[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 21, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43193-43195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21349]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 30, 40, and 70
[Docket No. PRM-30-61]
Nuclear Energy Institute, Receipt of a Petition for Rulemaking
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; Notice of receipt.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and
requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) on behalf of nuclear material licensees.
The Commission has docketed the petition Docket No. PRM-30-61. The
petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations governing
monitoring and maintenance programs for the decommissioning process at
facilities of special nuclear materials licensees. The petitioner's
suggested amendments would allow material licensees to continue
monitoring and maintaining facilities, separate buildings, or outside
storage areas that have not been used for 24 months, rather than
requiring licensees to begin the decommissioning process after 24
months of inactivity.
DATES: Submit comments by November 4, 1996. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance
of consideration can be given only to comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Attention: Docketing and Service
Branch.
Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland,
between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.
For a copy of the petition, write: Rules Review Section, Rules
Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of Information and
Publications Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
Electronic access is explained at the end of the Supplementary
Information section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555. Telephone: 301-415-7163 or Toll Free: 800-368-5642.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a petition for
rulemaking dated May 24, 1996, from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).
The petition was docketed as PRM-30-61 on May 29, 1996. The petitioner
requests that the NRC amend the regulations in 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, and
70 to establish a more flexible alternative to the current provisions
required for decommissioning any facility, separate building, or
outside area after it has been inactive for at least 24 months.
The petitioner discusses the NRC's Site Decommissioning Plan to
address facilities that had not operated for some period of time and
had not started the decommissioning process. The study that led to the
plan was initiated because the owners of a number of facilities had
gone into bankruptcy or could not be identified, and because a number
of sites had unique decommissioning or financial issues to be resolved
in order to complete decommissioning.
The NRC began a second study to determine the appropriateness of
establishing regulations to prevent other licensees from falling into
one of three categories. Two key antecedents for licensees falling into
the categories were identified. First, the regulations did not state a
specific time period for decommissioning, either from when operations
ceased or from the time decommissioning started to the time it was
completed. Second, if decommissioning was delayed for a long period of
time, safety practices could become lax, key personnel could leave,
management interest would wane, or bankruptcy, corporate takeover, and
other unforeseen changes could occur, all of which would complicate or
further delay decommissioning.
The petitioner states that in January 1990, the NRC directed its
staff to establish timeline criteria for decommissioning the sites of
materials licensees. The petitioner describes NRC staff began efforts
to establish the requirements for timely decommissioning. The work
culminated in SECY-92-057, dated February 19, 1992. In June 1992, the
NRC issued a staff requirements memorandum approving the proposed
rulemaking. The notice for comments was published in the Federal
Register on January 13, 1993 (53 FR 4099). The comment period expired
on March 29, 1993. The NRC received 17 comment letters, including one
from the predecessor organization to NEI. This comment focused on the
lack of a standby provision in the rule.
The petitioner further states that the proposed rule included four
major points: first, to establish a time limit of 24 months of
inactivity, after which a licensee must submit notification to the NRC;
second, to establish a time limit of 12 months following the
notification of ceasing operations to submit the decommissioning plan;
third, to provide a provision for requests to delay or postpone the
initiation of the decommissioning process; and fourth, to establish a
time period for completing decommissioning. Most of the comments the
NRC received were focused on the timing of each aspect and the lack of
residual contamination criteria. The NRC decided not to adopt the
suggestion to extend the 24-month period of inactivity before
notification because the commenters did not provide adequate
substantiating rationale for selecting an alternative schedule.
The Petitioner
The petitioner is the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the
organization that coordinates unified nuclear industry policy on
matters affecting the nuclear energy industry. NEI's members include
all utilities licensed to operate commercial nuclear power plants in
the United States, nuclear plant designers, major architect/engineering
firms, fuel fabrication facilities, materials licensees, and other
organizations and individuals involved in the nuclear energy industry.
