82_FR_46859 82 FR 46666 - Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operation

82 FR 46666 - Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operation

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 193 (October 6, 2017)

Page Range46666-46668
FR Document2017-21546

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing a rulemaking activity that would have required licensees to remediate residual radioactivity resulting from licensed activities during facility operations, rather than at license termination. The purpose of this action is to inform members of the public that this rulemaking activity is being discontinued and to provide a brief discussion of the NRC's decision to discontinue it. This rulemaking activity will no longer be reported in the NRC's portion of the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Unified Agenda).

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 193 (Friday, October 6, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 193 (Friday, October 6, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46666-46668]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21546]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 20

[NRC-2011-0162]
RIN 3150-AJ17


Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking activity.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing 
a rulemaking activity that would have required licensees to remediate 
residual radioactivity resulting from licensed activities during 
facility operations, rather than at license termination. The purpose of 
this action is to inform members of the public that this rulemaking 
activity is being discontinued and to provide a brief discussion of the 
NRC's decision to discontinue it. This rulemaking activity will no 
longer be reported in the NRC's portion of the Unified Agenda of 
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Unified Agenda).

DATES: This action is effective October 6, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0162 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this action. 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-2011-0162. 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 document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time it 
is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert D. MacDougall, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5175; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Discussion
III. Availability of Documents
IV. Conclusion

I. Background

    This action is the culmination of a process of evaluating operating 
experience and interacting with the public since 2007 to determine 
whether the NRC should require licensees to remediate, during facility 
operations, releases of residual radioactivity into the surface and 
subsurface of their facility sites. Such remediation during operations 
has come to be known as ``prompt'' remediation. In order to permit a 
site to be released for unrestricted use, licensees are currently 
required to remediate, before license termination, all residual 
radioactivity at their facility sites to levels that provide reasonable 
assurance that no member of the public will receive a dose from the 
decommissioned facility greater than 25 millirem (mrem) per year.
    As a result of its evaluations and stakeholder interactions, the 
NRC staff recommended, and the Commission decided, to discontinue 
further work on a prompt remediation rulemaking. A discussion of this 
decision is provided in Section II of this document.

II. Discussion

    The Commission first directed the staff to study the potential need 
for a prompt remediation rulemaking when the Commission approved the 
proposed decommissioning planning rule (DPR) in 2007. In its staff 
requirements memorandum (SRM) on that proposed rule (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML073440549), the Commission directed the staff to ``make further 
improvements to the decommissioning planning process by addressing the 
remediation of residual radioactivity during the operational phase with 
the objective of avoiding complex decommissioning challenges that can 
lead to legacy sites.'' In its subsequent Federal Register document 
(FRN) for the proposed DPR, published January 22, 2008, the Commission 
defined ``legacy site'' as ``a facility that is in decommissioning with 
complex issues and an owner who cannot complete the decommissioning 
work for technical or financial reasons'' (73 FR 3813).
    Such a site could not be released for unrestricted use when the 
license is terminated, and would therefore require an institution, 
usually a government agency, to maintain and restrict access to the 
site to keep doses to members of the public below the individual site-
specific limit approved by the NRC.
    Under Sec.  20.1402 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), the

[[Page 46667]]

