[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8462-8463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4571]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Operator Licensing Examination Standards Interim Revision; Notice
of Availability
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued interim Revision
8 of NUREG-1021, ``Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power
Reactors,'' (formerly ``Operator Licensing Examiner Standards''). The
Commission uses this document to provide policy and guidance for the
development, administration, and grading of written examinations and
operating tests used to determine the qualifications of individuals who
apply for operator and senior operator licenses at nuclear power plants
pursuant to Part 55 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR Part 55). The NUREG provides similar guidance for verifying the
continued qualifications of licensed operators when the staff
determines that NRC requalification examinations are necessary.
NUREG-1021 has been revised to incorporate the examination
development process described in Generic Letter 95-06, ``Changes in the
Operator Licensing Program,'' dated August 15, 1995, and permits power
reactor facility licensees to continue preparing their initial operator
licensing examinations on a voluntary basis pending an amendment to 10
CFR Part 55 that will require facility participation. Interim Revision
8 incorporates lessons learned during a pilot examination program
conducted from October 1995 to April 1996 and industry recommendations
submitted in response to the NRC's request for public comments
published in the Federal Register on February 22, 1996 (61 FR 6869).
The guidance that was previously contained in NUREG/BR-0122,
``Examiners' Handbook for Developing Operator Licensing Written
Examinations,'' has been appended to NUREG-1021, and a number of minor
improvements and clarifications that were recommended by industry
groups, licensed operators, and NRC examiners and managers have also
been adopted. The entire NUREG has been reformatted to more clearly
identify the various organizational responsibilities and is being
reissued in its entirety. The NRC intends to solicit comments on this
interim revision during the rulemaking process and to issue the final
version of Revision 8 in conjunction with the final rule.
For examinations prepared by the NRC, interim Revision 8 will
become effective 60 days after the date of this notice. The corporate
notification letters issued after the effective date will give facility
licensees at least 120 days of advance notice that the examinations
will be administered in accordance with the revised procedures.
Facility licensees that volunteered to prepare their examinations
before the date of this notice are expected to prepare the examinations
based on the guidance in interim Revision 8 or the pilot examination
guidance in Generic Letter 95-06, as arranged with their NRC Regional
Office. Facility licensees that volunteer after the date of this notice
are expected to prepare the examinations based on the guidance in
interim Revision 8. Facility licensees may propose deviations from the
specific guidance in NUREG-1021, and the NRC will review and approve
the deviations, as appropriate. However, the NRC will not approve any
deviation that would compromise its statutory responsibility of
prescribing uniform conditions for the licensing of nuclear power plant
operators.
Copies of NUREG-1021, interim Revision 8, are being mailed to the
plant or site manager at each nuclear power facility regulated by the
NRC. A copy is available for inspection and/or copying for a fee in the
NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW (Lower Level), Washington,
DC. NUREG-1021 is also electronically available for downloading from
the Internet at ``http://www.nrc.gov''.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of February 1997.
[[Page 8463]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stuart A. Richards,
Chief, Operator Licensing Branch, Division of Reactor Controls and
Human Factors, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 97-4571 Filed 2-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
