Information Collection: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Form 327, Special Nuclear Material and Source Material Physical Inventory Summary Report, and NUREG/BR-0096, Instructions and Guidance for Completing Physical Inventory Summary Reports

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, “NRC Form 327, Special Nuclear Material (SNM) and Source Material (SM) Physical Inventory Summary Report, and NUREG/BR-0096, Instructions and Guidance for Completing Physical Inventory Summary Reports.”

DATES:

Submit comments by November 4, 2019. 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 website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0158. Address questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@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: O-1 F21, 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-2019-0158 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 website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0158. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2019-0158 on this website.
• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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. ML19161A296. The supporting statement is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML19161A295.
• 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-2019-0158 in the subject line of your comment submission, 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 https://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: NRC Form 327, SNM and SM Physical Inventory Summary Report, and NUREG/BR-0096, Instructions and Guidance for Completing Physical Inventory Summary Reports.

2. OMB approval number: 3150-0139.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

4. The form number, if applicable: NRC Form 327.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: Certain licensees possessing strategic SNM are required to report inventories on NRC Form 327 every six months. Licensees possessing SNM of moderate strategic significance must report every nine months. Licensees possessing SNM of low strategic significance must report annually, except one licensee (enrichment facility) that must report its dynamic inventories every two months and its static inventory annually.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: Fuel facility licensees possessing SNM, i.e., enriched uranium, plutonium, or U-233.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 68.

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 6.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 272 hours (4 hours per response × 68 responses).

10. Abstract: NRC Form 327 is submitted by certain fuel cycle facility licensees to account for SNM. The data is used by the NRC to assess licensee material control and accounting programs and to confirm the absence of (or detect the occurrence of) SNM theft or diversion. NUREG/BR-0096 provides guidance and instructions for completing the form in accordance with the requirements appropriate for a particular licensee.

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?