maximum dose limit for release of a site for unrestricted use by the 
public is 25 mrem per year. However, if the site is a legacy site 
requiring institutional controls on access, the Commission, assuming 
the eventual loss of such controls, may approve a higher limit up to 
500 mrem per year under 10 CFR 20.1403. It may also approve alternative 
release criteria under 10 CFR 20.1404. In either case, the licensee 
would have to demonstrate, among other things, that doses would be as 
low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and the concerns of affected 
individuals and institutions in the community had been appropriately 
addressed. To minimize the future possibility of these alternatives to 
the unrestricted release of decommissioned sites, the objective of the 
proposed DPR was to ``improve decommissioning planning and thereby 
reduce the likelihood that any current operating facility will become a 
legacy site'' (73 FR 3812; January 22, 2008).
    The final DPR, published on June 17, 2011 (76 FR 35512), retained 
that objective, and took effect on December 17, 2012. The DPR requires 
licensees to conduct their operations to minimize the introduction of 
residual radioactivity into the site, which includes the site's 
subsurface soil and groundwater. Licensees may also be required to 
perform site surveys to determine whether residual radioactivity is 
present in subsurface areas, and to keep records of these surveys with 
records important for decommissioning. Among other things, the rule 
requires licensees to report additional details in their 
decommissioning cost estimates (76 FR 35512; June 17, 2011).
    The DPR does not, however, mandate that licensees remediate during 
operations. In response to a comment on the lack of such a requirement, 
the Commission noted in its FRN for the final rule that it ``allows a 
licensee who detects subsurface contamination either to conduct 
immediate remediation or to plan for and provide funds in the form of 
financial assurance to conduct remediation at a later time, including 
at the time of decommissioning. Thus, this final rule creates a 
potential incentive for immediate remediation instead of an increased 
financial assurance obligation'' (76 FR 35532; June 17, 2011).
    In parallel with the development of the final DPR, and in 
accordance with the Commission's 2007 directive to consider a prompt 
remediation requirement, the NRC staff developed a draft regulatory 
basis for a proposed rule to address prompt remediation (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML111580353). An FRN published on July 18, 2011 (76 FR 
42074), announced the NRC's ``Consideration of Rulemaking To Address 
Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operations.''
    The NRC staff held a public meeting and webinar on July 25, 2011, 
to discuss prompt remediation, and obtained and evaluated additional 
stakeholder comments for a revised draft regulatory basis for potential 
rulemaking (ADAMS Accession No. ML120190685). Subsequently, in SRM-
SECY-12-0046, ``Options for Revising the Regulatory Approach to 
Groundwater Protection'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML121450704), the 
Commission directed the staff on May 24, 2012, to seek additional 
stakeholder comments on the draft regulatory basis for a proposed 
prompt remediation rule. The Commission also directed the staff to 
evaluate the pros and cons of moving forward with a proposed prompt 
remediation rulemaking.
    The NRC staff held a public meeting and webinar on June 4, 2013, to 
obtain stakeholder comments on the ongoing prompt remediation issue. 
The staff then evaluated those comments and included the results in 
SECY-13-0108, ``Staff Recommendations for Addressing Remediation of 
Residual Radioactivity During Operations'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13217A230). In SRM-SECY-13-0108 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13354B759), 
the Commission on December 20, 2013, approved the NRC staff's 
recommendation to collect 2 years of additional data on the 
implementation of the DPR. The Commission also directed that the staff, 
after collecting and evaluating the data and holding a public meeting 
with stakeholders, provide the Commission a paper ``with the staff's 
recommendation for addressing remediation of residual radioactivity at 
licensed facilities during the operational phase of the facility.''
    To evaluate the need for and potential benefits of additional 
rulemaking on prompt remediation, the NRC staff analyzed whether the 
manner of licensee compliance with the DPR has been adequate to prevent 
future legacy sites (see SECY-16-0121, ``Staff Recommendations For 
Rulemaking To Address Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During 
Operation,'' October 16, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16235A298)). The 
staff evaluated: (1) NRC inspection results; (2) licensee event reports 
and radiological effluent monitoring reports; (3) the financial 
assurance mechanisms available to support decommissioning at different 
types of facilities; (4) the results of the Nuclear Energy Institute 
(NEI) 07-07, ``Industry Groundwater Protection Initiative'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML072610036) and associated groundwater contamination 
evaluations; (5) guidance promulgated by the NRC and industry groups 
such as NEI and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); and (6) 
stakeholder feedback from a July 11, 2016, public webinar and other 
forums.
    Based on these information sources, the NRC staff concluded in 
SECY-16-0121 that:
     Existing dose limits codified in the NRC's regulations 
provide adequate protection of public health and safety during 
operation, and an additional rule requiring prompt remediation would 
provide limited additional benefit.
     The current DPR requires early identification of residual 
radioactivity that, if allowed to spread, could prevent a site from 
being released for unrestricted use at license termination. The DPR 
also requires timely adjustments to decommissioning financial 
instruments to ensure that adequate funding will be available after 
facility shutdown to remediate any such residual radioactivity to 
comply with the criteria for license termination in 10 CFR part 20, 
appendix E. These requirements mitigate the potential that residual 
contamination unaccounted for in a licensee's funding for 
decommissioning would lead to a future legacy site.
     In some circumstances, mandated remediation during 
operation could adversely affect operational safety, as certain 
locations may be safely accessible only after operations have ceased or 
when operating conditions permit. This would be the case, for example, 
if residual radioactivity were suspected underneath a building within 
which a licensee was using or storing radioactive materials.
     Groundwater resources are protected from abnormal releases 
by effective groundwater monitoring programs, as well as industry 
initiatives where appropriate, to identify significant residual 
radioactivity early in the operating life of the facility. Examples of 
such initiatives are the NEI 07-07 effort and supporting EPRI guidance 
for evaluating potential groundwater contamination.
     Licensees are effectively complying with the DPR. The 
current regulations are sufficient to ensure that when a facility 
ceases operation, site characterization will have resulted in the 
appropriate identification of all significant residual subsurface 
radioactivity, and adequate financial resources will be available to 
complete decommissioning for release of the site

