[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41436-41438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16586]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2013-0150]
Proposed Revision to Treatment of Non-Safety Systems for Passive
Advanced Light Water Reactors
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Standard review plan-draft section revision; request for
comment and use; re-notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is re-noticing
the solicitation for public comment published in the Federal Register
on October 12, 2012 (77 FR 62270), on the NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review
Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power
Plants: LWR Edition,'' on a proposed new section to its Standard Review
Plan (SRP), Section 19.3, ``Regulatory Treatment of Non-Safety Systems
(RTNSS) for Passive Advanced Light Water Reactors.'' The NRC seeks
public comment on a narrow area of focus related to a revised position
on the treatment of the high winds external hazard for certain RTNSS
structures, systems, and components.
DATES: Submit comments by August 9, 2013. 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 access information and comment submissions related
to this document, which the NRC possesses and are publicly available,
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2013-
0150. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0150. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: 3WFN 6-A56 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
For additional direction on accessing information and
submitting comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting
Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jonathan DeGange, Office of New
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-6992, email: mailto:[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments
A. Accessing Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0150 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses
and are publicly available, by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-XXX.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then 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 [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced. The SRP Section 19.3 is re-noticed in its entirety under
ADAMS Accession ML13081A756.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2013-0150 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The will NRC posts all comment submissions at
http://
[[Page 41437]]
www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, 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 the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.
II. Further Information
This re-notice includes a revised position on treatment of the high
winds external hazard for certain RTNSS structures, systems and
components (SSCs). This position differs from the one described in the
previously issued draft Section 19.3 of NUREG-0800 (ADAMS Accession No:
ML12128A405) and from the alternative proposed from public comments
(ML12319A465) on the previously issued draft Section 19.3 of NUREG-
0800, which, during a public meeting held on January 22, 2013, the
staff agreed to consider. Consequently, public stakeholders have not
had an opportunity to comment on this approach to treatment of the high
winds hazard for certain RTNSS SSCs.
The staff's original position on treatment of the high winds
external hazard is documented in a memorandum from L. Joseph Callan, US
NRC Executive Director for Operations to Chairman Jackson, US NRC dated
June 23, 1997 (ML003708229) and entitled: ``Implementation of Staff
Position in SECY-96-128, `Policy and Key Technical Issues Pertaining to
the Westinghouse AP600 Standard Pressurized Reactor Design', Related to
Post-72 Hour Actions''. At that time, the NRC was concerned with the
ability of a severe hurricane to cause an extended loss of reliable
offsite AC power for a period longer than 72 hours. Consequently, the
NRC took the position that it was reasonable and practical to design
post-72 hour SSCs (most notably non-safety related diesel generators
and their enclosure) to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and associated
wind-borne missiles; but, these SSCs should not be required to
withstand tornado loads and tornado missiles. Also at the time, tornado
loads and missiles were considered generally to lead to more
restrictive design requirements.
Since this position was established in the mid-1990s, Regulatory
Guide 1.76 has been revised using the Enhanced Fujita Scale, resulting
in a significant decrease to the maximum design basis tornado wind
speeds, and new guidance (Regulatory Guide 1.221) has been issued for
addressing hurricanes and associated hurricane missiles. In addition,
recent operating experience shows that tornado wind events can also
cause an extended loss of reliable offsite AC power for more than 72
hours. Lastly, application of the guidance described in the memorandum
referenced above could, in some cases, result in a level of treatment
for non-safety related SSCs which meet Criterion B for RTNSS that is
higher than the level for safety-related SSCs. Therefore, the RTNSS
missile protection guidance described in the memorandum is no longer
appropriate. The NRC's position now is that RTNSS ``B'' SSCs should be
protected from both tornadoes and hurricanes and the missiles they
might create, and that applicants should choose the design basis wind
speeds for RTNSS ``B'' SSCs using the guidance in Regulatory Guides
1.76 and 1.221. Standard Review Plan 19.3 has been revised to reflect
this position.
The NRC seeks public comment on a narrow area of focus in the
reissuance of the SRP Section 19.3, ``Regulatory Treatment of Non-
Safety Systems (RTNSS) for Passive Advanced Light Water Reactors.''
This area includes a revised position on treatment of the high winds
external hazard for certain RTNSS SSCs that is described above and
elsewhere (ML13081A756) under section ``SRP Acceptance Criteria'' and
in ``Area of Review--Augmented Design Standards'' shown as item 4 in
the guidance document page 19.3-8.
Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends
to incorporate the final approved guidance into the next revision of
NUREG-0800.
Backfitting and Issue Finality
This draft SRP, if finalized, would provide guidance to the staff
for reviewing applications for a construction permit and an operating
license under part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) with respect to the regulatory treatment of non-safety
systems. The draft SRP would also provide guidance for reviewing an
application for a standard design approval, a standard design
certification, a combined license, and a manufacturing license under
part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) with
respect to these same subject matters.
Issuance of this draft SRP, if finalized, would not constitute
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, or otherwise be inconsistent
with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The staff's
position is based upon the following considerations.
1. The draft SRP positions, if finalized, do not constitute
backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance to NRC staff.
The SRP provides interim guidance to the staff on how to review an
application for NRC regulatory approval in the form of licensing.
Changes in internal staff guidance are not matters for which applicants
or licensees are protected under 10 CFR 50.109 or issue finality
provisions in 10 CFR Part 52.
2. Backfitting and issue finality--with certain exceptions
discussed below--do not protect current or future applicants.
Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain
exceptions, protected by either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality
provisions under 10 CFR part 52. This is because neither the Backfit
Rule nor the issue finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with
certain exclusions discussed below--were intended to apply to every NRC
action which substantially changes the expectations of current and
future applicants.
The exceptions to this general principle are applicable whenever an
applicant references a 10 CFR Part 52 license (e.g., an early site
permit) and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design certification
rule) with specified issue finality provisions. The staff does not, at
this time, intend to impose the positions represented in the draft SRP
section (if finalized) in a manner that is inconsistent with any issue
finality provisions. If, in the future, the staff seeks to impose a
position in the draft SRP section (if finalized) in a manner which does
not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue
finality provision, then the staff must address the criteria for
avoiding issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality
provision.
3. The staff has no intention to impose the draft SRP positions on
existing nuclear power plant licenses or regulatory approvals either
now or in the future (absent a voluntary request for change from the
licensee, holder of a regulatory approval, or a design certification
applicant).
The staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions
described in the draft SRP section to existing (already issued)
licenses (e.g., operating licenses and combined licenses) and
regulatory approvals--in this case, design certifications. Hence, the
draft SRP--
[[Page 41438]]
even if considered guidance which is within the purview of the issue
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52--need not be evaluated as if it
were a backfit or as being inconsistent with issue finality provisions.
If, in the future, the staff seeks to impose a position in the draft
SRP (if finalized) on holders of already issued licenses in a manner
which does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable
issue finality provision, then the staff must make the showing as set
forth in the Backfit Rule, or address the criteria for avoiding issue
finality as described applicable issue finality provision, as
applicable.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of June 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and Rulemaking,
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-16586 Filed 7-9-13; 8:45 am]
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