Interim Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability, 15173-15175 [E7-5932]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 61 / Friday, March 30, 2007 / Notices medicine physician; (b) nuclear cardiologist; (c) medical physicist in nuclear medicine unsealed byproduct material; (d) therapy medical physicist; (e) radiation safety officer; (f) nuclear pharmacist; (g) two radiation oncologists; (h) patients’ rights advocate; (i) Food and Drug Administration representative; (j) State representative; and (k) health care administrator. NRC is inviting nominations for the nuclear pharmacist appointment to the ACMUI. The term of the individual currently occupying this position will end September 2008. Committee members currently serve a four-year term and may be considered for reappointment to an additional term. Nominees must be U.S. citizens and be able to devote approximately 160 hours per year to Committee business. Members who are not Federal employees are compensated for their service. In addition, non-Federal members are reimbursed travel, secretarial and correspondence expenses. Full-time Federal employees are reimbursed travel expenses only. Security Background Check: The selected nominee will undergo a thorough security background check. Security paperwork may take the nominee several weeks to complete. Nominees will also be required to complete a financial disclosure statement to avoid conflicts of interest. Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 26th day of March 2007. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E7–5918 Filed 3–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Meeting on Planning and Procedures; Notice of Meeting The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold a Planning and Procedures meeting on April 10, 2007, Room T–2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance, with the exception of a portion that may be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss organizational and personnel matters that relate solely to internal personnel rules and practices of ACNW, and information the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:49 Mar 29, 2007 Jkt 211001 The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday, April 10, 2007—8:30 a.m.–10 a.m. The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW activities and related matters. The purpose of this meeting is to gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Antonio F. Dias (Telephone: 301/415–6805) between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes in the agenda. Dated: March 22, 2007. Antonio F. Dias, Acting Branch Chief, ACNW. [FR Doc. E7–5919 Filed 3–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Interim Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an interim revision to an existing guide in the agency’s Regulatory Guide Series. This series has been developed to describe and make available to the public such information as methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the agency’s regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses. The revised guide, entitled ‘‘Quality Assurance for Radiological Monitoring Programs (Inception Through Normal Operations to License Termination)— Effluent Streams and the Environment,’’ is identified as Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15. Like its predecessor, this interim revision describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 15173 designing and implementing programs to ensure the quality of the results of measurements of radioactive materials in the effluents from, and environment outside of, facilities that process, use, or store radioactive materials during all phases of the facility’s life cycle. Quality assurance (QA) is a fundamental expectation of Title 10, ‘‘Energy,’’ of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for items and activities that are relied on to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment. This interim guide serves as a final regulatory guide for, and may be used by applicants and licensees of nuclear power reactors. It also presents draft NRC staff positions on a method for designing and implementing QA programs for use by non-nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees subject to the agency’s QA requirements. The NRC staff seeks public comments on this regulatory guide with respect to its application to such licensees. The NRC staff will issue this guide in final form after resolving any comments received during the public comment period. Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 specifically applies to facilities for which NRC regulations require routine monitoring of radioactive effluents to the environment, and particularly those facilities licensed under the following regulations: • 10 CFR Part 50, ‘‘Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities’’ • 10 CFR Part 52, ‘‘Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants’’ • 10 CFR Part 61, ‘‘Licensing Requirements for Land Disposal of Radioactive Waste’’ • 10 CFR Part 72, ‘‘Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, HighLevel Radioactive Waste, and ReactorRelated Greater Than Class C Waste’’ • 10 CFR Part 76, ‘‘Certification of Gaseous Diffusion Plants’’ The guidance may also apply to other NRC-licensed facilities, for which the agency may impose specific license conditions for effluent or environmental monitoring, as deemed necessary to ensure the health and safety of the public and the environment, including those licensed under the following regulations: • 10 CFR Part 30, ‘‘Rules of General Applicability to Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material’’ • 10 CFR Part 40, ‘‘Domestic Licensing of Source Material’’ • 10 CFR Part 70, ‘‘Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material’’ E:\FR\FM\30MRN1.SGM 30MRN1 15174 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 61 / Friday, March 30, 2007 / Notices cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Finally, radiological standards for occupational workers and members of the public are codified in 10 CFR Part 20, ‘‘Standards for Protection Against Radiation.’’ As used in the context of Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15, QA comprises all those planned and systematic actions that are necessary to provide adequate confidence in the assessment of monitoring results. Quality control (QC) comprises those QA actions that provide a means to measure and control the characteristics of measurement equipment and processes to meet established standards; QA includes QC. Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 makes no further effort to distinguish those elements that may be considered QC from those composing QA. Quality assurance is necessary to ensure that all radiological and nonradiological measurements that support the radiological monitoring program are reasonably valid and of a defined quality. These programs are needed (1) to identify deficiencies in the sampling and measurement processes and report them to those responsible for these operations so that corrective action can be taken, and (2) to obtain some measure of confidence in the results of the monitoring programs to assure the regulatory agencies and the public that the results are valid. All steps of the monitoring process (for example, sampling, shipment of samples, receipt of samples in the laboratory, preparation of samples, radiological measurements, data reduction, data evaluation, and reporting of the measurement and monitoring results) should involve QA. Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 presents more complete and extensive guidance on QA for facilities where radiological effluent or environmental monitoring is required by NRC regulations.1 However, this guidance does not address all topics and elements that a facility’s QA program 1 While not specific to QA, the following regulatory guides also address measurements of radioactive materials in effluents and the environment: • Regulatory Guide 1.21, ‘‘Measuring, Evaluating, and Reporting Radioactivity in Solid Wastes and Releases of Radioactive Materials in Liquid and Gaseous Effluents from Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants.’’ • Regulatory Guide 4.1, ‘‘Programs for Monitoring Radioactivity in the Environs of Nuclear Power Plants.’’ • Regulatory Guide 4.14, ‘‘Radiological Effluent and Environmental Monitoring at Uranium Mills.’’ • Regulatory Guide 4.16, ‘‘Monitoring and Reporting Radioactivity in Releases of Radioactive Materials in Liquid and Gaseous Effluents from Nuclear Fuel Processing and Fabrication Plants and Uranium Hexafluoride Production Plants.’’ VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:49 Mar 29, 2007 Jkt 211001 may require (such as requirements of Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 50 for nuclear power plants or 10 CFR 76.93 for gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment facilities). In addition, although Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 offers significant improvements in programmatic and technical guidance for QA and QC for radioactive effluent and environmental monitoring, it does not impose any new or additional requirements. Rather, this interim revision incorporates updated scientific and regulatory concepts concerning radioanalytical QA, which the NRC and industry have previously published not as requirements, but as good practices. Licensees may continue to use Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 4.15, dated February 1979, if they so choose. Consequently, no backfit, as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ‘‘Backfitting,’’ is either intended or implied. The NRC previously solicited public comment on Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 by issuing Draft Regulatory Guide DG–4010 in November 2006. The public comment period closed on December 17, 2006, and the staff has appropriately addressed all comments received. The staff’s responses to all stakeholder comments received are available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession #ML070380010. However, at the time of issuance, the NRC erroneously described Draft Regulatory Guide DG–4010 as applicable only to nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees. The NRC staff intended that this regulatory guide apply to all applicants and licensees subject to the agency’s QA requirements. Accordingly, the NRC is now issuing Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 as an interim regulatory guide, which is applicable only to nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees. The NRC staff is also soliciting comments on this interim guide with respect to its application to non-nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees subject to the agency’s QA requirements. The NRC staff will issue this guide in final form after resolving any comments received during the public comment period. Comments on this interim revision may be accompanied by relevant information or supporting data. Please mention Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 in the subject line of your comments. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available to the PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 public in their entirety through the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). Personal information will not be removed from your comments. You may submit comments by any of the following methods. Mail comments to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. E-mail comments to: NRCREP@nrc.gov. You may also submit comments via the NRC’s rulemaking Web site at https://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol A. Gallagher (301) 415–5905; e-mail CAG@nrc.gov. Hand-deliver comments to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. Fax comments to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415–5144. Requests for technical information about Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 may be directed to Dr. George E. Powers, at (301) 415–6212 or GEP@nrc.gov. Comments would be most helpful if received by May 29, 2007. Comments received after that date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time. Regulatory guides are available for inspection or downloading through the NRC’s public Web site at https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/reg-guides/. In addition, Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 is available for inspection or downloading through ADAMS at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html, under Accession #ML070380006. Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 and other related publicly available documents, including public comments received, can also be viewed electronically on computers in the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR), which is located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR’s reproduction contractor will make copies of documents for a fee. The PDR’s mailing address is USNRC PDR, E:\FR\FM\30MRN1.SGM 30MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 61 / Friday, March 30, 2007 / Notices Washington, DC 20555–0001. The PDR can also be reached by telephone at (301) 415–4737 or (800) 397–4205, by fax at (301) 415–3548, and by e-mail to PDR@nrc.gov. Please note that the NRC does not intend to distribute printed copies of Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15, unless specifically requested on an individual basis with adequate justification. Such requests for single copies of draft or final guides (which may be reproduced) should be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001, Attention: Reproduction and Distribution Services Section; by e-mail to DISTRIBUTION@nrc.gov; or by fax to (301) 415–2289. Telephone requests cannot be accommodated. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is not required to reproduce them. (5 U.S.C. 552(a)) Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of March 2007. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Brian W. Sheron, Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. E7–5932 Filed 3–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to request an extension of the following collection of information: 3220–0007, Appeal under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, consisting of RRB Form HA–1, Appeal Under the Railroad Retirement Act or Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Completion is required to obtain or retain benefits. One response is required of each respondent. Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens. The RRB invites comments on the proposed collection of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collection; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:49 Mar 29, 2007 Jkt 211001 clarity of the information that is the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper consideration of your comments, it is best if RRB and OIRA receive them within 30 days of publication date. Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (71 FR No. 231 Pages 69603 on December 1, 2006) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments. Information Collection Request (ICR) Title: Appeal under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. OMB Control Number: 3220–0007. Form(s) submitted: HA–1. Type of request: Extension of a currently approved collection. Affected public: Individuals or households. Abstract: Under Section 7(b)(3) of the Railroad Retirement Act and Section 5(c) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, a person aggrieved by a decision on his or her application for an annuity or other benefit has the right to appeal to the RRB. The collection provides the means for the appeal action. Changes Proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to Form HA–1. The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows: Estimated annual number of respondents: 550. Total annual responses: 650. Total annual reporting hours: 217. Additional Information Or Comments: Copies of the forms and supporting documents can be obtained from Charles Mierzwa, the agency clearance officer (312–751–3363) or Charles.Mierzwa@rrb.gov. Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60611–2092 or Ronald.Hodapp@rrb.gov and to the OMB Desk Officer for the RRB, at the Office of Management and Budget, Room 10230, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503. Charles Mierzwa, Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. E7–5912 Filed 3–29–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7905–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 15175 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of information collection packages that will require clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Pub. L. 104–13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. The information collection package included in this notice is for full clearance of an existing collection currently approved by OMB on an emergency basis. SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency’s burden estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and on ways to minimize burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments and recommendations regarding the information collection(s) should be submitted to the OMB Desk Officer and the SSA Reports Clearance Officer. The information can be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to the individuals at the addresses and fax numbers listed below: (OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax: 202–395–6974, E-mail address: OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. (SSA) Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Reports Clearance Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, Fax: 410–965–6400, E-mail address: OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov. The information collections listed below have been submitted to OMB for clearance. Your comments on the information collections would be most useful if received by OMB and SSA within 30 days from the date of this publication. You can obtain a copy of the OMB clearance packages by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410–965–0454, or by writing to the address listed above. SSA Guidance for Use of the Tax Information Authorization Form—0960– 0738. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8821 is used by taxpayers to authorize the release of tax information to a third party. The IRS agrees that a properly completed IRS Form 8821 is an appropriate means of designating the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive the tax information of a Medicare Part B beneficiary who has appealed a determination of Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). E:\FR\FM\30MRN1.SGM 30MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 61 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15173-15175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5932]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Interim Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an interim 
revision to an existing guide in the agency's Regulatory Guide Series. 
This series has been developed to describe and make available to the 
public such information as methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff 
for implementing specific parts of the agency's regulations, techniques 
that the staff uses in evaluating specific problems or postulated 
accidents, and data that the staff needs in its review of applications 
for permits and licenses.
