ML18331A141
| ML18331A141 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Nuclear Energy Institute |
| Issue date: | 11/26/2018 |
| From: | Borst A, Staiger M Nuclear Energy Institute |
| To: | David Cullison Office of Administration, NRC/OCIO |
| References | |
| 83FR48472 00002, NRC-2017-0060 | |
| Download: ML18331A141 (6) | |
Text
Page 1 of 1 SUNSI Review Complete Template = ADM-013 E-RIDS=ADM-03 ADD= David Cullison As of: 11/26/18 10:13 AM COMMENT (2) Received: November 26, 2018 PUBLICATION DATE:
Status: Pending_Post PUBLIC SUBMISSION 9/25/2018 CITATION 83 FR Tracking No. 1k2-96rp-d003 48472 Comments Due: November 26, 2018 Submission Type: Web Docket: NRC-2017-0060 New OMB Clearance, 3150-XXXX, NRC Forms 361 and 361 Series, Event Notification Worksheets" Comment On: NRC-2017-0060-0001 Information Collection: NRC Form 361, Reactor Plant Event Notification Worksheet; NRC Form 361A, Fuel Cycle and Materials Event Notification Worksheet; NRC Form 361N, Non- Power Reactor Event Notification Worksheet Document: NRC-2017-0060-DRAFT-0003 Comment on FR Doc # 2018-20792 Submitter Information Name: Maggie Staiger Submitter's Representative: Allison Borst Organization: Nuclear Energy Institute General Comment See attached file(s)
Attachments 11-26-18 NRC_NEI Comments on Form 361 https://www.fdms.gov/fdms/getcontent?objectId=09000064838fa3f5&format=xml&showorig=false 11/26/2018
MAGGIE STAIGER Project Manager, Regulatory Affairs 1201 F Street, NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20004 P: 202.739.8086 mns@nei.org nei.org November 26, 2018 Mr. David C. Cullison Office of the Chief Information Officer Mail Stop: O-1 F13 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Submitted electronically via www.regulation.gov
Subject:
Comments on Information Collection: NRC Form 361, Reactor Plant Event Notification Worksheet; NRC Form 361A, Fuel Cycle and Materials Event Notification Worksheet; NRC Form 361N, Non-Power Reactor Event Notification Worksheet (NRC Docket ID NRC-2017-0060) [83 FR 48472]
Project Number: 689
Dear Mr. Cullison:
On behalf of the members of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)1, we are responding to the NRCs invitation for public comments published in the subject Federal Register Notice (83 FR 48472). The FRN concerns the proposed collection of information entitled NRC Form 361, Reactor Plant Event Notification Worksheet Our comments are provided below and in the enclosure to this letter.
We have two main comments to offer. First, the NRCs estimates of the burden imposed by Form 361 appear to be lower than industry experience. The difference may be that the numbers estimated by the NRC do not include the time and effort needed to gather, vet and evaluate information to decide whether the notification that is ultimately documented in Form 361 is necessary. Filling out Form 361 is simply the last step in a long and effortful process that may or may not conclude that a notification is to be made. Hence, the true burden of Form 361 (also 361A and 361N) is the work that precedes its use. Second, NEIs August 2, 2018 petition for rulemaking (PRM) on 10 CFR 50.72 non-emergency event notifications offers an opportunity to substantially reduce the burden of making these reports to NRC that add no value to public safety and health. If the NRC eliminates these non-emergency event notifications as the petition requests, 1
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) is responsible for establishing unified policy on behalf of its members relating to matters affecting the nuclear energy industry, including the regulatory aspects of generic operational and technical issues. NEIs members include entities licensed to operate commercial nuclear power plants in the United States, nuclear plant designers, major architect and engineering firms, fuel cycle facilities, nuclear materials licensees, and other organizations involved in the nuclear energy industry.
Mr. David Cullison November 26, 2018 Page 2 then Form 361 would need to be substantially revised and the burden of its use would be substantially reduced.
