U.S. Digital Instrumentation and Control and Human-Machine Interface Workshop, 50416-50417 [E7-17299]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 169 / Friday, August 31, 2007 / Notices
—Identify public concerns;
—Ensure that concerns are identified
early and are properly studied;
—Identify alternatives that will be
examined;
—Identify significant issues that need to
be analyzed; and
—Eliminate unimportant issues.
The scoping meetings will begin with
NRC staff providing a description of
NRC’s role and mission followed by a
brief overview of NRC’s environmental
review process and goals of the scoping
meeting. The bulk of the meeting will be
allotted for attendees to make oral
comments.
5.0
Scoping Comments
Written comments should be mailed
to the address listed above in the
ADDRESSES section. Scoping comments
may also be submitted electronically via
e-mail to URLGEIS@nrc.gov. The NRC
staff will prepare a scoping summary
report in which it will summarize
public comments. The NRC will make
the scoping summary report and projectrelated materials available for public
review through its electronic reading
room: https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. Further, an NRC Web site
will be established in the near future to
keep the public abreast of the current
schedule and to post important
documents.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
6.0
The NEPA Process
The GEIS will be prepared according
to NEPA and NRC’s NEPA
implementing regulations contained in
10 CFR part 51.
After the scoping process is complete,
the NRC will prepare a draft GEIS. The
draft GEIS is scheduled to be published
by April 2008. A 45-day comment
period on the draft GEIS is planned, and
a public meeting(s) to receive comments
will be held approximately three weeks
after publication of the draft GEIS.
Availability of the draft GEIS, the dates
of the public comment period, and
information about the public meeting
will be announced in the Federal
Register, on NRC’s Web page, and in the
local news media. The final GEIS is
expected to be published in January
2009 and will incorporate, as
appropriate, public comments received
on the draft GEIS.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 22nd day
of August, 2007.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
00:43 Aug 31, 2007
Jkt 211001
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory Suber,
Branch Chief, Environmental Review Branch,
Environmental Protection and Performance
Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste
Management and Environmental Protection,
Office of Federal and State Materials and
Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. E7–17276 Filed 8–30–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
U.S. Digital Instrumentation and
Control and Human-Machine Interface
Workshop
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Opportunity to provide input
concerning digital instrumentation and
control and human-machine interface
test and research in the United States.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The increasing use of digital
instrumentation and controls, and the
growing prevalence of human
interactions with such systems, in
nuclear generating and fuel cycle
facilities have introduced new
regulatory challenges along with the
potential benefit of improved plant
safety. Currently, the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC)
addresses these challenges by analyzing
their scope, impact, and potential
adverse plant interactions, and then
conducting research on each safetyrelated topical issue identified through
this analysis. Often, such analyses and
research are performed under contracts
that the NRC establishes with
commercial entities, national
laboratories, universities, and
international research facilities.
However, there may be advantages to
alternative approaches such as
establishing a single, integrated test
facility with expertise in the areas of
digital instrumentation and controls and
human-machine interfaces (DIC&HMI).
The NRC is conducting public
workshops to review the current and
future technical issues in the area of
digital instrumentation and control and
human-machine interface (I&C and
HMI), to identify the capabilities that a
facility or facilities would need to have
to support their resolution. The
workshop will review the capabilities of
current facilities and consider lessons
learned from their operation. Based on
this information a set of options will be
developed. Toward that end, the NRC
invites stakeholders including those
with existing capabilities, as well as
others who may be interested in
participating (such as national
PO 00000
Frm 00095
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
laboratories, universities, other Federal
agencies, research and development
centers, and vendors), to participate in
the workshops. The workshops will
seek to develop a consensus in the
technical community regarding a set of
overarching principles that should be
met to ensure the success of any
conceptual approaches discussed.
Options may include relying on current
facilities; upgrading current facilities; or
developing a single, integrated facility.
In addition, it is necessary to determine
the number of organizations within the
community that are interested in each
option.
Interested parties should note that the
staff is working with Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, to develop
additional information on experiences
that other similar facilities have had, in
order to learn from their successes and
challenges.
