Improved Identification Techniques Against Alkali-Silica Reaction Concrete Degradation at Nuclear Power Plants, 1476-1477 [2015-00199]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 80, No. 7
Monday, January 12, 2015
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.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM–50–109; NRC–2014–0257]
Improved Identification Techniques
Against Alkali-Silica Reaction Concrete
Degradation at Nuclear Power Plants
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice
of docketing, and request for comment.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has received a
petition for rulemaking (PRM) from
Sandra Gavutis on behalf of C–10
Research and Education Foundation (C–
10 or the petitioner), dated September
25, 2014, requesting that the NRC
amend its regulations to provide
improved identification techniques
against Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR)
concrete degradation at nuclear power
plants. The petition was docketed by the
NRC on October 8, 2014, and has been
assigned Docket No. PRM–50–109. The
NRC is requesting public comments on
this petition for rulemaking.
DATES: Submit comments by March 30,
2015. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the NRC is able to assure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods (unless
this document describes a different
method for submitting comments on a
specific subject):
• Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2014–0257. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• Email comments to:
Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you
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SUMMARY:
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17:35 Jan 09, 2015
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do not receive an automatic email reply
confirming receipt, then contact us at
301–415–1677.
• Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301–
415–1101.
• Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
• Hand deliver comments to: 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
(Eastern Time) Federal workdays;
telephone: 301–415–1677. For
additional direction on accessing
information and submitting comments,
see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Kratchman, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
5112, email: Jessica.Kratchman@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2014–
0257 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information for this
action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this
action by any of the following methods:
• Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2014–0257.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
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, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS accession number for each
document referenced (if it is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that
it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC–2014–
0257 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure
that the NRC is able to make your
comment submission available to the
public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information in
comment submissions that you do not
want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will
post all comment submissions at https://
www.regulations.gov as well as enter the
comment submissions into ADAMS,
and the NRC does not routinely edit
comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating
comments from other persons for
submission to the NRC, then you should
inform those persons not to include
identifying or contact information that
they do not want to be publicly
disclosed in their comment submission.
Your request should state that the NRC
does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. The Petitioner
The petition states that C–10 is a nonprofit organization that ‘‘evolved from’’
Citizens within the Ten-Mile Radius,
which C–10 claims is a 5,000 member
organization founded in 1986 to
challenge evacuation plans for the
[NextEra] Seabrook Station reactor. The
petition represents that C–10 was
established in 1991 to address the
health and safety issues related to the
[NextEra] Seabrook Station nuclear
power plant. The petition further states
that ‘‘C–10 has been engaging the NRC
about concrete degradation at Seabrook
since December 22, 2011,’’ and that the
Union of Concerned Scientists assisted
C–10 in preparing this petition.
III. The Petition
Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director,
submitted a PRM on behalf of C–10,
dated September 25, 2014 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML14281A124),
requesting that the NRC amend its
E:\FR\FM\12JAP1.SGM
12JAP1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Proposed Rules
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
regulations to improve identification
techniques against ASR concrete
degradation at nuclear power plants.
The NRC has determined that the
petition meets the threshold sufficiency
requirements for a PRM under § 2.802 of
Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, ‘‘Petition for rulemaking,’’
and the petition has been docketed as
PRM–50–109. The NRC is requesting
public comments on this PRM.
IV. Discussion of the Petition
At an NRC public meeting at Seabrook
Station on June 24, 2014, the petitioner
asked the NRC if the agency was
investigating the U.S. nuclear fleet for
ASR concrete degradation. The NRC
staff responded that ASR concrete
degradation could be adequately
indicated through visual examination.
However, an NRC position paper, ‘‘In
Situ Monitoring of ASR-affected
Concrete,’’ November 2012 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML13108A047), states,
‘‘ASR can exist in concrete without
indications of pattern cracking,’’ and
that for ‘‘. . . structures exposed to
ASR, internal damage occurs through
the depth of the section but visible
cracking is suppressed by heavy
reinforcement. . . .’’ When NextEra
determined 131 locations with
‘‘assumed’’ ASR visual signs within
multiple power-block structures at
Seabrook Station during 2012, further
engineering evaluations were not
required by the NRC.
