Fissile Material Shipments and Exemptions; Response to Comments and Request for Information

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published on February 10, 1997; 62 FR 5907, an emergency final rule which amended its regulations regarding the shipment of exempt quantities of fissile material and the shipment of fissile material under a general license. The NRC issued the emergency final rule without a notice of proposed rulemaking and the accompanying opportunity for public comment prior to the rule's finalization, because NRC found good cause to dispense with these steps as being impracticable and contrary to the public interest, as permitted under the Administrative Procedure Act. Notwithstanding the final status of the rule, NRC solicited public comments on the rule during a 30-day comment period following publication in accordance with the Commission's regulations. This notice contains the NRC response to public comments received on the rule. These comments essentially stated that the emergency rule, although needed for shipments with special moderators, caused an unnecessary economic burden to shippers of fissile material exempt and general licensed shipments that use water as the moderator. In order to quantify any unintended economic impact caused by the emergency rule, the NRC is requesting information on the costs of implementing the emergency final rule.