[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14651-14652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05501]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0042]


Emergency Response Planning and Preparedness for Nuclear Power 
Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment a draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1357, ``Emergency 
Response Planning and Preparedness for Nuclear Power Reactors.'' This 
DG is proposed Revision 6 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.101, ``Emergency 
Response Planning and Preparedness for Nuclear Power Reactors.'' This 
proposed revision endorses Revision 0 of the Nuclear Energy Institute 
(NEI) white paper, ``Implementing a 24-Month Frequency for Emergency 
Preparedness Program Reviews,'' issued November 2019. In addition, this 
proposed revision includes guidance found in previous revisions of RG 
1.101, updated NRC guidance documents, and other documents previously 
endorsed by the NRC to consolidate the list of these guidance documents 
into a single revision of the RG.

DATES: Submit comments by April 16, 2021. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0042. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals 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: Charles Murray, Office of Nuclear 
Security and Incident Response, telephone: 301-287-9246, email: 
[email protected] and Mekonen Bayssie, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-1669, email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0042 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-2021-0042.
     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].
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2021-0042 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. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public information regarding methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the staff needs in 
its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The DG, entitled ``Emergency Response Planning and Preparedness for 
Nuclear Power Reactors,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, 
DG-1357 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21007A330). The staff is also issuing 
for public comment a draft regulatory analysis (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML21004A168). The staff develops a regulatory analysis to assess the 
value of issuing or revising a regulatory guide as well as alternative 
courses of action
    The staff would issue Revision 6 of RG 1.101 to endorse and update 
guidance that is available to licensees and applicants on methods 
acceptable to the NRC staff for complying with the NRC's regulations 
for emergency response plans and preparedness at nuclear power 
reactors. This DG is for light water reactors, including those of an 
advanced design (e.g., AP1000); small modular reactors and other new 
technologies will have design-specific RGs to support development of 
their emergency plans. This proposed revision endorses Revision 0 of 
the NEI white paper, ``Implementing a 24-Month Frequency for Emergency 
Preparedness Program Reviews,'' issued November 2019. This proposed 
revision also includes guidance found in previous revisions of RG 
1.101, updated NRC guidance documents, and other documents previously 
endorsed by the NRC to consolidate the list of these guidance documents 
into a single revision of the RG.

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III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    DG-1357, if finalized, would revise RG 1.101, Revision 6, which 
describes methods acceptable to the NRC staff for complying with the 
NRC's regulations to meet the regulatory requirements for emergency 
response planning and preparedness. Issuance of DG-1357, if finalized, 
would not constitute backfitting as defined in section 50.109 of the 
Code of Federal Regulation (10 CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described 
in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, 
Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information Requests''; constitute 
forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4; or 
affect the issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, 
``Licenses, certifications, and approvals for nuclear power plants.'' 
As explained in DG-1357, applicants and licensees would not be required 
to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1357.

    Dated: March 12, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-05501 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
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