[[Page 46668]]

for unrestricted use at the time of license termination. Two bases for 
this confidence are that no new legacy sites have been identified since 
the NRC's financial assurance regulations were promulgated in 1988, and 
no sites have had to make adjustments to their decommissioning funds 
due to the identification of significant residual radioactivity since 
implementation of the DPR.
    The staff also found in SECY-16-0121 that residual radioactivity 
detected to date has been limited mostly to onsite areas, and there has 
not been a significant impact on public health and safety. Under 
current regulations, this is unlikely to change. In addition to 
complying with applicable dose standards, for example, licensees also 
must comply with the requirement in 10 CFR 20.1101(b) to ``use, to the 
extent practical, procedures and engineering controls . . . to achieve 
. . . doses to members of the public as low as reasonably achievable 
(ALARA).'' By requiring public doses to be ALARA, existing NRC 
regulations provide ample assurance that the need for a prompt 
remediation rule is unlikely to grow with time.
    Based on these considerations, earlier assessments, and its 
conclusions from the 2 additional years of operating experience, the 
NRC staff in SECY-16-0121 recommended that further work on a prompt 
remediation rule be discontinued. On December 21, 2016, in SRM-SECY-16-
0121 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16356A583), the Commission accepted the 
staff's recommendation.
    From the staff's evaluation of how licensees are complying with the 
DPR and other NRC regulations limiting doses to members of the public, 
the Commission has determined that licensees are operating their 
facilities to minimize leaks and spills, monitor for residual 
radioactivity, adjust decommissioning funding to account for residual 
surface and subsurface radioactivity, and maintain doses to the public 
within regulatory limits, including ALARA requirements. Compliance with 
these regulations protects public health and safety and significantly 
reduces the potential for additional legacy sites.

III. 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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          ADAMS Accession No./ Federal
               Document                        Register citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decommissioning Planning; Proposed     73 FR 3812
 Rule (January 22, 2008).
Decommissioning Planning; Final Rule   76 FR 35512
 (June 17, 2011).
SRM--SECY-07-0177--Proposed Rule:      ML073440549
 Decommissioning Planning.
Draft Proposed Technical Basis For     ML111580353
 Prompt Remediation, Rev. 4.
Federal Register document              76 FR 42074
 ``Consideration of Rulemaking to
 Address Prompt Remediation of
 Residual Radioactivity During
 Operations.'' (July 18, 2011).
Draft Technical Basis For Prompt       ML120190685
 Remediation, Rev. 3.
SRM-SECY-12-0046, ``Options for        ML121450704
 Revising the Regulatory Approach to
 Groundwater Protection''.
SECY-13-0108, ``Staff Recommendations  ML13217A230
 for Addressing Remediation of
 Residual Radioactivity During
 Operations''.
SRM-SECY-13-0108 ``Staff               ML13354B759
 Recommendations For Addressing
 Remediation Of Residual
 Radioactivity During Operations''.
Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI 07-07,   ML072610036
 ``Industry Groundwater Protection
 Initiative''.
SECY-16-0121, ``Staff Recommendations  ML16235A298
 For Rulemaking To Address
 Remediation Of Residual
 Radioactivity During Operation''.
SRM-SECY-16-0121, ``Staff              ML16356A583
 Recommendations For Rulemaking To
 Address Remediation Of Residual
 Radioactivity During Operation''.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Conclusion

    The NRC is no longer pursuing revisions to its regulations in 10 
CFR part 20 for the reasons discussed in this document. In the next 
edition of the Unified Agenda, the NRC will update the entry for this 
rulemaking activity and reference this document to indicate that it is 
no longer being pursued. This rulemaking activity will appear in the 
``Completed Actions'' section of that edition of the Unified Agenda, 
but will not appear in future editions. If the NRC decides to pursue 
similar or related rulemaking activities in the future, it will inform 
the public through a new rulemaking entry in the Unified Agenda.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of October 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2017-21546 Filed 10-5-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P



