Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 60611 

Sunday, or a Federal holiday. 

Documents shall be deemed ‘‘filed’’ on 

the date and time received by the Board 

if received before 5:30 p.m. local time in 

Washington, DC, or the next business 

day if received after 5:30 p.m. 

Dated: October 8, 2008. 

James A. Spangenberg, 

Chairman, Government Accountability 

Contract Appeals Board. 

[FR Doc. E8–24340 Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1610–02–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Parts 315 and 316 

RIN 3206–AL29 

Disabled Veterans Documentation 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is issuing final 

regulations regarding documentation 

required for appointments of disabled 

veterans. The purpose of this change is 

to provide consistency with the policy 

implemented by the Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 13, 

2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darlene Phelps at (202) 606–0960, by 

FAX on (202) 606–2329, TDD at (202) 

418–3134, or by e-mail at 

Darlene.Phelps@opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 

20, 2007, OPM proposed regulations at 

72 FR 46410 regarding documentation 

required for noncompetitive temporary 

and term appointments, and conversion 

of 30 percent or more disabled veterans 

from nonpermanent appointments. The 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 

considers any VA disability letter issued 

for purposes of establishing veterans’ 

preference in employment proof of a 

permanent record of disability, unless 

the letter specifically states otherwise. 

We proposed to modify sections 

315.707(a)(2)(ii) and (iii), 316.302(b)(4), 

and 316.402(b)(4) of title 5, Code of 

Federal Regulations. In addition, in 

section 315.707(a)(2)(ii) and (iii), we are 

adding a reference to disability 

determinations from a branch of the 

Armed Forces, as these entities may also 

certify the existence of 30 percent or 

more disability. These modifications 

will clarify that a 30 percent or more 

disabled veteran who has proof of 

disability from the VA or a branch of the 

Armed Forces dated 1991 or later is 

eligible for a noncompetitive temporary 

or term appointment. The employee 

may be noncompetitively converted to a 

permanent appointment in the 

competitive service at any time during 

such an appointment. Lastly, we are 

adding the word ‘‘so’’ in section 

315.707(a)(2)(iii) to clarify that ‘‘rated’’ 

refers to a service-connected disability 

rating of 30 percent or more. We 

inadvertently omitted this clarification 

in the proposed regulation. 

Comments 

Comments on the proposed rule were 

requested by October 19, 2007. OPM 

received one comment from a private 

citizen who noticed a typographical 

error in sections 316.302(b)(4) and 

316.402(b)(4). We have corrected this 

error by changing ‘‘of’’ to ‘‘or’’ the third 

time it appears in each of those 

paragraphs. 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review 

This rule has been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget in 

accordance with Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that this regulation will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it will apply only to Federal 

agencies and employees. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The information collection 

requirements contained in this final rule 

are currently approved by OMB under 

3206–0001. This final regulation does 

not modify this approved collection. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 315 and 

316 

Government employees. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Michael W. Hager, 

Acting Director. 

■ Accordingly, OPM is amending 5 CFR 

parts 315 and 316 as follows: 

PART 315—CAREER AND CAREER 

CONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 315 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1302, 3301, and 3302; 

E.O. 10577, 3 CFR, 1954–1958 Comp. p. 218, 

unless otherwise noted; and E.O. 13162. 

Secs. 315.601 and 315.609 also issued under 

22 U.S.C. 3651 and 3652. Secs. 315.602 and 

315.604 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 1104. Sec. 

315.603 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8151. 

Section 315.605 also issued under E.O. 

12034, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 111. Section 

315.606 also issued under E.O. 11219, 3 CFR, 

1964–1965 Comp. p. 303. Sec 315.607 also 

issued under 22 U.S.C. 2506. Sec. 315.608 

also issued under E.O. 12721, 3 CFR, 1990 

Comp. p. 293. Sec. 315.610 also issued under 

5 U.S.C. 3304(d). Sec. 315.611 also issued 

under Section 511, Pub. L. 106–117, 113 Stat. 

1575–76. Sec. 315.708 also issued under E.O. 

13318. Sec. 315.710 also issued under E.O. 

12596, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp. p. 229. Subpart I 

also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3321, E.O. 12107, 

3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 264. 

Subpart G—Conversion to Career or 

Career-Conditional Employment From 

Other Types of Employment 

■ 2. In 315.707, revise paragraphs 

(a)(2)(ii) and (iii) to read as follows: 

§ 315.707 Disabled veterans. 

(a) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) Have been rated by the 

Department of Veterans Affairs since 

1991 or later, or by a branch of the 

Armed Forces at any time, as having a 

compensable service-connected 

disability of 30 percent or more; or 

(iii) Have been so rated by the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, or by a 

branch of the Armed Forces, at the time 

of a qualifying temporary appointment 

effected within the year immediately 

preceding, or a term appointment 

effected within four years immediately 

preceding, the conversion. 

* * * * * 

PART 316—TEMPORARY AND TERM 

EMPLOYMENT 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 316 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301, 3302; E.O. 10577, 

3 CFR, 1954–1958 Comp., p. 218. 

Subpart C—Term Employment 

■ 4. In 316.302, revise paragraph (b)(4) 

to read as follows: 

§ 316.302 Selection of term employees. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Appointment under 5 U.S.C. 3112 

(veterans with compensable serviceconnected disability of 30 percent or 

more). The disability must be 

documented by a notice of retirement or 

discharge due to service-connected 

disability from active military service 

dated at any time, or by a notice of 

compensable disability rating from the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, dated 

1991 or later; 

* * * * * 

Subpart D—Temporary Limited 

Employment 

■ 5. In 316.402, revise paragraph (b)(4) 

to read as follows: 


ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with RULES
60612 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 14, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

§ 316.402 Procedures for making 

temporary appointments. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Appointment under 5 U.S.C. 3112 

(veterans with compensable serviceconnected disability of 30 percent of 

more). The disability must be 

documented by a notice of retirement or 

discharge due to service-connected 

disability from active military service 

dated at any time, or by a notice of 

compensable disability rating from the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, dated 

1991 or later; 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E8–24227 Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 50 

[NRC–2008–0237] 

Policy Statement on the Regulation of 

Advanced Reactors 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final policy statement. 

