ML19053A581
| ML19053A581 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/09/2019 |
| From: | Patricia Holahan Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Diedrich C Oceana |
| Cindy Bladey 415-3280 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML19053A581 (3) | |
Text
April 9, 2019 Ms. Cecilia Diedrich, Law Clerk Oceana 1025 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036
Dear Ms. Diedrich:
I am responding to Oceanas letter dated February 7, 2019, in which Oceana and other organizations requested that the Office of Management and Budget and other agencies extend the public comment period for notices and proposed rules with comment periods that either closed or were noticed for public comment during the 35-day partial government shutdown that occurred from December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019.
The letter lists relevant notices and proposed rules, including three rulemakings in which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposed amendments to the technical specifications of three casks in section 72.214 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, List of approved spent fuel casks. Two of the three proposed rules were published before the government shutdown, and a third published shortly after the start of the shutdown, on December 27, 2018, as part of the orderly shutdown process of the Office of the Federal Register.
The NRC was funded through September 30, 2019, by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 and, therefore, was not affected by the partial government shutdown. The NRC staff listed as contacts in the three rules noted above were available to answer questions, provide information, and assist the public during the comment periods. They also were able to receive and review comments received during the comment periods. Information on the rules was available on the NRCs public website and in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.
The partial government shutdown did not limit or prevent the opportunity for meaningful public participation for these actions, as the NRC routinely offers several methods for submitting comments on rulemaking actions. In addition to the Federal website, www.regulations.gov, a member of the public may also submit a comment to the NRC by e-mail, fax, U.S. mail, or hand-delivery. The NRC also makes provisions to accept late-filed comments whenever possible.
For these reasons, the NRC is declining to extend the public comment period for the three cask rules that were open for comment during the partial government shutdown.
C. Diedrich 2
If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Bladey, Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Rulemaking Support Branch, Division of Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, by phone at 301-415-3280, or by e-mail at Cindy.Bladey@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Patricia K. Holahan, Director Division of Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
ML19053A581 OFC NMSS/DRM/MRPB BC:NMSS/DRM/MRPB BC:NMSS/DRM/RASB OGC NAME VCox TYoung CBladey (J. Shepherd-Vladimir for)
LClark DATE 02/22/19 02/22/19 02/27/19 04/1/19 OFC D:NMSS/DRM NAME PHolahan DATE 4/09/19