Upgraded Emergency Plans (Generic Letter 79-63)
GL79063
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
November 21, 1979
TO APPLICANTS FOR OPERATING LICENSES
AND LICENSEES OF PLANTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: UPGRADED EMERGENCY PLANS
This letter is being sent to applicants for licenses to operate nuclear
power plants. The purpose of this letter is to advise you of our present
requirements regarding emergency planning, including a proposed rule change
which we are invoking pending promulgation of a final rule.
The NRC licensing requirements dealing with an applicant's emergency plans
are set forth in Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50, "Emergency Plans for
Production and Utilization Facilities," and in Regulatory Guide 1.101,
"Emergency Planning for Nuclear Power Plants." These documents require that
applicants for power reactor licenses develop plans for coping with
radiological emergencies within their plant sites.
In addition, applicants are required to make certain emergency preparedness
arrangements with State and local organizations to cope with plant-related
emergencies outside the site boundary. In this regard, the NRC, in
conjunction with several other federal agencies, has attempted, on a
cooperative and voluntary basis, to provide for training and instruction of
State and local government personnel and to establish criteria to guide the
preparation of emergency plans. However, in the past, NRC concurrence in
State and local emergency plans has not been required as a condition of
nuclear power plant operation. We now are requiring, pending the results of
a proposed rule change, that NRC concurrence in State and local emergency
response plans be obtained as a condition for issuing an operating license.
To accomplish this change in requirements, we require that upgraded
emergency plans be submitted in accordance with the format of Regulatory
Guide 1.101. The upgraded emergency plans will be evaluated against the
requirements of Appendix E to 10 CFR Part 50, the regulatory positions set
forth in Regulatory Guide 1.101, and the acceptance criteria contained in
Emergency Planning Review Guidelines Number One - Revision One, dated
September 7, 1979 (Enclosure 1). Your plans should be submitted by June
1980. For those applicants which have not yet submitted their FSAR the
upgraded emergency plans may be submitted at the time of FSAR submittal.
To aid you in developing your response, each reactor site will be visited by
an NRC emergency planning review team consisting of NRR personnel and
consultants. The team will visit each site and hold discussions with the
applicant and State and local officials responsible for emergency
preparedness.
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Each applicant will have the responsibility for insuring that appropriate
arrangements are made for discussions between the NRR review teams and State
and local officials during the team site visits. However, initial contacts
with State officials will be made by the NRC. Each applicant should provide
copies of relevant material to the cognizant State and local entities, and
also to known regional federal offices involved in emergency preparedness
activities.
In addition to our present requirements described above, proposed rule
changes for 10 CFR Part 50, Sections 50.33 and 50.34 and Appendix E are
being considered as an interim upgrade of NRC emergency planning regulations
to provide prompt clarification and expansion in areas that have been
perceived to be deficient as a result of past experiences. These proposed
rule changes are deemed interim because the staff anticipates that further
changes in the emergency planning regulations may be proposed as more
experience is gained by implementing these revised regulations. Also,
changes have recently been and may further be proposed as the various Three
Mile Island investigations are concluded and the results become available
for efforts in such areas as instrumentation and monitoring, and generic
studies of accident models.
The proposed rule, Enclosure 2, contains three major changes from current
practices. The proposed rule would:
1. Require that an applicant's emergency plans, including State and local
governmental emergency response plans, be submitted to and concurred in
by the NRC as a condition of operating license issuance. (NRC
concurrence for State and local plans is not required at the
construction permit stage.) Additionally:
a. An operating plant may be required to cease operation or reduce
power levels if a State or local emergency plan has not received
NRC concurrence within 180 days of the effective date of the final
amendments.
b. An operating plant may be required to cease operation or reduce
power levels if a State or local emergency plan does not warrant
continued NRC concurrence and the State or locality does not
correct the deficiencies within four months of notification of NRC
concurrence withdrawal.
2. Require that emergency planning considerations be extended to
"Emergency Planning Zones," as defined in NUREG-0396, "Planning Basis
for the Development of State and Local Government Radiological
Emergency Response Plans in Support of Light Water Nuclear Power
Plants," December 1978.
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3. Require that detailed emergency planning implementing procedures of
both licensees and applicants for operating licenses be submitted to
NRC for review. This review would determine the acceptability of such
procedures in providing reasonable assurance that emergency measures
can be taken to protect the public health and safety in the event of a
radiological emergency. The Office of Inspection and Enforcement would
perform this review.
A discussion of each of the above major changes is provided in Enclosure 3.
In addition, sections of Appendix E that would, be expanded by the proposed
rule are:
1. Specification of "Emergency Action Levels" (Sections IV.B and C),
2. Dissemination to the public of basic emergency planning information
(Section IV.D),
3. Provisions for prompt alerting of the public and instructions for
public protection (Section IV.D),
4. Onsite and offsite emergency control centers (Section IV.E),
5. Specialized training (Section IV.F), and
6. Provisions for up-to-date plan maintenance (Section IV.G).
The staff is concerned that important considerations related to the
workability of the proposed rule changes may have been overlooked and that
all significant impacts to NRC applicants, licensees, and State and local
governments may not have been identified. Therefore, the staff intends to
hold a public workshop during the public comment period to (a) present the
proposed rule changes to State and local governments, utilities, and other
interested parties, and (b) to obtain comments concerning the costs, impacts
and practicality of the proposed rule changes. The staff believes it is
likely, as a result of expected public comment, that significant changes may
be indicated in the rule as proposed.
Pending the receipt of comments and the promulgation of a final rule, NRR
intends to use the proposed amendment in reviewing an applicant's emergency
plans for an operating license. In accordance with Section V of the proposed
rule, ten copies of emergency plan implementing procedures are to be
submitted to the appropriate NRC regional offices within 180 days prior to
scheduled issuances of your operating license. Thereafter, ten copies of any
changes to these implementing procedures are to be submitted to this same
regional office within 15 days of such changes.
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Enclosure 4 provides for your information and use, a document on the basis
for emergency action levels that has been provided to the review teams for
interim use. Your comments on this document are invited. Comments should be
sent to the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, D. C. 20555, Attention: Docketing and Service Branch. All
comments received by December 1, 1979 will be considered by the Commission.
For further information or comments please contact M. Frank G. Pagano on
(301) 492-7846 or your assigned licensing project manager.
Sincerely,
Domenic B. Vassallo, Acting Director
Division of Project Management
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosures:
1. Emergency Planning Review Guideline
Number One - Revision One, dated
September 7, 1979
2. Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
3. Discussion of Major Proposed Changes to the
Emergency Planning Regulations
4. Basis for Emergency Action Levels for
Nuclear Power Facilities
ccs:
Service List
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UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
MEMORANDUM FOR: Emergency Planning Staff
FROM: James R. Miller, Acting Assistant Director
for Site and Safeguards
SUBJECT: EMERGENCY PLANNING REVIEW GUIDELINE NUMBER ONE -
REVISION ONE - EMERGENCY PLANNING ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
FOR LICENSED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
Enclosed Is Emergency Planning Review Guideline Number One - Revision
One - Emergency Planning Acceptance Criteria for Licensed Nuclear Power
Plants. The review guideline supercedes Review Guideline Number One dated
August 17, 1979. This review guideline is to be used to review upgraded
emergency plans for operating plants and near term OL's. This review
guideline has approved by NRR management.
James R. Miller, Acting Assistant Director
for Site and Safeguards
Division of Operating Reactors
Enclosure:
As stated
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, March 09, 2021
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, March 09, 2021