Westinghouse Electric Company LLC; Consideration of Petition in Rulemaking Process, 4911 [E9-1372]

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• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 28, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 4911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1372]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 28, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 4911]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM-50-69; NRC-2000-0019]


Westinghouse Electric Company LLC; Consideration of Petition in 
Rulemaking Process

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Resolution of petition for rulemaking and closure of petition 
docket.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider the 
issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by 
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (petitioner) in the NRC's rulemaking 
process. The petition was dated November 4, 1999, and was docketed as 
PRM-50-69. The petitioner requested that Table 1 in 10 CFR Part 50, 
Appendix G, be amended by removing requirements related to the metal 
temperature of the closure head flange and vessel flange regions. 
Specifically, the petitioner requested that footnotes (2) and (6) be 
removed from Table 1.

DATES: The docket for the petition for rulemaking PRM-50-69 is closed 
on January 28, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You can access publicly available documents related to this 
petition for rulemaking using the following methods:
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Further NRC action on the issues 
raised by this petition will be considered in the rulemaking activity 
directed at revising 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix G. This rulemaking 
activity is entitled, ``Modifications to Pressure-Temperature Limits,'' 
in NUREG-0936, ``NRC Regulatory Agenda: Semiannual Report,'' and is 
designated with rulemaking identification number RIN 3150-AG98. 
Information on this rulemaking activity can be monitored at the Federal 
rulemaking portal, https://www.regulations.gov, by searching on 
rulemaking docket ID NRC-2008-0582. The regulatory history regarding 
PRM-50-69, including the public comments received, can be found by 
searching on docket ID NRC-2000-0019. Address questions about NRC 
dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-415-5905; e-mail 
Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
    NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have 
copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Public 
File Area Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland.
    NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are 
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http:/
/www.nrc.gov/NRC/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can 
gain entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's 
public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are 
any problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the 
NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail 
at PDR.resource@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Miller, Mail Stop O-9E3, Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, United States Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-4117, or e-
mail Barry.Miller@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petition

    The NRC received a petition for rulemaking (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML003683190) from Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (the petitioner) 
dated November 4, 1999, which was docketed as PRM-50-69. The petitioner 
requested that the NRC eliminate reactor vessel closure head flange 
temperature requirements in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix G, Table 1, by 
removing footnotes (2) and (6). On February 8, 2000, the NRC published 
a notice of receipt for this petition in the Federal Register (65 FR 
6044) and requested public comment. The public comment period ended on 
April 24, 2000. Thirteen comments were received, all in support of the 
petition. These comments can be found by following the instructions 
given in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

Resolution of Petition

    The NRC will consider the issues raised in PRM-50-69, including the 
underlying issues relevant to the petition, and the comments submitted 
on PRM-50-69, in the ongoing rulemaking activity to modify the pressure 
and temperature limits contained in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix G. The NRC 
believes that the underlying technical considerations regarding the 
reactor vessel closure head flange temperature are sufficiently related 
to the ongoing rulemaking activity on 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix G, that 
the issues raised in PRM-50-69 should be considered in the rulemaking 
activity.
    The NRC is continuing work to develop the technical basis for this 
rulemaking. The technical basis provided by the petitioner in WCAP-
15315, ``Reactor Vessel Closure Head/Vessel Flange Requirements 
Evaluation for Operating PWR and BWR Plants,'' Revision 1, is being 
considered in the development of the technical basis for the 10 CFR 
Part 50, Appendix G rulemaking. Although the NRC will consider the 
issues raised in the petition, the petitioner's concerns may not be 
addressed exactly as the petitioner has requested. After the conclusion 
of the NRC's development of the technical basis for the 10 CFR Part 50, 
Appendix G rule, the NRC will determine whether to adopt the 
petitioner's requested rulemaking changes. During the rulemaking 
process, the NRC will solicit comments from the public and will 
consider all comments before issuing a final rule.
    If the ongoing work to establish the technical basis for this 
rulemaking does not support the issuance of a proposed rule, the NRC 
will issue a supplemental Federal Register notice that addresses why 
the petitioner's requested rulemaking changes were not adopted by the 
NRC. With this resolution of the petition, the NRC closes the docket 
for PRM-50-69.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of January, 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce S. Mallett,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
 [FR Doc. E9-1372 Filed 1-27-09; 8:45 am]
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