DISCUSSION: The NRC will hold two
workshops to engage potentially
interested stakeholders. The first
workshop will be held on September 6–
7, 2007, at the Clarion Hotel at Atlanta
International Airport, which is located
at 5010 Old National Highway in
Atlanta, Georgia. This initial workshop
will review, at a conceptual level the
current and future technical issues in
the area of digital instrumentation and
control and human-machine interface
(I&C and HMI) and will identify the
capabilities that a facility or facilities
would need to have to support their
resolution. The workshop will review
the capabilities of current facilities and
consider lessons learned from their
operation. Based on this information the
workshop will develop a set of options
for establishing additional capabilities,
if needed, or ways to integrate current
capabilities in a manner that creates
synergies and efficiencies to support
current and future needs of the
technical community in the digital I&C
and HMI areas.
The second workshop will be held on
September 11, 2007, at the Hilton
Washington DC/Rockville Executive
Meeting Center, which is located at
1750 Rockville Pike in Rockville,
Maryland. This workshop will use
information gathered at the Atlanta
workshop regarding the additional
capabilities (if any) that the community
requires to address current and future
Digital Instrumentation and Control
(I&C) and Human Machine Interface
(HMI) issues and the facility options
available to perform this work. The
workshop will discuss at a conceptual
level how each of the facility options
could be managed. These management
issues include potential participants,
funding arrangements, conflict of
E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM
31AUN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 169 / Friday, August 31, 2007 / Notices
interest (COI) considerations, and siting.
Additional information about both
workshops can be obtained at https://nrctest-facility.pnl.gov.
Additionally, to promote the
efficiency and effectiveness of these
workshops, the NRC invites interested
stakeholders to provide comments in
the following areas:
(1) Which potential participants might
be interested in joint participation,
collaboration, and funding of such a
facility, and to what extent might this
include participants outside the nuclear
industry?
(2) If the nuclear industry
participates, how could conflict-ofinterest issues be addressed?
(3) Do similar facilities currently exist
and, if so, what can be learned from
their successes and challenges?
(4) What siting options would be most
viable (e.g., universities where
integration with graduate studies might
be encouraged, national laboratories,
etc.), considering both cost and ease of
technical information exchange?
(5) To what extent could such a
facility be designed to be reconfigurable
to the expected variety of plant control
room and HMI designs?
(6) To what extent could such a
facility be designed to also be used as
an advanced reactor training simulator
for NRC staff?
(7) What impediments, if any, might
exist to limit information sharing among
participants and external stakeholders?
(8) What could be the benefits, or
adverse impacts, of existing and
established international collaborative
activities in this area?
(9) What could be the NRC’s legal,
budgetary, and oversight role?
(10) Would stakeholders potentially
be interested in the establishment of a
facility that would serve as a national
technical center of excellence to support
a wide range of agencies and industries
that have needs and interests in the
rapidly advancing areas of
instrumentation and controls, digital
safety systems, and human-machine
interfaces?
The workshop results and public
comments received, along with other
information developed as a result of the
staff’s discussions with interested
stakeholders, will be used to support
NRC decision making on this subject.
AVAILABILITY AND DATES:
Additional information is available
through the NRC Test Facility Working
Group Web page, at https://nrc-testfacility.pnl.gov. Comments would be
most helpful if received by September
30, 2007.
COMMENT PROCEDURES: The NRC
staff encourages and welcomes
VerDate Aug<31>2005
00:43 Aug 31, 2007
Jkt 211001
stakeholder participation in the
workshops, as well as submittal of
related comments and suggestions from
interested parties. Personal information,
such as your name, address, telephone
number, e-mail address, etc., will not be
removed from your submission.
You may submit comments by any of
the following methods:
• Mail comments to Leonard Bond,
Ph.D, Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Mail Stop K5–
26, Richland, WA 99352.
• Provide comments on-line at
https://nrc-test-facility.pnl.gov.
• E-mail comments to
Leonard.Bond@pnl.gov.
