Fire Protection Compensatory Measures, 46717-46719 [2017-21544]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Proposed Rules
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Some commenters supported the
proposed amendments because, among
other reasons, local residents would
benefit from such investments. Other
commenters explained that the NPRM
did not go far enough and should have
included other types of preferences, in
addition to geographic-based.
The Department’s proposed NPRM
did not make a distinction by project
type (e.g., transit vs. maritime project).
Many commenters, especially in the
transit arena, expressed strong
opposition to the application of the
NPRM to rolling stock procurements
because of the potential effect on
existing manufacturing plants and the
capital and personnel investments
already made in specific parts of the
country.
Reason for Withdrawal
The Department operates two
experimental contracting pilot programs
under FHWA and FTA’s existing
authorities: (i) Innovative Contracting
(Local Labor Hire) (80 FR 12257) and (ii)
FHWA HUD Livability Local Hire
Initiative (75 FR 36467). The Local
Labor Hire pilot is conducted under 23
U.S.C. 502 (i.e., FHWA’s Special
Experimental Project No. 14 (SEP–14))
and 49 U.S.C. 5312, 5314 and 5325, and
the FHWA HUD initiative is conducted
under SEP–14. The Department has
used these research authorities to
advance non-traditional contracting
practices for contracts awarded by FTA
and FHWA.
Under SEP–14 and 49 U.S.C. 5312,
5314 and 5325, the Department has the
flexibility to experiment with
innovative approaches to highway and
transit contracting. However, the
Department is discontinuing these two
pilot programs because of minimal
interest from intended participants and
the difficulty in evaluating cost
effectiveness based upon objective
criteria.
For additional background, 23 U.S.C.
112 requires a state transportation
department to award contracts using
federal highway funds by ‘‘competitive
bidding, unless the State transportation
department demonstrates . . . that
some other method is more cost
effective.’’ 23 U.S.C. 112(b)(1) (2006).
For a bidding process to be
‘‘competitive,’’ the state transportation
department must award contracts for
projects ‘‘only on the basis of the lowest
responsive bid submitted by a bidder
meeting established criteria of
responsibility.’’ Id. section 112(b)(1).
For example, a 1986 opinion from the
Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the
Department of Justice concluded that
section 112 obligated the Secretary of
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Transportation to withhold federal
funding for highway construction
contracts that were subject to a New
York City law imposing disadvantages
on a class of responsible bidders, where
the city failed to demonstrate that its
departure from competitive bidding
requirements was justified by
considerations of cost effectiveness. See
Compatibility of New York City Local
Law 19 with Federal Highway Act
Competitive Bidding Requirements, 10
Op. O.L.C. 101 (1986) (‘‘Competitive
Bidding Requirements’’). Since that
1986 opinion, FHWA had taken the
position that state or local bidding
specifications or contract requirements
that limit the pool of potential bidders
violate section 112’s competition
requirement unless they directly relate
to the bidder’s performance of the
necessary work in a competent and
responsible manner.
In 2013, OLC opined that a state or
local requirement that has only an
incidental effect on the pool of potential
bidders or that imposes reasonable
requirements related to the performance
of the necessary work would not unduly
limit competition. However, a
requirement that has more than an
incidental effect on the pool of potential
bidders and does not relate to the work’s
performance would unduly limit
competition unless it promotes the
efficient and effective use of federal
funds. OLC stated that generally
speaking, state or local government
requirements that eliminate or
disadvantage a class of potential
responsible bidders (and thus have a
non-trivial effect on the pool of such
bidders) to advance objectives unrelated
to the efficient use of federal funds or
the integrity of the bidding process (or
to the performance of the necessary
work in a competent and responsible
manner) are likely to unduly impede
competition in contravention of the
substantive component of section 112’s
competitive bidding requirement. OLC
further reaffirmed the view expressed in
its 1986 opinion that ‘‘the efficient use
of federal funds is the touchstone by
which the legality of state procurement
rules for federally funded highway
projects is to be tested,’’ Competitive
Bidding Requirements, 10 Op. O.L.C. at
105. In 2013, OLC did not understand
section 112’s competitive bidding
requirement to compel FHWA to reject
every state or local bidding specification
or contract requirement that may have
the effect of reducing the number of
potential bidders for a particular
contract.
