Nuclear Regulatory Commission November 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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State of Minnesota: NRC Draft Staff Assessment of a Proposed Agreement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of Minnesota
By letter dated July 6, 2004, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) enter into an Agreement with the State as authorized by Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act). Under the proposed Agreement, the Commission would discontinue, and Minnesota would assume, portions of the Commission's regulatory authority exercised within the State. As required by the Act, NRC is publishing the proposed Agreement for public comment. NRC is also publishing the summary of a Draft Staff Assessment of the Minnesota Program. Comments are requested on the proposed Agreement and the NRC Draft Staff Assessment which finds the Program adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC's program for regulation of agreement material. The proposed Agreement would release (exempt) persons who possess or use certain radioactive materials in Minnesota from portions of the Commission's regulatory authority. The Act requires that NRC publish those exemptions. Notice is hereby given that the pertinent exemptions have been previously published in the Federal Register and are codified in the Commission's regulations as 10 CFR part 150.
List of Approved Fuel Storage Casks: Standardized NUHOMS® -32PT, -24PHB, and -24PTH Revision 8, Confirmation of Effective Date
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of December 5, 2005, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on September 20, 2005 (70 FR 55023). This direct final rule amended the NRC's regulations to revise the Transnuclear, Inc., Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] System listing to include Amendment No. 8 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004.
State of Minnesota: NRC Draft Staff Assessment of a Proposed Agreement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of Minnesota
By letter dated July 6, 2004, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota requested that the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) enter into an Agreement with the State as authorized by section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act). Under the proposed Agreement, the Commission would discontinue, and Minnesota would assume, portions of the Commission's regulatory authority exercised within the State. As required by the Act, NRC is publishing the proposed Agreement for public comment. NRC is also publishing the summary of a Draft Staff Assessment of the Minnesota Program. Comments are requested on the proposed Agreement and the NRC Draft Staff Assessment which finds the Program adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC's program for regulation of agreement material. The proposed Agreement would release (exempt) persons who possess or use certain radioactive materials in Minnesota from portions of the Commission's regulatory authority. The Act requires that NRC publish those exemptions. Notice is hereby given that the pertinent exemptions have been previously published in the Federal Register and are codified in the Commission's regulations as 10 CFR part 150.
Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation and GPU Nuclear, Inc.; Notice of Termination of Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation Facility Amended Facility License No. DPR-4
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the termination of Amended Facility License No. DPR-4 (NRC Docket No. 50- 146) for the SNEC facility near Saxton, Pennsylvania. Background: The SNEC facility is in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The SNEC facility operated from 1962 to 1972. It was mainly used for research in various aspects of power reactor technology and to train personnel. The reactor was licensed at 23.5 megawatts of thermal energy. Electric power was produced by sending steam produced by operation of the reactor to a nearby coal-fired power station (because the SNEC facility did not have its own turbine or generator). The nuclear steam supply system was a one-loop pressurized water reactor. After shutdown, the reactor fuel was removed from the facility and shipped to what is now the Department of Energy Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Some minor decommissioning activities were done from 1972 to 1974. The facility was then placed in a monitored storage condition. Support structures and buildings were decontaminated and removed between 1987 and 1992. Full-scale decommissioning activities started in May 1998. In February 2000 the licensees submitted their license termination plan (LTP) for the SNEC facility. Under the provisions of 10 CFR 50.82(a)(10), the NRC approved the LTP by a license amendment dated March 28, 2003. In accordance with the approved LTP, the licensees conducted final status surveys (FSSs) to demonstrate that the facility and site met the criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. The licensees presented the FSS results to the NRC in FSS reports (FSSRs). The licensees submitted an application for termination of SNEC Amended Facility License No. DPR-4 on September 15, 2005. The application states that GPU Nuclear, Inc., has completed the remaining radiological decommissioning activities and the final radiation surveys of the SNEC Facility and the associated PENELEC site in accordance with an NRC-approved LTP and the final radiation surveys demonstrate that the facility and site area meet the criteria in 10 CFR part 20, subpart E, for the decommissioning and release of the site for unrestricted use. The NRC did a number of performance-based in-process inspections of the licensee's FSS program during the decommissioning process. The purpose of the inspections was to verify that the FSSs were being done in accordance with the licensees' commitments in the LTP and to evaluate the quality of the FSSs by reviewing the FSS procedures, methodology, equipment, surveyor training and qualifications, document quality control, and survey data. The NRC also did independent confirmatory surveys to verify the licensees' FSS results. The confirmatory surveys consisted of surface scans for beta and gamma radiation, direct measurements for total beta activity, and smear sampling for determining removable-radioactivity levels. The NRC staff reviewed the FSSRs and concludes that (i) dismantlement and decontamination activities were performed in accordance with the approved LTP; and (ii) the FSSRs demonstrate that the facility and site have met the criteria for decommissioning in 10 CFR part 20, subpart E. NRC is therefore terminating SNEC Facility Amended Facility License No. DPR-4.
