Information Collection: Tribal Participation in the Advance Notification Program

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Proposed information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on this proposed information collection. The information collection is entitled, “Tribal Participation in the Advance Notification Program.”

DATES:

Submit comments by June 4, 2021. 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; however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0080. 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-6 A10M, 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-2019-0080 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-2019-0080. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2019-0080 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 ML20080L789. The supporting statement is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML19312A393.
• Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request to the PDR via email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting the 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

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal Rulemaking website ( https://www.regulations.gov ). Please include Docket ID NRC-2019-0080 in your comment submission.

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. All comment submissions are posted at https://www.regulations.gov/ and entered into ADAMS. Comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the OMB, 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 comment submissions are not routinely edited 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: Tribal Participation in the Advance Notification Program.

2. OMB approval number: An OMB control number has not yet been assigned to this proposed information collection.

3. Type of submission: New.

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

5. How often the collection is required or requested: Information would be requested: (1) Every five years, (2) after an Indian Tribe achieves Federal recognition, (3) when a transportation route is approved that is within an Indian Tribe's reservation or that crosses a reservation boundary, and (4) when there are changes. Information is requested from those Indian Tribes seeking to receive advance notifications. Some information is requested one time.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: Federally recognized Indian Tribes. Only those federally recognized Indian Tribes with reservations and either receiving or seeking to receive the advance notifications would be asked to respond to the specific information request.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 22 (7 reporting responses + 15 recordkeepers).

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 15.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 34.5 (24.5 hours reporting + 10 hours recordkeeping).

10. Abstract: In order to receive notifications when certain shipments of nuclear waste or shipments of irradiated reactor fuel within or across the boundary of an Indian Tribe's reservation, Indian Tribes will submit certifications that Tribal official or their designee(s) has (or have) taken training on the handling of safeguards information (SGI) and the Indian Tribe has the necessary protection measures in place and the Indian Tribe will protect the SGI. If the Tribal official is designating another person to receive the advance notifications, information on the designation will be provided. The Indian Tribe will also provide the contact information for the Tribal official or the Tribal official's designee(s). The Indian Tribe will also provide an affirmation of the boundaries of the Indian Tribe's reservation or the necessary corrections to a map provided by the NRC. The NRC will also collect the name and contact information for the Indian Tribe's emergency response contact(s). The NRC makes this information to others, including NRC licensees and agreement state licensees. NRC licensees will use the information to comply with the NRC's regulations that require them to provide advance notice of certain shipments of radioactive material to participating Indian Tribes.

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?