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AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Petition for rulemaking: Denial. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking submitted by Eric Epstein (PRM-54-5). The petition requests that the NRC amend its regulations that govern renewal of operating licenses for nuclear power plants. Specifically, the petitioner requests that the NRC conduct a comprehensive review of U.S. nuclear power plant licensees' emergency planning during the license renewal proceedings. The NRC is denying the petition because the petition presents issues that the Commission carefully considered when it first adopted the license renewal rule and denied petitions for rulemaking submitted by Andrew J. Spano, County Executive, Westchester County, New York (PRM-54-02), and Mayor Joseph Scarpelli of Brick Township, New Jersey (PRM-54-03). The Commission's position is that the NRC's emergency planning system is part of a comprehensive regulatory process that is intended to provide continuing assurance that emergency planning for every nuclear plant is adequate. Thus, the Commission has already extensively considered and addressed the types of issues raised in the petition. Also, the petition fails to present any significant new information or arguments that would warrant the requested amendment.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Agenda is a semiannual compilation of the agency's recent rulemaking activities. It contains a summary and the status for each ongoing rulemaking and petition for rulemaking received by the agency. Organization of the Agenda The agenda consists of two sections that have been updated through December 31, 2008. Section I, "Rules," includes: (A) rules on which final action has been taken since June 30, 2008, the closing date of the last NRC Regulatory Agenda; (B) rules published previously as proposed rules on which the Commission has not taken final action; (C) rules published as advance notices of proposed rulemaking for which neither a proposed nor final rule has been issued; and (D) unpublished rules on which the NRC expects to take action. Section II, "Petitions for Rulemaking," includes: (A) final actions on petitions for rulemaking since June 30, 2008; and (B) petitions pending staff review. In Section I of the agenda, the rules are aligned numerically with the parts of Title 10, Chapter I, of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (Title 10). If more than one rule appears under the same part, the rules are arranged within that part by date of most recent publication. If a rule amends multiple parts, the rule is listed under the lowest numbered affected part. In Section II of the agenda, the petitions are aligned numerically with the parts of Title 10 and are identified with a petition for rulemaking (PRM) number. If more than one petition appears under the same CFR part, the petitions are arranged by PRM numbers in consecutive order within that part of Title 10.

State of Nevada; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Petition for Rulemaking: Denial. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) is denying a petition for rulemaking submitted by the State of Nevada (Nevada or petitioner). The petition requests that NRC modify its regulation regarding issues specified for review in a notice of hearing for the Department of Energy (DOE) application for a high-level waste (HLW) repository construction authorization at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The petitioner asserts that the proposed regulation would ``fill a gap'' in the NRC's current regulations. Further, petitioner asserts that the proposed regulation fulfills the Commission's intent when it first required a hearing for any docketed applications for construction of a HLW repository. NRC is denying the petition because it is inconsistent with current NRC rules and inconsistent with the Commission's intent when it originally established regulations requiring an opportunity for a hearing for all docketed HLW repository construction applications.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group's photo mosaic of about 5,000 mini-portraits is something like 5 million words. And those words all say Vermont Yankee should be decommissioned. Advertisement VPIRG unveiled the mosaic Thursday on Elizabeth Hunt's freshly cut lawn in South Burlington. The mosaic's miniature portraits, taken of people at their homes throughout Vermont, put together and tinted slightly, become a pixilated picture roughly the size of a Publishers Clearing House check, of Hunt; her husband, Jesse Moore; and their 1-year-old son, Sam Moore. Members of the research group said they assembled the photo petition to personalize the state's general opinion of the 650-megawatt nuclear power plant. "You can tell a lot more by a person's face than their signature," said Anika James, 21, of Shelburne, who knocked on doors for VPIRG.

Petition for Rulemaking Filed by Scott Portzline, Three Mile Island Alert; Consider Petition in the Rulemaking Process AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Resolution and closure of petition docket. SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking submitted by Scott Portzline, on behalf of the Three Mile Island Alert, in the ongoing ``Power Reactor Security Requirements'' rulemaking. The petitioner requested that the NRC regulations governing physical protection of plants and materials be amended to require NRC licensees to post at least one armed guard at each entrance to the ``owner controlled areas'' (OCAs) surrounding all U.S. nuclear power plants. The petitioner stated that this should be accomplished by adding armed site protection officers (SPOs) to the security forces--not by simply moving SPOs from their protected area (PA) posts to the OCA entrances. The petitioner believes that its proposed amendment would provide an additional layer of security that would complement existing measures against radiological sabotage and would be consistent with the long- standing principle of defense-in-depth.

MPP Toby Barrett is making sure local voices are heard on the issue of nuclear power in Nanticoke. In the legislature, Barrett read a petition titled "Nuclear Nanticoke: Not So Fast". Barrett said without any formal public consultation, county councils in both Haldimand and Norfolk unanimously endorsed the first step in building two nuclear reactors. The petition cites concerns of safety and security. Barrett signed the petition but said he doesn't necessarily back the push for a province-wide moratorium. Grand Erie Energy Quest collected over one thousand signatures for the petition. Bruce Power says they hope Ontario's Energy Minister changes his mind about their nuclear proposal in Nanticoke. George Smitherman told a Standing Committee on Estimates last week it's not the province of Ontario's intention to be involved in the encouragement or purchase of any power that might theoretically be created by such a facility.