The stated purpose of this NPRM was
to permit recipients and subrecipients of
certain DOT grant program funds to
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46717
impose geographic-based hiring
preferences whenever not otherwise
prohibited by Federal law. DOT agrees
that the efficient use of federal funds is
the touchstone by which the legality of
state procurement rules, including any
proposed geographic-based hiring
preferences, for federally funded
projects is to be tested. Here, in light of
the responses to the NPRM, the lack of
data on whether specific local
geographic preferences would have an
incidental effect on competition, the
long-standing Federal government
prohibition in the Common Rule on the
use of in-State or local geographic-based
preferences, the demonstrated minimal
interest from intended participants
under the two experimental programs,
and the inability to evaluate costeffectiveness based upon objective
criteria under the two experimental
programs, the Department has
determined that promulgating a
regulation that would have deviated
from the OMB guidance in the Common
Rule, by allowing the use of geographicbased hiring preferences in some of the
Department’s grant programs, is not
practicable for the efficient and costeffective delivery of projects. The
comments received did not include any
data that demonstrates that the claimed
benefits of the proposed rule justify the
costs. The Department has also
determined that an additional request
for public comment based on the
proposed NPRM would not provide the
information needed to accomplish the
stated purpose.
Issued in Washington, DC, on October 2,
2017.
Elaine L. Chao,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2017–21574 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM–50–115; NRC–2017–0132]
Fire Protection Compensatory
Measures
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 dated May 1,
2017, from David Lochbaum with copetitioner Paul Gunter, on behalf of the
Union of Concerned Scientists and
SUMMARY:
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46718
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Proposed Rules
Beyond Nuclear (the petitioners),
requesting that the NRC ‘‘promulgate
regulations that establish acceptable
conditions for use of compensatory
measures (e.g., fire watches,
surveillance cameras, etc.) during
periods when fire protection regulations
are not met.’’ The petition was docketed
by the NRC on May 26, 2017, and has
been assigned Docket No. PRM–50–115.
The NRC is examining the issues raised
in PRM–50–115 to determine whether
they should be considered in
rulemaking. The NRC is requesting
public comment on this petition.
Submit comments by December
20, 2017. 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.
DATES:
You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2017–0132. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
technical questions contact the
individual 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 obtaining
information and submitting comments,
see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments’’ in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Kratchman, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulations, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
5112, email: Jessica.Kratchman@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:27 Oct 05, 2017
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I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
Nuclear, with one co-petitioner, Paul
Gunter of Beyond Nuclear.
A. Obtaining Information
III. The Petition
On behalf of the Union of Concerned
Scientists and Beyond Nuclear, David
Lochbaum with co-petitioner Paul
Gunter request that the NRC amend its
regulations to establish acceptable
conditions for the use of compensatory
measures (e.g., fire watches,
surveillance cameras) during periods
when fire protection regulations are not
met.
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2017–
0132 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–2017–0132.
• 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
petition for rulemaking is available in
ADAMS under Accession No.
ML17146A393.
• 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–2017–
0132 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information 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.
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 was filed by David
Lochbaum, on behalf of the Union of
Concerned Scientists and Beyond
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Sfmt 4702
IV. Discussion of the Petition
The petitioners state that the NRC’s
‘‘fire protection regulations were
primarily established with the issuance
of Appendix R to 10 CFR part 50 in
1980 and the NFPA [National Fire
Protection Association] 805 alternative
regulations adopted in 2004.’’ The
petitioners are referring to the final rule
in 1980 that issued appendix R to part
50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) and revised 10
CFR 50.48 (45 FR 76602; November 19,
1980). The 2004 final rule (69 FR 33536;
June 6, 2004) further revised 10 CFR
50.48 and added alternative fire
protection regulations based on National
Fire Protection Association Standard
805, ‘‘Performance-Based Standard for
Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor
Electric Generating Plants.’’ The
petitioners include as ‘‘Figure 1’’ in
their petition a timeline including
compensatory measure guidance
