Document

Information Collection: Notices of Enforcement Discretion (NOEDs) for Operating Power Reactors and Gaseous Diffusion Plants (NRC Enforcement Policy)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. T...

Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  1. [NRC-2023-0033]

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

( printed page 38107)

ACTION:

Renewal of existing information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled, “Notices of Enforcement Discretion (NOEDs) for Operating Power Reactors and Gaseous Diffusion Plants (NRC Enforcement Policy).”

DATES:

Submit comments by August 11, 2023. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or 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 www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0033. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: . For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
  • Mail comments to: David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Mail Stop: T-6 A10M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

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:

David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2084; email: .

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0033 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:

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website ( www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC-2023-0033, in your comment submission.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. All comment submissions are posted at www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment submissions are not routinely edited 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 comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the NRC is requesting public comment on its intention to request the OMB's approval for the information collection summarized below.

1. The title of the information collection: Notices of Enforcement Discretion (NOEDs) for Operating Power Reactors and Gaseous Diffusion Plants (NRC Enforcement Policy).

2. OMB approval number: 3150-0136.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

4. The form number, if applicable: Not applicable.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: On occasion.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: Those licensees that voluntarily request enforcement discretion through the NOED process.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 8 (4 reporting responses + 4 recordkeepers).

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 4.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 680 (600 reporting + 80 recordkeeping).

10. Abstract: The NRC's Enforcement Policy includes the circumstances in which the NRC may grant a NOED. On occasion, circumstances arise when a power plant licensee's compliance with a Technical Specification (TS) Limiting Condition for Operation or any other license condition would involve an unnecessary plant shutdown or transient. Similarly, for a gaseous diffusion plant, circumstances may arise where compliance with a Technical Safety Requirement (TSR) or other condition would unnecessarily call for a total plant shutdown, or compliance would unnecessarily place the plant in a condition where safety, safeguards, or security features were degraded or inoperable. In these circumstances, a licensee or certificate holder may request that the NRC exercise enforcement discretion, and the NRC staff may choose not to enforce the applicable TS, TSR, or other license or certificate condition. This enforcement discretion is designated as a NOED. A licensee or certificate holder seeking the issuance of a NOED must justify, in accordance with NRC Enforcement ( printed page 38108) Manual (ADAMS Accession No. ML22056A177), the safety basis for the request, including an evaluation of the safety significance and potential consequences of the proposed request, a description of proposed compensatory measures, a justification for the duration of the request, the basis for the licensee's or certificate holder's conclusion that the request does not have a potential adverse impact on the public health and safety, and does not involve adverse consequences to the environment, and any other information the NRC staff deems necessary before making a decision to exercise discretion.

III. Specific Requests for Comments

The NRC is seeking comments that address the following questions:

1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility? Please explain your answer.

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate? Please explain your answer.

3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?

4. How can the burden of the information collection on respondents be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?

Dated: June 6, 2023.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David C. Cullison,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 2023-12403 Filed 6-9-23; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

88 FR 38106

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Information Collection: Notices of Enforcement Discretion (NOEDs) for Operating Power Reactors and Gaseous Diffusion Plants (NRC Enforcement Policy),” thefederalregister.org (June 12, 2023), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2023-12403/information-collection-notices-of-enforcement-discretion-noeds-for-operating-power-reactors-and-gaseous-diffusion-plants.