David Lochbaum, Union of Concerned Scientists; Consideration of Petition in the Rulemaking Process AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Resolution and closure of petition docket. SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking submitted by David Lochbaum, on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, in the ongoing ``Power Reactor Security Requirements'' rulemaking. The petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations to require that licensees implement procedures to ensure that when information becomes known to a licensee about an individual that would prevent that individual from gaining unescorted access to the protected area of a nuclear power plant, the licensee will implement measures to ensure the individual does not enter the protected area, whether escorted, or not; and, when sufficient information is not available to a licensee about an individual to determine whether the criteria for unescorted access are satisfied, the licensee will implement measures to allow that individual to enter the protected area only when escorted at all times by an armed member of the security force who remains in periodic communication with security supervision.

"Uranium Resources, Inc. announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has denied a petition for a rehearing or en banc review of the court's previous decision that upheld, in all respects, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) original decision to grant URI a license to conduct in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining in McKinley County, New Mexico. On March 8, 2010, the Tenth Circuit denied the original petition by several parties opposed to uranium mining for review of URI's NRC license, which the Commission issued to Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI), Uranium Resources' wholly-owned subsidiary, in 1998. One of the opposed parties, The Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining, subsequently filed a petition requesting a rehearing or en banc review of the March 8 decision. In a May 18, 2010, order, the court denied the rehearing request and indicated that no judges of the court acted on the request for an en banc review. The petitioners now have 90 days from May 18, 2010 to file a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court requesting that Court's review of the Tenth Circuit's decision."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has filed a brief urging a review panel to reject environmentalists' petition for new hearings on a proposed nuclear power plant expansion. In a brief dated Dec. 15, NRC asked an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, recently established to review the petition, to reject it because of a lack of standing and of relevant claims. However, NRC does recommend granting an extension for revision on the groups' petition, provided the revisions are related to NRC delays in providing necessary documents.

Advocates for sick nuclear workers are calling on Congress to create a National Day of Remembrance to recognize those workers who died or became ill while producing weapons for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. A nationwide petition drive will be launched in Oak Ridge Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Atomic Trades and Labor Council office, 109 Viking Road. The Oak Ridge event is sponsored by the non-profit group, Cold War Patriots, and will feature a 40-foot petition scroll and display of the proposed act. The petition will be available at Professional Case Management in Jackson Plaza through May 1, when it will be transported to other Cold War nuclear sites to gather more signatures.

"Greenpeace is collecting signatures to force the government to review the nuclear liability bill which it says allows foreign corporations to get away by paying a meagre compensation in case of a nuclear accident. With already over 1.8 lakh signatures online, the petition will be forwarded to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to stop the bill in its current form and review it. "The proposed nuclear liability bill appeases foreign corporations by allowing them to get away by paying a meagre compensatory amount in case of a nuclear accident, which is not fair," reads the petition. It alleged that the government was only considering cosmetic changes in the bill. Drawing a parallel with the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, the petition said: "The Bhopal judgment highlights the manner in which an American corporation has been so easily let off after causing the deaths of over 25,000 people and affecting thousands more." "India must hold a public consultation before changing the liability rules for any nuclear accidents caused by US corporations." A Bhopal court on June 07 sentenced seven former employees of Union Carbide Indian Ltd to two years imprisonment for culpability in the tragedy and quickly bailed them. The ruling has triggered a furore. "

Two groups and an individual have filed nomination petitions with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources to have lands west of Edgemont declared special, exceptional, critical or unique. The petitions were filed Dec. 28 in Pierre. Oglala Sioux tribal member Debra White Plume, Defenders of the Black Hills and the Oglala Sioux Tribe have all filed the petitions with the DENR's Minerals and Mining program to ask that the determinations be made. The lands are within an area that has been leased by Powertech Uranium for exploration and possible mining of the mineral.

When SCE&G filed an application in May to raise its rates by 37 percent, buried in the application was a petition to begin clearing a site for two new reactors at the utility's V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County. While the power company posted a notice that it would accept public comments on the petition, SCE&G did not plan a hearing to discuss its plans, according to Tom Clements, regional coordinator of nuclear issues for Friends of the Earth. "They had requested in the petition that the decision be made by the [S.C.] Public Service Commission without any form of hearing," Clements says.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently denied a petition requesting it comprehensively review nuclear plants' emergency plans when plants apply for license extensions. Eric Epstein, who filed the petition and leads the nuclear-watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, said the denial effectively clears the way for PPL Corp.'s Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Salem Township to have its license extended 20 years. The station's two units face a renewal hearing Sept. 30 at the NRC's headquarters in Maryland.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM-20-26) submitted by James Salsman (petitioner). The petitioner requested that NRC amend its regulations to modify exposure and environmental limits for heavy metal radionuclides, in particular uranium. NRC is denying the petition because current NRC regulations provide adequate protection of public health and safety. The petitioner has not presented sufficient peer-reviewed data, pertinent to the types and levels of exposures associated with the concentration values used in NRC's regulations, to provide a sufficient reason for NRC to initiate a revision of its regulations. Thus, the NRC has decided not to expend limited resources on initiating a rulemaking at this time.

