46666 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

(b) Sex. A recipient may make preemployment inquiry as to the sex of an 

applicant for employment, but only if 

such inquiry is made equally of such 

applicants of both sexes and if the 

results of such inquiry are not used in 

connection with discrimination 

prohibited by this part. 

§ 15a.550 Sex as a bona fide occupational 

qualification. 

A recipient may take action otherwise 

prohibited by §§ 15a.500 through 

15a.550 provided it is shown that sex is 

a bona fide occupational qualification 

for that action, such that consideration 

of sex with regard to such action is 

essential to successful operation of the 

employment function concerned. A 

recipient shall not take action pursuant 

to this section that is based upon alleged 

comparative employment characteristics 

or stereotyped characterizations of one 

or the other sex, or upon preference 

based on sex of the recipient, 

employees, students, or other persons, 

but nothing contained in this section 

shall prevent a recipient from 

considering an employee’s sex in 

relation to employment in a locker room 

or toilet facility used only by members 

of one sex. 

Subpart F—Other Provisions 

§ 15a.605 Enforcement procedures. 

The procedural provisions applicable 

to title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

(42 U.S.C. 2000d) are hereby adopted 

and applied to this part. These 

procedures may be found at 7 CFR 15.5– 

15.11 and 15.60–15.143. 

Dated: September 25, 2017. 

Sonny Perdue, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–20869 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–9R–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 20 

[NRC–2011–0162] 

RIN 3150–AJ17 

Prompt Remediation of Residual 

Radioactivity During Operation 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking 

activity. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is discontinuing a 

rulemaking activity that would have 

required licensees to remediate residual 

radioactivity resulting from licensed 

activities during facility operations, 

rather than at license termination. The 

purpose of this action is to inform 

members of the public that this 

rulemaking activity is being 

discontinued and to provide a brief 

discussion of the NRC’s decision to 

discontinue it. This rulemaking activity 

will no longer be reported in the NRC’s 

portion of the Unified Agenda of 

Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 

(the Unified Agenda). 

DATES: This action is effective October 

6, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2011–0162 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information regarding this action. You 

may obtain publicly available 

information related to this document 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2011–0162. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly 

available 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 in this document 

(if that document is available in 

ADAMS) is provided the first time 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 O1F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert D. MacDougall, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–5175; email: 

Robert.MacDougall@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Discussion 

III. Availability of Documents 

IV. Conclusion 

I. Background 

This action is the culmination of a 

process of evaluating operating 

experience and interacting with the 

public since 2007 to determine whether 

the NRC should require licensees to 

remediate, during facility operations, 

releases of residual radioactivity into 

the surface and subsurface of their 

facility sites. Such remediation during 

operations has come to be known as 

‘‘prompt’’ remediation. In order to 

permit a site to be released for 

unrestricted use, licensees are currently 

required to remediate, before license 

termination, all residual radioactivity at 

their facility sites to levels that provide 

reasonable assurance that no member of 

the public will receive a dose from the 

decommissioned facility greater than 25 

millirem (mrem) per year. 

As a result of its evaluations and 

stakeholder interactions, the NRC staff 

recommended, and the Commission 

decided, to discontinue further work on 

a prompt remediation rulemaking. A 

discussion of this decision is provided 

in Section II of this document. 

II. Discussion 

The Commission first directed the 

staff to study the potential need for a 

prompt remediation rulemaking when 

the Commission approved the proposed 

decommissioning planning rule (DPR) 

in 2007. In its staff requirements 

memorandum (SRM) on that proposed 

rule (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML073440549), the Commission 

directed the staff to ‘‘make further 

improvements to the decommissioning 

planning process by addressing the 

remediation of residual radioactivity 

during the operational phase with the 

objective of avoiding complex 

decommissioning challenges that can 

lead to legacy sites.’’ In its subsequent 

Federal Register document (FRN) for 

the proposed DPR, published January 

22, 2008, the Commission defined 

‘‘legacy site’’ as ‘‘a facility that is in 

decommissioning with complex issues 

and an owner who cannot complete the 

decommissioning work for technical or 

financial reasons’’ (73 FR 3813). 

Such a site could not be released for 

unrestricted use when the license is 

terminated, and would therefore require 

an institution, usually a government 

agency, to maintain and restrict access 

to the site to keep doses to members of 

the public below the individual sitespecific limit approved by the NRC. 

Under § 20.1402 of title 10 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 46667 

maximum dose limit for release of a site 

for unrestricted use by the public is 25 

mrem per year. However, if the site is 

a legacy site requiring institutional 

controls on access, the Commission, 

assuming the eventual loss of such 

controls, may approve a higher limit up 

to 500 mrem per year under 10 CFR 

20.1403. It may also approve alternative 

release criteria under 10 CFR 20.1404. 

In either case, the licensee would have 

to demonstrate, among other things, that 

doses would be as low as reasonably 

achievable (ALARA) and the concerns 

of affected individuals and institutions 

in the community had been 

appropriately addressed. To minimize 

the future possibility of these 

alternatives to the unrestricted release of 

decommissioned sites, the objective of 

the proposed DPR was to ‘‘improve 

decommissioning planning and thereby 

reduce the likelihood that any current 

operating facility will become a legacy 

site’’ (73 FR 3812; January 22, 2008). 

The final DPR, published on June 17, 

2011 (76 FR 35512), retained that 

objective, and took effect on December 

17, 2012. The DPR requires licensees to 

conduct their operations to minimize 

the introduction of residual 

radioactivity into the site, which 

includes the site’s subsurface soil and 

groundwater. Licensees may also be 

required to perform site surveys to 

determine whether residual 

radioactivity is present in subsurface 

areas, and to keep records of these 

surveys with records important for 

decommissioning. Among other things, 

the rule requires licensees to report 

additional details in their 

decommissioning cost estimates (76 FR 

35512; June 17, 2011). 

The DPR does not, however, mandate 

that licensees remediate during 

operations. In response to a comment on 

the lack of such a requirement, the 

Commission noted in its FRN for the 

final rule that it ‘‘allows a licensee who 

detects subsurface contamination either 

to conduct immediate remediation or to 

plan for and provide funds in the form 

of financial assurance to conduct 

remediation at a later time, including at 

the time of decommissioning. Thus, this 

final rule creates a potential incentive 

for immediate remediation instead of an 

increased financial assurance 

obligation’’ (76 FR 35532; June 17, 

2011). 

In parallel with the development of 

the final DPR, and in accordance with 

the Commission’s 2007 directive to 

consider a prompt remediation 

requirement, the NRC staff developed a 

draft regulatory basis for a proposed rule 

to address prompt remediation (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML111580353). An FRN 

published on July 18, 2011 (76 FR 

42074), announced the NRC’s 

‘‘Consideration of Rulemaking To 

Address Prompt Remediation of 

Residual Radioactivity During 

Operations.’’ 

The NRC staff held a public meeting 

and webinar on July 25, 2011, to discuss 

prompt remediation, and obtained and 

evaluated additional stakeholder 

comments for a revised draft regulatory 

basis for potential rulemaking (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML120190685). 

Subsequently, in SRM–SECY–12–0046, 

‘‘Options for Revising the Regulatory 

Approach to Groundwater Protection’’ 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML121450704), 

the Commission directed the staff on 

May 24, 2012, to seek additional 

stakeholder comments on the draft 

regulatory basis for a proposed prompt 

remediation rule. The Commission also 

directed the staff to evaluate the pros 

and cons of moving forward with a 

proposed prompt remediation 

rulemaking. 

The NRC staff held a public meeting 

and webinar on June 4, 2013, to obtain 

stakeholder comments on the ongoing 

prompt remediation issue. The staff 

then evaluated those comments and 

included the results in SECY–13–0108, 

‘‘Staff Recommendations for Addressing 

Remediation of Residual Radioactivity 

During Operations’’ (ADAMS Accession 

No. ML13217A230). In SRM–SECY–13– 

0108 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML13354B759), the Commission on 

December 20, 2013, approved the NRC 

staff’s recommendation to collect 2 

years of additional data on the 

implementation of the DPR. The 

Commission also directed that the staff, 

after collecting and evaluating the data 

and holding a public meeting with 

stakeholders, provide the Commission a 

paper ‘‘with the staff’s recommendation 

for addressing remediation of residual 

radioactivity at licensed facilities during 

the operational phase of the facility.’’ 

To evaluate the need for and potential 

benefits of additional rulemaking on 

prompt remediation, the NRC staff 

analyzed whether the manner of 

licensee compliance with the DPR has 

been adequate to prevent future legacy 

sites (see SECY–16–0121, ‘‘Staff 

Recommendations For Rulemaking To 

Address Remediation of Residual 

Radioactivity During Operation,’’ 

October 16, 2016 (ADAMS Accession 

No. ML16235A298)). The staff 

evaluated: (1) NRC inspection results; 

(2) licensee event reports and 

radiological effluent monitoring reports; 

(3) the financial assurance mechanisms 

available to support decommissioning at 

different types of facilities; (4) the 

results of the Nuclear Energy Institute 

(NEI) 07–07, ‘‘Industry Groundwater 

Protection Initiative’’ (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML072610036) and 

associated groundwater contamination 

evaluations; (5) guidance promulgated 

by the NRC and industry groups such as 

NEI and the Electric Power Research 

Institute (EPRI); and (6) stakeholder 

feedback from a July 11, 2016, public 

webinar and other forums. 

Based on these information sources, 

the NRC staff concluded in SECY–16– 

0121 that: 

• Existing dose limits codified in the 

NRC’s regulations provide adequate 

protection of public health and safety 

during operation, and an additional rule 

requiring prompt remediation would 

provide limited additional benefit. 

• The current DPR requires early 

identification of residual radioactivity 

that, if allowed to spread, could prevent 

a site from being released for 

unrestricted use at license termination. 

The DPR also requires timely 

adjustments to decommissioning 

financial instruments to ensure that 

adequate funding will be available after 

facility shutdown to remediate any such 

residual radioactivity to comply with 

the criteria for license termination in 10 

CFR part 20, appendix E. These 

requirements mitigate the potential that 

residual contamination unaccounted for 

in a licensee’s funding for 

decommissioning would lead to a future 

legacy site. 

• In some circumstances, mandated 

remediation during operation could 

adversely affect operational safety, as 

certain locations may be safely 

accessible only after operations have 

ceased or when operating conditions 

permit. This would be the case, for 

example, if residual radioactivity were 

suspected underneath a building within 

which a licensee was using or storing 

radioactive materials. 

• Groundwater resources are 

protected from abnormal releases by 

effective groundwater monitoring 

programs, as well as industry initiatives 

where appropriate, to identify 

significant residual radioactivity early 

in the operating life of the facility. 

Examples of such initiatives are the NEI 

07–07 effort and supporting EPRI 

guidance for evaluating potential 

groundwater contamination. 

• Licensees are effectively complying 

with the DPR. The current regulations 

are sufficient to ensure that when a 

facility ceases operation, site 

characterization will have resulted in 

the appropriate identification of all 

significant residual subsurface 

radioactivity, and adequate financial 

resources will be available to complete 

decommissioning for release of the site 


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46668 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

for unrestricted use at the time of 

license termination. Two bases for this 

confidence are that no new legacy sites 

have been identified since the NRC’s 

financial assurance regulations were 

promulgated in 1988, and no sites have 

had to make adjustments to their 

decommissioning funds due to the 

identification of significant residual 

radioactivity since implementation of 

the DPR. 

The staff also found in SECY–16–0121 

that residual radioactivity detected to 

date has been limited mostly to onsite 

areas, and there has not been a 

significant impact on public health and 

safety. Under current regulations, this is 

unlikely to change. In addition to 

complying with applicable dose 

standards, for example, licensees also 

must comply with the requirement in 10 

CFR 20.1101(b) to ‘‘use, to the extent 

practical, procedures and engineering 

controls . . . to achieve . . . doses to 

members of the public as low as 

reasonably achievable (ALARA).’’ By 

requiring public doses to be ALARA, 

existing NRC regulations provide ample 

assurance that the need for a prompt 

remediation rule is unlikely to grow 

with time. 

Based on these considerations, earlier 

assessments, and its conclusions from 

the 2 additional years of operating 

experience, the NRC staff in SECY–16– 

0121 recommended that further work on 

a prompt remediation rule be 

discontinued. On December 21, 2016, in 

SRM–SECY–16–0121 (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML16356A583), the 

Commission accepted the staff’s 

recommendation. 

From the staff’s evaluation of how 

licensees are complying with the DPR 

and other NRC regulations limiting 

doses to members of the public, the 

Commission has determined that 

licensees are operating their facilities to 

minimize leaks and spills, monitor for 

residual radioactivity, adjust 

decommissioning funding to account for 

residual surface and subsurface 

radioactivity, and maintain doses to the 

public within regulatory limits, 

including ALARA requirements. 

Compliance with these regulations 

protects public health and safety and 

significantly reduces the potential for 

additional legacy sites. 

III. Availability of Documents 

The documents identified in the 

following table are available to 

interested persons through one or more 

of the following methods, as indicated. 

Document 

ADAMS 

Accession No./ 

Federal Register 

citation 

Decommissioning Planning; Proposed Rule (January 22, 2008) ........................................................................................... 73 FR 3812 

Decommissioning Planning; Final Rule (June 17, 2011) ........................................................................................................ 76 FR 35512 

SRM—SECY–07–0177—Proposed Rule: Decommissioning Planning .................................................................................. ML073440549 

Draft Proposed Technical Basis For Prompt Remediation, Rev. 4 ........................................................................................ ML111580353 

FEDERAL REGISTER document ‘‘Consideration of Rulemaking to Address Prompt Remediation of Residual Radioactivity 

During Operations.’’ (July 18, 2011).

76 FR 42074 

Draft Technical Basis For Prompt Remediation, Rev. 3 ......................................................................................................... ML120190685 

SRM–SECY–12–0046, ‘‘Options for Revising the Regulatory Approach to Groundwater Protection’’ .................................. ML121450704 

SECY–13–0108, ‘‘Staff Recommendations for Addressing Remediation of Residual Radioactivity During Operations’’ ...... ML13217A230

SRM–SECY–13–0108 ‘‘Staff Recommendations For Addressing Remediation Of Residual Radioactivity During Operations’’.ML13354B759 

Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI 07–07, ‘‘Industry Groundwater Protection Initiative’’ ............................................................... ML072610036 

SECY–16–0121, ‘‘Staff Recommendations For Rulemaking To Address Remediation Of Residual Radioactivity During 

Operation’’.

ML16235A298 

SRM–SECY–16–0121, ‘‘Staff Recommendations For Rulemaking To Address Remediation Of Residual Radioactivity 

During Operation’’.

ML16356A583 

IV. Conclusion 

The NRC is no longer pursuing 

revisions to its regulations in 10 CFR 

part 20 for the reasons discussed in this 

document. In the next edition of the 

Unified Agenda, the NRC will update 

the entry for this rulemaking activity 

and reference this document to indicate 

that it is no longer being pursued. This 

rulemaking activity will appear in the 

‘‘Completed Actions’’ section of that 

edition of the Unified Agenda, but will 

not appear in future editions. If the NRC 

decides to pursue similar or related 

rulemaking activities in the future, it 

will inform the public through a new 

rulemaking entry in the Unified Agenda. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day 

of October 2017. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Annette L. Vietti-Cook, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21546 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

12 CFR Chapter II 

[Docket No. OP–1572] 

Policy on Payment System Risk 

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System. 

ACTION: Policy statement. 

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System (Board) has 

revised part II of the Federal Reserve 

Policy on Payment System Risk (PSR 

policy) related to the transaction posting 

times used for measuring balances 

intraday in institutions’ accounts at the 

Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) 

to conform to amendments to 

regulations governing the use of the 

Automated Clearing House (ACH) 

Network by Federal agencies announced 

by the Department of the Treasury, 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal 

Service). Specifically, the amended 

posting rules conform to the decision of 

the Fiscal Service to allow Federal 

agencies to originate and receive sameday entries beginning September 15, 

2017. 

DATES: This policy revision is applicable 

beginning on September 15, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey D. Walker, Assistant Director 

(202–721–4559), Jason Hinkle, Manager, 

Financial Risk Management (202–912– 

7805), or Ian C.B. Spear, Senior 

Financial Services Analyst (202–452– 

3959), Division of Reserve Bank 

Operations and Payment Systems; for 

users of Telecommunication Devices for 


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