2024-08722. Regulatory Guide: Preemption Authority, Enhanced Weapons Authority, and Firearms Background Checks

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Final guide; issuance.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 5.86, “Preemption Authority, Enhanced Weapons Authority, and Firearms Background Checks.” This RG clarifies reporting and recording of security events and conditions adverse to security under NRC regulations, “Physical Protection of Plants and Materials.”

DATES:

Revision 1 to RG 5.86 is available April 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0172 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0172. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individuals 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 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, at 301-415-4737, or by email to [e-mail]. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document.

• NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to [e-mail] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Revision 1 to RG 5.86 may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23299A173. The NRC staff's responses to these public comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23299A189.

Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Phil Brochman, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail] and Stanley Gardocki, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

The NRC is issuing a revision in the NRC's “Regulatory Guide” series. This series was developed to describe methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the agency's regulations, to explain techniques that the staff uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to describe information that the staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.

The proposed Revision 1 to RG 5.86 was issued with a temporary identification of Draft Regulatory Guide, (DG)-5081 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23198A185). This revision provides additional guidance on preemption authority, enhanced weapons authority, and firearms background checks. These new and updated requirements are part of the NRC's final rule, entitled “Enhanced Weapons, Firearms Background Checks, and Security Event Notifications” (hereafter the Enhanced Weapons rule), that was published in the Federal Register on March 14, 2023 (88 FR 15864). These provisions are found in the NRC's regulations under sections 73.15 and 73.17 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Revision 1 to RG 5.86 provides acceptable methods that eligible applicants and licensees (collectively referred to as licensees in this RG) may use to request and use either stand-alone preemption authority or combined preemption authority and enhanced weapons authority and to conduct related firearms background checks. Revision 1 also includes examples, considerations, and guidance to assist licensees and their security personnel in understanding their responsibilities in implementing the provisions of 10 CFR 73.15 and 10 CFR 73.17.

II. Additional Information

The NRC published a notice of availability of DG-5081 in the Federal Register on October 30, 2023 (88 FR 74070) for a 45-day public comment period. The public comment period closed on December 14, 2023. The NRC staff made changes to DG-5081 in response to public comments. The NRC staff's responses to these public comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23299A189. Additionally, the NRC staff made a change to correct an unintentional omission in DG-5081, Section B, Topic “Firearms Background Checks.”

As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671), this document is being published in the “Rules” section of the Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under 1 CFR chapter I.

III. Congressional Review Act

This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

Issuance of RG 5.86 Revision 1, does not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 72.62, “Backfitting,” 10 CFR 70.76, “Backfitting,” 10 CFR 50.109, “Backfitting,” and as described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.4, “Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information Requests” (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087); does not constitute forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4; and does not affect the issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, “Licenses, Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Powerplants.”

V. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs. Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​doc-collections/​reg-guides/​contactus.html. Suggestions will be considered in future updates and enhancements to the “Regulatory Guide” series.

Dated: April 18, 2024.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Meraj Rahimi,

Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.