This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

82950 

Vol. 85, No. 245 

Monday, December 21, 2020 

1Public Law 111–203, Preamble. 

2Public Law 111–203, Sec. 931(5). 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Parts 30, 40, 50, 70, and 72 

[NRC–2017–0021] 

RIN 3150–AJ92 

Alternatives to the Use of Credit 

Ratings 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is considering an 

amendment to its regulations that would 

alter financial assurance mechanisms 

approved by the NRC for the 

decommissioning of nuclear power 

plants and other nuclear facilities. 

Specifically, this action would amend 

provisions for parent company and self 

company guarantees that require bond 

ratings issued by credit rating agencies. 

This action would implement the 

provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act of 2010, which directed agencies to 

amend their regulations to remove any 

reference to or reliance on credit ratings. 

Applicants and licensees who are 

required to provide decommissioning 

financial assurance may be affected. The 

NRC is soliciting public comment on 

potential approaches for amending the 

regulations and invites stakeholders and 

interested persons to participate. The 

NRC plans to hold a public meeting 

during the comment period to facilitate 

stakeholder participation. 

DATES: Submit comments by March 8, 

2021. 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 before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2017–0021. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Dawn 

Forder; telephone: 301–415–3407; 

email: Dawn.Forder@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• Email comments to: 

Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you 

do not receive an automatic email reply 

confirming receipt, then contact us at 

301–415–1677. 

• Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

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: 

Gregory Trussell, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–6244, email: Gregory.Trussell@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting 

Comments 

A. Obtaining Information 

B. Submitting Comments 

II. Background 

III. Regulatory Objectives 

IV. Specific Considerations 

V. Public Meeting 

VI. Plain Writing 

VII. Rulemaking Process 

I. Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments 

A. Obtaining Information 

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2017– 

0021 when contacting the NRC about 

the availability of information for this 

action. You may obtain publiclyavailable 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–2017–0021. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable 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 

pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 

• Attention: The PDR, where you may 

examine and order copies of public 

documents, is currently closed. You 

may submit your request to the PDR via 

email at PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 

1–800–397–4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 

4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

B. Submitting Comments 

Please include Docket ID NRC–2017– 

0021 in your comment submission. 

The NRC cautions you not to include 

identifying or contact information that 

you do not want to be publicly 

disclosed in your comment submission. 

The NRC will post all comment 

submissions at https://

www.regulations.gov as well as enter the 

comment submissions into ADAMS. 

The NRC does not routinely edit 

comment submissions 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 the NRC 

does not routinely edit comment 

submissions to remove such information 

before making the comment 

submissions available to the public or 

entering the comment into ADAMS. 

II. Background 

Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act of 2010 (the Dodd-Frank Act or the 

Act) to ‘‘promote the financial stability 

of the United States by improving 

accountability and transparency in the 

financial system.’’ 1 In the Act, Congress 

found that ‘‘ratings on structured 

financial products have proven to be 

inaccurate’’ and that ‘‘[t]his inaccuracy 

contributed significantly to the 

mismanagement of risks by financial 

institutions and investors, which in turn 

adversely impacted the health of the 

economy.’’ 2 In section 939A of the Act, 

Congress directed each Federal agency 

to ‘‘review any regulation issued by 

such agency that requires the use of an 

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 245 / Monday, December 21, 2020 / Proposed Rules 82951 

3Public Law 111–203, Sec. 939A(a)(1)–(2). 

4Public Law 111–203, Sec. 939A(b). 

5Section 182.a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 

as amended, provides, ‘‘Each application for a 

license . . . shall specifically state such 

information as the Commission, by rule or 

regulation, may determine to be necessary to decide 

such of the technical and financial qualifications of 

the applicant . . . as the Commission may deem 

appropriate for the license.’’ 

6 10 CFR 30.35(f), 40.36(e), 50.75(e), 70.25(f), and 

72.30(e). 

assessment of the credit-worthiness of a 

security or money market instrument 

and any references to or requirements in 

such regulations regarding credit 

ratings.’’ 3 Section 939A further directed 

each such agency to ‘‘modify any such 

regulations identified by the review . . . 

to remove any reference to or 

requirement of reliance on credit ratings 

and to substitute in such regulations 

such standard of credit-worthiness as 

each respective agency shall determine 

as appropriate for such regulations.’’ 4

As directed by section 939A of the 

Dodd-Frank Act, the NRC has reviewed 

its regulations for any references to or 

requirements of reliance on credit 

ratings. Appendices A, C, and E to part 

30 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (10 CFR) provide methods 

for licensees and applicants to 

demonstrate that a self-guarantee or 

parent company guarantee provides a 

reasonable assurance of adequate 

funding for decommissioning. Those 

appendices provide an option based in 

part on specified bond ratings from 

Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s credit 

rating agencies. Absent the use of credit 

ratings, current NRC financial test 

criteria located at 10 CFR part 30, 

appendices A, D, and E, for use of 

parent company guarantees and selfguarantees, rely in part on working 

capital liability-based test criteria. In 

accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act, 

the NRC is considering amending these 

appendices to remove reliance on credit 

rating criteria. Other regulations that 

cite or reference these appendices may 

also be affected by a proposed rule. The 

other potentially affected regulations 

include § 30.35(f)(2); § 40.36(e)(2); 10 

CFR part 40, criterion 9 of appendix A; 

§ 50.75(e)(1)(iii)(c); § 70.25(f)(2); and 

§ 72.30(e)(2). 