Supporting Statement
The petitioner believes that NRC's overall objective was to ensure
timely decommissioning of material licensees' facilities following
termination of the license or inactivity of the site for a specified
period of time. Although the final rule (July 15, 1994; 59 FR 36027)
accomplishes this objective, the petitioner believes that it also has
the potential to eliminate important components from the nuclear
industry infrastructure. These components, facilities, and buildings
may be needed in future years to support continuing operation or
potential industry expansion. The petitioner states that it may not
have been NRC's intent to eliminate components of this infrastructure,
but the delay and postponement provision and the absence of an
alternative monitoring and maintenance program essentially does just
that.
[[Page 43194]]
The petitioner believes that NRC's position does not reflect the
cohesive industry of today; specifically, the market and industry have
matured and demand has stabilized within a respectable range. The
petitioner states that companies understand today's market and are
willing to assume the holding costs to keep facilities in the standby
mode. Furthermore, the petitioner states that the ability to establish
a standby mode is functionally unavailable under the timeliness rule.
NRC dismissed the proposed alternative standby mode extension on the
grounds that adequate, substantial rationale for an alternative were
not provided and that demonstrating adequate funds to maintain the site
was unacceptable because bankruptcy, corporate takeover, or other
unforseen changes in the company's financial status could result in
abandonment of the site.
The petitioner believes that the NRC's staff dismissal of the
proposed alternative did not take into consideration related NRC
regulations on decommissioning and transfer of ownership. The current
series of regulations in Parts 30, 40, and 70 ensures adequate funding
is available for decommissioning of a site. Similar regulations for the
transfer of ownership provide the NRC with assurances that companies
who hold the license have sufficient financial ability to use the
radioactive material in a manner that provides benefit to the nation,
while providing protection for the health and safety of the public.
According to the petitioner, NRC regulations were not intended to
give the NRC jurisdiction over the commercial aspects of the licensee's
activities. The petitioner believes that a company that has a valid NRC
or Agreement State license and operates within the conditions of the
license should make the commercial decision on starting and stopping
operations, as well as deciding when to place buildings or facilities
in the standby mode and how long to maintain them in this mode. The
petitioner believes that NRC regulations should not impose restrictions
on facilities or sites that have the potential to impact commercial
decisions.
The petitioner has included an appendix entitled ``Supplementary
Analyses in Support of the Petition for Rulemaking,'' which contains
analyses of issues that the NRC must consider, including the effect of
the proposed action on the environment and small business entities, the
paperwork required of those affected by the change, and whether or not
a regulatory analysis must be performed or the backfit rule applies to
this action.
The NRC is soliciting public comment on the petition submitted by
NEI that requests the following changes to 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, and 70.
The Petitioner's Proposed Amendment
The petitioner recommends the following amendments to 10 CFR Parts
30, 40, and 70.
1. The petitioner proposes that Sec. 30.36 be amended by
redesignating paragraph (e) as (e)(2) and adding a new paragraph (e)(1)
to read as follows:
Sec. 30.36 Expiration and termination of licenses and decommissioning
of sites and separate buildings or outdoor areas.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) In lieu of decommissioning, the licensee may monitor and
maintain a facility, separate building or outside storage area as
described in paragraphs (d)(3) or (d)(4) of this section in accordance
with an approved program, provided the proposed plan is submitted to
the NRC within 24 months of the cessation of principle activities
within a facility, separate building or outside storage area. The
program includes:
(i) Financial assurance for decommissioning;
(ii) A description of the monitoring and maintenance plan that is
to be implemented, which will assure that any remaining contamination
will be contained and that worker and public safety will be assured;
and
(iii) Financial assurance to support the monitoring and maintenance
program for the standby period requested.
* * * * *
2. The petitioner proposes that Sec. 40.42 be amended by
redesignating paragraph (e) as (e)(2) and adding a new paragraph (e)(1)
to read as follows:
Sec. 40.42 Expiration and termination of licenses and decommissioning
of sites and separate buildings or outdoor areas.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) In lieu of decommissioning, the licensee may monitor and
maintain a facility, separate building or outside storage area as
described in paragraph (d)(3) or (d)(4) of this section in accordance
with an approved program, provided the proposed plan is submitted to
the NRC within 24 months of the cessation of principle activities
within the facility, separate building or outside storage area. The
program includes:
(i) Financial assurance for decommissioning;
(ii) A description of the monitoring and maintenance plan that is
to be implemented, which will assure that any remaining contamination
will be contained and that worker and public safety will be assured;
and
(iii) Financial assurance to support the monitoring and maintenance
program for the standby period requested.
