[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48727-48728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19308]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0160]


Proposed Revisions to Design of Structures, Components, Equipment 
and Systems

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on the following sections in Chapter 3, ``Design of 
Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems'' and soliciting public 
comment on NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety 
Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,'' Section 3.9.3 
``ASME Code Class 1, 2, and 3 Components, and Component Supports, and 
Core Support Structures.''

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 access information and comment submissions related 
to this document, which the NRC possesses and is publicly available, by 
searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2013-0160. 
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-2013-0160. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN 06A44M, 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: Jonathan DeGange, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-6992 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0160 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-2013-0160.
     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 
3.9.3, Proposed Revision 1 (ML12334A360), Current Revision 0 
(ML070430397), Redline (ML12341A203).
     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-2013-0160 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 revisions to this 
section. In respect of this revision, details of specific changes are 
included at the end of the revised section, and are shown in the 
description of changes.
    The changes to this Standard Review Plan (SRP) Chapter reflect the 
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.
    These sections have been updated to reflect the guidance provided 
in SRP 3.12 for Generic Issue 89 on stiff pipe clamps (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML101720320), as well as in SRP Section 3.9.6 for the operational 
readiness of snubbers (ADAMS Accession No. ML070720041), and review 
interfaces have been updated accordingly. Terms have been revised from 
``Operability'' and ``Operability Assurance'' to ``Operational 
Readiness'' for consistency with other SRP sections, including the 
title of Appendix A, Section 5. Subsection 3.9.3.III.1 and Table 1 in 
Appendix A were revised to correct discussion of the operating-basis 
earthquake for new reactors. Additional references were also added to 
the references section. Accession numbers for the redline document 
comparing the current revision with the proposed revision are included 
in the Supplementary Information section.
    The NRC staff is issuing this notice to solicit public comments on 
the revised SRP Sections in Chapter 3. After the NRC staff considers 
any public comments, it will make a determination regarding the revised 
SRP Sections in Chapter 3.

Backfitting and Issue Finality

    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

[[Page 48728]]

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, in as much 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 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 in the applicable issue finality 
provision, as applicable.

    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. 2013-19308 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P