Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is soliciting public comment on NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants'' LWR Edition: Section 13.6.4, ``Access AuthorizationOperational Program.'' The NRC seeks comments on the new Section 13.6.4 of the Standard Review Plan (SRP) concerning implementation of an access authorization program through revisions to the nuclear power reactor licensee Commission- approved Physical Security Plan under of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 73.55, ``Requirements for Physical Protection of Licensed Activities in Nuclear Power Reactors against Radiological Sabotage,'' Section (b)(7), that integrates the performance requirements contained within 10 CFR 73.56, ``Personnel Access Authorization Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and the criminal history checks of 10 CFR 73.57, ``Requirements for Criminal History Checks of Individuals Granted Unescorted Access to a Nuclear Power Facility or Access to Safeguards Information by Power Reactor Licensees.'' The current SRP does not contain guidance on the review of an applicant's proposed access authorization program.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing supplemental information to a notice of receipt that appeared in the Federal Register on December 19, 2012. This document informed the public of a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Commonwealth) requesting that the NRC institute a rulemaking to rescind the regulations excluding consideration of spent fuel pool storage impacts from license renewal environmental reviews. This action is necessary to provide the public with supplemental information on how to access documents referenced in the Commonwealth's petition.

This document corrects an exemption to 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R appearing in the Federal Register on July 24, 2012 (77 FR 43382), which inadvertently omitted: (1) Operator Manual Action (OMA) 1 from Fire Area R-9, (2) OMA 9, OMA 11 and OMA 1 from Fire Area R-13, and (3) OMA 9 and OMA 1 from Fire Area R-14. Due to the complexity of the corrections, the exemption is being reissued in its entirety.

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 September 5, 2012 (77 FR 54615). 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR Part 110, Export and Import of Nuclear Equipment and Material. 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0036. 4. The form number if applicable: NRC Forms 830, 830A, 831, and 831A. 5. How often the collection is required: On occasion and annually. 6. Who will be required or asked to report: Any person in the U.S. who wishes to export or import nuclear material or equipment subject to the requirements of a general or specific license. 7. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 2,598. 8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 108. 9. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 780. 10. Abstract: Persons in the U.S. whom export or import nuclear material or equipment under a general or specific authorization must comply with certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements under part 110 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). 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. The OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC's Web site: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ doc-comment/omb/. The document will be available on the NRC's 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 22, 2013. 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 (3150-0036), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can also be emailed to Chad_S_Whiteman@omb.eop.gov or submitted by telephone at 202-395-4718. The NRC Clearance Officer is Tremaine Donnell, 301-415-6258.

On December 7, 2012 (77 FR 73060), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), solicited comments on the proposed changes to NUREG- 1520, Revision 1, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the Review of a License Application for a Fuel Cycle Facility.'' The NRC is extending the public comment period for its SRP from January 7, 2013, to March 7, 2013.

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 August 17, 2012 (77 FR 49833). 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: NRC's Policy Statement on Cooperation with States at Commercial Nuclear Power Plants and Other Nuclear Production and Utilization Facilities. 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0163. 4. The form number if applicable: N/A. 5. How often the collection is required: On occasion, when a State wishes to observe NRC inspection or perform inspections for the NRC. 6. Who will be required or asked to report: Nuclear Power Plant Licensees, Materials Security Licensees and those States interested in observing or performing inspections. 7. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 70. 8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 55. 9. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 1,000. 10. Abstract: States are involved and interested in monitoring the safety status of nuclear power plants and radioactive materials. This involvement is, in part, in response to the States' public health and safety responsibilities and, in part, in response to their citizens' desire to become more knowledgeable about the safety of nuclear power plants and radioactive materials. States have identified NRC inspections as one possible source of knowledge for their personnel regarding plant and materials licensee activities, and the NRC, through the policy statement on Cooperation with States, has been amenable to accommodating the States' needs in this regard. Additionally, the NRC has entered into reimbursable Agreements with certain States under Section 274i of the Act, as amended, to employ their resources to conduct radioactive materials security inspections against NRC Orders. 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. The OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC's Web site: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ doc-comment/omb/. The document will be available on the NRC's 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 22, 2013. 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 (3150-0163), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can also be emailed to Chad_S_Whiteman@omb.eop.gov, or submitted by telephone at 202-395-4718. The NRC Clearance Officer is Tremaine Donnell, 301-415-6258.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Commonwealth or petitioner) requesting that the NRC rescind its regulations excluding consideration of spent fuel pool storage impacts from license renewal environmental review. The petition was filed on June 2, 2011, with the NRC's Atomic Safety Licensing Board (ASLB) in conjunction with a request for a waiver of the NRC's spent fuel pool exclusion regulations. The petitioner requested that, if the ASLB rejected the Commonwealth's waiver petition, the NRC initiate a rulemaking. On November 28, 2011, the ASLB denied the Commonwealth's waiver petition, and on March 8, 2012, in a Commission Memorandum and Order, the petition for rulemaking was referred to NRC staff. The NRC is not requesting public comment period on this petition at this time.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider in the NRC rulemaking process the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by Thomas Popik (the petitioner) on behalf of the Foundation for Resilient Societies. The petition was dated March 14, 2011, and was docketed as PRM-50-96. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to require facilities licensed by the NRC to assure long-term cooling and unattended water makeup of spent fuel pools (SFP).

