NRC SEEKING COMMENTS ON PROPOSED RULE AMENDING EMERGENCY 

PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSED NUCLEAR FACILITIES 

The NRC is seeking comments on a proposed rule, published in today’s Federal Register, 

that would change emergency preparedness requirements for operating nuclear power plants, for 

those that might be licensed and built in the future, and for research and test reactors. 

The proposed rule would limit the duties of a plant’s onsite emergency responders to 

ensure they are not overburdened during an emergency event, and require specific provisions to 

protect them and other plant personnel during a hostile action event. In addition, the proposed 

rule would require all nuclear power plants to incorporate hostile action scenarios in their drills 

and exercises, which currently primarily focus on nuclear-related scenarios. New requirements 

for back-up measures for alerting and notification systems are also included in the proposed rule. 

The NRC has held several public meetings while developing the proposed rule and will 

be holding additional public meetings at six locations over the next several weeks. At these 

meetings, hosted jointly by the NRC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 

staff from both agencies will be available to answer questions about the proposed regulations and 

draft guidance. The first meeting will be held in the Philadelphia, Pa., area on June 2, 2009. 

Attendees are strongly encouraged to read the documents on http://www.regulations.gov (Docket 

Nos. NRC-2008-0122 and FEMA-2008-0022) before the meeting. 

After reviewing all public comments, the NRC staff plans to submit a proposed final rule 

to the Commission in February 2010. 

In coordination with the NRC, FEMA is also seeking public comment on a proposed 

supplement to a joint FEMA/NRC document that addresses criteria for preparing and evaluating 

emergency response plans for nuclear power plants, and on a draft revision of the Radiological 

Emergency Preparedness Program Manual. Information on how to submit comments can be 

found in the Federal Register notice. 

The public can view the NRC’s Federal Register notice at: 

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-10947.pdf . Comments may be submitted for 75 days 

following publication. Comments may be submitted over the federal e-Rulemaking Portal at 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-084 May 18, 2009
http://www.regulations.gov; by e-mail to Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov; by mail to Secretary, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 

Adjudications Staff; or by fax to 301-492-3466. 

### 

NOTE: Anyone wishing to take photos or use a camera to record any portion of a NRC meeting should 

contact the Office of Public Affairs beforehand. 

 News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: 

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE 

link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.