Information Collection: Policy Statement for the “Criteria for Guidance of States and NRC in Discontinuance of NRC Regulatory Authority and Assumption Thereof By States Through Agreement,” Maintenance of Existing Agreement State Programs, Request for Information Through the Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) Questionnaire, and Agreement State Participation in IMPEP

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Renewal of existing information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled, “Policy Statement for the `Criteria for Guidance of States and NRC in Discontinuance of NRC Regulatory Authority and Assumption Thereof By States Through Agreement,' Maintenance of Existing Agreement State Programs, Request for Information Through the Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) Questionnaire, and Agreement State Participation in IMPEP.”

DATES:

Submit comments by September 12, 2016. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0077. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
• Mail comments to: David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Mail Stop: T-5 F53, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2084; email: INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@NRC.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0077 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0077. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2016-0077 on this Web site.
• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select “ADAMS Public Documents” and then select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing ADAMS Accession No. ML16099A050. The supporting statement is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16099A055.
• NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting NRC's Clearance Officer, David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2084; email: INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@NRC.GOV.

B. Submitting Comments

Please include Docket ID NRC-2016-0077 in the subject line of your comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment submission available to the public in this docket.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the NRC is requesting public comment on its intention to request the OMB's approval for the information collection summarized below.

1. The title of the information collection: Policy Statement for the “Criteria for Guidance of States and NRC in Discontinuance of NRC Regulatory Authority and Assumption Thereof By States Through Agreement,” Maintenance of Existing Agreement State Programs, Request for Information Through the IMPEP Questionnaire, and Agreement State Participation in IMPEP.

2. OMB approval number: 3150-0183.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

4. The form number, if applicable: Not Applicable.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: Every 4 years for completion of the IMPEP questionnaire in preparation for an IMPEP review. One time for new Agreement State applications. Annually for participation by Agreement States in the IMPEP reviews and fulfilling requirements for Agreement States to maintain their programs.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: All Agreement States (37 Agreement States who have signed Agreements with NRC under Section 274b. of the Atomic Energy Act (Act)) and any non-Agreement State seeking to sign an Agreement with the Commission.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 59.

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 39 (37 existing Agreement States plus 2 applicants).

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 287,893 hours (an average of 7,382 hours per respondent). This includes 477 hours to complete the IMPEP questionnaires; 5,500 hours to prepare two new Agreement State applications, 396 hours for participation in IMPEP reviews; and 281,520 hours for maintaining Existing Agreement State programs.

10. Abstract: The States wishing to become Agreement States are requested to provide certain information to the NRC as specified by the Commission's Policy Statement, “Criteria for Guidance of States and NRC in Discontinuance of NRC Regulatory Authority and Assumption Thereof By States Through Agreement.” The Agreement States need to ensure that the radiation control program under the Agreement remains adequate and compatible with the requirements of Section 274 of the Act and must maintain certain information.

The NRC conducts periodic evaluations through IMPEP to ensure that these programs are compatible with the NRC's program, meet the applicable parts of the Act, and adequate to protect public health and safety.

III. Specific Requests for Comments

The NRC is seeking comments that address the following questions:

1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility?

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate?

3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?

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?