The petitioner requests that the NRC
amend its regulations to improve
identification techniques against ASR
concrete degradation at U.S. nuclear
power plants. The petitioner suggests
that the reliance on a visual inspection
does not ‘‘adequately identify AlkaliSilica Reaction (ASR), does not confirm
ASR, or provide the current state of ASR
damage (if present) without
petrographic analysis under current
existing code.’’ The petitioner asserts
that codes and standards exist that are
capable of detecting ASR and
determining the key material properties
needed to evaluate the degree and
severity of ASR damage. American
Concrete Institute (ACI) Standard
349.3R, ‘‘Evaluation of Existing Nuclear
Safety-Related Concrete Structures,’’ for
instance, has been endorsed by the NRC
(ADAMS Accession No. ML112241029)
as an acceptable method of protecting
against excessive ASR concrete
degradation, but is not a regulatory
requirement. The petitioner requests
that the NRC amend its regulations to
require that all licensees comply with
industry codes and standards that have
‘‘already been endorsed by the agency,’’
and identified two standards for which
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:35 Jan 09, 2015
Jkt 235001
the NRC’s regulations should require
compliance: (1) ACI Standard 349.3R;
and (2) American Society for Testing &
Materials (ASTM) C856–11, ‘‘Standard
Practice for Petrographic Examination of
Hardened Concrete.’’
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day
of January, 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015–00199 Filed 1–9–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 431
[Docket No. EERE–2013–BT–STD–0006]
RIN 1904–AC55
Energy Efficiency Program for
Commercial and Industrial Equipment:
Energy Conservation Standards for
Commercial and Industrial Fans and
Blowers
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Extension of public comment
period.
AGENCY:
On December 10, 2014, the
Department of Energy (DOE) published
a notice of data availability (NODA)
which presented a provisional analysis
that estimates the potential economic
impacts and energy savings that could
result from promulgating a regulatory
energy conservation standard for
commercial and industrial fans and
blowers. DOE did not propose any
energy conservation standard for
commercial and industrial fans and
blowers. However, DOE published its
analysis and the underlying
assumptions and calculations, which
may ultimately support a proposed
standard, for stakeholder review. In
response to requests by stakeholders,
the comment period for the NODA is
being extended to February 25, 2015.
DATES: The comment period for the
notice of data availability relating to
commercial and industrial fan and
blower equipment is extended to
February 25, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons may
submit comments, identified by docket
number EERE–2013–BT–STD–0006
and/or Regulation Identification
Number (RIN) 1904–AC55, by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
1477
• Email: CIFB2013STD0006@
EE.Doe.Gov. Include EERE–2013–BT–
STD–0006 and/or RIN 1904–AC55 in
the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S.
Department of Energy, Building
Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–5B,
1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0121. If
possible, please submit all items on a
compact disc (CD), in which case it is
not necessary to include printed copies.
[Please note that comments and CDs
sent by mail are often delayed and may
be damaged by mail screening
processes.]
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda
Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy,
Building Technologies Program, 950
L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600,
Washington, DC 20024. Telephone (202)
586–2945. If possible, please submit all
items on CD, in which case it is not
necessary to include printed copies.
Docket: The docket is available for
review at www.regulations.gov,
including Federal Register notices,
public meeting attendee lists and
transcripts, comments, and other
supporting documents/materials. All
documents in the docket are listed in
the www.regulations.gov index.
However, not all documents listed in
the index may be publicly available,
such as information that is exempt from
public disclosure. The rulemaking Web
page can be found at: https://
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
appliance_standards/rulemaking.aspx/
ruleid/25. This Web page contains a link
to the docket for this notice on the
regulation.gov site. The
www.regulations.gov Web page contains
instructions on how to access all
documents in the docket, including
public comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Ron Majette, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Building
Technologies, EE–5B, 1000
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0121.
Telephone: (202) 586–7935. Email:
CIFansBlowers@ee.doe.gov.
Mr. Peter Cochran, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of the General Counsel,
GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121.
Telephone: (202) 586–9496. Email:
peter.cochran@hq.doe.gov.
