[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 150 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40750-40751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19417]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Issuance, Availability of Regulatory Guide, Standard Review Plan, 
and Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) Report

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Regulatory 
Guide 1.188, ``Standard Format and Content for Applications to Renew 
Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses''; NUREG-1800, ``Standard Review 
Plan for the Review of License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power 
Plants'' (SRP-LR); and NUREG-1801, ``Generic Aging Lessons Learned 
(GALL) Report.'' These documents describe methods acceptable to the NRC 
staff for implementing the license renewal rule, as well as techniques 
used by the NRC staff in evaluating applications for license renewals. 
The draft versions of these documents were issued for public comment on 
August 31, 2000 (64 FR 53047). The staff assessment of public comments 
is being issued as NUREG-1739, ``Analysis of Public Comments on the 
Improved License Renewal Guidance Documents.''

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies are available in NRC's Electronic Reading 
Room accessible from the NRC Web site http://www.nrc.gov>. Regulatory 
Guide 1.188 is under ADAMS Accession Number ML012010322; NUREG-1800 
(SRP-LR) is under ADAMS Accession number ML012070413; NUREG-1801, the 
GALL Report, is under ADAMS Accession numbers ML012060392 (Volume 1) 
and ML012060545 (Volume 2); the NEI 95-10 (Revision 3) is under ADAMS 
Accession number ML011100576; and NUREG-1739 (Analysis of Public 
Comments) is under ADAMS Accession number ML012080104.
    Copies of NUREG series documents are available at current rates 
from the U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, 
DC 20402-9328; telephone (202)512-1800; or from the National Technical 
Information Service (NTIS) at 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 
22161; telephone (800)553-6847; http://www.ntis.gov/ordernow>. Single 
copies of regulatory guides may be obtained free of charge by writing 
the Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, OCIO, USNRC, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by fax to (301)415-2289, or by email to 
[email protected]>. Active guides may also be purchased from the 
NTIS on a standing order basis. Details on this service may be obtained 
by contacting NTIS, Copies are available for inspection or copying for 
a fee from the NRC Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD; the PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR, Washington, DC 
20555; telephone (301)415-4737 or (800)397-4209; fax (301)415-3548; 
email is [email protected]. These license renewal guidance documents are not 
copyrighted, and Commission approval is not required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raj Anand, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, Mail Stop O-12G15, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone (301) 415-1146, or email 
[email protected]>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory Guide for License Renewal

    Regulatory Guide 1.188 is being issued as guidance for the license 
renewal rule. This regulatory guide provides guidance on the format and 
content acceptable to the NRC staff for structuring and presenting the 
information to be compiled and submitted in an application for renewal 
of a nuclear power plant operating license. Regulatory Guide 1.188 
endorses the use of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) guidance 
document, Revision 3 of NEI 95-10, ``Industry Guideline for 
Implementing the Requirements of 10 CFR Part 54--The License Renewal 
Rule,'' March 2001, as an acceptable method for preparing an 
application that complies with the requirements of the license renewal 
rule.
    Regulatory Guide 1.188 was issued in draft form as Draft Regulatory 
Guides DG-1104 and DG-1047 which were issued for public comment in 
August 2000 and in August 1996, respectively, to propose endorsement of 
an earlier version of NEI 95-10.
    Regulatory Guide 1.188 and NEI 95-10 provide guidance on 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) An 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 structures and components subject to aging 
management review;
    (2) Ensuring that the effects of aging are managed;
    (3) Identifying and evaluating TLAAs;
    (4) Establishing the format and content of the license renewal 
application; and
    (5) Preparing an FSAR supplement.
    As indicated in Revision 3 of NEI 95-10, NEI intends that NEI 95-10 
be consistent with the GALL report and the SRP-LR.

