[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 58459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20859]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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. 87, No. 186 / Tuesday, September 27, 2022 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 58459]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[NRC-2014-0161 and NRC-2019-0062]
RIN 3150-AJ43


Financial Qualifications Requirements for Reactor Licensing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking activity.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing 
a rulemaking activity that would have revised the current financial 
qualification requirements of ``reasonable assurance'' to the review 
standard of ``appears to be financially qualified.'' The purpose of 
this document is to inform members of the public that the NRC is 
discontinuing this rulemaking activity. The staff will address 
financial qualifications during the development of an ongoing 
rulemaking activity to establish a risk-informed, technology inclusive 
regulatory framework for advanced reactors.

DATES: As of September 27, 2022, the rulemaking activity discussed in 
this document is discontinued.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0161 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-2014-0161. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
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, at 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 the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler Hammock, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1381, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 17, 2015, the NRC published a draft 
regulatory basis for public comment in the Federal Register (80 FR 
34559). In the draft regulatory basis, the staff recommended revising 
the current financial qualification requirements of ``reasonable 
assurance'' to the review standard of ``appears to be financially 
qualified,'' and rescinding appendix C to part 50 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``A Guide for Financial Data and 
Related Information Required to Establish Financial Qualifications for 
Construction Permits and Combined Licenses.'' Comments were requested 
by August 3, 2015. During the comment period, the NRC conducted two 
public meetings.
    The NRC received four public comment submissions on the draft 
regulatory basis. Comments were received from the University of 
Florida, The George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, 
the Nuclear Energy Institute, and Coqui Radio Pharmaceuticals 
Corporation. The comments are available at www.regulations.gov by 
searching on Docket ID NRC-2014-0161.
    On February 26, 2018, the NRC staff submitted to the Commission for 
approval a draft proposed rule (ADAMS Accession No. ML17172A536) to 
amend the NRC's financial qualifications requirements in 10 CFR part 
50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,'' to 
conform to the standards in 10 CFR part 70, ``Domestic Licensing of 
Special Nuclear Material.'' In Staff Requirements Memorandum SRM-SECY-
18-0026, ``Proposed Rule: Financial Qualifications Requirements for 
Reactor Licensing,'' dated July 14, 2022 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML22195A097), the Commission disapproved the draft proposed rule. The 
Commission directed the staff to address financial qualifications 
during the development of part 53, ``Risk-Informed, Technology 
Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors'' (Docket ID NRC-
2019-0062), and to solicit stakeholder feedback on financial 
qualifications. Thus, the NRC is discontinuing this rulemaking 
activity.
    In the next edition of the Unified Agenda, the NRC will update the 
entry for this rulemaking activity and reference this document to 
indicate that the rulemaking activity is no longer being pursued. This 
rulemaking activity will appear in the completed actions section of 
that edition of the Unified Agenda but will not appear in future 
editions. You can access information regarding the ongoing rulemaking 
that will consider aspects of the NRC's financial assurance 
requirements, ``Risk-Informed, Technology Inclusive Regulatory 
Framework for Advanced Reactors'' on www.regulations.gov; search for 
Docket ID NRC-2019-0062. The NRC tracks the status of all planned 
rulemaking activities on its public website, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/rulemaking-ruleforum/active/ruleindex.html.

    Dated: September 21, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brooke P. Clark,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-20859 Filed 9-26-22; 8:45 am]
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