    The revised guide, entitled ``Quality Assurance for Radiological 
Monitoring Programs (Inception Through Normal Operations to License 
Termination)--Effluent Streams and the Environment,'' is identified as 
Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15. Like its predecessor, this 
interim revision describes a method that the NRC staff considers 
acceptable for use in designing and implementing programs to ensure the 
quality of the results of measurements of radioactive materials in the 
effluents from, and environment outside of, facilities that process, 
use, or store radioactive materials during all phases of the facility's 
life cycle. Quality assurance (QA) is a fundamental expectation of 
Title 10, ``Energy,'' of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for 
items and activities that are relied on to protect the health and 
safety of the public and the environment.
    This interim guide serves as a final regulatory guide for, and may 
be used by applicants and licensees of nuclear power reactors. It also 
presents draft NRC staff positions on a method for designing and 
implementing QA programs for use by non-nuclear power reactor 
applicants and licensees subject to the agency's QA requirements. The 
NRC staff seeks public comments on this regulatory guide with respect 
to its application to such licensees. The NRC staff will issue this 
guide in final form after resolving any comments received during the 
public comment period.
    Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 specifically applies to 
facilities for which NRC regulations require routine monitoring of 
radioactive effluents to the environment, and particularly those 
facilities licensed under the following regulations:
     10 CFR Part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities''
     10 CFR Part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 
for Nuclear Power Plants''
     10 CFR Part 61, ``Licensing Requirements for Land Disposal 
of Radioactive Waste''
     10 CFR Part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for the 
Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive 
Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste''
     10 CFR Part 76, ``Certification of Gaseous Diffusion 
Plants''
    The guidance may also apply to other NRC-licensed facilities, for 
which the agency may impose specific license conditions for effluent or 
environmental monitoring, as deemed necessary to ensure the health and 
safety of the public and the environment, including those licensed 
under the following regulations:
     10 CFR Part 30, ``Rules of General Applicability to 
Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material''
     10 CFR Part 40, ``Domestic Licensing of Source Material''
     10 CFR Part 70, ``Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear 
Material''

[[Page 15174]]

    Finally, radiological standards for occupational workers and 
members of the public are codified in 10 CFR Part 20, ``Standards for 
Protection Against Radiation.''
    As used in the context of Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 
4.15, QA comprises all those planned and systematic actions that are 
necessary to provide adequate confidence in the assessment of 
monitoring results. Quality control (QC) comprises those QA actions 
that provide a means to measure and control the characteristics of 
measurement equipment and processes to meet established standards; QA 
includes QC. Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 makes no 
further effort to distinguish those elements that may be considered QC 
from those composing QA.
    Quality assurance is necessary to ensure that all radiological and 
nonradiological measurements that support the radiological monitoring 
program are reasonably valid and of a defined quality. These programs 
are needed (1) to identify deficiencies in the sampling and measurement 
processes and report them to those responsible for these operations so 
that corrective action can be taken, and (2) to obtain some measure of 
confidence in the results of the monitoring programs to assure the 
regulatory agencies and the public that the results are valid. All 
steps of the monitoring process (for example, sampling, shipment of 
samples, receipt of samples in the laboratory, preparation of samples, 
radiological measurements, data reduction, data evaluation, and 
reporting of the measurement and monitoring results) should involve QA.
    Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 presents more complete 
and extensive guidance on QA for facilities where radiological effluent 
or environmental monitoring is required by NRC regulations.\1\ However, 
this guidance does not address all topics and elements that a 
facility's QA program may require (such as requirements of Appendix B 
to 10 CFR Part 50 for nuclear power plants or 10 CFR 76.93 for gaseous 
diffusion uranium enrichment facilities).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ While not specific to QA, the following regulatory guides 
also address measurements of radioactive materials in effluents and 
the environment:
     Regulatory Guide 1.21, ``Measuring, Evaluating, and 
Reporting Radioactivity in Solid Wastes and Releases of Radioactive 
Materials in Liquid and Gaseous Effluents from Light-Water-Cooled 
Nuclear Power Plants.''
     Regulatory Guide 4.1, ``Programs for Monitoring 
Radioactivity in the Environs of Nuclear Power Plants.''
