[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42558-42560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16985]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0149]


Proposed Revision 0 to Fitness-for-Duty Standard Review Plan

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on draft NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,'' LWR 
Edition: Section 13.7 ``Fitness-for-Duty,'' and Section 13.7.1 
``Fitness-for-Duty--Operational

[[Page 42559]]

Program.'' The NRC seeks comments on the proposed new sections of the 
Standard Review Plan (SRP), concerning implementation of a Fitness-for-
Duty (FFD) program. The current SRP does not contain guidance on the 
review of an applicant's proposed FFD program.

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than August 15, 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 publically available, 
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2013-
0149. 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-2013-0149. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wesley Held, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-1583 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0149 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-2013-0149.
     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 proposed new sections of the SRP are available in ADAMS under 
Accession Nos.: ML113250516 (Section 13.7, ``Fitness for Duty--
Introduction''), and ML113250541 (Section 13.7.1, ``Fitness for Duty--
Operational Program'').
     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-2013-0149 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 in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enters 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 in their comment submissions 
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. 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 NRC seeks public comment on the proposed new sections of the 
SRP. These sections have been developed to assist NRC staff with the 
review of applications for certain construction permits, early site 
permits, licenses, license amendments, and combined licenses and to 
inform new reactor applicants and other affected entities of proposed 
SRP guidance regarding an acceptable method by which to evaluate a 
proposed Fitness-for-Duty program for compliance with part 26 of Title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
    Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends 
to incorporate the final approved guidance into the next revision of 
NUREG-0800. The SRP is guidance for the NRC staff. The SRP is not a 
substitute for the NRC regulations, and compliance with the SRP is not 
required.

Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this draft SRP, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in section 50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) or otherwise be 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in part 50 of Title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The NRC's position is 
based upon the following considerations.
    1. The draft SRP positions, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance to NRC staff.
    The SRP provides internal guidance to the NRC 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 
either nuclear power plant applicants or licensees are protected under 
either the Backfit Rule or the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR part 
52.
    2. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the SRP positions on 
existing licensees either now or in the future.
    The NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the draft SRP to existing licenses and regulatory 
approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final SRP--even if considered 
guidance within the purview of the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 
part 52-- would not need to be evaluated as if it were a backfit or as 
being inconsistent with issue finality provisions. If, in the future, 
the NRC staff seeks to impose a position in the SRP on holders of 
already issued licenses in a manner that 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 in the 
applicable issue finality provision.
    3. Backfitting and issue finality do not--with limited 
exceptions not applicable here--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. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue 
finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with certain

[[Page 42560]]

exclusions--were intended to apply to every NRC action that 
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 NRC 
staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions 
represented in the draft SRP 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 in a manner that 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.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th 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. 2013-16985 Filed 7-15-13; 8:45 am]
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