documents that the NRC has issued. The
NRC guidance documents from Figure 1
in the petition include the following:
(1) NRC Bulletin 1975–004, ‘‘Cable
Fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power
Station,’’ March 25, 1975 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML070220189);
(2) Nuclear Steam Supply System
Vendor Standard Technical
Specifications (NUREG–0103,
‘‘Standard Technical Specifications for
Babcock and Wilcox Pressurized Water
Reactors,’’ Revision 0, 1976 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17266A000), Revision
1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A001); NUREG–0123,
‘‘Standard Technical Specifications for
General Electric Boiling Water
Reactors,’’ Revision 0, 1976 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17266A007), Revision
1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A008); NUREG–0212,
‘‘Standard Technical Specifications for
Combustion Engineering Pressurized
Water Reactors,’’ Revision 0, 1976
(ADAMS Accession No. ML17266A003),
Revision 1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A004); and NUREG–0452,
‘‘Standard Technical Specifications for
Westinghouse Pressurized Water
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06OCP1
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Proposed Rules
Reactors,’’ Revision 0, 1976 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17266A005), Revision
1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A006));
(3) Branch Technical Position
Auxiliary Power Conversion Systems
Branch 9.5–1, ‘‘Guidelines for Fire
Protection for Nuclear Power Plants,’’
May 1, 1976 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML070660461), Revision 1, May 13,
1979 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML070660450); and Appendix A,
‘‘Guidelines for Fire Protection for
Nuclear Power Plants Docketed Prior to
July 1, 1976,’’ August 23, 1976 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15322A269), and
February 24, 1977 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML070660458);
(4) NUREG–0050, ‘‘Recommendations
Related to Browns Ferry Fire,’’ February
1976 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML070520452);
(5) NRC Generic Letter 1980–100,
‘‘Appendix R to 10 CFR Regarding Fire
Protection—Federal Register Notice,’’
November 24, 1980 (ADAMS Accession
No. ML070220242);
(6) NRC Generic Letter 1981–012,
‘‘Fire Protection Rule (45 FR 76602,
November 19, 1980),’’ February 20, 1981
(ADAMS Accession No. ML031080537);
(7) NRC Generic Letter 1986–010,
‘‘Implementation of Fire Protection
Requirements,’’ April 24, 1986 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML031150322);
(8) NRC Generic Letter 1988–012,
‘‘Removal of Fire Protection
Requirements from Technical
Specifications,’’ August 2, 1988
(ADAMS Accession No. ML031150471);
(9) NRC Information Notice No. 1997–
048, ‘‘Inadequate or Inappropriate
Interim Fire Protection Compensatory
Measures,’’ July 9, 1997 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML070180068);
(10) NRC Bulletin 1992–01, ‘‘Failure
of Thermo-Lag 330 Fire Barrier System
to Maintain Cabling in Wide Cable
Trays and Small Conduits Free from
Fire Damage,’’ June 24, 1992 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML031250239);
(11) NRC Regulatory Issue Summary
2005–007, ‘‘Performance of Manual
Actions to Satisfy the Requirements of
10 CFR part 50 Appendix R Section
III.G.2.,’’ April 19, 2005 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML042360547);
(12) NRC Regulatory Guide 1.189,
‘‘Fire Protection for Nuclear Power
Plants,’’ Revision 2, October 2009
(ADAMS Accession No. ML092580550);
(13) NRC Regulatory Guide 1.205,
‘‘Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Fire
Protection for Existing Light-Water
Nuclear Power Plants,’’ Revision 0, May
2006 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML061100174); Revision 1, December
2009 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML092730314); and
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17:27 Oct 05, 2017
Jkt 244001
(14) NUREG/CR–7135,
‘‘Compensatory and Alternative
Regulatory Measures for Nuclear Power
Plant Fire Protection (CARMEN–FIRE),’’
Final Report, August 2015 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML15226A446).
The petitioners assert that these
guidance documents associated with the
current regulations are deficient for
three reasons:
(1) They are not regulations and,
therefore, convey unenforceable
expectations;
(2) They create confusion for
licensees, NRC inspectors and
reviewers, and the public about what
constitutes an acceptable substitute for
compliance with fire protection
regulations following identification of a
deficiency, as well as the permissible
durations of the substitutions; and
(3) They were not developed through
an open process, so the public did not
have opportunities to weigh in on the
acceptability of various compensatory
measures.
The petitioners assert that a proposed
rulemaking would ensure that
compensatory measures are used
appropriately following a violation in
fire protection regulations, and that the
rulemaking process would provide the
public the opportunity to weigh in on
the appropriateness of the use of various
compensatory measures before the
requirements are adopted as final. The
petitioners also assert that a final rule
would clear up any current confusion
caused by the guidance documents for
the NRC’s licensees and inspectors and
would provide enforceable requirements
for the NRC.
