[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]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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