80 FR 11691 - Reviewing and Assessing the Financial Condition of Operating Power Reactor Licensees, Including Requests for Additional Information

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 42 (March 4, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), OL/FR-ISG-2014-01, ``Reviewing and Assessing the Financial Condition of Operating Power Reactor Licensees, Including Requests for Additional Information,'' dated February 17, 2015. The ISG provides clarifying guidance to the NRC staff when reviewing licensee financial information, and when requesting additional information regarding licensee financial conditions, as authorized under the NRC's regulations. Such review and inquiry are performed by NRC staff for currently operating power reactor licensees, absent a licensing action such as a license transfer.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11691-11692]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04479]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0045]


Reviewing and Assessing the Financial Condition of Operating 
Power Reactor Licensees, Including Requests for Additional Information

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), OL/FR-ISG-2014-01, ``Reviewing and 
Assessing the Financial Condition of Operating Power Reactor Licensees, 
Including Requests for Additional Information,'' dated February 17, 
2015. The ISG provides clarifying guidance to the NRC staff when 
reviewing licensee financial information, and when requesting 
additional information regarding licensee financial conditions, as 
authorized under the NRC's regulations. Such review and inquiry are 
performed by NRC staff for currently operating power reactor licensees, 
absent a licensing action such as a license transfer.

DATES: The ISG is available March 4, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0045 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0045. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if 
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a 
document is referenced. The ISG is available in ADAMS under Accession 
No. ML14218A625.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Turtil, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2308; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The purpose of this ISG is to clarify the process by which the NRC 
will review financial conditions of, and financial concerns about, 
currently operating power reactor licensees. This guidance is intended 
to provide consistency and transparency with regard to the NRC's 
financial review process for licensees (in the absence of a license 
transfer or other similar licensing action). It addresses the NRC's 
basis for financial Requests for Additional Information from licensees 
during operations, the NRC staff's evaluation of Requests for 
Additional Information responses, and the closure of such inquiries. 
This ISG is intended to enhance the NRC's financial review guidance 
presented in Section III(1)(d)--Post-OL Non-transfer Reviews, of NUREG-
1577, Revision 1, ``Standard Review Plan on Power Reactor Licensee 
Financial Qualifications and Decommissioning Funding Assurance,'' dated 
December 2001, (ADAMS Accession No. ML013330264). The guidance in this 
ISG will be included in the next update to NUREG-1577.

II. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC is issuing interim guidance for the NRC staff regarding its 
review of operating power reactor licensees' financial information. 
Issuance of the ISG does not constitute backfitting as defined in Sec.  
50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (the 
Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC's position is based upon the 
following considerations.
    1. The ISG positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the 
ISG is internal guidance to NRC staff.
    The ISG provides interim guidance to the NRC staff on how to review 
licensees' financial information and request additional financial 
information. Changes in internal staff guidance are not matters for 
which applicants or licensees are protected under 10 CFR 50.109 or 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52.
    2. The NRC has no intention to impose the ISG on existing nuclear 
power plant licenses either now or in the future (absent a voluntary 
request for change from the licensee).
    The NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the ISG to existing (already issued) licenses (e.g., 
operating licenses and combined licenses). Hence, the ISG--even if 
considered guidance which is within the purview of the issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52--need not be evaluated as if it were a 
backfit or as being inconsistent with issue finality provisions.
    Even if, in the future, the NRC staff seeks to impose a position in 
the ISG on holders of already issued licenses, such imposition would 
not provide any basis for the Backfit Rule or issue finality provisions 
to apply. The ISG concerns, in part, the NRC's request for operating 
power reactor licensees' financial information. Information collection 
and reporting requirements such as these are not subject to the Backfit 
Rule and issue finality provisions.

[[Page 11692]]

III. Congressional Review Act

    This action is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not 
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of February 2015.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott A. Morris,
Director, Division of Inspection and Regional Support, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-04479 Filed 3-3-15; 8:45 am]
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