Nuclear Regulatory Commission March 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The NRC invites public comment about our intention to request the OMB's approval for renewal of an existing information collection that is summarized below. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

The NRC invites public comment about our intention to request the OMB's approval for renewal of an existing information collection that is summarized below. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to issue a regulatory issue summary (RIS) to present its interpretation of the regulations governing the commencement of construction found in 10 CFR 40.32(e). This Federal Register notice is available through the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML083470668.

The NRC requests public comment on a proposed draft License Renewal Interim Staff Guidance (LR-ISG) Process, Revision 1. This draft incorporates changes to the existing LR-ISG process, dated December 12, 2003, and basic framework for developing and implementing LR-ISGs. The NRC also requests public comment on a proposed revision to NRC Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2007-16. This revision clarifies the role of the LR-ISG process for including ``newly identified'' systems, structures, and components in accordance with Sec. 54.37(b) of Title 10, Part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,'' of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 54.37(b)). The proposed revisions to the LR-ISG process and RIS are available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), under Accession Nos. ML082180346 and ML083500028, respectively.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering whether to propose to amend its rule governing annual fees to establish a variable annual fee structure for power reactors based on licensed power limits. Current regulations governing annual fees require that each operating power reactor pay the same annual fee, regardless of the size of the reactor. The NRC has determined that the current single annual fee structure for power reactors should be reviewed in light of the potential for future licensing of small and medium sized nuclear reactors, some of which may not be used to generate electric power, and some of which may be used and licensed in configurations of up to twenty (20) reactors (modules). Although issuance of a license for a small or medium sized reactor which triggers imposition of fees may be several years in the future, this ANPR invites early input from interested stakeholders and the public on the issues relevant to the establishment of a variable annual fee structure for power reactors.

This document corrects a notice appearing in the Federal Register on February 23, 2009 (74 FR 8124), that announced the availability of Final Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) COL/ESP-ISG-004. This action is necessary to correct the Agencywide Documents Access Management System (ADAMS) accession number for the ISG.

The NRC is soliciting public comment on its Proposed Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) DC/COL-ISG-010 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML090510728). The purpose of this ISG is to modify and provide additional clarity in the guidance for the review of analyses of adverse flow effects in equipment other than reactor internals performed by Combined License (COL) and Design Certification (DC) applicants. This ISG would revise the staff guidance previously issued in March 2007 in the Standard Review Plan (SRP) NUREG-0080, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,'' Section 3.9.2, ``Dynamic Testing and Analysis of Systems, Structures, and Components,'' Section 3.9.5, ``Reactor Pressure Vessel Internals,'' and Regulatory Guide 1.20, ``Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During Pre-operational and Initial Startup Testing.'' The NRC staff issues DC/COL-ISGs to facilitate timely implementation of current staff guidance and to facilitate activities associated with review of applications for DCs and COLs by the Office of New Reactors. The NRC staff will also incorporate the approved DC/COL-ISG-010 into the next revision of the SRP and related guidance documents.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The final rule implements the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) revised standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years, but within the period of geologic stability. The final rule also specifies a range of values for the deep percolation rate to be used to represent climate change after 10,000 years, as called for by EPA, and specifies that calculations of radiation doses for workers use the same weighting factors that EPA is using for calculating individual doses to members of the public.

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. The NRC published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period on this information collection on December 10, 2008. 1. Type of Submission, New, Revision, or Extension: Extension. 2. The Title of the Information Collection: 10 CFR Part 30Rules of General Applicability to Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material. Current OMB Approval Number: 3150-0017. 3. The Form Number if Applicable: N/A. 4. How Often the Collection is Required: Required reports are collected and evaluated on a continuing basis as events occur. There is a one-time submittal of information to receive a license. Renewal applications are submitted every 10 years. Information submitted in previous applications may be referenced without being resubmitted. In addition, recordkeeping must be performed on an on-going basis. 5. Who Will be Required or Asked to Report: All persons applying for or holding a license to manufacture, produce, transfer, receive, acquire, own, possess, or use radioactive byproduct material. 6. An Estimate of the Number of Annual Responses: 38,407 (6,623 NRC Licensee responses (2,754 Responses + 3,869 Recordkeepers) and 31,784 Agreement State Licensee responses (13,213 Responses + 18,571 Recordkeepers)). 7. The Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 22,440 (3,869 NRC licensees and 18,571 Agreement State licensees). 8. An Estimate of the Total Number of Hours Needed Annually to Complete the Requirement or Request: 314,844 (NRC licensees 54,250 hours (24,633 reporting + 29,617 recordkeeping) and Agreement State licensees 260,594 hours (118,597 reporting + 141,997 recordkeeping)). 9. Abstract: 10 CFR Part 30 establishes requirements that are applicable to all persons in the United States governing domestic licensing of radioactive byproduct material. The application, reporting and recordkeeping requirements are necessary to permit the NRC to make a determination whether the possession, use, and transfer of byproduct material is in conformance with the Commission's regulations for protection of the 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 April 13, 2009. 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.