46719
We propose to adopt a new
airworthiness directive (AD) for certain
The Boeing Company Model 787–8 and
787–9 airplanes. This proposed AD was
prompted by a report of an in-service
reliability issue of a latent flow sensor
failure combined with single cabin air
compressor (CAC) operation. This
condition resulted in reduced airflow
which led to a persistent single CAC
surge condition that caused overheat
damage to the CAC inlet. This proposed
AD would require installing new pack
control unit (PCU) software for the cabin
air conditioning and temperature
control system (CACTCS) and new CAC
outlet pressure sensor J-tube hardware,
and doing related investigative and
corrective actions if necessary. We are
proposing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products.
DATES: We must receive comments on
this proposed AD by November 20,
2017.
SUMMARY:
[Docket No. FAA–2017–0904; Product
Identifier 2017–NM–071–AD]
You may send comments,
using the procedures found in 14 CFR
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
• Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail
address above between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
For service information identified in
this NPRM, contact Boeing Commercial
Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data
Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster
Blvd., MC 110 SK57, Seal Beach, CA
90740–5600; telephone: 562–797–1717;
Internet: https://www.myboeing
fleet.com. You may view this service
information at the FAA, Transport
Standards Branch, 1601 Lind Avenue
SW., Renton, WA. For information on
the availability of this material at the
FAA, call 425–227–1221. It is also
available on the Internet at https://
www.regulations.gov by searching for
and locating Docket No. FAA–2017–
0904.
RIN 2120–AA64
Examining the AD Docket
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day
of October 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017–21544 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing
Company Airplanes
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM).
AGENCY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
ADDRESSES:
You may examine the AD docket on
the Internet at https://
www.regulations.gov by searching for
and locating Docket No. FAA–2017–
0904; or in person at the Docket
Management Facility between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. The AD docket
E:\FR\FM\06OCP1.SGM
06OCP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 193 (Friday, October 6, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46717-46719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21544]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM-50-115; NRC-2017-0132]
Fire Protection Compensatory Measures
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 dated May 1, 2017, from David Lochbaum with co-
petitioner Paul Gunter, on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists
and
[[Page 46718]]
Beyond Nuclear (the petitioners), requesting that the NRC ``promulgate
regulations that establish acceptable conditions for use of
compensatory measures (e.g., fire watches, surveillance cameras, etc.)
during periods when fire protection regulations are not met.'' The
petition was docketed by the NRC on May 26, 2017, and has been assigned
Docket No. PRM-50-115. The NRC is examining the issues raised in PRM-
50-115 to determine whether they should be considered in rulemaking.
The NRC is requesting public comment on this petition.
DATES: Submit comments by December 20, 2017. 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:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0132. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions contact
the individual 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 obtaining 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 Regulations, 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-2017-0132 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-2017-0132.
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
petition for rulemaking is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML17146A393.
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-2017-0132 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information 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. 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 was filed by David Lochbaum, on behalf of the Union of
Concerned Scientists and Beyond Nuclear, with one co-petitioner, Paul
Gunter of Beyond Nuclear.
III. The Petition
On behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Beyond Nuclear,
David Lochbaum with co-petitioner Paul Gunter request that the NRC
amend its regulations to establish acceptable conditions for the use of
compensatory measures (e.g., fire watches, surveillance cameras) during
periods when fire protection regulations are not met.
