[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 166 (Monday, August 26, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43792-43794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21725]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Draft Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued for public comment a
draft of a guide planned for its Regulatory Guide Series. This series
has been developed to describe and make available to the public such
information as methods acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing
specific parts of the
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Commission's regulations, techniques used by the staff in evaluating
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data needed by the staff
in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1047, ``Standard Format and Content for
Applications to Renew Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses,'' is
being issued for public comment as part of the implementation of 10 CFR
Part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear
Power Plants'' (referred to hereafter as the license renewal rule).
This draft regulatory guide is being developed to provide a uniform
format and content acceptable to the staff for structuring and
presenting the information to be compiled and submitted in an
application for renewal of a nuclear power plant operating license.
This draft guide proposes to endorse the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
guidance document NEI 95-10, ``Industry Guideline for Implementing the
Requirements of 10 CFR Part 54--The License Renewal Rule,'' Revision 0,
dated March 1, 1996, as an acceptable method for complying with the
requirements of the license renewal rule.
This draft regulatory guide supersedes Draft Regulatory Guide DG-
1009, ``Standard Format and Content of Technical Information for
Applications To Renew Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses,'' which
was issued for public comment in December 1990. DG-1009 would have
provided guidance on implementing the license renewal rule that was
adopted by the Commission on December 13, 1991 (56 FR 64943). However,
the Commission amended the license renewal rule on May 8, 1995 (60 FR
22461), to revise the requirements an applicant must meet for obtaining
a renewed operating license. Therefore, the guidance contained in DG-
1009 no longer adequately reflects the current requirements for renewal
of operating licenses.
DG-1047 and NEI 95-10 are being developed to provide guidance
regarding the contents of an application for license renewal that
includes (1) required general information concerning the applicant and
the plant, (2) information contained in the integrated plant
assessment, (3) evaluation of time-limited aging analyses (TLAAs), (4)
a supplement to the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), (5) technical
specification changes and their justification, and (6) a supplement to
the environmental report. Specifically, guidance is provided for (1)
identifying the systems, structures, and components within the scope of
the license renewal rule, (2) identifying the intended functions of
systems, structures, and components within the scope of the license
renewal rule, (3) identifying the structures and components subject to
aging management review, (4) assuring that the effects of aging are
managed, (5) identifying and evaluating TLAAs, and (6) establishing the
format and content of the license renewal application and Final Safety
Analysis Report supplement.
The NRC staff is observing an NEI-sponsored program that will
demonstrate plant-specific implementation of NEI 95-10. This program
will test the ability of participating utilities to understand and use
the guidance contained in NEI 95-10. This program is scheduled to be
completed in September 1996, and the staff will issue trip reports
documenting its observations of each participant's demonstration. At
the conclusion of the program, the staff will compile its observations
from the program into a lessons-learned report.
During development of the draft guide and NEI 95-10, the NRC staff
determined that development of final guidance for certain topics was
best deferred until after completion of the demonstration program when
additional experience with implementation of the license renewal rule
and the existing NEI 95-10 guidance could be obtained. These topics
include guidance on (1) the level of detail required for a license
renewal application and the level of detail and content of the
associated FSAR supplement, (2) the approach for using pre-approved
topical reports in an application, and (3) the overall level of detail
contained in NEI 95-10. Although preliminary guidance is proposed in
the draft guide and NEI 95-10 for these topics, the staff intends to
revisit these topics when finalizing the regulatory guide. The NRC
staff solicits suggestions in these areas.
The staff will use the experience gained through its observation of
the plant-specific demonstrations and any information or comments
received from members of the public to determine whether changes might
be needed in NEI 95-10 or DG-1047.
This draft guide is being issued to involve the public in the early
stages of developing regulatory positions in this area. The draft guide
has not received complete staff review and does not represent an
official NRC staff position.