If you have any questions concerning these comments, please contact James Slider at (202) 739-8015, jes@nei.org or me at (202) 739-8086, mns@nei.org.
Sincerely, Maggie Staiger Attachment
Mr. David Cullison November 26, 2018 Page 3 Enclosure NEI Comments on NRC Forms 361, 361A, and 361N for Event Notifications Per 83 FR 48472 and Regulations.gov Docket ID NRC-2017-0060 The September 25, 2018 Federal Register announcement indicated NRC is seeking comments that address four specific questions. Those questions and NEIs responses are provided below.
- 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility?
In NEIs view, the use of Form 361, Reactor Plant Event Notification Worksheet, to expedite the communication of information from the licensee to the NRCs operations center via telephone is appropriate for emergency events specified in 10 CFR 50.72 and identified on the form. NEI questions the need for telephonic reporting of non-emergency events under 10 CFR 50.72, as outlined in NEIs August 2, 2018 Petition for Rulemaking to Amend 10 CFR 50.72, Immediate notification requirements for operating nuclear power reactors and summarized below. If NEIs petition is granted and results in relief from reporting non-emergency events by telephone to the NRC operations center, then Form 361 would be redundant and unnecessary for this purpose.
The stated purpose of 10 CFR 50.72 is to ensure that the NRC is immediately notified and can take prompt action. Almost forty years of fleet operating experience demonstrates that the purpose of this regulation can be fully achieved without all current licensee reporting obligations relating to non-emergency events.
Licensees contact their resident inspectors when making a 10 CFR 50.72 non-emergency notification which is governed by a licensees procedures and practices or an agreement with the resident inspectors. The information provided to the resident inspectors is typically more detailed than that provided during the 10 CFR 50.72 non-emergency notifications, because the resident inspectors are well-positioned to understand, evaluate, and take necessary actions in response to non-emergency events. For events that reach a higher level of interest, the resident inspectors would contact the Region, possibly before the NRC Operations Center is contacted. All of these events meet the licensees threshold for entry into the Corrective Action Program (CAP) and are available for the NRCs detailed review typically within a few hours and certainly within 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br />. The 10 CFR 50.72 non-emergency notifications may present an unnecessary distraction for the licensee and the NRC from responding to the event.
NEIs petition seeks amendment of 10 CFR 50.72 to eliminate the requirement to provide immediate notification to the NRC for non-emergency events because: (1) licensees have procedures for responding to non-emergency events, (2) licensees have procedures or practices ensuring notification of the resident inspector for non-emergency events independent of the requirements of 10 CFR 50.72, and (3) the duplicative notifications under 10 CFR 50.72 serve no safety function and are not needed to prevent or minimize possible injury to the public or to allow the NRC to take necessary action.
Mr. David Cullison November 26, 2018 Page 4 The elimination of the redundant non-emergency notifications associated with Form 361 would reduce workload and burden, while having no adverse impact on safety, and reinforce the forms practical utility through allowance of information to be transmitted and utilized in a timely and useful fashion.
- 2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate?
According to the Federal Register Notice, the NRC estimates that licensees typically spend only 30 minutes to complete Forms 361, 361A, and 361N. 2 The basis for this estimate is not provided in the FRN. From industry benchmarking, NEI believes that the NRCs burden estimate is low, primarily because there is much more effort involved in gathering and verifying data and determining whether use of Form 361 (or 361A or 361N) applies to a given situation. In other words, completing the Form 361 is merely the last step in a lengthy process of preparing and vetting data to be conveyed to the NRC operations center and entered on the form prior to that call.