                                                  46666              Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Rules and Regulations

                                                    (b) Sex. A recipient may make pre-                    radioactivity resulting from licensed                 II. Discussion
                                                  employment inquiry as to the sex of an                  activities during facility operations,                III. Availability of Documents
                                                  applicant for employment, but only if                   rather than at license termination. The               IV. Conclusion
                                                  such inquiry is made equally of such                    purpose of this action is to inform
                                                                                                                                                                I. Background
                                                  applicants of both sexes and if the                     members of the public that this
                                                  results of such inquiry are not used in                 rulemaking activity is being                             This action is the culmination of a
                                                  connection with discrimination                          discontinued and to provide a brief                   process of evaluating operating
                                                  prohibited by this part.                                discussion of the NRC’s decision to                   experience and interacting with the
                                                                                                          discontinue it. This rulemaking activity              public since 2007 to determine whether
                                                  § 15a.550 Sex as a bona fide occupational               will no longer be reported in the NRC’s               the NRC should require licensees to
                                                  qualification.                                                                                                remediate, during facility operations,
                                                                                                          portion of the Unified Agenda of
                                                    A recipient may take action otherwise                 Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions                   releases of residual radioactivity into
                                                  prohibited by §§ 15a.500 through                        (the Unified Agenda).                                 the surface and subsurface of their
                                                  15a.550 provided it is shown that sex is                DATES: This action is effective October               facility sites. Such remediation during
                                                  a bona fide occupational qualification                  6, 2017.                                              operations has come to be known as
                                                  for that action, such that consideration                                                                      ‘‘prompt’’ remediation. In order to
                                                                                                          ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
                                                  of sex with regard to such action is                                                                          permit a site to be released for
                                                  essential to successful operation of the                NRC–2011–0162 when contacting the
                                                                                                                                                                unrestricted use, licensees are currently
                                                  employment function concerned. A                        NRC about the availability of
                                                                                                                                                                required to remediate, before license
                                                  recipient shall not take action pursuant                information regarding this action. You
                                                                                                                                                                termination, all residual radioactivity at
                                                  to this section that is based upon alleged              may obtain publicly available
                                                                                                                                                                their facility sites to levels that provide
                                                  comparative employment characteristics                  information related to this document
                                                                                                                                                                reasonable assurance that no member of
                                                  or stereotyped characterizations of one                 using any of the following methods:                   the public will receive a dose from the
                                                                                                             • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
                                                  or the other sex, or upon preference                                                                          decommissioned facility greater than 25
                                                                                                          http://www.regulations.gov and search
                                                  based on sex of the recipient,                                                                                millirem (mrem) per year.
                                                                                                          for Docket ID NRC–2011–0162. Address                     As a result of its evaluations and
                                                  employees, students, or other persons,
                                                                                                          questions about NRC dockets to Carol                  stakeholder interactions, the NRC staff
                                                  but nothing contained in this section
                                                                                                          Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;                   recommended, and the Commission
                                                  shall prevent a recipient from
                                                                                                          email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For                   decided, to discontinue further work on
                                                  considering an employee’s sex in
                                                                                                          technical questions, contact the                      a prompt remediation rulemaking. A
                                                  relation to employment in a locker room
                                                                                                          individual listed in the FOR FURTHER                  discussion of this decision is provided
                                                  or toilet facility used only by members
                                                                                                          INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
                                                  of one sex.                                                                                                   in Section II of this document.
                                                                                                          document.
                                                  Subpart F—Other Provisions                                 • NRC’s Agencywide Documents                       II. Discussion
                                                                                                          Access and Management System                             The Commission first directed the
                                                  § 15a.605   Enforcement procedures.                     (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly                      staff to study the potential need for a
                                                    The procedural provisions applicable                  available documents online in the                     prompt remediation rulemaking when
                                                  to title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964             ADAMS Public Documents collection at                  the Commission approved the proposed
                                                  (42 U.S.C. 2000d) are hereby adopted                    http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/                        decommissioning planning rule (DPR)
                                                  and applied to this part. These                         adams.html. To begin the search, select               in 2007. In its staff requirements
                                                  procedures may be found at 7 CFR 15.5–                  ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then                   memorandum (SRM) on that proposed
                                                  15.11 and 15.60–15.143.                                 select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS                        rule (ADAMS Accession No.
                                                                                                          Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,                    ML073440549), the Commission
                                                    Dated: September 25, 2017.
                                                                                                          please contact the NRC’s Public                       directed the staff to ‘‘make further
                                                  Sonny Perdue,
                                                                                                          Document Room (PDR) reference staff at                improvements to the decommissioning
                                                  Secretary.                                              1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by                   planning process by addressing the
                                                  [FR Doc. 2017–20869 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am]             email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The                    remediation of residual radioactivity
                                                  BILLING CODE 3410–9R–P                                  ADAMS accession number for each                       during the operational phase with the
                                                                                                          document referenced in this document                  objective of avoiding complex
                                                                                                          (if that document is available in                     decommissioning challenges that can
                                                  NUCLEAR REGULATORY                                      ADAMS) is provided the first time it is               lead to legacy sites.’’ In its subsequent
                                                  COMMISSION                                              mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY                        Federal Register document (FRN) for
                                                                                                          INFORMATION section.                                  the proposed DPR, published January
                                                  10 CFR Part 20                                             • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and                   22, 2008, the Commission defined
                                                  [NRC–2011–0162]                                         purchase copies of public documents at                ‘‘legacy site’’ as ‘‘a facility that is in
                                                                                                          the NRC’s PDR, Room O1F21, One                        decommissioning with complex issues
                                                  RIN 3150–AJ17                                           White Flint North, 11555 Rockville                    and an owner who cannot complete the
                                                                                                          Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.                      decommissioning work for technical or
                                                  Prompt Remediation of Residual
                                                                                                          FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                      financial reasons’’ (73 FR 3813).
                                                  Radioactivity During Operation
                                                                                                          Robert D. MacDougall, Office of Nuclear                  Such a site could not be released for
                                                  AGENCY:   Nuclear Regulatory                            Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.                  unrestricted use when the license is
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with RULES




