[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00175]



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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. 91, No. 5 / Thursday, January 8, 2026 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 553]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 2, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 
40, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 60, 61, 62, 63, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 
81, 95, 110, 140, 150, 160, 170, and 171

[NRC-2025-0479]
RIN 3150-AL39


The Sunset Rule

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of effective date; partial 
withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the 
effective date of January 8, 2026, for the direct final rule that was 
published in the Federal Register on December 3, 2025, except for one 
provision that is being withdrawn. This direct final rule amended the 
NRC's regulations to insert a conditional sunset date into certain 
regulations in response to Executive Order 14270, ``Zero-Based 
Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy.'' The NRC is 
withdrawing an amendment that would have established a conditional 
sunset date to the NRC's provisions for aircraft impact assessment.

DATES: 
    Partial Withdrawal: As of January 8, 2026, amendatory instruction 
42 published on December 3, 2025, at 90 FR 55621, is withdrawn.
    Effective Date: The effective date of January 8, 2026, for the 
direct final rule published December 3, 2025 (90 FR 55621), except for 
one amendment as described in this document, is confirmed.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-0479 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: Electronically at https://www.regulations.gov. Search for Docket ID NRC-2025-0479. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang; telephone: 301-415-3228; 
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 ADAMS Public 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 Federal Register notice for the direct 
final rule is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML25212A164.
     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, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard A. Benowitz, Office of the 
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-9112, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 3, 2025 (90 FR 55621), the NRC 
published a direct final rule amending its regulations to insert a 
conditional sunset date into certain regulations in response to 
Executive Order 14270, ``Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash 
American Energy.'' In the direct final rule, the NRC stated that if no 
significant adverse comments were received, the direct final rule would 
become effective on January 8, 2026. The NRC received and docketed 
eleven comments on the companion proposed rule (90 FR 55699; December 
3, 2025). An electronic copy of the comments can be obtained from the 
Federal Rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket 
ID NRC-2025-0479.
    The NRC evaluated the comments against the criteria described in 
the direct final rule and determined that some of the comments were 
significant and adverse. Specifically, certain comments concerning 10 
CFR 50.150, ``Aircraft impact assessment,'' were significant and 
adverse. For this reason, the NRC is removing instruction 42 to amend 
10 CFR 50.150 from the direct final rule. The NRC will address comments 
on that proposed amendment in a final rule to be issued at a later 
time. Removing the change to 10 CFR 50.150 would not have any impact on 
the other changes in the direct final rule. No other comments on the 
rule raised a relevant issue that was not previously addressed or 
considered by the NRC. Therefore, the direct final rule, minus the 
amendment to 10 CFR 50.150, will become effective as scheduled.

    Dated: January 6, 2026.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Araceli Billoch Colon,
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Rulemaking Support Branch, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2026-00175 Filed 1-7-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P