[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48503-48504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19177]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2013-0161]
Proposed Revision to Missiles Generated by Extreme Winds
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 soliciting
public comment on a proposed revision 4 to Section 3.5.1.4, ``Missiles
Generated by Extreme Winds,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for
the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR
Edition.'' This revision incorporates guidance and recommendations from
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.221, ``Design-Basis Hurricane and Hurricane
Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and Interim Staff Guidance DC/COL-
ISG-024, ``Implementation of Regulatory Guide 1.221 on Design-Basis
Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles.'' In addition, this revision provides
clarification on areas of review and acceptance criteria for assessment
of design-basis missiles generated by extreme winds. The revision also
incorporates guidance on regulatory treatment of nonsafety systems.
DATES: Comments must be filed no later than September 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 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-2013-0161. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; 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 06-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 at 301-415-6992 or email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments
A. Accessing Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0161 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-2013-0161.
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.: Proposed
revision 4 (ML13043A004), current revision 3 (ML070380174), and redline
(ML13064A400).
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-2013-0161 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
[[Page 48504]]
making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the
comment submissions into ADAMS.
II. Further Information
The Office of New Reactors and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
are revising Section 3.5.1.4 of the SRP from the current revision 3.
Changes in this revision include new guidance for hurricane winds and
associated missiles from RG 1.221, ``Design-Basis Hurricane and
Hurricane Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS, Accession No.
ML110940300), and Interim Staff Guidance DC/COL-ISG-024,
``Implementation of Regulatory Guide 1.221 on Design-Basis Hurricane
and Hurricane Missiles'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13015A693).
The NRC staff is issuing this notice to solicit public comments on
the proposed revision 4 of Section 3.5.1.4 of the SRP. After the NRC
staff considers any public comments, it will make a determination
regarding the proposed revision to Section 3.5.1.4.
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 missiles generated by extreme winds. 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 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 make 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 SRP (if finalized) on holders of already issued holders of
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 1st day of August 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George M. Tartal,
Acting Chief, Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and
Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-19177 Filed 8-7-13; 8:45 am]
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