* * * * *
3. The petitioner proposes that Sec. 70.38 be amended by
redesignating paragraph (e) as (e)(2) and adding a new paragraph (b)(1)
to read as follows:
Sec. 70.38 Expiration and termination of licenses and decommissioning
of sites and separate buildings or outdoor areas.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) In lieu of decommissioning, the licensee may monitor and
maintain a facility, separate building, or outside storage area as
described in paragraph (d)(3) or (d)(4) of this section in accordance
with an approved program, provided the proposed plan is submitted to
the NRC within 24 months of the cessation of principle activities
within a facility, separate building or outside storage area. The
program includes:
(i) Financial assurance for decommissioning;
(ii) A description of the monitoring and maintenance plan that is
to be implemented, which will assure that any remaining contamination
will be contained and that worker and public safety will be assured;
and
(iii) Financial assurance to support the monitoring and maintenance
program for the standby period requested.
* * * * *
Electronic Access
Comments may be submitted electronically in either ASCII text or
WordPerfect format (version 5.1 or later) by calling the NRC Electronic
Bulletin Board (BBS) on FedWorld. The bulletin board may be accessed
using a personal computer, a modem, and one of the commonly available
communications software packages, or directly via Internet. Background
documents on this rulemaking also are available for downloading and
viewing on the bulletin board.
If using a personal computer and modem, the NRC rulemaking
subsystem on FedWorld can be accessed directly by dialing the toll free
number 800-303-9672. Communication software parameters should be set as
follows: parity to none, data bits to 8, and stop bits to 1 (N,8,1).
Using ANSI or VT-100
[[Page 43195]]
terminal emulation, the NRC rulemaking subsystem can then be accessed
by selecting the ``Rules Menu'' option from the ``NRC Main Menu.''
Users will find the ``FedWorld Online User's Guides'' particularly
helpful. Many NRC subsystems and data bases also have a ``Help/
Information Center'' option that is tailored to the particular
subsystem.
The NRC subsystem on FedWorld also can be accessed by a direct-dial
telephone number for the main FedWorld BBS, 703-321-3339, or by using
Telnet via Internet: fedworld.gov. If using 703-321-3339 to contact
FedWorld, the NRC subsystem will be accessed from the main FedWorld
menu by selecting the ``Regulatory, Government Administration and State
Systems,'' then selecting ``Regulatory Information Mall.'' At that
point, a menu will be displayed that has an option ``U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission'' that will take the user to the NRC online main
menu. The NRC online area also can be accessed directly by typing ``/go
nrc'' at a FedWorld command line. If NRC is accessed from FedWorld's
main menu, the user may return to FedWorld by selecting the ``Return to
FedWorld'' option from the NRC online main menu. However, if NRC is
accessed at FedWorld by using NRC's toll-free number, the user will
have full access to all NRC systems, but the user will not have access
to the main FedWorld system.
If FedWorld is contacted using Telnet, the user will see the NRC
area and menus, including the Rules Menu. Although the user will be
able to download documents and leave messages, he or she will not be
able to write comments or upload files (comments). If FedWorld is
contacted using FTP, all files can be accessed and downloaded, but
uploads are not allowed. Only a list of files will be shown, without
descriptions (normal Gopher look). An index file listing all files
within a subdirectory, with descriptions, is available. There is a 15-
minute time limit for FTP access.
Although FedWorld also can be accessed through the World Wide Web,
like FTP, that mode only provides access for downloading files and does
not display the NRC Rules Menu.
For more information on NRC bulletin boards, call Mr. Arthur Davis,
Systems Integration and Development Branch, NRC, Washington, DC 20555,
telephone 301-415-5780; e-mail AXD3@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of August, 1996.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John C. Hoyle,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 96-21349 Filed 8-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
