[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 9, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67571-67572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24463]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 216 / Wednesday, November 9, 2022 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 67571]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. NRC-2020-0036]
RIN 3150-AK71
Reporting Requirements for Nonemergency Events at Nuclear Power
Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory basis; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting
comment on a regulatory basis to support a rulemaking that would amend
its regulations for nonemergency event notifications. The NRC is
evaluating the current requirements and guidance for immediate
notification of nonemergency events for operating nuclear power
reactors and assessing whether the requirements present an unnecessary
reporting burden. The regulatory basis contains an analysis of whether
reporting requirements can be reduced or eliminated when they do not
have a commensurate safety benefit.
DATES: Submit comments by January 9, 2023. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is
able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this
date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0036. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Tartal, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0016; email:
[email protected]; or Brian Benney, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-2767; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0036 (formerly Docket ID NRC-
2018-0201 for the associated petition for rulemaking) when contacting
the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may
obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of
the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0036 (or Docket
ID NRC-2018-0201 for the associated petition for rulemaking).
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0036 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Discussion
To facilitate early stakeholder engagement in the rulemaking
process, the NRC is requesting comment on a regulatory basis to support
a rulemaking that would amend Section 50.72, ``Immediate notification
requirements for operating nuclear power reactors,'' of Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
The regulatory basis is developed as a precursor to a proposed rule
and describes the NRC's preferred approach for resolving an issue
raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-50-116, submitted by the
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) on August 2, 2018. The petition
requested the NRC to amend its regulations to remove all nonemergency
notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors. On
August 12, 2021, the NRC published a notice in the Federal Register (86
FR
[[Page 67572]]
44290) announcing its decision to consider in its rulemaking process
changes to these requirements.
The regulatory basis recommends that the NRC pursue rulemaking to
remove six of the nonemergency event notification requirements, clarify
regulatory guidance for two of the requirements, and make no changes to
the rest of the nonemergency event notification requirements. The NRC
also recommends rulemaking to provide a voluntary, alternative method
for submitting nonemergency event reports to the NRC.
The NRC will consider feedback received on the regulatory basis in
the development of the planned proposed rule and will address written
comments in that proposed rule.
III. Cumulative Effects of Regulations
The Cumulative Effects of Regulation (CER) describes the challenges
that licensees or other impacted entities (such as State agency
partners) may face while implementing new regulatory positions,
programs, and requirements (e.g., rules, generic letters, backfits,
inspections). The CER is an organizational challenge that results from
a licensee or impacted entity implementing a number of complex
positions, programs, or requirements within a limited implementation
period and with available resources (which may include limited
available expertise to address a specific issue). The NRC is following
its CER process by engaging with external stakeholders throughout this
regulatory basis and related regulatory activities. Opportunity for
public comment is provided to the public at this regulatory basis
stage. The NRC has implemented CER enhancements to the rulemaking
process to facilitate public involvement throughout the rulemaking
process. The NRC is requesting CER feedback on the following questions:
1. In light of any current or projected CER challenges, what should
be a reasonable effective date, compliance date, or submittal date(s)
from the time the final rule is published to the actual implementation
of any new proposed requirements, including changes to programs,
procedures, or the facility?
2. If current or projected CER challenges exist, what should be
done to address this situation (e.g., if more time is required to
implement the new requirements, what period of time would be
sufficient, and why such a time frame is necessary)?
3. Do other regulatory actions (e.g., orders, generic
communications, license amendment requests, and inspection findings of
a generic nature) by the NRC or other agencies influence the
implementation of the potential proposed requirements?
4. Are there unintended consequences? Does the potential proposed
action create conditions that would be contrary to the potential
proposed action's purpose and objectives? If so, what are the
consequences and how should they be addressed?
Please provide information on the costs and benefits of the
potential proposed action. This information will be used to support
additional regulatory analysis by the NRC.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
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ADAMS accession No./web
Document link/Federal Register
citation
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Regulatory Basis for Reporting Requirements ML22108A004
for Nonemergency Events at Nuclear Power
Plants.
PRM-50-116, Considering in the Rulemaking 86 FR 44290
Process: Elimination of Immediate
Notification Requirements for Nonemergency
Events, August 12, 2021.
PRM-50-116, Notice of Docketing and Request 83 FR 58509
for Comment: Elimination of Immediate
Notification Requirements for Non-Emergency
Events, November 20, 2018.
Petition for Rulemaking PRM-50-116, Submitted ML18247A204
by the Nuclear Energy Institute, August 2,
2018.
SECY-20-0109, ``Petition for Rulemaking and ML20073G008
Rulemaking Plan on Immediate Notification
Requirements for Nonemergency Events (PRM-50-
116; NRC-2018-0201),'' November 30, 2020.
SRM-SECY-20-0109, ``Petition for Rulemaking ML21209A947
and Rulemaking Plan on Immediate
Notification Requirements for Nonemergency
Events,'' July 28, 2021.
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The NRC may post documents related to this rulemaking activity to
the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under
Docket ID NRC-2020-0036. In addition, the Federal rulemaking website
allows members of the public to receive alerts when changes or
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the
docket folder (NRC-2020-0036); (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link; and
(3) enter an email address and click on the ``Subscribe'' link.
V. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized
manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the
Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain
Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR
31885). The NRC requests comment on this document with respect to the
clarity and effectiveness of the language used.
Dated: November 4, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher M. Regan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-24463 Filed 11-8-22; 8:45 am]
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