Nuclear Regulatory Commission September 21, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On August 15, 2011 (76 FR 50500), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a draft Policy Statement on Volume Reduction and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management that updates the 1981 Policy Statement on Low-Level Waste Volume Reduction. The revised Policy Statement acknowledges that volume reduction continues to be important, but that risk-informed, performance-based approaches to managing waste are also needed to safely manage Low-Level Radioactive Waste. The public comment period closed on September 14, 2011. The NRC has decided to reopen the comment period until October 14, 2011, in response to a request from advocacy groups.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (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 June 17, 2011. 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: NRC Form 241, ``Report of Proposed Activities in Non-Agreement States, Areas of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction, or Offshore Waters.'' 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0013. 4. The form number if applicable: NRC Form 241. 5. How often the collection is required: NRC Form 241 must be submitted each time an Agreement State licensee wants to engage in or revise its activities involving the use of radioactive byproduct material in a non-Agreement State, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters. The NRC may waive the requirements for filing additional copies of NRC Form 241 during the remainder of the calendar year following receipt of the initial form. 6. Who will be required or asked to report: Any licensee who holds a specific license from an Agreement State and wants to conduct the same activity in non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters under the general license in 10 CFR 150.20. 7. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 1,756 responses. 8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 172 respondents. 9. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 482 hours (86 hours for initial submission + 119 hours for changes + 277 hours for clarification). 10. Abstract: Any Agreement State licensee who engages in the use of radioactive material in non-Agreement States, areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, or offshore waters, under the general license in Section 150.20, is required to file, with the NRC regional administrator for the region in which the Agreement State that issues the license is located, a copy of NRC Form 241 (``Report of Proposed Activities in Non-Agreement States, Areas of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction, or Offshore Waters''), a copy of its Agreement State specific license, and the appropriate fee as prescribed in Section 170.31 at least 3 days before engaging in such activity. This mandatory notification permits NRC to schedule inspections of the activities to determine whether the activities are being conducted in accordance with requirements for protection of the public health and safety. The public may examine and have copied for a fee, publicly available documents, including the final supporting statement, at the NRC's Public Document Room, Room O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC 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 October 21, 2011. 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. Chad Whiteman, Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0013), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503, Comments can also be e-mailed to CWhiteman@omb.eop.gov or submitted by telephone at 202-395-4718. The NRC Clearance Officer is Tremaine Donnell, 301-415-6258.