                                                  Commission.                                             Nuclear Regulatory Commission,                        terminated, and would therefore require
                                                  ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking                   Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:                 an institution, usually a government
                                                  activity.                                               301–415–5175; email:                                  agency, to maintain and restrict access
                                                                                                          Robert.MacDougall@nrc.gov.                            to the site to keep doses to members of
                                                  SUMMARY:   The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory                  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            the public below the individual site-
                                                  Commission (NRC) is discontinuing a                                                                           specific limit approved by the NRC.
                                                  rulemaking activity that would have                     Table of Contents                                        Under § 20.1402 of title 10 of the Code
                                                  required licensees to remediate residual                I. Background                                         of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the


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                                                                     Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Rules and Regulations                                        46667

                                                  maximum dose limit for release of a site                published on July 18, 2011 (76 FR                     (NEI) 07–07, ‘‘Industry Groundwater
                                                  for unrestricted use by the public is 25                42074), announced the NRC’s                           Protection Initiative’’ (ADAMS
                                                  mrem per year. However, if the site is                  ‘‘Consideration of Rulemaking To                      Accession No. ML072610036) and
                                                  a legacy site requiring institutional                   Address Prompt Remediation of                         associated groundwater contamination
                                                  controls on access, the Commission,                     Residual Radioactivity During                         evaluations; (5) guidance promulgated
                                                  assuming the eventual loss of such                      Operations.’’                                         by the NRC and industry groups such as
                                                  controls, may approve a higher limit up                    The NRC staff held a public meeting                NEI and the Electric Power Research
                                                  to 500 mrem per year under 10 CFR                       and webinar on July 25, 2011, to discuss              Institute (EPRI); and (6) stakeholder
                                                  20.1403. It may also approve alternative                prompt remediation, and obtained and                  feedback from a July 11, 2016, public
                                                  release criteria under 10 CFR 20.1404.                  evaluated additional stakeholder                      webinar and other forums.
                                                  In either case, the licensee would have                 comments for a revised draft regulatory                  Based on these information sources,
                                                  to demonstrate, among other things, that                basis for potential rulemaking (ADAMS                 the NRC staff concluded in SECY–16–
                                                  doses would be as low as reasonably                     Accession No. ML120190685).                           0121 that:
                                                  achievable (ALARA) and the concerns                     Subsequently, in SRM–SECY–12–0046,                       • Existing dose limits codified in the
                                                  of affected individuals and institutions                ‘‘Options for Revising the Regulatory                 NRC’s regulations provide adequate
                                                  in the community had been                               Approach to Groundwater Protection’’                  protection of public health and safety
                                                  appropriately addressed. To minimize                    (ADAMS Accession No. ML121450704),                    during operation, and an additional rule
                                                  the future possibility of these                         the Commission directed the staff on                  requiring prompt remediation would
                                                  alternatives to the unrestricted release of             May 24, 2012, to seek additional                      provide limited additional benefit.
                                                  decommissioned sites, the objective of                  stakeholder comments on the draft                        • The current DPR requires early
                                                  the proposed DPR was to ‘‘improve                       regulatory basis for a proposed prompt                identification of residual radioactivity
                                                  decommissioning planning and thereby                    remediation rule. The Commission also                 that, if allowed to spread, could prevent
                                                  reduce the likelihood that any current                  directed the staff to evaluate the pros               a site from being released for
                                                  operating facility will become a legacy                 and cons of moving forward with a                     unrestricted use at license termination.
                                                  site’’ (73 FR 3812; January 22, 2008).                  proposed prompt remediation                           The DPR also requires timely
                                                     The final DPR, published on June 17,                 rulemaking.                                           adjustments to decommissioning
                                                  2011 (76 FR 35512), retained that                          The NRC staff held a public meeting                financial instruments to ensure that
                                                  objective, and took effect on December                  and webinar on June 4, 2013, to obtain                adequate funding will be available after
                                                  17, 2012. The DPR requires licensees to                 stakeholder comments on the ongoing                   facility shutdown to remediate any such
                                                  conduct their operations to minimize                    prompt remediation issue. The staff                   residual radioactivity to comply with