The Native Community Action Council (NCAC) is prepared to provide oral arguments to support a Petition to Intervene and Contentions before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the Department of Energy (DOE) License Application to construct a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, NV. The NCAC filed one of twelve petitions along with contentions in response of the NRC's Notice of Hearing October 22, 2008. The twelve parties presented 319 contentions, to which the DOE has responded are all invalid. Licensing hearings begin March 31, 2009 in Las Vegas, NV on the Petitions to Intervene. According to Margene Bullcreek, President of the NCAC, "We are a vulnerable population and need representation of our contentions in licensing." Ms. Bullcreek added, "We fought against the monitored retrievable storage site for nuclear waste on the Skull Valley Indian Reservation to protect the land and people…and, we are doing the same here."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM) submitted by Bob Christie (petitioner) in the NRC's rulemaking process. The petition was dated May 2, 2002, and was docketed as PRM-50-77. The petitioner requested that the NRC amend its regulations at 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix A, to eliminate the requirement for assuming a loss-of-offsite power (LOOP) coincident with postulated accidents. The petitioner believes this requirement is detrimental to safety because it results in fast start time requirements for emergency diesel generators (EDG) and because it requires operator training to focus on unrealistic events.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted a petition from a New York man to investigate whether Entergy has lied about the adequacy of the decommissioning funds for its nuclear power plants. "Without swift and drastic enforcement action on the part of the NRC and its staff, human health and the environment around these licensed facilities is at risk and citizen safety (is) at risk," wrote Sherman Martinelli, of Peekskill, N.Y., in a document he filed in August. Martinelli lives within three miles of Entergy's Indian Point, in the Hudson Valley. On Dec. 17, the NRC responded that its Petition Review Board would consider his allegations. The NRC also forwarded his claims of wrongdoing on the part of the NRC to its Office of the Inspector General.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted a petition from a New York man to investigate whether Entergy has lied about the adequacy of the decommissioning funds for its nuclear power plants. "Without swift and drastic enforcement action on the part of the NRC and its staff, human health and the environment around these licensed facilities is at risk and citizen safety (is) at risk," wrote Sherman Martinelli, of Peekskill, N.Y., in a document he filed in August. Martinelli lives within three miles of Entergy's Indian Point, in the Hudson Valley. On Dec. 17, the NRC responded that its Petition Review Board would consider his allegations. The NRC also forwarded his claims of wrongdoing on the part of the NRC to its Office of the Inspector General.

REGARDING A PETITION FOR CONGRESS TO END THE NEGLIGENT DELAY OF THE PROMISED COMPENSATION AWARDS AND MEDICAL BENEFITS TO THE NUCLEAR FACILITY WORKERS WHO WERE MADE ILL FROM THEIR SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY. THE U.S. PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DEEMED THE ESTIMATED 600,000 NUCLEAR FACILITY WORKFORCE, COURAGEOUS COLD WAR VETERANS. The implementation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended, (EEOICPA) has been fraught with mismanagement, violations of due process, misrepresentation, and misplacement of workers medical and dosimetry records. The responsible federal agencies -- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Department of Labor (DOL) -- have, for seven years, followed policies that have resulted in delaying compensation for thousands of workers who served in The Cold War at the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex.

REGARDING A PETITION FOR CONGRESS TO END THE NEGLIGENT DELAY OF THE PROMISED COMPENSATION AWARDS AND MEDICAL BENEFITS TO THE NUCLEAR FACILITY WORKERS WHO WERE MADE ILL FROM THEIR SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY. THE U.S. PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DEEMED THE ESTIMATED 600,000 NUCLEAR FACILITY WORKFORCE, COURAGEOUS COLD WAR VETERANS. The implementation of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended, (EEOICPA) has been fraught with mismanagement, violations of due process, misrepresentation, and misplacement of workers medical and dosimetry records. The responsible federal agencies -- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Department of Labor (DOL) -- have, for seven years, followed policies that have resulted in delaying compensation for thousands of workers who served in The Cold War at the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex.

"In a letter to Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko dated September 25, 2009, NEI, the petitioner, requested that the NRC undertake an expedited rulemaking to revise the compliance date for specific requirements within Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 73.55, ``Requirements for Physical Protection of Licensed Activities in Nuclear Power Reactors Against Radiological Sabotage.'' The NRC reviewed the request for rulemaking and determined that the request met the minimum sufficiency requirements of 10 CFR 2.802, ``Petition for Rulemaking'' and, therefore, was considered as a petition for rulemaking. Accordingly, the NRC docketed the request as PRM-73-14 and notified the petitioner of this decision by letter dated October 1, 2009. Due to the exigent circumstances associated with the request, the NRC did not prepare a notice of receipt and request for comment, and instead gave immediate consideration to the request, convening a petition review board (PRB) on November 9, 2009. "