[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59982-59983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23758]



[[Page 59982]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0268]


Revisions to Radiation Protection

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Standard review plan section; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing final 
revisions to the following sections of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review 
Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power 
Plants: LWR Edition'': Section 12.1, ``Assuring that Occupational 
Radiation Exposures Are As Low As Is Reasonably Achievable,'' Section 
12.2, ``Radiation Sources,'' Section 12.3 -12.4, ``Radiation Protection 
Design Features,'' and Section 12.5, ``Operational Radiation Protection 
Program.''

DATES: The effective date of this Standard Review Plan update is 
October 30, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0268 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-2012-0268. 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.
     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 number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The final revision for Section 12.1, ``Assuring that 
Occupational Radiation Exposures are as Low as is Reasonably 
Achievable,'' (is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13151A061); 
Section 12.2, ``Radiation Sources,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13151A413); 
Section 12.3-12.4, ``Radiation Protection Design Features,'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13151A475); and Section 12.5, ``Operational Radiation 
Protection Program,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13155A232). The staff also 
prepared redline versions of these Chapter 12 sections showing the 
differences between the proposed and the final SRP sections for Section 
12.1 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13151A162), Section 12.2, (ADAMS Accession 
No ML13151A453), Section 12.3--12.4, (ADAMS Accession No ML13151A477) 
and Section 12.5, (ADAMS Accession No ML12186A512).
     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.
     The NRC posts its issued staff guidance on the NRC's 
external Web page (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan DeGange, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-6992, email: mailto:[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The changes to this final SRP Chapter 
reflect the current NRC staff review methods and practices based on 
lessons learned from NRC reviews of design certification (DC) and 
combined license (COL) applications completed since the last revision 
of this chapter in March 2007. Changes include: (1) Adding guidance to 
the staff for evaluating the acceptability of the radiation protection 
program, including the applicant's use of generic radiation protection 
and groundwater program templates, (2) providing additional guidance 
for review of existing regulatory requirements related to the material 
covered in Chapter 12 of the SRP, (3) updating the review interfaces to 
improve the efficiency and consistency of staff reviews, and (4) 
updating references covered in SRP Chapter 12.
    On November 6, 2012 (77 FR 66650), the NRC published for public 
comment the proposed revisions to four sections in Chapter 12, 
``Radiation Protection.'' Comments were received on the proposed 
revision. The staff made changes to the proposed revision after 
consideration of the comments. A summary of the comments and the 
staff's disposition of the comments are available in a separate 
document, Response to Public Comments on Draft Standard Review Plan 
(SRP) Chapter 12, ``Radiation Protection'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13150A042).
    Additionally, the NRC staff will incorporate the positions 
reflected in these revisions of SRP Sections in Chapter 12 into the 
next revision of Regulatory Guide 1.206, ``Combined License 
Applications for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML070720184).

Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final SRP section does not constitute backfitting 
as defined in Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The 
staff's position is based upon the following considerations:

1. The SRP positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP 
is internal guidance directed at the NRC staff with respect to their 
regulatory responsibilities
    The SRP provides 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 either 
nuclear power reactor license applicants or holders 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 
current licensees and regulatory approvals either now or in the future
    The staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the SRP to existing (already issued) 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--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 SRP 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.
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

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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 
apply 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 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 SRP in a manner 
which 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.

Congressional Review Act

    In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the NRC has 
determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified this 
determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 
the Office of Management and Budget.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of September 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and Rulemaking, 
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2013-23758 Filed 9-27-13; 8:45 am]
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