2023-19280. Information Collection: Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Renewal of existing information collection; request for comment.

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 November 6, 2023. 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; however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website:

• Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2023–0048. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.

• Mail comments to: David C. 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 C. 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–2023–0048 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–2023–0048. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC–2023–0048 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, at 301–415–4737, or by email to [e-mail]. The supporting statement and burden spreadsheet are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML23046A096 and ML23046A097.

• 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.

• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting the NRC's Clearance Officer, David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website ( https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC–2023–0048, in your comment submission.

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. All comment submissions are posted at https://www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment submissions are not routinely edited 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 comment submissions are not routinely edited 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 combined licenses (COLs) for commercial nuclear power reactors.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 59 (48 reporting responses plus 11 recordkeepers).

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 13.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annual to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 308,931 (294,200 hours reporting + 14,711 hours 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, 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 construction permit (CP) and an operating license (OL). The part 52 licensing process places procedural requirements in part 52 and technical requirements in part 50. Part 52 can reduce 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 (RG) 1.206 provides guidance for applicants for COLs for nuclear power plants. Section C.2.1 of RG 1.206 deals with pre-application activities for respondents who intend to submit applications for COLs 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 10 CFR part 52. Participation in pre-application activities is voluntary. Potential applicants who engage in preapplication 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 10 CFR part 52 establishes the process for obtaining design certifications.

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? Please explain your answer.

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate? Please explain your answer.

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: September 1, 2023.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David C. Cullison,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.