96-12042. Draft Document: Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants (Criteria for Emergency Planning in an Early Site Permit Application)

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24307-24308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-12042]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Emergency Management Agency


Draft Document: Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of 
Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of 
Nuclear Power Plants (Criteria for Emergency Planning in an Early Site 
Permit Application)

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) have jointly prepared guidance for the 
development, review, and approval of emergency information and plans to 
be submitted with an early site permit (ESP) application in a proposed 
Supplement 2 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Rev. 1, entitled, ``Criteria for 
Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and 
Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants (Criteria for Emergency 
Planning in an Early Site Permit Application).'' This document is 
available for public review and comment.
    The NRC staff's views on how emergency planning will be addressed 
at each phase of nuclear power plant licensing under 10 CFR Part 52: 
ESPs, standard design certifications, and combined licenses, are 
discussed in a Commission paper, ``Emergency Planning Under 10 CFR Part 
52,'' SECY-95-090, issued on April 11, 1995. A draft of this paper was 
noticed for comment in the Federal Register on May 20, 1994 (59 FR 
26530).
    For ESP applications, Subpart A to 10 CFR Part 52 states 
requirements and procedures for issuing an ESP that approves a site for 
one or more nuclear power plants separate from the filing of an 
application for a construction permit or a combined license. The 
application for an ESP must, as a minimum, identify physical 
characteristics unique to the proposed site, such as limitations on 
egress from the area surrounding the site, that could pose a 
significant impediment to the development of emergency plans. In 
addition, the application must include a description of contacts and 
arrangements made with local, State, and Federal government agencies 
that have emergency planning responsibilities. The application may also 
propose major features of the emergency plans, such as the exact size 
of the emergency planning zones, that can be reviewed and approved by 
the NRC in consultation with FEMA, or may propose complete and 
integrated emergency plans for the site for review and approval by the 
NRC in consultation with FEMA.
    Proposed Supplement 2 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 provides guidance 
for meeting the mandatory emergency planning requirement and for 
addressing the two additional emergency planning options of the ESP 
rule. The proposed supplement recommends an approach for an ESP 
applicant to identify unique site physical characteristics that could 
be an impediment to the development of emergency plans. An ESP 
applicant that chooses the option of proposing major features of the 
emergency plans will be evaluated against selected and modified 
planning standards and evaluation criteria from NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 
which are given in proposed Supplement 2. An applicant for an ESP that 
chooses the option of submitting complete and integrated emergency 
plans for review and approval will be

[[Page 24308]]

evaluated against the applicable provisions of 10 CFR 50.47 and 
Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50, and the full evaluation criteria of 
NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1.
    The regulations in 10 CFR Part 52 do not include a requirement for 
updating emergency planning information and plans approved as part of 
an ESP. The NRC staff discussed this matter in the final Commission 
paper on 10 CFR Part 52 and indicated that it would be deferred until a 
review is conducted to determine any necessary revisions to Part 52 
after the first standard design certification rulemakings are 
completed.
    Comments on Draft Supplement 2 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 may be 
submitted for consideration by the NRC and FEMA staffs. Comments should 
be submitted within 120 days of the date of this Federal Register 
notice to: Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-6D59, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    Comments may also be delivered to 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, between 7:45 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.
    For a copy of the Draft Supplement 2 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, 
write: Distribution Services, Printing and Mail Services Branch, Office 
of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 
20555. A copy of Draft Supplement 2 to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 is 
available for inspection and copying for a fee in the NRC Public 
Document Room, Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC 
20555.
    For further information contact: Falk Kantor, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555. Telephone: [phone], or Nancy Goldstein, Preparedness, 
Training and Exercises Directorate, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, Washington, DC 20472. Telephone: [phone].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of April 1996.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dennis M. Crutchfield,
Director, Division of Reactor Program Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    For the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Kay C. Goss,
Associate Director for Preparedness, Training, and Exercises, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 96-12042 Filed 5-13-96; 8:45 am]
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