SUMMARY: On May 9, 2008 (73 FR 

26349), the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC; Commission) issued, 

for public comment, a draft policy 

statement on the regulation of advanced 

reactors. This final policy statement 

reinforces the Commission’s current 

policy regarding advanced reactors and 

includes new items to be considered 

during the design of these reactors, 

including security, emergency 

preparedness, threat of theft, and 

international safeguards. 

DATE: The effective date is November 13, 

2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Wesley W. Held, Rulemaking, Guidance, 

and Advanced Reactor Branch, Division 

of New Reactor Licensing, Office of New 

Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Mail Stop: T–6 C34, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; 

Telephone: (301) 415–1583; fax number: 

(301) 415–5399; e-mail: 

Wesley.Held@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Summary of Public Comments and 

Responses to Comments 

A. General Comments 

B. Attributes To Be Considered During 

Design 

C. Security of Advanced Reactors 

D. Relationship to General Design Criteria 

(GDC) 

E. Other Comments 

III. Final Policy Statement 

I. Background 

On July 8, 1986 (51 FR 24643), the 

Commission published a policy 

statement on the regulation of advanced 

reactors. The Commission had the 

following three primary objectives in 

issuing the advanced reactor policy 

statement (ARPS): 

• To maintain the earliest possible 

interaction of applicants, vendors, and 

government agencies with the NRC. 

• To provide all interested parties, 

including the public, with the 

Commission’s views concerning the 

desired characteristics of advanced 

reactor designs. 

• To express the Commission’s intent 

to issue timely comment on the 

implications of such designs for safety 

and the regulatory process. 

On July 12, 1994 (59 FR 35461), the 

Commission revised the 1986 ARPS by 

addressing the Commission’s policy on 

metrication (57 FR 46202; October 7, 

1992; as revised June 19, 1996 (61 FR 

31169)). 

Since the events of September 11, 

2001, the NRC has assessed potential 

threats and their possible impacts on the 

Nation’s fleet of operating nuclear 

power reactors and has required 

upgrades of physical security measures 

and mitigative strategies through the 

issuance of a series of security orders 

and license conditions. For new nuclear 

power reactors, the Commission 

considers it prudent to provide 

expectations and guidance on security 

matters to prospective applicants so that 

they can use this information early in 

the design stage of new reactors to 

identify potential mitigative measures 

and/or design features that provide a 

more robust and effective security 

posture. Therefore, the Commission 

decided to revise the ARPS to integrate 

these expectations for security and 

emergency preparedness with the 

current expectations for safety. 

The Commission’s expectation for 

advanced reactor designers to consider 

the effects of a large, commercial 

airplane impact is currently being 

addressed through rulemaking 

(Consideration of Aircraft Impacts for 

New Nuclear Power Reactor Designs— 

RIN AI19—Docket ID NRC–2007–0009). 

The Commission believes that reactors 

designed with potential aircraft impact 

considerations resulting from this rule 

would be more robust than if they were 

designed in the absence of this rule. 

The proposed policy statement, 

‘‘Policy Statement on the Regulation of 

Advanced Reactors,’’ was published in 

the Federal Register on May 9, 2008 (73 

FR 26349). The public comment period 

expired on July 8, 2008. This final 

policy statement reflects the pertinent 

comments received on the published 

draft policy statement. 

II. Summary of Public Comments and 

Responses to Comments 

Eight organizations and individuals 

submitted written comments on the 

draft policy statement. The commenters 

represented a variety of interests 

addressing a wide range of issues, and 

included individuals; reactor vendors; 

and citizen, environmental, and 

industry groups. Most commenters 

agreed with the general principle of the 

policy statement, but no commenter 

supported the policy statement exactly 

as proposed. Several commenters 

wanted changes made to the list of 

design attributes to be considered. 

Others suggested linking the design 

attributes to the general design criteria 

(GDC). Another commented on the 

security of nuclear power plants, and 

one commenter described a thorium 

reactor design. 

Comments on this proposed rule are 

available electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. From this page, 

the public can find all the comments 

received by inputting NRC–2008–0237 

into the search field. Comments are also 

available electronically at the NRC’s 

Electronic Reading Room at http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

From this page, the public can gain 

access to the Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS), which provides text and 

image files of NRC’s public documents. 

The public can search for comments 

using the ADAMS accession numbers 

listed in the table below, which 

includes the commenters’ names and 

affiliations. 

Letter No. ADAMS accession No. Commenter affiliation Commenter name Abbreviation 

1 ................ ML081420201 ............... Private citizen .................................................... Paul Sund ........................................... Sund 

2 ................ ML081420208 ............... University of California—Berkeley ..................... Per Peterson ...................................... UCB 

3 ................ ML081770159 ............... Toshiba .............................................................. Koichiro Oshima ................................. Toshiba 

4 ................ ML081900560 ............... Thorium ElectroNuclear AB ............................... Elling Disen ........................................ TEN AB 


ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with RULES