CONTACT INFORMATION: General
questions regarding this study or the
related workshops should be addressed
to Steven A. Arndt at (301) 415–6502 or
by e-mail to SAA@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17 day
of August, 2007.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
Brian W. Sheron, Director,
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E7–17299 Filed 8–30–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. WTO/DS–358]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding
Regarding China—Certain Measures
Granting Refunds, Reductions or
Exemptions From Taxes and Other
Payments
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Office of the United
States Trade Representative (USTR) is
providing notice that on July 12, 2007,
in accordance with the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the World
Trade Organization (WTO Agreement),
the United States requested the
establishment of a dispute settlement
panel regarding certain Chinese
measures granting refunds, reductions
or exemptions to enterprises from taxes
otherwise due the government. That
request may be found at www.wto.org
contained in a document designated as
WT/DS358/13. USTR invites written
comments from the public concerning
the issues raised in this dispute.
DATES: Although USTR will accept any
comments received during the course of
the consultations, comments should be
submitted on or before October 5, 2007
PO 00000
Frm 00096
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
50417
to be assured of timely consideration by
USTR.
Comments should be
submitted (i) electronically, to
FR0507@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘China
Prohibited Subsidies (DS358)’’ in the
subject line, or (ii) by fax, to Sandy
McKinzy at (202) 395–3640, with a
confirmation copy sent electronically to
the electronic mail address above, in
accordance with the requirements for
submission set out below.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Arun Venkataraman, Associate General
Counsel, Office of the United States
Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,
NW., Washington, DC., (202) 395–5694.
Pursuant
to section 127(b) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C.
3537(b)(1)), USTR is providing notice
that the United States has requested the
establishment of a WTO dispute
settlement panel pursuant to the WTO
Understanding on Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes
(‘‘DSU’’). Such panel, which would hold
its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland,
would be expected to issue a report on
its findings and recommendations
within nine months after it is
established, which is requested to be on
August 31, 2007.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Major Issues Raised by the United
States
China maintains measures that
provide refunds, reductions, or
exemptions to enterprises in China from
taxes otherwise due the government on
the condition that those enterprises
purchase domestic over imported goods.
The United States believes that, as such,
these measures are inconsistent with
China’s obligations under Article 3.1(b)
and 3.2 of the Agreement on Subsidies
and Countervailing Measures (‘‘SCM
Agreement’’). Furthermore, because they
condition advantages on an enterprise’s
purchase of domestic over imported
equipment, these measures appear to
accord imported products treatment less
favorable than that accorded ‘‘like’’
domestic products, inconsistent with
Article III:4 of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and Article
2.1 and Annex 1, paragraph 1(a), of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Investment
Measures For the same reasons, these
measures appear not to comply with
China’s obligations under paragraphs
7.2–7.3 and 10.3 of Part I of its Protocol
of Accession and paragraph 1.2 of Part
I of its Protocol of Accession (to the
extent that it incorporates paragraph 203
of the Report of the Working Party on
the Accession of China).
E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM
31AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 169 (Friday, August 31, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50416-50417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17299]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
U.S. Digital Instrumentation and Control and Human-Machine
Interface Workshop
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Opportunity to provide input concerning digital instrumentation
and control and human-machine interface test and research in the United
States.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The increasing use of digital instrumentation and controls,
and the growing prevalence of human interactions with such systems, in
nuclear generating and fuel cycle facilities have introduced new
regulatory challenges along with the potential benefit of improved
plant safety. Currently, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
addresses these challenges by analyzing their scope, impact, and
potential adverse plant interactions, and then conducting research on
each safety-related topical issue identified through this analysis.
Often, such analyses and research are performed under contracts that
the NRC establishes with commercial entities, national laboratories,
universities, and international research facilities. However, there may
be advantages to alternative approaches such as establishing a single,
integrated test facility with expertise in the areas of digital
instrumentation and controls and human-machine interfaces (DIC&HMI).
The NRC is conducting public workshops to review the current and
future technical issues in the area of digital instrumentation and
control and human-machine interface (I&C and HMI), to identify the
capabilities that a facility or facilities would need to have to
support their resolution. The workshop will review the capabilities of
current facilities and consider lessons learned from their operation.
