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

1476 

Vol. 80, No. 7 

Monday, January 12, 2015 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 50 

[Docket No. PRM–50–109; NRC–2014–0257] 

Improved Identification Techniques 

Against Alkali-Silica Reaction Concrete 

Degradation at Nuclear Power Plants 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice 

of docketing, and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) has received a 

petition for rulemaking (PRM) from 

Sandra Gavutis on behalf of C–10 

Research and Education Foundation (C– 

10 or the petitioner), dated September 

25, 2014, requesting that the NRC 

amend its regulations to provide 

improved identification techniques 

against Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) 

concrete degradation at nuclear power 

plants. The petition was docketed by the 

NRC on October 8, 2014, and has been 

assigned Docket No. PRM–50–109. The 

NRC is requesting public comments on 

this petition for rulemaking. 

DATES: Submit comments by March 30, 

2015. Comments received after this date 

will be considered if it is practical to do 

so, but the NRC is able to assure 

consideration only for comments 

received on or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods (unless 

this document describes a different 

method for submitting comments on a 

specific subject): 

• Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2014–0257. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual(s) 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. 

• Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301– 

415–1101. 

• Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

• Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 

(Eastern Time) Federal workdays; 

telephone: 301–415–1677. For 

additional direction on accessing 

information and submitting comments, 

see ‘‘Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Kratchman, Office of Nuclear 

Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415– 

5112, email: Jessica.Kratchman@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments 

A. Obtaining Information 

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2014– 

0257 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 Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2014–0257. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 

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, 301–415–4737, or by 

email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 

ADAMS accession number for each 

document referenced (if it is available in 

ADAMS) is provided the first time that 

it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents at 

the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

B. Submitting Comments 

Please include Docket ID NRC–2014– 

0257 in the subject line of your 

comment submission, in order to ensure 

that the NRC is able to make your 

comment submission available to the 

public in this docket. 

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. The NRC will 

post all comment submissions at http:// 

www.regulations.gov as well as enter the 

comment submissions into ADAMS, 

and 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. The Petitioner 

The petition states that C–10 is a nonprofit organization that ‘‘evolved from’’ 

Citizens within the Ten-Mile Radius, 

which C–10 claims is a 5,000 member 

organization founded in 1986 to 

challenge evacuation plans for the 

[NextEra] Seabrook Station reactor. The 

petition represents that C–10 was 

established in 1991 to address the 

health and safety issues related to the 

[NextEra] Seabrook Station nuclear 

power plant. The petition further states 

that ‘‘C–10 has been engaging the NRC 

about concrete degradation at Seabrook 

since December 22, 2011,’’ and that the 

Union of Concerned Scientists assisted 

C–10 in preparing this petition. 

III. The Petition 

Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director, 

submitted a PRM on behalf of C–10, 

dated September 25, 2014 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML14281A124), 

requesting that the NRC amend its 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Proposed Rules 1477 

regulations to improve identification 

techniques against ASR concrete 

degradation at nuclear power plants. 

The NRC has determined that the 

petition meets the threshold sufficiency 

requirements for a PRM under § 2.802 of 

Title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, ‘‘Petition for rulemaking,’’ 

and the petition has been docketed as 

PRM–50–109. The NRC is requesting 

public comments on this PRM. 

IV. Discussion of the Petition 

At an NRC public meeting at Seabrook 

Station on June 24, 2014, the petitioner 

asked the NRC if the agency was 

investigating the U.S. nuclear fleet for 

ASR concrete degradation. The NRC 

staff responded that ASR concrete 

degradation could be adequately 

indicated through visual examination. 

However, an NRC position paper, ‘‘In 

Situ Monitoring of ASR-affected 

Concrete,’’ November 2012 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML13108A047), states, 

‘‘ASR can exist in concrete without 

indications of pattern cracking,’’ and 

that for ‘‘. . . structures exposed to 

ASR, internal damage occurs through 

the depth of the section but visible 

cracking is suppressed by heavy 

reinforcement. . . .’’ When NextEra 

determined 131 locations with 

‘‘assumed’’ ASR visual signs within 

multiple power-block structures at 

Seabrook Station during 2012, further 

engineering evaluations were not 

required by the NRC. 