The NRC held a public meeting on 

October 30, 2019 (ADAMS Accession 

No. ML19276F107), where the NRC staff 

presented an analysis of the Dodd-Frank 

Act and its impact on the NRC 

regulations. The NRC staff also 

discussed the alternatives for 

implementing the requirements of the 

Dodd-Frank Act, the NRC staff’s 

recommendation for a proposed 

rulemaking, and the rulemaking 

timeline for the proposed rule. The 

proposed rulemaking would have 

removed the provisions in Part 30 

appendices A, C, and E providing the 

option to demonstrate the sufficiency of 

a guarantee based in part on a credit 

rating; thus, only the method based in 

part on financial ratios would have 

remained. Industry participants shared a 

view that the staff’s initial rulemaking 

approach would have a substantial 

negative impact on the availability of 

parent company guarantees and selfguarantees (Public Meeting Summary, 

ADAMS Accession No. ML19322A692). 

Participants recommended that the NRC 

examine approaches taken by other 

Federal agencies for implementing the 

Dodd-Frank Act requirements, which 

could help identify alternative 

approaches for assessing a licensee’s 

credit-worthiness. In evaluating 

potential approaches, the NRC 

determined that it would be beneficial 

to solicit early stakeholder views on the 

approaches being considered before 

developing the proposed rule. 

III. Regulatory Objectives 

Under current regulations, applicants 

and licensees must demonstrate 

reasonable assurance that funds will be 

available when needed for 

decommissioning in order to obtain and 

maintain a reactor license and certain 

materials licenses.5 Such a 

demonstration may be made by 

prepayment of funds, payment of funds 

into an external sinking fund, use of a 

surety method, insurance, or other 

guarantee method including a letter of 

credit, a parent company guarantee, or 

a self-guarantee.6 The only financial 

assurance mechanisms in NRC 

regulations that rely, in part, on credit 

ratings are parent company guarantees 

and self-guarantees. The NRC is 

considering amendments to current 

regulations that would remove reliance 

on and reference to credit rating criteria 

for these mechanisms. 

IV. Specific Considerations 

The NRC is seeking stakeholders’ 

input on the following specific areas 

related to its regulations covering parent 

company guarantees and self-guarantees 

partially based on bond ratings issued 

by credit rating agencies. The NRC asks 

that commenters provide the bases for 

their comments (i.e., the underlying 

rationale for the position stated in the 

comment) to enable the agency to have 

a complete understanding of the 

comments. 

Absent the use of credit ratings, 

alternate NRC financial test criteria 

located at 10 CFR part 30, appendices A, 

D, and E rely in part on working capital 

liability-based test criteria, which 

certain licensees, including potentially 

credit-worthy power reactor licensees, 

may have difficulty meeting. The NRC 

is considering additional alternative 

approaches for determining the ability 

of a company or its parent to guarantee 

decommissioning funds based on an 

evaluation of a licensee’s 

creditworthiness. The NRC is seeking 

input from the public on this matter to 

inform the development of a proposed 

rule. The NRC is particularly interested 

in comments and supporting rationale 

on the following: 

(Question 1) Are there licensees that 

meet the current credit rating-based 

financial test for a guarantee that would 

not be able to meet the alternate 

working capital and liability-based 

financial tests currently presented in 10 

CFR part 30 appendices? Would such 

licensees be able to meet the 

decommissioning funding assurance 

requirements using one or more other 

funding assurance methods allowed for 

by regulation (i.e., prepayment, surety 

bond, insurance, external sinking fund)? 

(Question 2) Modified or new 

financial metrics for assessing 

creditworthiness: Please provide your 

views on financial statement metrics or 

other quantifiable financial 

characteristics that could be reported by 

licensees to assess a licensee’s 

creditworthiness and hence, its ability 

to use a parent company guarantee or 

self-guarantee mechanism for providing 

reasonable assurance that 

decommissioning funding will be 

available (see § 50.75, ‘‘Reporting and 

recordkeeping for decommissioning 

planning’’). Suggested metrics should 

differ from the current working capital 

and liability-based metrics currently 

presented in 10 CFR part 30 appendices 

cited in the Background to this notice 

and include pass or fail criteria limits. 

(Question 3) Independent agency 

determination: Please provide your 

views on the NRC performing an 

independent, risk-informed, 

performance-based determination of a 

licensee’s credit-worthiness. The NRC 

would seek to determine the licensee’s 

risk of default based on its review of 

financial data while providing some 

degree of flexibility on the part of 

licensees as to the type of financial data 

submitted. This could include 

evaluation of financial data available 

from the licensee, open-sources, and 

from third parties, including credit 

ratings. 

