[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 133 (Thursday, July 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41810-41812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16594]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0148]


Proposed Revisions to Light Load Handling System and Operations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Standard review plan-draft section revision; request for 
comment and use.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising and 
soliciting public comment on Section 9.1.4, ``Light Load Handling 
System and Operations'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition.''

DATES: Submit comments by August 12, 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 submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0148. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     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

[[Page 41811]]

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-2013-0148 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 is publicly available, by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0148.
     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 numbers 
for the redline document comparing the current revision and the 
proposed revision are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos.: Section 
9.1.4, Proposed Revision 4 (ML13085A145), Current Revision 3 
(ML070380200), Redline (ML13065A028).
     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, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2013-0148 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 NRC will post all comment submissions at http://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

    The Office of New Reactors is revising Section 9.1.4 from the 
initial issuance (ADAMS Accession No. ML070380200). In respect of this 
proposed revision 4 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13085A145), details of 
specific changes are included at the end of the proposed section.
    The changes to Chapter 9 of this Standard Review Plan (SRP) reflect 
current staff review methods and practices based on lessons learned 
from NRC reviews of design certification and combined license 
applications completed since the last revision of this chapter. This 
section has been updated primarily to reflect operating experience 
associated with Bulletin 84-03, ``Refueling Cavity Water Seals'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML082700127).
    The NRC staff is issuing this notice to solicit public comments on 
the proposed SRP Section 9.1.4 in Chapter 9. After the NRC staff 
considers any public comments, it will make a determination regarding 
the proposed SRP Section 9.1.4 in Chapter 9.

III. 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 light load handling system and related 
refueling operations. 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 10 CFR Part 52 with respect to those 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 the 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--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

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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. 2013-16594 Filed 7-10-13; 8:45 am]
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