[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 41 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14743-14744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04223]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 14743]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 50, 52, and 100
[NRC-2023-0153]
Regulatory Guide: General Site Suitability for Nuclear Power
Stations
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 4 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 4.7, ``General Site Suitability
for Nuclear Power Stations.'' Revision 4 to RG 4.7 describes the major
site characteristics related to public health and safety and
environmental issues that the NRC staff considers in determining the
suitability of sites for commercial nuclear power stations.
DATES: Revision 4 to RG 4.7 is available on February 29, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0153 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0153. 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.
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 this document.
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.
Revision 4 to RG 4.7 and the regulatory analysis may be found in
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML23348A082 and ML23123A095, respectively.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3317; email:
[email protected] and Belkys Sosa, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3357; email: [email protected]. Both
are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing a revision in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide''
series. This series was developed to describe methods that are
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the
agency's regulations, to explain techniques that the staff uses in
evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to describe
information that the staff needs in its review of applications for
permits and licenses.
The proposed Revision 4 to RG 4.7 was issued with a temporary
identification of Draft Regulatory Guide (DG)-4034. The NRC staff
revised RG 4.7 to include alternative approaches to the population-
density criterion and to expand the regulatory guidance developed for
large light-water reactor (LWR) technology with appropriate
modifications for advanced reactor designs (e.g., non-LWR technologies
and light-water small modular reactors). Specifically, this revision
includes a new appendix A, which implements the Commission approved
alternative population-related criteria in SRM-SECY-20-0045
``Population-Related Siting Considerations for Advanced Reactors,''
(ADAMS Accession No. ML22194A885). Appendix A provides guidance on
alternatives to the existing guidance in section C.1.4 of this RG that
establishes a fixed distance of 20 miles out to which population
density is assessed for any new application. Readers should understand
that the body of this RG was developed for large LWRs, while appendix A
is intended for advanced reactor designs. This revision also removes
repetition and improves clarity. Text from the discussion section and
the two tables in Revision 3 to the RG were brought together in Section
C, ``Staff Regulatory Guidance.'' To present each topic in Section C
cohesively, the document was structured to list (1) relevant statutes
and regulations, (2) related guidance, and (3) considerations,
regulatory experience, and staff positions.
II. Additional Information
The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-4034 in the
Federal Register on October 18, 2023 (88 FR 71777) for a 30-day public
comment period. The public comment period closed on November 17, 2023.
Public comments on DG-4034 and the staff responses to the public
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23324A007.
As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671),
this document is being published in the ``Rules'' section of the
Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under chapter
I of title 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of this RG does not constitute backfitting as defined in
10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC Management
Directive
[[Page 14744]]
(MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality,
and Information Requests,'' would not affect the issue finality of any
approval issued under 10 CFR part 52; and would not constitute forward
fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4. This RG will
not apply to any construction permits, operating licenses, early site
permits, limited work authorizations issued under 10 CFR 50.10, or
combined licenses, for which the NRC issued a final environmental
impact statement (EIS) preceded by a draft EIS under 10 CFR 51.76 or
51.75, any of which were issued by the NRC prior to issuance of this
final RG. The NRC has already completed its siting determination for
those construction permits, operating licenses, early site permits,
limited work authorizations, and combined licenses. Therefore, no
further NRC regulatory action on siting will occur for those licenses,
permits, and authorizations, for which the guidance in the RG would be
relevant. The methods described in this RG will be used in evaluating
applications for construction permits, early site permits, combined
operating licenses and limited work authorizations, which includes
information under 10 CFR 51.49(b) or (f), with respect to compliance
with applicable regulations governing the siting of new nuclear power
plants and testing facilities, unless the applicant proposes an
acceptable alternative method for complying with those regulations.
Methods that differ from those described in this RG may be deemed
acceptable if the applicant provides sufficient basis and information
for the NRC staff to verify that the proposed alternative complies with
the applicable NRC regulations.
V. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides
A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the
NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs.
Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html.
Suggestions will be considered in future updates and enhancements to
the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.
Dated: February 23, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2024-04223 Filed 2-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P