[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 9, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67571-67572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24463]


 ========================================================================
 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. 216 / Wednesday, November 9, 2022 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 67571]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. NRC-2020-0036]
RIN 3150-AK71


Reporting Requirements for Nonemergency Events at Nuclear Power 
Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory basis; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting 
comment on a regulatory basis to support a rulemaking that would amend 
its regulations for nonemergency event notifications. The NRC is 
evaluating the current requirements and guidance for immediate 
notification of nonemergency events for operating nuclear power 
reactors and assessing whether the requirements present an unnecessary 
reporting burden. The regulatory basis contains an analysis of whether 
reporting requirements can be reduced or eliminated when they do not 
have a commensurate safety benefit.

DATES: Submit comments by January 9, 2023. 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 before this 
date.

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-2020-0036. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407; 
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the 
individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do 
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact 
us at 301-415-1677.
    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: George Tartal, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0016; email: 
[email protected]; or Brian Benney, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-2767; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0036 (formerly Docket ID NRC-
2018-0201 for the associated petition for rulemaking) 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-2020-0036 (or Docket 
ID NRC-2018-0201 for the associated petition for rulemaking).
     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]. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' 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 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0036 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. Discussion

    To facilitate early stakeholder engagement in the rulemaking 
process, the NRC is requesting comment on a regulatory basis to support 
a rulemaking that would amend Section 50.72, ``Immediate notification 
requirements for operating nuclear power reactors,'' of Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
    The regulatory basis is developed as a precursor to a proposed rule 
and describes the NRC's preferred approach for resolving an issue 
raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-50-116, submitted by the 
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) on August 2, 2018. The petition 
requested the NRC to amend its regulations to remove all nonemergency 
notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors. On 
August 12, 2021, the NRC published a notice in the Federal Register (86 
FR

[[Page 67572]]

44290) announcing its decision to consider in its rulemaking process 
changes to these requirements.
    The regulatory basis recommends that the NRC pursue rulemaking to 
remove six of the nonemergency event notification requirements, clarify 
regulatory guidance for two of the requirements, and make no changes to 
the rest of the nonemergency event notification requirements. The NRC 
also recommends rulemaking to provide a voluntary, alternative method 
for submitting nonemergency event reports to the NRC.
    The NRC will consider feedback received on the regulatory basis in 
the development of the planned proposed rule and will address written 
comments in that proposed rule.

III. Cumulative Effects of Regulations

    The Cumulative Effects of Regulation (CER) describes the challenges 
that licensees or other impacted entities (such as State agency 
partners) may face while implementing new regulatory positions, 
programs, and requirements (e.g., rules, generic letters, backfits, 
inspections). The CER is an organizational challenge that results from 
a licensee or impacted entity implementing a number of complex 
positions, programs, or requirements within a limited implementation 
period and with available resources (which may include limited 
available expertise to address a specific issue). The NRC is following 
its CER process by engaging with external stakeholders throughout this 
regulatory basis and related regulatory activities. Opportunity for 
public comment is provided to the public at this regulatory basis 
stage. The NRC has implemented CER enhancements to the rulemaking 
process to facilitate public involvement throughout the rulemaking 
process. The NRC is requesting CER feedback on the following questions:
    1. In light of any current or projected CER challenges, what should 
be a reasonable effective date, compliance date, or submittal date(s) 
from the time the final rule is published to the actual implementation 
of any new proposed requirements, including changes to programs, 
procedures, or the facility?
    2. If current or projected CER challenges exist, what should be 
done to address this situation (e.g., if more time is required to 
implement the new requirements, what period of time would be 
sufficient, and why such a time frame is necessary)?
    3. Do other regulatory actions (e.g., orders, generic 
communications, license amendment requests, and inspection findings of 
a generic nature) by the NRC or other agencies influence the 
implementation of the potential proposed requirements?
    4. Are there unintended consequences? Does the potential proposed 
action create conditions that would be contrary to the potential 
proposed action's purpose and objectives? If so, what are the 
consequences and how should they be addressed?
    Please provide information on the costs and benefits of the 
potential proposed action. This information will be used to support 
additional regulatory analysis by the NRC.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                ADAMS  accession No./web
                   Document                      link/Federal Register
                                                        citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regulatory Basis for Reporting Requirements    ML22108A004
 for Nonemergency Events at Nuclear Power
 Plants.
PRM-50-116, Considering in the Rulemaking      86 FR 44290
 Process: Elimination of Immediate
 Notification Requirements for Nonemergency
 Events, August 12, 2021.
PRM-50-116, Notice of Docketing and Request    83 FR 58509
 for Comment: Elimination of Immediate
 Notification Requirements for Non-Emergency
 Events, November 20, 2018.
Petition for Rulemaking PRM-50-116, Submitted  ML18247A204
 by the Nuclear Energy Institute, August 2,
 2018.
SECY-20-0109, ``Petition for Rulemaking and    ML20073G008
 Rulemaking Plan on Immediate Notification
 Requirements for Nonemergency Events (PRM-50-
 116; NRC-2018-0201),'' November 30, 2020.
SRM-SECY-20-0109, ``Petition for Rulemaking    ML21209A947
 and Rulemaking Plan on Immediate
 Notification Requirements for Nonemergency
 Events,'' July 28, 2021.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC may post documents related to this rulemaking activity to 
the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under 
Docket ID NRC-2020-0036. In addition, the Federal rulemaking website 
allows members of the public to receive alerts when changes or 
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-2020-0036); (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link; and 
(3) enter an email address and click on the ``Subscribe'' link.

V. Plain Writing

    The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal 
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized 
manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the 
Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 
31885). The NRC requests comment on this document with respect to the 
clarity and effectiveness of the language used.

    Dated: November 4, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher M. Regan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-24463 Filed 11-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P