     Regulatory Guide 4.14, ``Radiological Effluent and 
Environmental Monitoring at Uranium Mills.''
     Regulatory Guide 4.16, ``Monitoring and Reporting 
Radioactivity in Releases of Radioactive Materials in Liquid and 
Gaseous Effluents from Nuclear Fuel Processing and Fabrication 
Plants and Uranium Hexafluoride Production Plants.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, although Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 
offers significant improvements in programmatic and technical guidance 
for QA and QC for radioactive effluent and environmental monitoring, it 
does not impose any new or additional requirements. Rather, this 
interim revision incorporates updated scientific and regulatory 
concepts concerning radioanalytical QA, which the NRC and industry have 
previously published not as requirements, but as good practices. 
Licensees may continue to use Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 4.15, 
dated February 1979, if they so choose. Consequently, no backfit, as 
defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' is either intended or 
implied.
    The NRC previously solicited public comment on Revision 2 of 
Regulatory Guide 4.15 by issuing Draft Regulatory Guide DG-4010 in 
November 2006. The public comment period closed on December 17, 2006, 
and the staff has appropriately addressed all comments received. The 
staff's responses to all stakeholder comments received are available in 
the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at 
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession 
ML070380010.
    However, at the time of issuance, the NRC erroneously described 
Draft Regulatory Guide DG-4010 as applicable only to nuclear power 
reactor applicants and licensees. The NRC staff intended that this 
regulatory guide apply to all applicants and licensees subject to the 
agency's QA requirements.
    Accordingly, the NRC is now issuing Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 
4.15 as an interim regulatory guide, which is applicable only to 
nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees. The NRC staff is also 
soliciting comments on this interim guide with respect to its 
application to non-nuclear power reactor applicants and licensees 
subject to the agency's QA requirements. The NRC staff will issue this 
guide in final form after resolving any comments received during the 
public comment period.
    Comments on this interim revision may be accompanied by relevant 
information or supporting data. Please mention Interim Revision 2 of 
Regulatory Guide 4.15 in the subject line of your comments. Comments 
submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available to 
the public in their entirety through the NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS). Personal information will not be 
removed from your comments. You may submit comments by any of the 
following methods.
    Mail comments to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    E-mail comments to: NRCREP@nrc.gov. You may also submit comments 
via the NRC's rulemaking Web site at https://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address 
questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol A. Gallagher (301) 
415-5905; e-mail CAG@nrc.gov.
    Hand-deliver comments to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing 
Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 
4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.
    Fax comments to: Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Office 
of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-
5144.
    Requests for technical information about Interim Revision 2 of 
Regulatory Guide 4.15 may be directed to Dr. George E. Powers, at (301) 
415-6212 or GEP@nrc.gov.
    Comments would be most helpful if received by May 29, 2007. 
Comments received after that date will be considered if it is practical 
to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date. Although a time limit is given, 
comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in 
guides currently being developed or improvements in all published 
guides are encouraged at any time.
    Regulatory guides are available for inspection or downloading 
through the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-
collections/reg-guides/. In addition, Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory 
Guide 4.15 is available for inspection or downloading through ADAMS at 
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession 
ML070380006.
    Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15 and other related 
publicly available documents, including public comments received, can 
also be viewed electronically on computers in the NRC's Public Document 
Room (PDR), which is located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland. The PDR's reproduction contractor will make copies of 
documents for a fee. The PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR,

[[Page 15175]]

Washington, DC 20555-0001. The PDR can also be reached by telephone at 
(301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-4205, by fax at (301) 415-3548, and by e-
mail to PDR@nrc.gov.
    Please note that the NRC does not intend to distribute printed 
copies of Interim Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 4.15, unless 
specifically requested on an individual basis with adequate 
justification. Such requests for single copies of draft or final guides 
(which may be reproduced) should be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Reproduction and Distribution Services Section; by e-mail to 
DISTRIBUTION@nrc.gov; or by fax to (301) 415-2289. Telephone requests 
cannot be accommodated.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is 
not required to reproduce them.

(5 U.S.C. 552(a))

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of March 2007.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
 [FR Doc. E7-5932 Filed 3-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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