Standard Review Plan for License Renewal

    The NRC staff also has revised a SRP-LR, NUREG-1800, that contains 
guidance to NRC staff reviewers on performing safety reviews of 
applications submitted to renew licenses of nuclear power plants in 
accordance with the license renewal rule. The SRP-LR contains four 
major chapters: (1) Administrative Information, (2) Scoping and 
Screening Methodology for Identifying Structures and Components Subject 
to Aging Management Review, and Implementation Results, (3) Aging 
Management Review Results, and (4) Time-Limited Aging Analyses. In 
addition, three Branch Technical Positions are in an appendix to the 
SRP-LR.
    During the initial license renewal reviews, the NRC and the 
industry recognized that most of the existing programs at the plants 
were adequate to manage aging effects for license renewal without 
change. The Commission, by a staff requirements memorandum (SRM) dated 
August 27, 1999, directed the NRC staff to focus the review guidance in 
the SRP-LR on existing programs that should be augmented for license 
renewal. The NRC staff developed the GALL report that evaluates 
existing programs generically to document the basis for determining 
when existing programs are adequate without change and when existing 
programs should be augmented for license renewal. The

[[Page 40751]]

SRP-LR incorporates the GALL report by reference.

Generic Aging Lessons Learned Report

    The GALL report, NUREG-1801, presents the aging management review 
results in a table format. The adequacy of the generic aging management 
programs in managing certain aging effects for particular structures 
and components is evaluated based on the review of 10 program 
attributes: scope of the program, preventive actions, parameters 
monitored or inspected, detection of aging effects, monitoring and 
trending, acceptance criteria, corrective actions, confirmation 
process, administrative controls, and operating experience. If the 
evaluation determines that a program is adequate to manage certain 
aging effects for particular structures and components without change, 
the GALL report indicates that no further NRC staff evaluation is 
recommended for license renewal. Otherwise, it recommends areas in 
which the NRC staff should focus its review.
    The GALL report is a technical basis document for the SRP-LR. The 
GALL report should be treated in the same manner as an approved topical 
report that is applicable generically. An applicant may reference the 
GALL report in a license renewal application to demonstrate that the 
applicant's programs at its facility correspond to those reviewed and 
approved in the GALL report and that no further NRC staff review is 
required. If the material presented in the GALL report is applicable to 
the applicant's facility, the NRC staff would find the applicant's 
reference to the GALL report acceptable. In making this determination, 
the NRC staff will consider whether the applicant has identified 
specific programs described and evaluated in the GALL report. The NRC 
staff will not repeat its review of the substance of the matters 
described in the GALL report; rather, the NRC staff will ensure that 
the applicant verifies that the approvals set forth in the GALL report 
for generic programs apply to the applicant's programs. The focus of 
the NRC staff review will be on augmented programs for license renewal. 
The NRC staff will also review information that is not addressed in the 
GALL report, or is otherwise different from that in the GALL report.

Analysis of Public Comments on the Improved License Renewal 
Guidance Documents

    On August 31, 2000, the NRC announced (65 FR 53047) the issuance 
for public comment and availability of Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1104, 
``Standard Format and Content for Applications to Renew Nuclear Power 
Plant Operating Licenses''; a draft ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants'' (SRP-
LR); and a draft ``Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) Report.'' DG-
1104 proposed to endorse NEI 95-10, Rev. 2, ``Industry Guideline for 
Implementing the Requirements of 10 CFR Part 54--The License Renewal 
Rule.'' The NRC also announced a public workshop that was held on 
September 25, 2000, to facilitate gathering public comment on the draft 
documents. Written comments were received from over 128 commenters with 
the breakdown being 101 individuals, 15 public interest groups, and 12 
industry groups (law firms, utilities, and the Nuclear Energy 
Institute). The staff also held public meetings with stakeholders to 
discuss their comments.
    NUREG-1739 contains the NRC response to stakeholders' comments. The 
dispositions are prepared in a table format and contained in five 
appendices. Appendix A addresses the participant comments from the 
license renewal public workshop on September 25, 2000; Appendix B 
addresses the specific written comments submitted by NEI; Appendix C 
addresses the written comments submitted by various stakeholders such 
as the Union of Concerned Scientists, utilities, and private citizens; 
Appendix D addresses five Union of Concerned Scientists reports; and 
Appendix E addresses the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safety (ACRS) 
consultants' structural and electrical comments.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of July 2001.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David B. Matthews,
Director, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 01-19417 Filed 8-2-01; 8:45 am]
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