[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33684-33686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13523]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NUREG-1600]
NRC Enforcement Policy
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Policy statement: revision.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its
General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions
(NUREG-1600) (Enforcement Policy or Policy) to include an interim
enforcement policy regarding enforcement discretion for certain issues
involving fire protection programs at operating nuclear power plants.
DATES: This revision is effective June 16, 2004. Comments on this
revision to the Enforcement Policy may be submitted on or before July
16, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rules
and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of
Administration, Mail Stop: T6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal
workdays. Copies of comments received may be examined at the NRC Public
Document Room, Room O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. You may
also e-mail comments to nrcep@nrc.gov.
The NRC maintains the current Enforcement Policy on its Web site at
http://www.nrc.gov, select What We Do, Enforcement, then Enforcement
Policy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Birmingham, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, (301) 415-2829, e-mail (JLB4@nrc.gov) or Ren[eacute]e
Pedersen, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington DC 20555-0001, (301) 415-2742, e-mail (RMP@nrc.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a separate action published in today's
Federal Register, the NRC is revising its regulations in 10 CFR 50.48
governing fire protection at operating nuclear power plants. The
revision adds a new paragraph (c) to Sec. 50.48 that allows reactor
licensees to voluntarily comply with the risk-informed, performance-
based fire protection approaches in National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) Standard 805 NFPA 805), ``Performance-based Standard
For Fire Protection For Light Water Reactor Electric Generating
Plants,'' 2001 Edition (with limited exceptions stated in the rule
language), as an alternative to complying with Sec. 50.48(b) or the
requirements in their fire protection license conditions.
As part of the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c), licensees will
establish the fundamental fire protection program identified in NFPA
805. Licensees will perform a plant-wide assessment to identify fire
areas and fire hazards and evaluate compliance with their existing fire
protection licensing basis. This fire protection assessment is beyond
the normal licensee review of their fire protection program.
During the assessment process, licensees may identify
noncompliances with their existing fire protection licensing basis
which must be evaluated to restore compliance with the existing plant
requirements or to establish compliance with a performance-based
approach under NFPA 805. These noncompliances would normally be
identified by the licensee as part of the above fire protection
assessment, entered into the licensee's corrective action program, and
dispositioned for corrective action, including any compensatory
measures. The NRC believes it is appropriate to provide incentives for
licensees initiating efforts to identify and correct subtle violations
that are not likely to be identified by routine efforts. Therefore, the
NRC is issuing an interim policy that provides enforcement discretion
for certain fire protection noncompliances identified as part of the
transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c).
For these noncompliances discussed above, the enforcement
discretion period would begin upon receipt of a letter of intent from
the licensee stating their intention to adopt the risk-informed,
performance-based fire protection program under 10 CFR 50.48(c) and
providing a schedule for the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). The
enforcement discretion period would be in effect for up to two years
under the letter of intent and, if the licensee submits a license
amendment request to complete the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c), will
continue until the NRC approval of the license amendment request is
completed.
If the licensee decides not to complete its transition to 10 CFR
50.48(c), the licensee must submit a letter stating their intention to
retain their existing license basis and withdrawing their letter of
intent. Enforcement discretion would be provided for those violations
that were identified under the letter of intent to transition to NFPA
805 provided those violations are resolved under the existing licensing
basis and meet the criteria included in this policy for these
violations. Violations identified after the date of the withdrawal
letter will be dispositioned in accordance with normal enforcement
practices.
Additionally, licensees who plan to comply with 20 CFR 50.48(c) may
have existing identified noncompliances which could reasonable be
corrected under 20 CFR 50.48(c). For these noncompliances, the NRC is
providing enforcement discretion for the implementation of corrective
action so that those noncompliances may be corrected in accordance with
the requirements of 10 CFR 50.48(c). Those noncompliances must be
entered into the licensee's corrective action program, must not be
associated with findings that the Reactor Oversight Process
Significance Determination Process would evaluate as Red, or would not
be categorized at Severity Level l, and appropriate compensatory
measures have been taken. To prevent undue delay in either restoring
these existing noncompliances to 10 CFR 50.48(b) (and any other
requirements in fire protection license conditions) or establishing
compliance to 10 CFR 50.48(c), the letter of intent must be submitted
within 6 months of the effective date of the final rule amending 10 CFR
50.48.
This interim enforcement discretion policy is consistent with the
long-standing policy included in Section
[[Page 33685]]
VII.B.3, ``Violations Involving Old Design Issues,'' of the Enforcement
Policy addressing discretion when licensees voluntarily undertake a
comprehensive review and assessment. This exercise of discretion
provides appropriate incentives for licensees initiating efforts to
identify and correct subtle violations that are not likely to be
identified by routine efforts.
However, the NRC may take enforcement action when a violation that
is associated with a finding of high safety significance is identified.
