2020-08473. Information Collection: Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Renewal of existing information collection.

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, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.”

DATES:

Submit comments by June 22, 2020. 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:

• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/​ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0216. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
• Mail comments to: David 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 Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0216 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:

• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/​ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0216. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2019-0216 on this website.
• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. To begin the search, 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 [e-mail]. The supporting statement and burden spreadsheet are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML20013E094 and ML20013E096.
• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting NRC's Clearance Officer, David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

B. Submitting Comments

Please include Docket ID NRC-2019-0216 in the subject line of your comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment submission available to the public in this docket.

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. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov/​ as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS, and 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 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: 10 CFR part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.”

2. OMB approval number: 3150-0151.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

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

5. How often the collection is required or requested: On occasion. Applications are submitted only when licensing action is sought.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: Applicants for early site permits (ESPs), standard design approvals (SDAs) and certifications, manufacturing licenses (MLs), and licenses which combine construction permits (CPs) and conditional operating licenses (OLs), e.g., COLs, for commercial nuclear power reactors.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 1,428 (1,411 reporting responses plus 17 recordkeepers).

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 17.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 335,891 hours (318,716 reporting, plus 17,175 recordkeeping).

10. Abstract: The licensing processes in part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) provide for issuance of ESPs, SDAs, MLs, CPs, and COLs for commercial nuclear power reactors. The applicants submit updated reports, applications for renewals, exemption requests and maintain records of changes to the facility and records of detailed design related information. These licensing procedures are options to the two-step licensing process in 10 CFR part 50, which provides for a CP and an OL. The part 52 licensing process places procedural requirements in part 52 and technical requirements in part 50. Part 52 reduces the overall paperwork burden borne by applicants for CPs and OLs because part 52 only requires a single application and provides options for referencing standardized designs. The information in 10 CFR part 52 is needed by the agency to assess the adequacy and suitability of an applicant's site, plant design, construction, training and experience, plans and procedures for the protection of public health and safety. Regulatory Guide 1.206 provides guidance for applicants for combined licenses for nuclear power plants. Section C.2.1 of Regulatory Guide 1.206 deals with pre-application activities for respondents who intend to submit applications for combined licenses for nuclear power plants. Pre-application activities encompass all the communications, correspondence, meetings, document submittals/reviews, and other interactions that occur between the NRC staff and a prospective applicant before the tendering of an application under part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Participation in pre-application activities is voluntary. Potential applicants who engage in pre-application activities benefit from an early NRC staff assessment of the completeness and level of detail of the information that the applicant proposes to submit and staff identification of potential deficiencies in the application. Pre-application activities are expected to increase the efficiency of the staff's review of those applications once they are submitted. Subpart B of part 52 establishes the process for obtaining design certifications. The addition of Appendix F to 10 CFR part 52 allows interested parties to reference the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) standard design in an application for a combined license.

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?

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection 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 on respondents be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?

Dated: April 16, 2020.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David C. Cullison,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.