[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 74 (Monday, April 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19207-19208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9744]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Public Comment on Recommended Improvements to the Oversight
Processes for Nuclear Power Reactors
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing
significant revisions to its processes for overseeing the safety
performance of commercial nuclear power plants that include integrating
the inspection, assessment, and enforcement processes. As part of its
proposal, the NRC staff established a new regulatory oversight
framework with a set of performance indicators and associated
thresholds, developed a new baseline inspection program that
supplements and verifies the performance indicators, and created a
continuous assessment process that includes a method for consistently
determining the appropriate regulatory actions in response to varying
levels of safety performance. The changes are the result of continuing
work on a concept as described in SECY-99-007A,'' Recommendations for
Reactor Oversight Improvements (Follow-Up to SECY-99-007)'' dated March
22, 1999. The NRC is soliciting comments from interested public
interest groups, the regulated industry, States, and concerned
citizens. The NRC staff will consider comments it receives in
developing the procedures for implementing the new processes.
DATES: The comment period expires May 14, 1999. 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
on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Chief, Rules and Directives
Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: T-6 D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001. Hand deliver comments to: 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. Copies
of comments received may be examined at the NRC's Public Document Room,
2120 L Street, NW (Lower Level), Washington, DC.
Copies of SECY-99-007A, ``Recommendations for Reactor Oversight
Process Improvements (Follow-Up to SECY-99-007)'' and its attachments
may be obtained from the NRC's Public Document Room at 2120 L St., NW,
Washington, DC 20003-1527, telephone 202-634-3273. Copies also may be
obtained from the NRC's Internet web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/
COMMISSION/SECYS/index.html#1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Madison, Mail Stop: O-5 H4,
Inspection Program Branch, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone
301-415-1490.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In September 1997, the NRC began an integrated review of the
processes used for assessing safety performance by commercial nuclear
power plant licensees. The NRC staff presented to the Commission a
conceptual design for a new integrated assessment process in Commission
paper SECY-98-045, dated March 9, 1998.
In parallel with the staff's work on the IRAP and the development
of other assessment tools, the nuclear power industry independently
developed a proposal for a new assessment and regulatory oversight
process. This proposal, developed by the Nuclear Energy Institute
(NEI), took a risk-informed and performance-based approach to the
inspection, assessment, and enforcement of licensee activities on the
basis of the results of a set of performance indicators.
The staff set out to develop a single set of recommendations for
making improvements to the regulatory oversight processes in response
to NEI's proposal, the Commission's comments on the IRAP proposal, and
comments made at a Commission meeting on July 17, 1998, with public and
industry stakeholders and the hearing before the Senate on July 31,
1998. The IRAP public comment period, a four day public workshop, and a
series of public meetings were used to facilitate internal and external
input into the development of these recommendations.
Following the public workshop, the NRC staff formed three task
groups to complete the work begun at the workshop and to develop the
recommendations for the integrated oversight processes: a technical
framework task group, an inspection task group, and an assessment
process task group. The technical framework task group was responsible
for completing the assessment framework and for identifying the
performance indicators (PIs) and appropriate thresholds that could be
used to measure safety performance. The inspection task group was
responsible for developing the scope, the depth, and the frequency of a
risk-informed baseline inspection program that would be used to
supplement and verify the PIs. The assessment process task group
developed methods for integrating PI data and inspection data,
determining NRC action on the basis of assessment results, and
communicating results to licensees and the public. Other staff
activities to improve the enforcement process were coordinated with
these three task groups to ensure that changes to the enforcement
process were properly evaluated in the framework structure and that
changes to the inspection and assessment programs were integrated with
the changes to the enforcement program.
The task groups completed their work between October and December
1998, and developed recommendations to be presented to the Commission.
On January 20, 1999, the staff briefed the Commission on the staff's
proposal as described in SECY-99-007, ``Recommendations for Reactor
Oversight Improvements.'' Following the January Commission briefing,
the staff analyzed the results of public comments on SECY-99-007,
completed remaining concept development, and began development of
detailed implementing procedures. Additional information and noteworthy
changes as
[[Page 19208]]
a result of these activities was forwarded to the Commission in SECY-
99-007A, ``Recommendations for Reactor Oversight Process Improvements
(Follow-Up to SECY-99-007),'' to support final Commission approval of
the proposed reactor oversight process. The staff briefed the
Commission on SECY-99-007A and its attachments on March 26, 1999.
Scope of the Public Comment Period
The follow-up recommendations for an integrated oversight process
are presented in SECY-99-007A,'' Recommendations for Reactor Oversight
Process Improvements (Follow-Up to SECY-99-007),'' dated March 22,
1999, and its attachments. This paper includes further development of
the Significance Determination Process (SDP) and the revised
Enforcement policy.
A separate Federal Register notice will be issued to solicit public
comment on the proposed enforcement policy. However, respondents are
welcome to address any portion of the enforcement policy in this
notice. This public comment period will focus on obtaining industry and
public views on how the NRC should implement the processes for
overseeing and assessing licensee safety performance as refined in
SECY-99-007A and discussed in the Commission meeting on March 26, 1999.
The NRC seeks public comment and feedback on the topics discussed
in the SECY and its attachments. Respondents are not limited to and are
not obligated to provide comments on each attachment. In providing
comments, please key your response to the applicable attachment and be
as specific as possible. The use of examples is encouraged.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of April 1999.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael R. Johnson,
Acting Chief, Inspection Program Branch Division of Inspection Program
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 99-9744 Filed 4-16-99; 8:45 am]
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