                                                  the introduction of residual                            then evaluated those comments and                     the criteria for license termination in 10
                                                  radioactivity into the site, which                      included the results in SECY–13–0108,                 CFR part 20, appendix E. These
                                                  includes the site’s subsurface soil and                 ‘‘Staff Recommendations for Addressing                requirements mitigate the potential that
                                                  groundwater. Licensees may also be                      Remediation of Residual Radioactivity                 residual contamination unaccounted for
                                                  required to perform site surveys to                     During Operations’’ (ADAMS Accession                  in a licensee’s funding for
                                                  determine whether residual                              No. ML13217A230). In SRM–SECY–13–                     decommissioning would lead to a future
                                                  radioactivity is present in subsurface                  0108 (ADAMS Accession No.                             legacy site.
                                                  areas, and to keep records of these                     ML13354B759), the Commission on                          • In some circumstances, mandated
                                                  surveys with records important for                      December 20, 2013, approved the NRC                   remediation during operation could
                                                  decommissioning. Among other things,                    staff’s recommendation to collect 2                   adversely affect operational safety, as
                                                  the rule requires licensees to report                   years of additional data on the                       certain locations may be safely
                                                  additional details in their                             implementation of the DPR. The                        accessible only after operations have
                                                  decommissioning cost estimates (76 FR                   Commission also directed that the staff,              ceased or when operating conditions
                                                  35512; June 17, 2011).                                  after collecting and evaluating the data              permit. This would be the case, for
                                                     The DPR does not, however, mandate                   and holding a public meeting with                     example, if residual radioactivity were
                                                  that licensees remediate during                         stakeholders, provide the Commission a                suspected underneath a building within
                                                  operations. In response to a comment on                 paper ‘‘with the staff’s recommendation               which a licensee was using or storing
                                                  the lack of such a requirement, the                     for addressing remediation of residual                radioactive materials.
                                                  Commission noted in its FRN for the                     radioactivity at licensed facilities during              • Groundwater resources are
                                                  final rule that it ‘‘allows a licensee who              the operational phase of the facility.’’              protected from abnormal releases by
                                                  detects subsurface contamination either                    To evaluate the need for and potential             effective groundwater monitoring
                                                  to conduct immediate remediation or to                  benefits of additional rulemaking on                  programs, as well as industry initiatives
                                                  plan for and provide funds in the form                  prompt remediation, the NRC staff                     where appropriate, to identify
                                                  of financial assurance to conduct                       analyzed whether the manner of                        significant residual radioactivity early
                                                  remediation at a later time, including at               licensee compliance with the DPR has                  in the operating life of the facility.
                                                  the time of decommissioning. Thus, this                 been adequate to prevent future legacy                Examples of such initiatives are the NEI
                                                  final rule creates a potential incentive                sites (see SECY–16–0121, ‘‘Staff                      07–07 effort and supporting EPRI
                                                  for immediate remediation instead of an                 Recommendations For Rulemaking To                     guidance for evaluating potential
                                                  increased financial assurance                           Address Remediation of Residual                       groundwater contamination.
                                                  obligation’’ (76 FR 35532; June 17,                     Radioactivity During Operation,’’                        • Licensees are effectively complying
                                                  2011).                                                  October 16, 2016 (ADAMS Accession                     with the DPR. The current regulations
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                                                     In parallel with the development of                  No. ML16235A298)). The staff                          are sufficient to ensure that when a
                                                  the final DPR, and in accordance with                   evaluated: (1) NRC inspection results;                facility ceases operation, site
                                                  the Commission’s 2007 directive to                      (2) licensee event reports and                        characterization will have resulted in
                                                  consider a prompt remediation                           radiological effluent monitoring reports;             the appropriate identification of all
                                                  requirement, the NRC staff developed a                  (3) the financial assurance mechanisms                significant residual subsurface
                                                  draft regulatory basis for a proposed rule              available to support decommissioning at               radioactivity, and adequate financial
                                                  to address prompt remediation (ADAMS                    different types of facilities; (4) the                resources will be available to complete
                                                  Accession No. ML111580353). An FRN                      results of the Nuclear Energy Institute               decommissioning for release of the site