Based on this information a set of options will be developed. Toward
that end, the NRC invites stakeholders including those with existing
capabilities, as well as others who may be interested in participating
(such as national laboratories, universities, other Federal agencies,
research and development centers, and vendors), to participate in the
workshops. The workshops will seek to develop a consensus in the
technical community regarding a set of overarching principles that
should be met to ensure the success of any conceptual approaches
discussed. Options may include relying on current facilities; upgrading
current facilities; or developing a single, integrated facility. In
addition, it is necessary to determine the number of organizations
within the community that are interested in each option.
Interested parties should note that the staff is working with
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to develop additional
information on experiences that other similar facilities have had, in
order to learn from their successes and challenges.
DISCUSSION: The NRC will hold two workshops to engage potentially
interested stakeholders. The first workshop will be held on September
6-7, 2007, at the Clarion Hotel at Atlanta International Airport, which
is located at 5010 Old National Highway in Atlanta, Georgia. This
initial workshop will review, at a conceptual level the current and
future technical issues in the area of digital instrumentation and
control and human-machine interface (I&C and HMI) and will identify the
capabilities that a facility or facilities would need to have to
support their resolution. The workshop will review the capabilities of
current facilities and consider lessons learned from their operation.
Based on this information the workshop will develop a set of options
for establishing additional capabilities, if needed, or ways to
integrate current capabilities in a manner that creates synergies and
efficiencies to support current and future needs of the technical
community in the digital I&C and HMI areas.
The second workshop will be held on September 11, 2007, at the
Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center, which is
located at 1750 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland. This workshop
will use information gathered at the Atlanta workshop regarding the
additional capabilities (if any) that the community requires to address
current and future Digital Instrumentation and Control (I&C) and Human
Machine Interface (HMI) issues and the facility options available to
perform this work. The workshop will discuss at a conceptual level how
each of the facility options could be managed. These management issues
include potential participants, funding arrangements, conflict of
[[Page 50417]]
interest (COI) considerations, and siting. Additional information about
both workshops can be obtained at https://nrc-test-facility.pnl.gov.
Additionally, to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of these
workshops, the NRC invites interested stakeholders to provide comments
in the following areas:
(1) Which potential participants might be interested in joint
participation, collaboration, and funding of such a facility, and to
what extent might this include participants outside the nuclear
industry?
(2) If the nuclear industry participates, how could conflict-of-
interest issues be addressed?
(3) Do similar facilities currently exist and, if so, what can be
learned from their successes and challenges?
(4) What siting options would be most viable (e.g., universities
where integration with graduate studies might be encouraged, national
laboratories, etc.), considering both cost and ease of technical
information exchange?
(5) To what extent could such a facility be designed to be
reconfigurable to the expected variety of plant control room and HMI
designs?
(6) To what extent could such a facility be designed to also be
used as an advanced reactor training simulator for NRC staff?
(7) What impediments, if any, might exist to limit information
sharing among participants and external stakeholders?
(8) What could be the benefits, or adverse impacts, of existing and
established international collaborative activities in this area?
(9) What could be the NRC's legal, budgetary, and oversight role?
(10) Would stakeholders potentially be interested in the
establishment of a facility that would serve as a national technical
center of excellence to support a wide range of agencies and industries
that have needs and interests in the rapidly advancing areas of
instrumentation and controls, digital safety systems, and human-machine
interfaces?
The workshop results and public comments received, along with other
information developed as a result of the staff's discussions with
interested stakeholders, will be used to support NRC decision making on
this subject.
AVAILABILITY AND DATES: Additional information is available through
the NRC Test Facility Working Group Web page, at https://nrc-test-
facility.pnl.gov. Comments would be most helpful if received by
September 30, 2007.
COMMENT PROCEDURES: The NRC staff encourages and welcomes
stakeholder participation in the workshops, as well as submittal of
related comments and suggestions from interested parties. Personal
information, such as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail
address, etc., will not be removed from your submission.
You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Mail comments to Leonard Bond, Ph.D, Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Mail Stop K5-26, Richland, WA 99352.
Provide comments on-line at https://nrc-test-
facility.pnl.gov.
E-mail comments to Leonard.Bond@pnl.gov.
CONTACT INFORMATION: General questions regarding this study or the
related workshops should be addressed to Steven A. Arndt at (301) 415-
6502 or by e-mail to SAA@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17 day of August, 2007.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron, Director,
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E7-17299 Filed 8-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