For further information on how to
submit a comment and review other
public comments and the docket,
contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202)
586–2945 or by email:
Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
December 10, 2014, DOE published a
E:\FR\FM\12JAP1.SGM
12JAP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1476-1477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00199]
========================================================================
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 1476]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM-50-109; NRC-2014-0257]
Improved Identification Techniques Against Alkali-Silica Reaction
Concrete Degradation at Nuclear Power Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing, and request for
comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a
petition for rulemaking (PRM) from Sandra Gavutis on behalf of C-10
Research and Education Foundation (C-10 or the petitioner), dated
September 25, 2014, requesting that the NRC amend its regulations to
provide improved identification techniques against Alkali-Silica
Reaction (ASR) concrete degradation at nuclear power plants. The
petition was docketed by the NRC on October 8, 2014, and has been
assigned Docket No. PRM-50-109. The NRC is requesting public comments
on this petition for rulemaking.
DATES: Submit comments by March 30, 2015. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is
able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting
comments on a specific subject):
Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0257. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this document.
Email comments to: Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677. For additional direction on
accessing information and submitting comments, see ``Obtaining
Information and Submitting Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Kratchman, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5112, email: Jessica.Kratchman@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0257 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 Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0257.
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 ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and
then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2014-0257 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment
submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment
submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely edit comment
submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. The Petitioner
The petition states that C-10 is a non-profit organization that
``evolved from'' Citizens within the Ten-Mile Radius, which C-10 claims
is a 5,000 member organization founded in 1986 to challenge evacuation
plans for the [NextEra] Seabrook Station reactor. The petition
represents that C-10 was established in 1991 to address the health and
safety issues related to the [NextEra] Seabrook Station nuclear power
plant. The petition further states that ``C-10 has been engaging the
NRC about concrete degradation at Seabrook since December 22, 2011,''
and that the Union of Concerned Scientists assisted C-10 in preparing
this petition.
III. The Petition
Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director, submitted a PRM on behalf of C-
10, dated September 25, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14281A124),
requesting that the NRC amend its
[[Page 1477]]
regulations to improve identification techniques against ASR concrete
degradation at nuclear power plants. The NRC has determined that the
petition meets the threshold sufficiency requirements for a PRM under
Sec. 2.802 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, ``Petition
for rulemaking,'' and the petition has been docketed as PRM-50-109. The
NRC is requesting public comments on this PRM.
IV. Discussion of the Petition
At an NRC public meeting at Seabrook Station on June 24, 2014, the
petitioner asked the NRC if the agency was investigating the U.S.
nuclear fleet for ASR concrete degradation. The NRC staff responded
that ASR concrete degradation could be adequately indicated through
visual examination. However, an NRC position paper, ``In Situ
Monitoring of ASR-affected Concrete,'' November 2012 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML13108A047), states, ``ASR can exist in concrete without
indications of pattern cracking,'' and that for ``. . . structures
exposed to ASR, internal damage occurs through the depth of the section
but visible cracking is suppressed by heavy reinforcement. . . .'' When
NextEra determined 131 locations with ``assumed'' ASR visual signs
within multiple power-block structures at Seabrook Station during 2012,
further engineering evaluations were not required by the NRC.
The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to
improve identification techniques against ASR concrete degradation at
U.S. nuclear power plants. The petitioner suggests that the reliance on
a visual inspection does not ``adequately identify Alkali-Silica
Reaction (ASR), does not confirm ASR, or provide the current state of
ASR damage (if present) without petrographic analysis under current
existing code.'' The petitioner asserts that codes and standards exist
that are capable of detecting ASR and determining the key material
properties needed to evaluate the degree and severity of ASR damage.
American Concrete Institute (ACI) Standard 349.3R, ``Evaluation of
Existing Nuclear Safety-Related Concrete Structures,'' for instance,
has been endorsed by the NRC (ADAMS Accession No. ML112241029) as an
acceptable method of protecting against excessive ASR concrete
degradation, but is not a regulatory requirement. The petitioner
requests that the NRC amend its regulations to require that all
licensees comply with industry codes and standards that have ``already
been endorsed by the agency,'' and identified two standards for which
the NRC's regulations should require compliance: (1) ACI Standard
349.3R; and (2) American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM) C856-
11, ``Standard Practice for Petrographic Examination of Hardened
Concrete.''
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of January, 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-00199 Filed 1-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P