Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NRC has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment as its evaluation of a request by PPL Susquehanna, LLC for a license amendment to increase the maximum thermal power at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2 (SSES 1 and 2), from 3,489 megawatts-thermal (MWt) to 3,952 MWt at each unit. This represents a power increase of approximately 13 percent thermal power. 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 (the staff) will prepare an environmental impact statement if it believes a power uprate would have a significant impact on the human environment. The staff did not identify any significant impact from the information provided in the licensee's EPU application for Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2, or the staff's independent review; therefore, the staff is documenting its environmental review in an Environmental Assessment. Also, in accordance with the 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.

This document announces that on November 30, 2007, in accordance with Section 651(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the provisions of the ``Plan for the Transition of Regulatory Authority Resulting from the Expanded Definition of Byproduct Material'' (transition plan) issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission or NRC) on October 19, 2007 (72 FR 59157), the Commission determined that the States listed below have a program to license byproduct material, as defined in Sections 11e.(3) and (4) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, that is adequate to protect the public health and safety. This determination is based on certifications provided to the Commission by Governors of these States.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reopening the comment period specific to the information collection aspects of a proposed rule published on October 3, 2007 (72 FR 56275), that would amend NRC's regulations to provide updated fracture toughness requirements for protection against pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events for pressurized water reactor (PWR) pressure vessels. The comment period for comments specific to the information collection aspects of the proposed rule, closed on November 2, 2007.

Notice is hereby given that the staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model safety evaluation (SE) and a model application related to the modification of containment combustible gas control requirements in technical specifications (TS) for Boiling Water Reactors (BWR). The NRC staff has also prepared a model no-significant-hazards-consideration (NSHC) determination related to this matter. The purpose of these models is to permit the NRC to efficiently process license amendment applications that propose to adopt TSTF-478, Revision 2, ``BWR Technical Specification Changes that Implement the Revised Rule for Combustible Gas Control.'' TSTF-478, Revision 2, deletes Standard Technical Specification (STS) 3.6.3.3, ``Containment Atmosphere Dilution (CAD) System'' and modifies STS 3.6.3.1, ``Drywell Cooling System Fans,'' in NUREG-1433, ``Standard Technical Specifications General Electric Plants, BWR/4, Rev. 3,'' to establish TS for containment combustible gas control requirements as permitted by revised 10 CFR 50.44. Licensees of nuclear power reactors to which the models apply could then request amendments, confirming the applicability of the SE and NSHC determination to their plants.

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: New collection. 2. The title of the information collection: NRC Survey of Public Response to Emergencies. 3. The form number if applicable: N/A. 4. How often the collection is required: This is a one-time collection. 5. Who will be required or asked to report: Members of the public that reside within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zones (EPZs) of nuclear power plants. 6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 920 (each respondent will answer one survey). 7. The estimated number of annual respondents: This is a one-time collection of 800 completed surveys. 8. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 210 hours ((800 completed surveys x .25 hours per response = 200 hours) + (120 uncompleted surveys x .083 hours per response = 10 hours)). 9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Public Law 104-13 applies: N/A. 10. Abstract: As part of the NRC's effort to review and improve emergency response program areas, the NRC intends to conduct a telephone survey to assess public reaction to existing protective action strategies, new protective action strategies, and the effectiveness in which these strategies are conveyed to the public. The survey will produce statistical descriptions of likely public reaction to and acceptance of various protective action strategies. The targets for the telephone survey are randomly selected members of the public that reside within the 10-mile EPZs around nuclear power plants. This is a nationwide survey of the public residing within EPZs. The response to the surveys will be used by the NRC in the development of enhancements to its guidance for nuclear power plant protective action recommendations and the means by which this information is disseminated. The survey will also improve the understanding of other areas related to protective action implementation, such as the extent of shadow evacuations and the expected usage of congregate care facilities. 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-1F21, 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 December 17, 2007. 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. Nathan J. Frey, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150- XXXX), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can also be e-mailed to Nathan J. Frey@omb.eop.gov or submitted by telephone at (202) 395-7345. The NRC Clearance Officer is Margaret A. Janney, 301-415-7245.