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the following proposal for the collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: NRC Form 396, ``Certification of Medical Examination by Facility Licensee.'' 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0024. 4. How often the collection is required: Upon application for an initial operator license, every six years for the renewal of operator or senior operator license, and upon notices of disability. 5. Who is required or asked to report: Facility licensees who are tasked with certifying the medical fitness of an applicant or licensee. 6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 1,287 (1,150 responses + 137 recordkeepers). 7. The number of annual respondents: 137. 8. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 758 (288 hours for reporting [.25 hours per response] and 470 hours for recordkeeping [3.4 hours per recordkeeper]). 9. An indication of whether section 3507(d), Public Law 104-13 applies: Not Applicable. 10. Abstract: NRC Form 396 is used to transmit information to the NRC regarding the medical condition of applicants for initial operator licenses or renewal of operator licenses and for the maintenance of medical records for all licensed operators. The information is used to determine whether the physical condition and general health of applicants for operator licensees is such that the applicant would not be expected to cause operational errors and endanger public health and safety. A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site: https:// www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/. The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice. Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer listed below by January 17, 2006. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given to comments received after this date. John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150- 0024), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can also be e-mailed to JohnA.Asalone@omb.eop.gov or submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650. The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Union of Concerned Scientists and San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace; Partial Grant of Petition for Rulemaking
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting in part, a petition for rulemaking (PRM-50-80) submitted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (MFP). The petitioners requested two rulemaking actions in PRM-50-80. First, the petitioners requested the regulations establishing conditions of licenses and requirements for evaluating proposed changes, tests, and experiments for nuclear power plants be revised to require licensee evaluation of whether the proposed actions cause protection against radiological sabotage to be decreased and, if so, that the changes, tests, and experiments only be conducted with prior NRC approval. The NRC is contemplating a rulemaking action that would address the petitioners' request and, if issued as a final rule, essentially grant this portion of the petition. Second, the petitioners requested that regulations governing the licensing and operation of nuclear power plants be amended to require licensees to evaluate facilities against specified aerial hazards and make changes to provide reasonable assurance that the ability of the facility to reach and maintain safe shutdown will not be compromised by such aerial hazards. The NRC is deferring resolution of the second issue of the petition at this time. The NRC intends to address this issue when the NRC responds to comments on its proposed Design Basis Threat rule. The petitioners further requested the Commission to suspend the Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) proceeding during the NRC's consideration of PRM-50-80. That request was denied by Commission Memorandum and Order CLI-03-04, dated May 16, 2003.
Statement of Organization and General Information
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its regulations to reflect the renaming of the Office of the Chief Information Officer as the Office of Information Services, the establishment of the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, the transfer of the responsibility for the allegations program from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to the Office of Enforcement, and other minor changes. These amendments are necessary to inform the public of administrative changes within the NRC.
State of Minnesota: NRC Draft Staff Assessment of a Proposed Agreement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of Minnesota
By letter dated July 6, 2004, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) enter into an Agreement with the State as authorized by section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act). Under the proposed Agreement, the Commission would discontinue, and Minnesota would assume, portions of the Commission's regulatory authority exercised within the State. As required by the Act, NRC is publishing the proposed Agreement for public comment. NRC is also publishing the summary of a Draft Staff Assessment of the Minnesota Program. Comments are requested on the proposed Agreement and the NRC Draft Staff Assessment which finds the Program adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC's program for regulation of agreement material. The proposed Agreement would release (exempt) persons who possess or use certain radioactive materials in Minnesota from portions of the Commission's regulatory authority. The Act requires that NRC publish those exemptions. Notice is hereby given that the pertinent exemptions have been previously published in the Federal Register and are codified in the Commission's regulations as 10 CFR part 150.
TXU Generation Company, LP; Biweekly Notice; Notice of Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses; Correction
This document corrects a notice appearing in the Federal Register on October 25, 2005 (70 FR 61667), that incorrectly issued Amendment No. 120 for Units 1 and 2. The correct amendment No. is 122. This action is necessary to correct the incorrect amendment numbers.
Disposal of Radioactive Material by Release Into Sanitary Sewer Systems; Withdrawal of Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) that presented possible changes to the regulations governing the release of radionuclides from licensed nuclear facilities into sanitary sewer systems. Changes were proposed to account for the potential for radionuclide concentration during some types of wastewater treatment processes. NRC is withdrawing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking because it has determined that there are no widespread public health and safety concerns due to potential radiation exposures associated with the handling, beneficial use, and disposal of sewage sludge containing radioactive materials. This notice of withdrawal acknowledges public comments sent in response to the ANPR.
State of Minnesota: NRC Draft Staff Assessment of a proposed Agreement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the State of Minnesota
By letter dated July 6, 2004, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) enter into an Agreement with the State as authorized by section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act). Under the proposed Agreement, the Commission would discontinue, and Minnesota would assume, portions of the Commission's regulatory authority exercised within the State. As required by the Act, NRC is publishing the proposed Agreement for public comment. NRC is also publishing the summary of a Draft Staff Assessment of the Minnesota Program. Comments are requested on the proposed Agreement and the NRC Draft Staff Assessment which finds the Program adequate to protect public health and safety and compatible with NRC's program for regulation of agreement material. The proposed Agreement would release (exempt) persons who possess or use certain radioactive materials in Minnesota from portions of the Commission's regulatory authority. The Act requires that NRC publish those exemptions. Notice is hereby given that the pertinent exemptions have been previously published in the Federal Register and are codified in the Commission's regulations as 10 CFR part 150.
Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Related to the Proposed License Amendment To Increase the Maximum Reactor Power Level
The NRC has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment as its evaluation of a request by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) for a license amendment to increase the maximum thermal power at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS) from 1593 megawatts-thermal (MWt) to 1912 MWt. This represents a power increase of approximately 20 percent for VYNPS. As stated in the NRC staff's position paper dated February 8, 1996, on the Boiling-Water Reactor Extended Power Uprate (EPU) Program, the NRC staff will prepare an environmental impact statement if it believes a power uprate will have a significant impact on the human environment. The NRC staff did not identify any significant impact from the information provided in the licensee's EPU application for VYNPS or the NRC staff's independent review; therefore, the NRC staff is documenting its environmental review in an environmental assessment. Also, in accordance with the staff's position paper, the draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact is being published in the Federal Register with a 30-day public comment period.
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the following proposal for the collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a current valid OMB control number.
Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-of-Coolant Accident Technical Requirements
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes to amend its regulations to permit current power reactor licensees to implement a voluntary, risk-informed alternative to the current requirements for analyzing the performance of emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) during loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). In addition, the proposed rule would establish procedures and criteria for requesting changes in plant design and procedures based upon the results of the new analyses of ECCS performance during LOCAs.
Design Basis Threat
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations that govern the requirements pertaining to design basis threat (DBT). The proposed rule would amend the Commission's regulations to, among other things, make generically applicable the security requirements previously imposed by the Commission's April 29, 2003 DBT orders, which applied to existing licensees, and redefine the level of security requirements necessary to ensure that the public health and safety and common defense and security are adequately protected. The proposed rule would revise the DBT requirements for radiological sabotage (applied to power reactors and Category I fuel cycle facilities), and theft or diversion of NRC-licensed Strategic Special Nuclear Material (SSNM) (applied to Category I fuel cycle facilities). The NRC has developed draft Regulatory Guides (RGs) that provide guidance to licensees concerning the DBT for radiological sabotage and theft and diversion. These draft RGs have limited distribution because they contain either safeguards or classified information. The specific details related to the threat, which contain both safeguards information (SGI) and classified information, are contained in adversary characteristics documents (ACDs) that are not publicly available. These documents include specific details of the attributes of the threat consistent with the requirements imposed in the April 29, 2003, DBT orders. Additionally, a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-73-12), filed by the Committee to Bridge the Gap, was considered as part of this proposed rulemaking; the NRC's disposition of this petition is contained in this document.
Notice of Availability of Model Application Concerning Elimination of Typical License Condition Requiring Reporting of Violations of Section 2.C of Operating License Using the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process
Notice is hereby given that the staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model application related to the elimination of the license condition that requires reporting of violations of other requirements (typically in License Condition 2.C) in the operating license of some commercial nuclear power plants. The purpose of this model is to permit the NRC to efficiently process amendments that propose to delete the reporting requirement from operating licenses. Licensees of nuclear power reactors to which the model applies may request amendments using the model application.
Implementation of a Dose Standard After 10,000 Years; Extension of Comment Period
On September 8, 2005 (70 FR 53313), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a proposed rule that would amend its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The proposed rule would implement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years but within the period of geologic stability. The comment period for EPA's proposed standards currently expires on November 21, 2005 (extended 30 days from October 21, 2005); the comment period for NRC's proposed rule currently expires on November 7, 2005. A letter was received from U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign from the State of Nevada requesting that the comment period for NRC's proposed rule be extended to a total of 180 days, or at least past the date of EPA's 30-day extension. Another letter representing several citizen and environmental groups requested that the deadline for comments be extended to 180 days. In addition, a letter from the Agency for Nuclear Projects, on behalf of the State of Nevada, requested that NRC extend its comment period for an additional 30 days, consistent with EPA's 30-day extension of its comment period. Given the interrelationship between these two proposed rules, and for consistency with the ongoing EPA rulemaking process, NRC has decided to extend the comment period for its rulemaking an additional 30 days to December 7, 2005, for a total comment period of 90 days. In vacating the compliance period in NRC's rule at 10 CFR part 63, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has made clear that it is ``NRC's obligation under the [Energy Policy Act of 1992] to maintain licensing criteria that are consistent with the public health and safety standards promulgated by EPA.'' See Nuclear Energy Institute, Inc. v. EPA, 373 F.3d 1251, 1299 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Thus NRC's proposed rule, for the most part, simply implements EPA's proposed standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years but within the period of geologic stability, and its final rule will need to implement any changes EPA may make with respect to its standards. NRC's proposed rule provides further detail for implementing the EPA standard in only two specific areas: A value to represent climate change after 10,000 years; and a requirement that calculations of radiation doses for workers use the same weighting factors that EPA is proposing for calculating individual doses to members of the public. A lengthy period of time should not be needed by potential commenters to address these issues. Hence the NRC's 30-day extension is believed to be appropriate.
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