80 FR 80396 - Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 247 (December 24, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1324, ``Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors.'' This guidance is proposed Revison 1 of RG 1.219, which incorporates additional information on making changes to emergency plans by facilities that have permanently ceased operations.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 247 (Thursday, December 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80396-80398]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32413]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0278]


Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power 
Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1324, ``Guidance on 
Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors.'' This 
guidance is proposed Revison 1 of RG 1.219, which incorporates 
additional information on making changes to emergency plans by 
facilities that have permanently ceased operations.

DATES: Submit comments by February 22, 2016. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
is able to ensure

[[Page 80397]]

consideration only for comments received on or before this date. 
Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in connection 
with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed or 
improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specified subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0278. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: (301) 415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: OWFN 12H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen F. LaVie, Office of Nuclear 
Security and Incident Response, telephone: 301-287-3741, email: 
[email protected]: and Anthony Markley, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, telephone: 301-415-3165, email: Anthony.Markley@nrc,gov. Both 
are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0278 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publically-available information related to this document, by 
any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0278. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) 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 
DG is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML15054A370.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2015-0278 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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enters 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public such information as methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff 
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The DG, entitled, ``Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans 
for Nuclear Power Reactors,'' is temporarily identified by its task 
number, DG-1324. DG-1324 is proposed revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 
1.219. The guide describes methods that the NRC staff considers 
acceptable to implement the requirements in Title 10, Section 50.54(q), 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, ``Domestic 
Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities.'' Requirements in 
10 CFR 50.54(q) relate to emergency preparedness and specifically to 
making changes to emergency response plans. Revision 0 of this guide 
was written focusing on operating nuclear power reactors.
    This guide is being updated to provide clarification on how the 
guidance applies to emergency plan changes at facilities that have 
certified permanent cessation of operation pursuant to 10 CFR 50.82, 
``Termination of License,'' or 10 CFR 52.110, ``Termination of 
License,'' as applicable.
    In 2013, three nuclear power reactor licensees permanently ceased 
operations at their facilities. Some of these licensees changed their 
emergency plans assuming that the inherently lower risk of a 
radiological accident due to the cessation of operations and 10 CFR 
50.59 change processes were sufficient to address changes to the 
emergency plan. However, 10 CFR 50.54(q) requires licensees to gain 
prior NRC approval of emergency plan changes that would no longer 
comply with one or more regulations or that would constitute a 
reduction in the plan effectivness. The licensee would need to request 
prior NRC approval through a license amendment request under 10 CFR 
50.90, ``Application for Amendment of License, Construction Permit, or 
Early Site Permit,'' or request an exemption under 10 CFR 50.12, 
``Specific Exemptions.''
    This revision is being proposed to provide clarification on how the 
regulatory guidance applies to emergency plan changes at nuclear power 
plant facilities which have permanently shut down. Additionally, 
editorial changes have been made to reflect current format of the 
regulatory guide document series.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this regulatory guide in final form would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) 
and would not otherwise be inconsistent with the issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As discussed in the ``Implementation'' 
discussion in this regulatory guide, the NRC has no current intention 
to impose this regulatory guide on holders of current operating 
licenses or combined licenses. Moreover, explanations of the

[[Page 80398]]

process by which a licensee makes changes to its emergency plan, 
provided in response to misinterpretations of the NRC's regulations by 
licensees, do not constitute modifications of or additions to systems, 
structures, components, or design of a facility; or the procedures or 
organization required to design, construct or operate a facility within 
the meaning of 50.109(a)(1). Accordingly, the issuance of this 
regulatory guide would not constitute ``backfitting'' as defined in 
50.109(a)(1) or otherwise be inconsistent with the applicable issue 
finality provisions in part 52.
    This regulatory guide may be applied to applications for operating 
licenses and combined licenses docketed by the NRC as of the date of 
issuance of the final regulatory guide, as well as future applications 
for operating licenses and combined licenses submitted after the 
issuance of this regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 50.109(a)(1) or otherwise be inconsistent 
with the applicable issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, 
inasmuch as such applicants or potential applicants are not within the 
scope of entities protected by the Backfit Rule or the relevant issue 
finality provisions in part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of December, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-32413 Filed 12-23-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P