(Question 4) Should the NRC consider 

other alternative financial test criteria 

not presented above to assess an 

applicant’s or licensee’s use of a 

guarantee to provide reasonable 

82952 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 245 / Monday, December 21, 2020 / Proposed Rules 

assurance of funds for 

decommissioning? If yes, please provide 

details of the alternative criteria and the 

financial data needed for its use. 

Commenters are encouraged to 

provide specific suggestions and 

support for them. Comments received in 

response to this request will be 

considered in the development of any 

subsequent proposed rule. The NRC will 

provide another opportunity for public 

comment on any subsequent proposed 

rule. 

V. Public Meeting 

During the comment period, the NRC 

will conduct a public meeting to discuss 

the rulemaking and answer questions. 

The NRC will publish a notice of the 

location, time, and agenda of the 

meeting on the NRC’s public meeting 

website at least 10 calendar days before 

the meeting. Stakeholders should 

monitor the NRC’s public meeting 

website for information about the public 

meeting at: https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/ 

mtg. In addition, the meeting 

information will be posted on https://

www.regulations.gov/ under Docket ID 

NRC–2017–0021. 

VI. Plain Writing 

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. 

L. 111–274) requires Federal agencies to 

write documents in a clear, concise, and 

well-organized manner. The NRC has 

written this document to be consistent 

with the Plain Writing Act as well as the 

Presidential Memorandum, ‘‘Plain 

Language in Government Writing,’’ 

published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31885). 

The NRC requests comment on this 

document with respect to the clarity and 

effectiveness of the language used. 

VII. Rulemaking Process 

The NRC does not intend to provide 

a detailed response to individual 

comments submitted on this advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking; 

however, the NRC will evaluate all 

public input in the development of a 

proposed rule on financial assurance 

mechanisms approved by NRC for the 

decommissioning of nuclear power 

plants and other nuclear facilities. If 

NRC determines a need for supporting 

guidance, NRC will also issue the draft 

guidance for public comment. 

Dated: December 14, 2020. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Annette L. Vietti-Cook, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27776 Filed 12–18–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 431 

[EERE–2019–BT–STD–0035] 

RIN 1904–AE66 

Energy Conservation Program: Energy 

Conservation Standards for Consumer 

Products; Early Assessment Review; 

Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners 

and Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Request for information; Early 

Assessment Review. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (‘‘DOE’’) is initiating an early 

assessment review to determine whether 

any new or amended standards would 

satisfy the relevant requirements of 

EPCA for a new or amended energy 

conservation standard for Packaged 

Terminal Air Conditioners (‘‘PTACs’’) 

and Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps 

(‘‘PTHPs). Specifically, through this 

request for information (‘‘RFI’’), DOE 

seeks data and information that could 

enable the agency to determine whether 

DOE should propose a ‘‘no new 

standard’’ determination because a more 

stringent standard: Would not result in 

a significant savings of energy; is not 

technologically feasible; is not 

economically justified; or any 

combination of foregoing. DOE 

welcomes written comments from the 

public on any subject within the scope 

of this document (including those topics 

not specifically raised in this RFI), as 

well as the submission of data and other 

relevant concerning this early 

assessment review. 

DATES: Written comments and 

information will be accepted on or 

before March 8, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

encouraged to submit comments using 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Alternatively, interested persons may 

submit comments, identified by docket 

number EERE–2019–BT–STD–0035, by 

any of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: PTACHP2019STD0035@

ee.doe.gov. Include the docket number 

EERE–2019–BT–STD–0035 in the 

subject line of the message. 

3. Postal Mail: Appliance and 

Equipment Standards Program, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, Mailstop EE–5B, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 287–1445. If possible, 

please submit all items on a compact 

disc (‘‘CD’’), in which case it is not 

necessary to include printed copies. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Appliance 

and Equipment Standards Program, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, 950 L’Enfant Plaza 

SW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20024. 

Telephone: (202) 287–1445. If possible, 

please submit all items on a CD, in 

which case it is not necessary to include 

printed copies. 

No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be 

accepted. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on this process, see section 

III of this document. 

Docket: The docket for this activity, 

which includes Federal Register 

notices, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials, is 

available for review at http://

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed in the http://

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

some documents listed in the index, 

such as those containing information 

that is exempt from public disclosure, 

may not be publicly available. 

The docket web page can be found at 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2019-BT-STD0035. The docket web page contains 

instructions on how to access all 

documents, including public comments, 

in the docket. See section III for 

information on how to submit 

comments through http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 586– 

0371. Email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Amelia Whiting, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–2588. Email: 

Amelia.Whiting@Hq.Doe.Gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment or review other 

public comments and the docket contact 

the Appliance and Equipment 

Standards Program staff at (202) 287– 

1445 or by email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: