Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/09/24/E8-22355/technical-specifications-restoring-the-original-paragraph-designations
Timestamp: 2017-09-19 20:07:15
Document Index: 464753293

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 50', 'art 52', '§\u200950', '§\u200950', '§\u200950', 'art 52', 'art 52', '§\u200950']

Federal Register :: Technical Specifications-Restoring the Original Paragraph Designations
A Rule by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 09/24/2008
NRC-2008-0263
PRM-50-91
3150-AI41
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-22355 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-22355
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID [NRC-2008-0263]. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 301-415-5905; e-mail Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's PDR, Public File Area O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.
A. Jason Lising, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; Telephone 301-415-3220; e-mail jason.lising@nrc.gov.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending the regulations in 10 CFR Part 50 to revise 10 CFR 50.36, “Technical Specifications,” and thereby resolve administrative issues raised in PRM-50-91 submitted by the STARS Integrated Regulatory Affairs Group.
On August 28, 2007, (72 FR 49351) the final rule for Part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,” redesignated § 50.36(c), (d), and (e) as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), respectively, and added a new paragraph (c) to 10 CFR 50.36. The insertion of this new paragraph caused the paragraph for the technical specification criteria to be redesignated from 10 CFR 50.36(c) to 10 CFR 50.36(d). The redesignation of these paragraphs requires many licensees of operating nuclear power plants to modify their technical specifications, final safety analysis reports, and plant plans and procedures to correctly reference the redesignated § 50.36(d). This would require substantial expenditures of licensee resources with no corresponding benefit to public health and safety, common defense and security, or protection of property from radiological events. By restoring the original paragraph designation, the final rule benefits all operating nuclear power plants by obviating the need for licensees to expend their resources on administrative corrections.
On April 11, 2008, Mr. T. Moser, Chairman, STARS Integrated Regulatory Affairs Group, submitted a petition for rulemaking, docketed PRM-50-91. Mr. Moser requested that the NRC correct a paragraph numbering conflict introduced by a final rule “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants” (August 28, 2007; 72 FR 49351). The petitioner asserts that by granting the petition, potential error will be prevented by eliminating the need to identify and process conforming changes which reflect the redesignated paragraphs. There are many licensee and NRC documents affected such as Technical Specification Bases, implementing operation procedures, training programs, Technical Specification Task Force Travelers, NUREGs, Regulatory Guides, NRC office instructions, NRC Management Directives, and SECY papers. The petitioner asserts that significant industry and NRC effort to update documents to correct references to 10 CFR 50.36(c) is burdensome with no safety benefit.
The NRC has determined that the issue raised by PRM-50-91 can be resolved through an administrative rulemaking which restores the original paragraph designations. In this final rule, the NRC is restoring the original paragraph designations as existed in § 50.36 before the 2007 Part 52 rulemaking. In addition, the NRC is redesignating the new paragraph (c) which was adopted in the 2007 Part 52 final rulemaking as a new paragraph (a)(2). The existing text of paragraph (a) is being redesignated as paragraph (a)(1). The NRC believes that this redesignation of paragraph (a) will not result in any cross-referencing issues, inasmuch as any reference to § 50.36(a) will continue to be valid with the redesignation. The NRC also believes it is unlikely that any technical specifications, final safety analysis reports, or plant procedures actually reference paragraph (a) given the subject matter of that paragraph. This final rule closes the docket on PRM-50-91.
Because this amendment constitutes a minor administrative correction to the regulations, the notice and comment Start Printed Page 54932provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act do not apply pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
The NRC has determined that this final rule is the type of action described in categorical exclusion under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(2). Therefore, neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental assessment has been prepared for this final rule.
The final rule does not contain information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Authority: Secs. 102, 103, 104, 161, 182, 183, 186, 189, 68 Stat. 936, 937, 938, 948, 953, 954, 955, 956, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2132, 2133, 2134, 2135, 2201, 2232, 2233, 2236, 2239, 2282); secs. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); sec. 651(e), Pub. L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 806-810 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2021, 2021b, 2111).
2. Section 50.36 is amended by redesignating paragraph (a) as paragraph (a)(1), redesignating paragraph (c) as paragraph (a)(2), and redesignating paragraphs (d), (e), and (f) as paragraphs (c), (d), and (e), respectively.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of September, 2008.
[FR Doc. E8-22355 Filed 9-23-08; 8:45 am]