[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]
[[Page 14651]]
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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.
[[Page 14652]]
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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