The petitioner requests that the NRC 

amend its regulations to improve 

identification techniques against ASR 

concrete degradation at U.S. nuclear 

power plants. The petitioner suggests 

that the reliance on a visual inspection 

does not ‘‘adequately identify AlkaliSilica Reaction (ASR), does not confirm 

ASR, or provide the current state of ASR 

damage (if present) without 

petrographic analysis under current 

existing code.’’ The petitioner asserts 

that codes and standards exist that are 

capable of detecting ASR and 

determining the key material properties 

needed to evaluate the degree and 

severity of ASR damage. American 

Concrete Institute (ACI) Standard 

349.3R, ‘‘Evaluation of Existing Nuclear 

Safety-Related Concrete Structures,’’ for 

instance, has been endorsed by the NRC 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML112241029) 

as an acceptable method of protecting 

against excessive ASR concrete 

degradation, but is not a regulatory 

requirement. The petitioner requests 

that the NRC amend its regulations to 

require that all licensees comply with 

industry codes and standards that have 

‘‘already been endorsed by the agency,’’ 

and identified two standards for which 

the NRC’s regulations should require 

compliance: (1) ACI Standard 349.3R; 

and (2) American Society for Testing & 

Materials (ASTM) C856–11, ‘‘Standard 

Practice for Petrographic Examination of 

Hardened Concrete.’’ 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day 

of January, 2015. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Annette L. Vietti-Cook, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00199 Filed 1–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 431 

[Docket No. EERE–2013–BT–STD–0006] 

RIN 1904–AC55 

Energy Efficiency Program for 

Commercial and Industrial Equipment: 

Energy Conservation Standards for 

Commercial and Industrial Fans and 

Blowers 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Extension of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: On December 10, 2014, the 

Department of Energy (DOE) published 

a notice of data availability (NODA) 

which presented a provisional analysis 

that estimates the potential economic 

impacts and energy savings that could 

result from promulgating a regulatory 

energy conservation standard for 

commercial and industrial fans and 

blowers. DOE did not propose any 

energy conservation standard for 

commercial and industrial fans and 

blowers. However, DOE published its 

analysis and the underlying 

assumptions and calculations, which 

may ultimately support a proposed 

standard, for stakeholder review. In 

response to requests by stakeholders, 

the comment period for the NODA is 

being extended to February 25, 2015. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

notice of data availability relating to 

commercial and industrial fan and 

blower equipment is extended to 

February 25, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may 

submit comments, identified by docket 

number EERE–2013–BT–STD–0006 

and/or Regulation Identification 

Number (RIN) 1904–AC55, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: CIFB2013STD0006@

EE.Doe.Gov. Include EERE–2013–BT– 

STD–0006 and/or RIN 1904–AC55 in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–5B, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

compact disc (CD), in which case it is 

not necessary to include printed copies. 

[Please note that comments and CDs 

sent by mail are often delayed and may 

be damaged by mail screening 

processes.] 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone (202) 

586–2945. If possible, please submit all 

items on CD, in which case it is not 

necessary to include printed copies. 

Docket: The docket is available for 

review at www.regulations.gov, 

including Federal Register notices, 

public meeting attendee lists and 

transcripts, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov index. 

However, not all documents listed in 

the index may be publicly available, 

such as information that is exempt from 

public disclosure. The rulemaking Web 

page can be found at: http://

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/

appliance_standards/rulemaking.aspx/

ruleid/25. This Web page contains a link 

to the docket for this notice on the 

regulation.gov site. The 

www.regulations.gov Web page contains 

instructions on how to access all 

documents in the docket, including 

public comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mr. Ron Majette, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7935. Email: 

CIFansBlowers@ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Peter Cochran, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–9496. Email: 

peter.cochran@hq.doe.gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment and review other 

public comments and the docket, 

contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 

586–2945 or by email: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 10, 2014, DOE published a 

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