[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84365-84366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26589]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2023-0141]


Information Collection: Pre-Application Communication and 
Scheduling for Licensing Actions Related to Digital Instrumentation and 
Controls

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public 
comment on this proposed information collection. The information 
collection is entitled, ``Pre-Application Communication and Scheduling 
for Licensing Actions Related to Digital Instrumentation and 
Controls.''

DATES: Submit comments by February 5, 2024. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received 
on or 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-2023-0141. 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.
     Mail comments to: David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Mail Stop: T-6 A10M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    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: David Cullison, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2084; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0141 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-2023-0141.
     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 supporting statement, 
Regulatory Issue Summary, and burden table are available in ADAMS under 
Accession Nos. ML23222A221, ML23198A062, and ML23254A061.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
     NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of 
information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by 
contacting the NRC's Clearance Officer, David C. Cullison, Office of 
the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2084; email: 
[email protected].

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2023-0141, in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed in your comment submission. All comment submissions are 
posted at https://www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment 
submissions are not routinely edited 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 comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove such 
information before making the comment submissions available to the 
public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the NRC is requesting public comment on its intention to 
request the OMB's approval for the information collection summarized 
below.
    1. The title of the information collection: Pre-Application 
Communication and Scheduling for Licensing Actions Related to Digital 
Instrumentation and Controls.
    2. OMB approval number: An OMB control number has not yet been 
assigned to this proposed information collection.
    3. Type of submission: New.

[[Page 84366]]

    4. The form number, if applicable: Not applicable.
    5. How often the collection is required or requested: Annually, 
with the addition of voluntary updates as available.
    6. Who will be required or asked to respond: All holders of 
operating licenses or combined licenses for nuclear power reactors, 
except those that have permanently ceased operations and have certified 
that fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel or 
combined license holders that have not received authorization to load 
nuclear fuel and begin operation.
    7. The estimated number of annual responses: 4.33.
    8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 4.33.
    9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the 
information collection requirement or request: 87.
    10. Abstract: Operating reactors in the U.S. want to more 
efficiently integrate and implement digital upgrades into plant systems 
to address obsolescence issues with analog components and improve 
overall plant reliability. The regulatory focus for digital systems is 
tailored to the unique nature of the digital technologies and uses 
proposed by licensees and applicants. Depending on the scope of an 
analog to digital or a digital-to-digital upgrade, the level-of-effort 
for a requested licensing actions (e.g., license amendment, exemption) 
can be significantly higher than the level-of-effort expended on a 
routine requested licensing action. Additionally, a significant portion 
of the level-of-effort for a digital instrumentation and controls (I&C) 
review will require specialized digital I&C and human factors 
engineering skills. To better plan and ensure availability of resources 
to perform digital I&C reviews, the NRC is seeking scheduling 
information for licensing submittals from all respondents. This 
information will allow the NRC to better allocate its resources to 
support the activities associated with licensing these technologies 
while being better able to meet the licensee's desired timeline.

III. Specific Requests for Comments

    The NRC is seeking comments that address the following questions:
    1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC 
to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical 
utility? Please explain your answer.
    2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection 
accurate? Please explain your answer.
    3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected?
    4. How can the burden of the information collection on respondents 
be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology?

    Dated: November 29, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David C. Cullison,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-26589 Filed 12-4-23; 8:45 am]
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