E8-2763. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION:

Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and solicitation of public comment.

SUMMARY:

The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of continued approval of information collections under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted:

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

2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0136.

3. How often the collection is required: On occasion.

4. Who is required or asked to report: Nuclear power reactor licensees and gaseous diffusion plant certificate holders.

5. The number of annual respondents: Approximately 14.

6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 1,825.

7. Abstract: The NRC's Enforcement Policy addresses circumstances in which the NRC may exercise enforcement discretion. A specific type of enforcement discretion is designated as a NOED and relates to circumstances which may arise where a nuclear power plant licensee's compliance with a Technical Specification Limiting Condition for Operation or other license conditions would involve: (1) An unnecessary plant shutdown; (2) performance of testing, inspection, or system realignment that is inappropriate for the specific plant conditions; or (3) unnecessary delays in plant startup without a corresponding health and safety benefit. Similarly, for a gaseous diffusion plant, circumstances may arise where compliance with a Technical Safety Requirement 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.

A licensee or certificate holder seeking the issuance of an NOED must provide a written justification, in accordance with guidance provided in NRC Inspection Manual, Part 9900, which documents the safety basis for the request and provides whatever other information the NRC staff deems necessary to decide whether or not to exercise discretion.

Submit, by April 14, 2008, 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?

2. Is the burden estimate accurate?

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 be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?

A copy of the draft supporting statement may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/​public-involve/​doc-comment/​omb/​index.html. The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice.

Comments and questions about the information collection requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Margaret A. Janney (T-5 F52), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-7245, or by e-mail to [e-mail].

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of February 2008.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Gregory Trussell,

Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information Services.