[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67098-67099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22121]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 63
RIN 3150-AH68
Implementation of a Dose Standard After 10,000 Years; Extension
of Comment Period
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule: Extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: On September 8, 2005 (70 FR 53313), the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a proposed
rule that would
[[Page 67099]]
amend its regulations governing the disposal of high-level radioactive
wastes in a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The
proposed rule would implement the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA's) proposed standards for doses that could occur after
10,000 years but within the period of geologic stability. The comment
period for EPA's proposed standards currently expires on November 21,
2005 (extended 30 days from October 21, 2005); the comment period for
NRC's proposed rule currently expires on November 7, 2005.
A letter was received from U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign
from the State of Nevada requesting that the comment period for NRC's
proposed rule be extended to a total of 180 days, or at least past the
date of EPA's 30-day extension. Another letter representing several
citizen and environmental groups requested that the deadline for
comments be extended to 180 days. In addition, a letter from the Agency
for Nuclear Projects, on behalf of the State of Nevada, requested that
NRC extend its comment period for an additional 30 days, consistent
with EPA's 30-day extension of its comment period.
Given the interrelationship between these two proposed rules, and
for consistency with the ongoing EPA rulemaking process, NRC has
decided to extend the comment period for its rulemaking an additional
30 days to December 7, 2005, for a total comment period of 90 days. In
vacating the compliance period in NRC's rule at 10 CFR part 63, the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has
made clear that it is ``NRC's obligation under the [Energy Policy Act
of 1992] to maintain licensing criteria that are consistent with the
public health and safety standards promulgated by EPA.'' See Nuclear
Energy Institute, Inc. v. EPA, 373 F.3d 1251, 1299 (D.C. Cir. 2004).
Thus NRC's proposed rule, for the most part, simply implements EPA's
proposed standards for doses that could occur after 10,000 years but
within the period of geologic stability, and its final rule will need
to implement any changes EPA may make with respect to its standards.
NRC's proposed rule provides further detail for implementing the EPA
standard in only two specific areas: A value to represent climate
change after 10,000 years; and a requirement that calculations of
radiation doses for workers use the same weighting factors that EPA is
proposing for calculating individual doses to members of the public. A
lengthy period of time should not be needed by potential commenters to
address these issues. Hence the NRC's 30-day extension is believed to
be appropriate.
DATES: The comment period has been extended and now expires on December
7, 2005. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is
practical to do so, but NRC is able to assure consideration only for
comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods.
Please include the following number (RIN 3150-AH68) in the subject line
of your comments. Comments on rulemakings submitted in writing or in
electronic form will be made available to the public in their entirety
on the NRC rulemaking Web site. Personal information will not be
removed from your comments.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us
directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions
about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail
[email protected]. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. (Telephone
(301) 415-1966.)
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at
(301) 415-1101.
Publicly available documents related to this rulemaking may be
examined and copied for a fee at the NRC's Public Document Room, Public
File Area O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland. Selected documents, including comments, can be
viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web site at
http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. From this
site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image
files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS,
contact the NRC Public Document Room Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209,
(301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy McCartin, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-7285, e-mail
[email protected]; Janet Kotra, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone (301) 415-6674, e-mail [email protected]; or Frank Cardile,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-
6185, e-mail [email protected].
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of November, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Luis A. Reyes,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 05-22121 Filed 11-3-05; 8:45 am]
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