Form 361 - Reactor Plant Event Notification Worksheet NEI estimates that it takes approximately 10 man-hours on average to prepare a notification for a straightforward situation and 25 or more man-hours for notifications on more complicated situations. These estimates include the total time spent (a) determining a course of action (e.g., engineering evaluation of the condition or situation; engineering/operations determination of the notification that is warranted and scope of review required; and management supervision during the event); (b) completing paperwork (e.g., gaining internal approvals); and (c) making the notification. In addition, these estimates do not include follow-up actions (e.g., causal investigation and corrective action). Feedback from NEI members indicates that on average each licensee submits five notifications a year. Therefore, depending on event complexity, a licensee may spend 50 to 125 man-hours per year on event notifications alone. Events not requiring formal notification fall outside of these estimates. With 98 operating units in the US fleet submitting on average five notifications annually, this means that the fleet-wide burden ranges from about 5,000 to more than 12,250 man-hours for notifications.
Furthermore, in addition to the burden of notifications made to NRC on Form 361, licensees also bear the burden of evaluating events that could potentially require use of Form 361. A typical licensee would complete 30 to 40 of these evaluations (so-called reportability evaluation worksheets) each year to document conclusions on events that are ultimately determined not to require notifications to NRC. In addition, preparing, reviewing, and approving notifications for 10 CFR 50.72 require control room staff attention and management attention on completing these administrative requirements, while at the same time possibly overseeing the event response.
2 At 83 FR 48473, Item 7 estimates 537 annual responses and Item 9 estimates effort totaling 268.5 hours5.787037e-5 days <br />0.00139 hours <br />8.267196e-6 weeks <br />1.9025e-6 months <br />. Dividing 268.5 hours5.787037e-5 days <br />0.00139 hours <br />8.267196e-6 weeks <br />1.9025e-6 months <br /> total by 537 responses yields an estimate of 0.5 hours5.787037e-5 days <br />0.00139 hours <br />8.267196e-6 weeks <br />1.9025e-6 months <br /> per response.
Mr. David Cullison November 26, 2018 Page 5 NRC Form 361A - Fuel Cycle and Materials Event Notification Worksheet Fuel cycle facilities represent a small and diverse fleet of six operating facilities and one currently idle facility. On average, fuel cycle facilities submit four event notifications per year. Industry input to NEI indicates fuel cycle licensees typically spend about two man-hours to complete each event notification.
Therefore, NEI estimates each fuel cycle facility averages approximately eight man-hours per year to complete Form 361A. For the fleet of six operating facilities, this would aggregate to almost 50 man-hours annually.
- 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?
There are fields in the NRC Form that are not in accordance with present reporting requirements or where additional clarity could be added. For example, the current version of Form 361A (dated 8/2010) still contains references on both pages 1 and 2 to NRC Bulletin 91-01 (Reporting Loss of Criticality Safety Controls) that was initially issued on October 18, 1991. FCSE ISG-05, NRC Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Documents for Fuel Cycle Facilities (7590-01-P), explained the switch from Bulletin 91-01 to Appendix A would be made upon a licensee making a complete submittal of an ISA Summary. Affected licensees are in compliance with this, therefore this field is obsolete. NRC should review and verify that every element of Forms 361, 361A and 361N accurately reflects in every detail the specific reporting requirements that apply to each Form.
In addition to the foregoing, the NEI petition (previously cited) proposes ways to enhance the utility and clarity of information collected through 10 CFR50.72 reports. When and as appropriate, the NRC should review Forms 361, 361A and 361N for changes that may become necessary if the NEI petition leads to changes in 10 CFR 50.72.
- 4. How can the burden of the information collection on respondents be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?
The true burden of Form 361 (and its variants) is not the form itself, but the underlying need to notify NRC by telephone. The NRC requires its licensees to report by dedicated phone line to the NRC Operations Center certain reactor events and emergencies that have potential impact to public health and safety. With present day near real-time communication between the plant and the resident inspectors made possible by the use of cell phones and the fact that at least two NRC resident inspectors are assigned to each U.S.
commercial nuclear plant, this practice is redundant, particularly in regard to non-emergency events.
Resident inspectors serve as the agencys informed eyes and ears at the facility while conducting inspections, monitoring major work projects and interacting with plant workers and the public. As mentioned in NEIs petition to amend 10 CFR 50.72, utilizing modern technology (e.g., email, text messaging, web-based forms) may help alleviate some of the burden of the information collection on respondents.