[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 79950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32999]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Review Standard for Extended Power Uprates; Availability of 
Review Standard

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of issuance of draft review standard.

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SUMMARY: The NRC is announcing the availability of draft Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation Review Standard (RS)-001, ``Review Standard 
for Extended Power Uprates,'' dated December 2002, for interim use and 
public comment.

DATES: Submit comments by March 31, 2003. 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: Submit comments to Mohammed A. Shuaibi, Senior Project 
Manager, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mailstop O-8H4a, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Comments may be delivered to 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal 
workdays.
    This document is available for public inspection at the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public 
File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, and from 
the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public 
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Website, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, using the Accession No. ML023540562, 
and at the NRC's Website, http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/power-uprates.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS 
or who encounter problems accessing the document in ADAMS should 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 
301-415-4737, or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mohammed A. Shuaibi, Senior Project 
Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate III, Division of Licensing 
Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, by telephone 
at 301-415-2859 or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The process of increasing the licensed power 
level at a commercial nuclear power plant is called a ``power uprate.'' 
Power uprates can be classified into three categories based on the 
magnitude of the power increase and the methods used to achieve the 
increase. Measurement uncertainty recapture power uprates result in 
power level increases that are less than 2 percent and are achieved by 
implementing enhanced techniques for calculating reactor power. Stretch 
power uprates typically result in power level increases that are up to 
7 percent and do not generally involve major plant modifications. 
Extended power uprates (EPUs) result in power level increases that are 
greater than stretch power uprates, have been approved for increases as 
high as 20 percent, and usually require significant modifications to 
major plant equipment. Draft RS-001 is applicable to EPUs.
    Draft RS-001 establishes standardized review guidance for the 
staff's reviews of EPU applications to enhance the consistency, 
quality, and completeness of the reviews. It serves as a tool for the 
staff's use when processing EPU applications in that it provides 
detailed references to various NRC documents containing specific 
information related to the areas of review.
    Draft RS-001 also makes available to licensees the guidance used by 
the staff for reviewing EPU applications. Making this information 
available should help licensees prepare complete EPU applications that 
address the topics required for the staff's review. By addressing the 
areas in the review standard, a licensee could minimize the staff's 
need for requests for additional information and thereby improve the 
efficiency of the staff's review.

    Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of December, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ledyard B. Marsh,
Deputy Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 02-32999 Filed 12-30-02; 8:45 am]
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