Public comments are being solicited on the draft guide and NEI 95-
10. Comments should be accompanied by supporting data. Written comments
may be submitted to the Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of
Freedom of Information and Publications Services, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555. Copies of NEI 95-10 and of comments received may be examined or
copied for a fee at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW.,
Washington, DC. Comments are requested by November 29, 1996. Comments
received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the Commission is able to assure consideration only for
comments received on or before this date.
Comments may be submitted electronically, in either ASCII text or
Wordperfect format (version 5.1 or later), by calling the NRC
Electronic Bulletin Board on FedWorld. The bulletin board may be
accessed using a personal computer, a modem, and one of the commonly
available communications software packages, or directly via Internet.
If using a personal computer and modem, the NRC subsystem on
FedWorld can be accessed directly by dialing the toll free number: 1-
800-303-9672. Communication software parameters should be set as
follows: parity to none, data bits to 8, and stop bits to 1 (N,8,1).
Using ANSI or VT-100 terminal emulation, the NRC NUREGs and RegGuides
for Comment subsystem can then be accessed by selecting the ``Rules
Menu'' option from the ``NRC Main Menu.'' For further information about
options available for NRC at FedWorld, consult the ``Help/Information
Center'' from the ``NRC Main Menu.'' Users will find the ``FedWorld
Online User's Guides'' particularly helpful. Many NRC subsystems and
data bases also have a ``Help/Information Center'' option that is
tailored to the particular subsystem.
The NRC subsystem on FedWorld can also be accessed by a direct dial
phone number for the main FedWorld BBS, 703-321-3339, or by using
Telnet via Internet, fedworld.gov. If using 703-321-3339 to contact
FedWorld, the NRC subsystem will be accessed from the main FedWorld
menu by selecting the ``Regulatory, Government Administration and State
Systems,'' then selecting ``Regulatory Information Mall.'' At that
point, a menu will be displayed that has an option ``U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission'' that will take you to the NRC Online main menu.
The NRC Online area also can be accessed directly by typing ``/go nrc''
at a FedWorld command line. If you access NRC from FedWorld's main
menu, you may return to FedWorld by selecting the ``Return to
FedWorld'' option from the NRC Online Main Menu. However, if you access
NRC at FedWorld by using
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NRC's toll-free number, you will have full access to all NRC systems
but you will not have access to the main FedWorld system.
If you contact FedWorld using Telnet, you will see the NRC area and
menus, including the Rules menu. Although you will be able to download
documents and leave messages, you will not be able to write comments or
upload files (comments). If you contact FedWorld using FTP, all files
can be accessed and downloaded but uploads are not allowed; all you
will see is a list of files without descriptions (normal Gopher look).
An index file listing all files within a subdirectory, with
descriptions, is included. There is a 15-minute time limit for FTP
access.
Although FedWorld can be accessed through the World Wide Web, like
FTP that mode only provides access for downloading files and does not
display the NRC Rules menu.
For more information on NRC bulletin boards call Mr. Arthur Davis,
Systems Integration and Development Branch, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301)415-5780; e-mail
AXD[email protected]. For more information on this draft regulatory guide,
contact S.T. Hoffman at the NRC, telephone (301)415-3245; e-mail
[email protected].
DG-1047 and NEI 95-10 are available for inspection or copying for a
fee at the NRC's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW., Washington,
DC (the PDR's mailing address is Mail Stop LL-6, Washington, DC 20555;
telephone (202)634-3273; fax (202)634-3343). Requests for single copies
of DG-1047 (which may be reproduced) or for placement on an automatic
distribution list for single copies of future draft guides in specific
divisions should be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Distribution and Mail
Services Section; or by fax at (301)415-2260. Telephone requests cannot
be accommodated. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission
approval is not required to reproduce them.
A public workshop will be scheduled during the public comment
period to allow interested parties to obtain further information on the
draft regulatory guide, NEI 95-10, and the staff's observations of the
NEI sponsored demonstration program. Details concerning the workshop
will be issued in a future Federal Register notice and press release.
(5 U.S.C. 552(a))
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of August 1996.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bill M. Morris,
Director, Division of Regulatory Applications, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 96-21725 Filed 8-23-96; 8:45 am]
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