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                                                  46668                  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Rules and Regulations

                                                  for unrestricted use at the time of                             practical, procedures and engineering                            and other NRC regulations limiting
                                                  license termination. Two bases for this                         controls . . . to achieve . . . doses to                         doses to members of the public, the
                                                  confidence are that no new legacy sites                         members of the public as low as                                  Commission has determined that
                                                  have been identified since the NRC’s                            reasonably achievable (ALARA).’’ By                              licensees are operating their facilities to
                                                  financial assurance regulations were                            requiring public doses to be ALARA,                              minimize leaks and spills, monitor for
                                                  promulgated in 1988, and no sites have                          existing NRC regulations provide ample                           residual radioactivity, adjust
                                                  had to make adjustments to their                                assurance that the need for a prompt                             decommissioning funding to account for
                                                  decommissioning funds due to the                                remediation rule is unlikely to grow                             residual surface and subsurface
                                                  identification of significant residual                          with time.                                                       radioactivity, and maintain doses to the
                                                  radioactivity since implementation of                              Based on these considerations, earlier                        public within regulatory limits,
                                                  the DPR.                                                        assessments, and its conclusions from                            including ALARA requirements.
                                                     The staff also found in SECY–16–0121                         the 2 additional years of operating                              Compliance with these regulations
                                                  that residual radioactivity detected to                         experience, the NRC staff in SECY–16–
                                                  date has been limited mostly to onsite                                                                                           protects public health and safety and
                                                                                                                  0121 recommended that further work on
                                                  areas, and there has not been a                                                                                                  significantly reduces the potential for
                                                                                                                  a prompt remediation rule be
                                                  significant impact on public health and                                                                                          additional legacy sites.
                                                                                                                  discontinued. On December 21, 2016, in
                                                  safety. Under current regulations, this is                      SRM–SECY–16–0121 (ADAMS                                          III. Availability of Documents
                                                  unlikely to change. In addition to                              Accession No. ML16356A583), the
                                                  complying with applicable dose                                  Commission accepted the staff’s                                    The documents identified in the
                                                  standards, for example, licensees also                          recommendation.                                                  following table are available to
                                                  must comply with the requirement in 10                             From the staff’s evaluation of how                            interested persons through one or more
                                                  CFR 20.1101(b) to ‘‘use, to the extent                          licensees are complying with the DPR                             of the following methods, as indicated.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ADAMS
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Accession No./
                                                                                                                          Document                                                                                  Federal Register
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        citation

