[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 9, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8685-8686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02584]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 8685]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 50 and 52

[NRC-2008-0122]


Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies 
(NUREG/CR-7002, Revision 1)

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: NUREG; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 1 to NUREG/CR-7002, ``Criteria for Development of Evacuation 
Time Estimate Studies.'' This revised 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.

DATES: NUREG/CR-7002, Revision 1 is available on February 9, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0122 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0122. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual 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 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]. NUREG/CR-7002, Rev. 1, ``Criteria for 
Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies'' is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML21013A504.
     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 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

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. 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 that 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, 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.
    The revised NUREG/CR-7002 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. ML20070M158). Specific areas of research 
included 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. The NRC's intent in revising NUREG/CR-7002 is to 
ensure consistency in the development and review of ETE studies.

II. Additional Information

    Following development of the revised guidance, the NRC posted the 
draft NUREG/CR-7002, Rev. 1 to the Federal Rulemaking website at 
https://www.regulations.gov for a 45-day public comment period (85 FR 
52930; August 27, 2020). The NRC held a public meeting on September 16, 
2020, to discuss the scope of the proposed revisions. The comment 
period closed on October 13, 2020. In total, the NRC received, 
reviewed, and considered 10 comments during the development of this 
revision. Of the 10 comments, 7 were accepted (i.e., the NRC revised 
the draft guidance exactly as recommended), 2 were agreed to in part, 
and 1 comment was rejected. In all, nine comments resulted in revisions 
to the draft guidance. A detailed report on the comment resolutions, 
including the agency's rationales for each comment's disposition, will 
be available for review in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21007A043 and at 
https://www.regulations.gov/, under Docket ID NRC-2008-0122, within 30 
days after issuance of the final NUREG/CR-7002, Rev. 1. Additionally, 
in response to EPFAQ 2020-01 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20206L127), the NRC 
revised the draft guidance to clearly define the decennial period as it 
applies to the ETE updates required by 10 CFR part 50, appendix E, 
sections IV.5 and IV.6.

[[Page 8686]]

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    Issuance of NUREG/CR-7002, Rev. 1 does not constitute backfitting 
as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC 
Management Directive (MD) 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 MD 8.4, because, as explained in NUREG/
CR-7002, Rev. 1, licensees are not required to comply with the 
positions set forth in that document.

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act

    NUREG/CR-7002, Rev. 1, does not contain any new or amended 
collections of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing collections of information were 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval numbers 3150-
0011 and 3150-0151.

V. Congressional Review Act

    The NUREG/CR-7002, Rev. 1, 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.

    Dated: February 3, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark D. Lombard,
Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.
[FR Doc. 2021-02584 Filed 2-8-21; 8:45 am]
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