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 August 17, 2012 (77 FR 49834). 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: Nuclear Material Events Database (NMED) for the Collection of Event Report, Response, Analyses, and Follow-up Data on Events Involving the Use of Atomic Energy Act (AEA) Radioactive Byproduct Material. 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0178. 4. The form number if applicable: N/A. 5. How often the collection is required: On occasion. Agreement States are requested to provide copies of licensee nuclear material event reports electronically or by hard copy to the NRC within 30 days of receipt from their licensee. In addition, Agreement States are requested to report events that may pose a significant health and safety hazard to the NRC Headquarters Operations Officer within 24 hours of notification by an Agreement State licensee. 6. Who will be required or asked to report: Current Agreement States and any State receiving Agreement State status in the future. 7. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 471. 8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 37. 9. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 745.5 hours. 10. Abstract: NRC regulations require NRC licensees to report incidents and events involving the use, transportation and security of radioactive byproduct material, and source material, such as those involving radiation overexposures, leaking or contaminated sealed source(s), release of excessive contamination of radioactive material, lost or stolen radioactive material, equipment failures, abandoned well logging sources and medical events. Agreement State licenses are also required to report these events to their individual Agreement State regulatory authorities under compatible Agreement State regulations. The NRC is requesting that the Agreement States provide information to NRC on the initial notification, response actions, and follow-up investigations on events involving the use (including suspected theft or terrorist activities) of nuclear materials regulated pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act. The event information should be provided in a uniform electronic format, for assessment and identification of any facilities/site specific or generic safety concerns that could have the potential to impact public health and safety. The identification and review of safety concerns may result in lessons learned, and may also identify generic issues for further study which could result in proposals for changes or revisions to technical or regulatory designs, processes, standards, guidance or requirements. 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. The OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC's Web site: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ doc-comment/omb/. The document will be available on the NRC's 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 11, 2013. 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.

A call for nominations was published by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the Federal Register (77 FR 62538-62539) on October 15, 2012 for the positions of health care administrator and nuclear cardiologist on the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI). The nomination period ends on December 14, 2012. This notice confirms a 60 day extension of the nomination period until February 14, 2013.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1259, ``Initial Test Programs for Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants.'' This guide describes the general scope and depth that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for Initial Test Programs (ITPs) for light water cooled nuclear power plants.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations that govern low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal facilities to require new and revised site-specific analyses and to permit the development of criteria for waste acceptance based on the results of these analyses. These amendments will ensure that waste streams that are significantly different in terms of radiological characteristics (e.g., half-life) from those considered in the technical basis for the current regulations can be disposed of safely and meet the performance objectives for land disposal of LLRW. These amendments will also increase the use of site-specific information to ensure that public health and safety would continue to be protected. The NRC is publishing a second version of preliminary rule language and has revised the regulatory basis document that will support this rulemaking. NRC is taking this action to inform interested stakeholders of the current status of the NRC's activities and to solicit public comments on the preliminary rule language. The regulatory basis document is being made available to inform stakeholder comments on the preliminary rule language. The NRC is not requesting comments on the regulatory basis.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2012 (77 FR 39899), and effective on August 6, 2012. That final rule amended the NRC regulations to make technical corrections, including updating the street address for the Region I office, correcting authority citations and typographical and spelling errors, and making other edits and conforming changes. This correcting amendment is necessary to correct the statutory authority that is cited in one of the authority citations in the final rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the Final Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate (JLD) Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), JLD-ISG-2012-04, ``Guidance on Performing a Seismic Margin Assessment in Response to the March 2012 Request for Information Letter,'' (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML12286A029). This JLD-ISG provides guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactor licensees when responding to the NRC staff's request for information dated March 12, 2012, Enclosure 1, ``Recommendation 2.1: Seismic'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML12053A340).