IV. Discussion of the Petition
The petitioners state that the NRC's ``fire protection regulations
were primarily established with the issuance of Appendix R to 10 CFR
part 50 in 1980 and the NFPA [National Fire Protection Association] 805
alternative regulations adopted in 2004.'' The petitioners are
referring to the final rule in 1980 that issued appendix R to part 50
of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and revised 10
CFR 50.48 (45 FR 76602; November 19, 1980). The 2004 final rule (69 FR
33536; June 6, 2004) further revised 10 CFR 50.48 and added alternative
fire protection regulations based on National Fire Protection
Association Standard 805, ``Performance-Based Standard for Fire
Protection for Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants.'' The
petitioners include as ``Figure 1'' in their petition a timeline
including compensatory measure guidance documents that the NRC has
issued. The NRC guidance documents from Figure 1 in the petition
include the following:
(1) NRC Bulletin 1975-004, ``Cable Fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear
Power Station,'' March 25, 1975 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070220189);
(2) Nuclear Steam Supply System Vendor Standard Technical
Specifications (NUREG-0103, ``Standard Technical Specifications for
Babcock and Wilcox Pressurized Water Reactors,'' Revision 0, 1976
(ADAMS Accession No. ML17266A000), Revision 1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A001); NUREG-0123, ``Standard Technical Specifications for
General Electric Boiling Water Reactors,'' Revision 0, 1976 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML17266A007), Revision 1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A008); NUREG-0212, ``Standard Technical Specifications for
Combustion Engineering Pressurized Water Reactors,'' Revision 0, 1976
(ADAMS Accession No. ML17266A003), Revision 1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML17266A004); and NUREG-0452, ``Standard Technical Specifications for
Westinghouse Pressurized Water
[[Page 46719]]
Reactors,'' Revision 0, 1976 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17266A005),
Revision 1 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17266A006));
(3) Branch Technical Position Auxiliary Power Conversion Systems
Branch 9.5-1, ``Guidelines for Fire Protection for Nuclear Power
Plants,'' May 1, 1976 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070660461), Revision 1,
May 13, 1979 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070660450); and Appendix A,
``Guidelines for Fire Protection for Nuclear Power Plants Docketed
Prior to July 1, 1976,'' August 23, 1976 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15322A269), and February 24, 1977 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070660458);
(4) NUREG-0050, ``Recommendations Related to Browns Ferry Fire,''
February 1976 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070520452);
(5) NRC Generic Letter 1980-100, ``Appendix R to 10 CFR Regarding
Fire Protection--Federal Register Notice,'' November 24, 1980 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML070220242);
(6) NRC Generic Letter 1981-012, ``Fire Protection Rule (45 FR
76602, November 19, 1980),'' February 20, 1981 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML031080537);
(7) NRC Generic Letter 1986-010, ``Implementation of Fire
Protection Requirements,'' April 24, 1986 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML031150322);
(8) NRC Generic Letter 1988-012, ``Removal of Fire Protection
Requirements from Technical Specifications,'' August 2, 1988 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML031150471);
(9) NRC Information Notice No. 1997-048, ``Inadequate or
Inappropriate Interim Fire Protection Compensatory Measures,'' July 9,
1997 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070180068);
(10) NRC Bulletin 1992-01, ``Failure of Thermo-Lag 330 Fire Barrier
System to Maintain Cabling in Wide Cable Trays and Small Conduits Free
from Fire Damage,'' June 24, 1992 (ADAMS Accession No. ML031250239);
(11) NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2005-007, ``Performance of Manual
Actions to Satisfy the Requirements of 10 CFR part 50 Appendix R
Section III.G.2.,'' April 19, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML042360547);
(12) NRC Regulatory Guide 1.189, ``Fire Protection for Nuclear
Power Plants,'' Revision 2, October 2009 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML092580550);
(13) NRC Regulatory Guide 1.205, ``Risk-Informed, Performance-Based
Fire Protection for Existing Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants,''
Revision 0, May 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML061100174); Revision 1,
December 2009 (ADAMS Accession No. ML092730314); and
(14) NUREG/CR-7135, ``Compensatory and Alternative Regulatory
Measures for Nuclear Power Plant Fire Protection (CARMEN-FIRE),'' Final
Report, August 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15226A446).
The petitioners assert that these guidance documents associated
with the current regulations are deficient for three reasons:
(1) They are not regulations and, therefore, convey unenforceable
expectations;
(2) They create confusion for licensees, NRC inspectors and
reviewers, and the public about what constitutes an acceptable
substitute for compliance with fire protection regulations following
identification of a deficiency, as well as the permissible durations of
the substitutions; and
(3) They were not developed through an open process, so the public
did not have opportunities to weigh in on the acceptability of various
compensatory measures.
The petitioners assert that a proposed rulemaking would ensure that
compensatory measures are used appropriately following a violation in
fire protection regulations, and that the rulemaking process would
provide the public the opportunity to weigh in on the appropriateness
of the use of various compensatory measures before the requirements are
adopted as final. The petitioners also assert that a final rule would
clear up any current confusion caused by the guidance documents for the
NRC's licensees and inspectors and would provide enforceable
requirements for the NRC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of October 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-21544 Filed 10-5-17; 8:45 am]
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