In accordance
with 5 CFR 1320, OMB is filing comment and withholding approval at
this time. The agency shall examine public comment in response to
the proposed rulemaking and will include in the supporting
statement of the next ICR—which is to be submitted to OMB at the
final rule stage—a description of how the agency has responded to
any public comments on the ICR, including comments on maximizing
the practical utility of the collection and minimizing the
burden.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
05/31/2022
05/31/2022
05/31/2022
43,618
0
43,618
3,710,960
0
3,710,960
272,062
0
272,062
Proposed Rule: Emergency Preparedness
for Small Modular Reactors and Other New Technologies The proposed
rule would provide SMR, non-LWR, and NPUF applicants or licensees
that are regulated by 10 CFR part 50 or 10 CFR part 52, the
alternative to submit for NRC approval a performance-based EP
program to include a scalable EPZ and licensee-defined performance
objectives and metrics data. If the EP program is approved by the
NRC, the proposed rule would require the applicants or licensees to
develop and maintain at the beginning of each calendar quarter a
list of performance objectives for that calendar quarter. Each
licensee would also maintain records showing the implemented
performance objectives and associated metrics during each calendar
quarter for the previous eight calendar quarters. The reports and
recordkeeping requirements allow the NRC to evaluate the adequacy
of the proposed EP program for approval and to assess the ongoing
adequacy once implemented. The recordkeeping requirements allow the
NRC to determine whether to take actions, such as to conduct
inspections or to alert other licensees to prevent similar events
that may have generic implications. The information is also used to
update information in the NRC Emergency Operations Center used in
support of an NRC response to an actual emergency, drill, or
exercise. The proposed rule would allow applicants and licensees to
reduce their emergency plan information collection requirements
compared to the current framework based on the potential for
smaller EPZs and the reduction in license amendments and
exemptions. The submission of emergency plans to the NRC is
required in order to allow the NRC to determine that the emergency
plans and EP continue to provide reasonable assurance that adequate
protective measures can and will be taken in the event of a
radiological emergency.
The proposed rule’s changes to
10 CFR Part 50 and Part 52 would affect 10 CFR Part 50 applicants
during the period of this clearance. The annual estimated burden
reduction due to the proposed rule is 2,407 hours covering one
respondent annually (two respondents expected for the clearance
period). The proposed rule provides performance-based standards for
planning and implementing. Having a performance-based framework
compared to a deterministic framework that is prescribed in the CFR
is expected to allow for fewer LARs as the performance-based
program detailed requirements reside outside of the CFR. Therefore,
if a licensee wanted to make changes to the detailed requirements,
a license amendment request would not be required. This burden
reduction is captured in this 10 CFR Part 50 supporting statement
since LARs for both 10 CFR Part 50 and Part 52 licenses are
submitted under 10 CFR 50.90. This estimated burden reduction due
to the proposed rule covers one respondent annually (0.42
respondent annually for 10 CFR Part 50 and 0.42 respondent annually
for 10 CFR Part 52). The proposed rule would decrease the
information collection burden for SMR and ONT licensees and
applicants that would be permitted to use a performance-based
framework to monitor their emergency preparedness program.
Quarterly submissions of the performance objectives for a power
reactor licensee are voluntary under the current framework, with
most licensees participating; however, the staff expects the amount
of information submitted will be significantly less under the
proposed rule, which will not require quarterly reporting of the
performance objectives. Instead, all quarterly performance
objective and associated metric paperwork for the previous eight
calendar quarters will become a recordkeeper onsite and available
for NRC inspection. This estimated recurring reporting burden
reduction due to the proposed rule is zero for this clearance
period since no recurring reports will occur during this clearance
period (zero for 10 CFR Part 50 and zero for 10 CFR Part 52). The
proposed rule would decrease the information collection burden for
SMR and ONT licensees and applicants that would be permitted to
have a performance-based EPZ less than 10 miles, assuming they meet
the proposed eligibility requirements. Under this proposed new
alternative framework, a smaller EPZ could reside within the
facility’s site boundary, which would allow the licensee or
applicant to forego the offsite emergency planning activities. The
proposed rule also eliminates a predetermined ingestion response
pathway EPZ (also known as IPZ). Therefore, the information
collection would be reduced. Contrastingly, the current framework
prescriptively requires a 50-mile IPZ and a 10-mile EPZ for plume
exposure which has similar planning activities but with the same or
additional considerations and typically requires offsite emergency
planning activities. This estimated application burden reduction
due to the proposed rule covers one 10 CFR Part 50 respondent
annually. Recordkeeping burden for the proposed performance-based
alternative would be approximately 50 percent lower than the
current deterministic requirements due to reduction in size of
reports required to be kept as records. This estimated
recordkeeping burden reduction due to the proposed rule covers an
average of three recordkeepers annually (one from 10 CFR Part 50
and two from 10 CFR Part 52).
$62,604,036
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
James O'Driscoll 301
425-1325
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.