 comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove such 
information before making the comment submissions available to the 
public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

    Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the NRC recently submitted a proposed collection of 
information to OMB for review entitled, NRC Online Form, ``Request for 
Alternative Under 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1) and 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(2).'' The 
NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an agency may not conduct 
or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.
    The NRC published a Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment 
period on this information collection on July 23, 2020 (85 FR 44549).
    1. The title of the information collection: NRC Online Form, 
``Request for Alternative Under 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1) and 10 CFR 
50.55a(z)(2).''
    2. OMB approval number: 3150-0244.
    3. Type of submission: Revision.
    4. The form number if applicable: There is no form number for the 
online submission form.
    5. How often the collection is required or requested: On occasion.
    6. Who will be required or asked to respond: All holders of, and 
certain applicants for, nuclear power plant construction permits and 
operating licenses under the provisions of part 50 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities'' who use alternatives to the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.55a paragraphs (b) through (h) when 
authorized by the NRC have the option of using the online form.
    7. The estimated number of annual responses: 218.
    8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 218.
    9. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to 
comply with the information collection requirement or request: 872.
    10. Abstract: The NRC requested emergency review of an online form 
to allow licensees to submit requests for alternatives under 10 CFR 
50.55a(z)(1) and (2) for a period of 6 months. The collection was 
initiated to facilitate the submission of alternatives related to the 
COVID-19 public health emergency. The collection is currently being 
revised and resubmitted to OMB for renewal. The revisions to the form 
will allow respondents to use the NRC Online Form, ``Request for 
Alternative Under 10 CFR 50.55a(z)(1) and (2),'' for all alternative 
requests (COVID and Non-COVID alike) and provides a more sophisticated 
form layout that provides new features that allow licensees to build 
requests within the portal (vice attaching files) and allows for peer 
reviews. The form which simplifies and reduces the burden of filing of 
requests for alternatives is described in the following paragraphs. 
Under the existing collection under OMB Control No. 3150-0011, 
licensees are already able to request alternatives. This information 
collection only addresses the incremental burden change to this 
existing clearance due to the form and not the total burden for the 
clearance.
    Section 50.55a of 10 CFR incorporates by reference Division 1 rules 
of Section III, ``Rules for Construction of Nuclear Power Plant 
Components,'' and Section XI, ``Rules for Inservice Inspection of 
Nuclear Power Plant Components,'' of the American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (B&PV Code); and the 
rules of the ASME ``Code for Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power 
Plants'' (OM Code). These rules of the ASME B&PV and OM Codes set forth 
the requirements to which nuclear power plant components are designed, 
constructed, tested, repaired, and inspected. Section 50.55a(z) of 10 
CFR allows applicants to use alternatives to the requirements of 10 CFR 
50.55a paragraphs (b) through (h) when authorized by the NRC. To 
facilitate licensees' requests for alternatives to the requirements in 
the above regulations, the NRC is providing an optional online form to 
submit the required information for a specific alternative request 
under 10 CFR 50.55a(z).

    Dated: November 18, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David C. Cullison,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-25905 Filed 11-23-20; 8:45 am]
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