The staff intends to normally rely on the licensee's risk assessment of
an issue when making a decision on whether to exercise enforcement
discretion under this policy.
Accordingly, the proposed revision to the NRC Enforcement Policy
reads as follows:
General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions
* * * * *
Interim Enforcement Policies
Interim Enforcement Policy Regarding Enforcement Discretion for Certain
Fitness-for-Duty Issues (10 CFR Part 26)
* * * * *
Interim Enforcement Policy Regarding Enforcement Discretion for Certain
Fire Protection Issues (10 CFR 50.48)
This section sets forth the interim enforcement policy that the NRC
will follow to exercise enforcement discretion for certain violations
of requirements in 10 CFR 50.48, Fire protection (or fire protection
license conditions) that are identified as a result of the transition
to a new risk-informed, performance-based fire protection approach
included in paragraph (c) of 10 CFR 50.48 and for certain existing
identified noncompliances that reasonably may be resolved by compliance
with 10 CFR 50.48(c). Paragraph (c) allows reactor licensees to
voluntarily comply with the risk-informed, performance-based fire
protection approaches in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Standard 805 (NFPA 805), ``Performance-Based Standard For Fire
Protection For Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants,'' 2001
Edition (with limited exceptions stated in the rule language).
For those noncompliances identified during the licensee's
transition process, this enforcement discretion policy will be in
effect for up to two years from the date of a licensee's letter of
intent to adopt the requirements in 10 CFR 50.48(c) and will continue
to be in place until NRC approval of the license amendment request to
transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). This discretion policy may be extended
upon a request from the licensee with adequate justification.
If, after submitting the letter of intent to comply with 10 CFR
50.48(c) and before submitting the license amendment request, the
licensee determines not to complete the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c),
the licensee must submit a letter stating their intent to retain their
existing license basis and withdrawing their letter of intent to comply
with 10 CFR 50.48(c). Any violations identified prior to the date of
the above withdrawal letter will be eligible for discretion, provided
they are resolved under the existing licensing basis and meet the
criteria included in this policy for these violations. Violations
identified after the date of the above withdrawal letter will be
dispositioned in accordance with normal enforcement practices.
A. Noncompliances Identified During the Licensee's Transition Process
Under this interim enforcement policy, enforcement action normally
will not be taken for a violation of 10 CFR 50.48(b) (or the
requirements in a fire protection license condition) involving a
problem such as in engineering, design, implementing procedures, or
installation, if the violation is documented in an inspection report
and it meets all of the following criteria:
(1) It was licensee-identified as a result of its voluntary
initiative to adopt the risk-informed, performance-based fire
protection program included under 10 CFR 50.48(c), or, if the NRC
identifies the violation, it was likely in the NRC staff's view that
the licensee would have identified the violation in light of the
defined scope, thoroughness, and schedule of the licensee's transition
to 10 CFR 50.48(c) provided the schedule reasonably provides for
completion of the transition within two years of the date of the
licensee's letter of intent to implement 10 CFR 50.48(c) or other
period granted by NRC;
(2) It was corrected or will be corrected as a result of completing
the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). Also, immediate corrective action
and/or compensatory measures are taken within a reasonable time
commensurate with the risk significance of the issue following
identification (this action should involve expanding the initiative, as
necessary, to identify other issues caused by similar root causes);
(3) It was not likely to have been previously identified by routine
licensee efforts such as normal surveillance or quality assurance (QA)
activities; and
(4) It was not willful.
The NRC may take enforcement action when these conditions are not
met or when a violation that is associated with a finding of high
safety significance is identified.
While the NRC may exercise discretion for violations meeting the
required criteria where the licensee failed to make a required report
to the NRC, a separate enforcement action will normally be issued for
the licensee's failure to make a required report.
B. Existing Identified Noncompliances
In addition, licensees may have existing identified noncompliances
that could reasonably be corrected under 10 CFR 50.48(c). For these
noncompliances, the NRC is providing enforcement discretion for the
implementation of corrective actions until the licensee has
transitioned to 10 CFR 50.48(c) provided that the noncompliances meet
all of the following criteria:
(1) The licensee has entered the noncompliance into their
corrective action program and implemented appropriate compensatory
measures,
(2) The noncompliance is not associated with a finding that the
Reactor Oversight Process Significance Determination Process would
evaluate as Red, or it would not be categorized at Severity Level I,
and
(3) The licensee submits a letter of intent within 6 months of the
effective date of the final rule stating their intent to transition to
10 CFR 50.48(c).
After the 6 month period described in (3) above, this enforcement
discretion for implementation of corrective actions for existing
identified noncompliances will not be available and the requirements of
10 CFR 50.48(b) (and any other requirements in fire protection license
conditions) will be enforced in accordance with normal enforcement
practices.
* * * * *
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of June, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 04-13523 Filed 6-15-04; 8:45 am]
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