[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55117-55118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21847]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0203]


Ultimate Heat Sink for Nuclear Power Plants; Draft Regulatory 
Guide

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1275, ``Ultimate Heat 
Sink for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This regulatory guide (RG) describes 
methods and procedures acceptable to the NRC staff that nuclear power 
plant facility licensees and applicants may use to implement general 
design criteria (GDC) that are applicable to the ultimate heat sink 
(UHS) features of plant systems.

DATES: Submit comments by November 8, 2013. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comment 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-2013-0203. 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, 06-44M, 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: Hector Rodriguez-Luccioni, telephone: 
301-251-7685, email: [email protected], or Bruce Lin, 
telephone: 301-251-7653, email: [email protected]. Both of the Office 
of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0203 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0203.
     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 draft regulatory guide 
is available electronically in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13043A624. 
The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML13043A628.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.
     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-2013-0203 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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public such information as methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff 
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The draft regulatory guide, entitled, ``Ultimate Heat Sink for 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, 
DG-1275. The DG-1275 is proposed revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.27, 
dated January 1976.
    This regulatory guide describes methods and procedures acceptable 
to the NRC staff that nuclear power plant facility licensees and 
applicants may use to implement general design criteria that are 
applicable to the ultimate heat sink features of plant systems.
    American National Standard Institute/American Nuclear Society 
(ANSI/ANS) Standard 2.21-2012, ``Criteria for Assessing Atmospheric 
Effects on the Ultimate Heat Sink,'' has been reviewed for 
applicability to this guide. This ANSI/ANS standard describes 
atmospheric effects for consideration when designing ultimate heat 
sinks for safety-related systems at nuclear power plants. Guidance from 
the ANSI/ANS standard has been incorporated in this guide where 
appropriate. The NRC staff review of ANSI/ANS 2.21-2012 and DG 1275 
criteria for assessing atmospheric effect on the ultimate heat sink is 
documented and can be found in ADAMS (ML13043A627).

[[Page 55118]]

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Draft Regulatory Guide 1.27 provides guidance on one possible means 
for meeting NRC's regulatory requirements of the general design 
criteria (GDC) in appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear 
Power Plants,'' to part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), which are applicable to the ultimate heat sink 
features of nuclear power plant systems. This draft regulatory guide, 
if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 
50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise inconsistent with the 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications 
and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' The NRC's position is based 
upon the following considerations.
    Draft Regulatory Guide 1.27 may be applied to current applications 
for operating licenses, combined licenses, early site permits, and 
certified design rules docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance 
of the final regulatory guide, as well as future applications submitted 
after the issuance of the regulatory guide. Such action would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) or be 
otherwise inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in 
10 CFR part 52. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality 
provisions under 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 a 
combined license applicant references a part 52 license (e.g., an early 
site permit) or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design certification 
rule) with specified issue finality provisions. The NRC does not, at 
this time, intend to impose the positions represented in draft 
Regulatory Guide 1.27 on combined license applicants in a manner that 
is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, 
the NRC seeks to impose a position in Regulatory Guide 1.27 in a manner 
which does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable 
issue finality provision, then the NRC must address the criteria for 
avoiding issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality 
provision.
    Existing part 50 construction permit holders and part 50 operating 
license holders would not be required to comply with the positions set 
forth in draft Regulatory Guide 1.27, unless the construction permit or 
operating license holder makes a voluntary change to its licensing 
basis with respect to the ultimate heat sink (UHS) features of plant 
systems and the NRC determines that the safety review must include 
consideration of the ultimate heat sink (UHS) features of plant 
systems.
    Existing design certification rules would not be required to be 
amended to comply with the positions set forth in draft Regulatory 
Guide 1.27, unless the NRC addresses the issue finality provisions in 
10 CFR 52.63(a).
    Existing combined license holders (referencing the AP1000 design 
certification rule in 10 CFR part 52, appendix D), would not be 
required to comply with the positions set forth in draft Regulatory 
Guide 1.27, unless the NRC addresses the issue finality provisions in 
10 CFR 52.63(a).
    Further information on the staff's use of the draft regulatory 
guide, if finalized, is contained in Regulatory Guide 1.27 under 
section D. Implementation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of August, 2013.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-21847 Filed 9-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P