                                                  Decommissioning Planning; Proposed Rule (January 22, 2008) ...........................................................................................           73 FR 3812
                                                  Decommissioning Planning; Final Rule (June 17, 2011) ........................................................................................................    76 FR 35512
                                                  SRM—SECY–07–0177—Proposed Rule: Decommissioning Planning ..................................................................................                      ML073440549
                                                  Draft Proposed Technical Basis For Prompt Remediation, Rev. 4 ........................................................................................           ML111580353
                                                  FEDERAL REGISTER document ‘‘Consideration of Rulemaking to Address Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity                                                  76 FR 42074
                                                    During Operations.’’ (July 18, 2011).
                                                  Draft Technical Basis For Prompt Remediation, Rev. 3 .........................................................................................................   ML120190685
                                                  SRM–SECY–12–0046, ‘‘Options for Revising the Regulatory Approach to Groundwater Protection’’ ..................................                                  ML121450704
                                                  SECY–13–0108, ‘‘Staff Recommendations for Addressing Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operations’’ ......                                            ML13217A230
                                                  SRM–SECY–13–0108 ‘‘Staff Recommendations For Addressing Remediation Of Residual Radioactivity During Oper-                                                       ML13354B759
                                                    ations’’.
                                                  Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI 07–07, ‘‘Industry Groundwater Protection Initiative’’ ...............................................................              ML072610036
                                                  SECY–16–0121, ‘‘Staff Recommendations For Rulemaking To Address Remediation Of Residual Radioactivity During                                                     ML16235A298
                                                    Operation’’.
                                                  SRM–SECY–16–0121, ‘‘Staff Recommendations For Rulemaking To Address Remediation Of Residual Radioactivity                                                        ML16356A583
                                                    During Operation’’.



                                                  IV. Conclusion                                                    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.                         Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks)
                                                                                                                  Annette L. Vietti-Cook,                                          to conform to amendments to
                                                     The NRC is no longer pursuing                                Secretary of the Commission.                                     regulations governing the use of the
                                                  revisions to its regulations in 10 CFR                          [FR Doc. 2017–21546 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am]                      Automated Clearing House (ACH)
                                                  part 20 for the reasons discussed in this                       BILLING CODE 7590–01–P                                           Network by Federal agencies announced
                                                  document. In the next edition of the                                                                                             by the Department of the Treasury,
                                                  Unified Agenda, the NRC will update                                                                                              Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal
                                                  the entry for this rulemaking activity                          FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM                                           Service). Specifically, the amended
                                                  and reference this document to indicate                                                                                          posting rules conform to the decision of
                                                  that it is no longer being pursued. This                        12 CFR Chapter II                                                the Fiscal Service to allow Federal
                                                  rulemaking activity will appear in the                                                                                           agencies to originate and receive same-
                                                                                                                  [Docket No. OP–1572]
                                                  ‘‘Completed Actions’’ section of that                                                                                            day entries beginning September 15,
                                                  edition of the Unified Agenda, but will                         Policy on Payment System Risk                                    2017.
                                                  not appear in future editions. If the NRC                                                                                        DATES:  This policy revision is applicable
                                                  decides to pursue similar or related                            AGENCY:  Board of Governors of the
                                                                                                                  Federal Reserve System.                                          beginning on September 15, 2017.
                                                  rulemaking activities in the future, it                                                                                          FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                                                                                  ACTION: Policy statement.
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                                                  will inform the public through a new                                                                                             Jeffrey D. Walker, Assistant Director
                                                  rulemaking entry in the Unified Agenda.                         SUMMARY:   The Board of Governors of the                         (202–721–4559), Jason Hinkle, Manager,
                                                    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day                    Federal Reserve System (Board) has                               Financial Risk Management (202–912–
                                                  of October 2017.                                                revised part II of the Federal Reserve                           7805), or Ian C.B. Spear, Senior
                                                                                                                  Policy on Payment System Risk (PSR                               Financial Services Analyst (202–452–
                                                                                                                  policy) related to the transaction posting                       3959), Division of Reserve Bank
                                                                                                                  times used for measuring balances                                Operations and Payment Systems; for
                                                                                                                  intraday in institutions’ accounts at the                        users of Telecommunication Devices for


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Document Created: 2017-10-06 00:08:34
Document Modified: 2017-10-06 00:08:34
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionRules and Regulations
ActionDiscontinuation of rulemaking activity.
DatesThis action is effective October 6, 2017.
ContactRobert D. MacDougall, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-5175; email: [email protected]
FR Citation82 FR 46666 
RIN Number3150-AJ17

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