[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 108 (Thursday, June 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32580-32582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13061]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0131]


Open Phase Condition in Electric Power System; Electric Power--
Introduction

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is requesting 
public comment on a draft new Branch

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Technical Position (BTP) 8-9, ``Open Phase Conditions in Electric Power 
System.'' The NRC also seeks public comment on a related draft Revision 
5 to Section 8.1, ``Electric Power--Introduction,'' of NUREG-0800, 
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for 
Nuclear Power Plants.''

DATES: Submit comments by July 21, 2014. 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-2014-0131. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, 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: 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-2014-0131 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-2014-0131.
     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 (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided 
the first time that a document is referenced. The draft BTP 8-9, 
Revision 0, ``Open Phase Conditions in Electric Power System,'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14057A433. The draft Standard 
Review Plan (SRP) Section 8.1, Revision 5, ``Electric Power--
Introduction,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14114A430.
     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-2014-0131 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 you 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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. Further Information

    The NRC staff is issuing this notice to request public comments on 
the draft SRP Section 8.1, Revision 5 and on draft BTP 8-9. This BTP is 
proposed guidance for the staff's safety review of licensing actions 
associated with General Design Criteria (GDC) 17, ``Electric Power 
Systems,'' in Appendix A to part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), related to coping with open phase electrical 
conditions in power systems. The previous version of SRP Section 8.1 
was published on February 28, 2012 (77 FR 12086), as Revision 4 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML113640121). The new BTP would be added as a reference 
to Chapter 8 of the SRP. Specifically Table 8-1, ``Acceptance Criteria 
and Guidelines for Electric Power Systems,'' of SRP Section 8.1 will be 
updated to include the BTP 8-9 after resolution of any comments and 
final issuance of BTP 8-9. This is reflected as the only change 
included in draft Revision 5 of SRP Section 8.1. The NRC plans on 
responding to the public comments and then issuing the updated SRP 
Section 8.1 and BTP as final guidance. The NRC staff intends to 
incorporate the final approved guidance into the next revision of 
Chapter 8 of NUREG-0800.
    The NRC intends to put these documents in ADAMS and post it on the 
NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/. The SRP is guidance for the NRC staff. The SRP is 
not a substitute for the NRC regulations, and compliance with the SRP 
is not required.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The purpose of draft BTP 8-9 is to provide guidance to the NRC 
staff in reviewing various licensing actions related to an electric 
power system design vulnerability due to open phase conditions in 
offsite electric power systems in accordance with GDC 17 or principal 
design criteria specified in the updated final safety analysis report, 
and 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2) and (c)(3). Issuance of the BTP and draft SRP 
Section 8.1, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined 
in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) or otherwise be inconsistent with 
the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC's position is 
based upon the following considerations.
    1. The draft SRP positions, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance to NRC staff.
    The SRP provides internal guidance to the NRC 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 plant applicants or licensees 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 draft SRP positions 
on holders of existing licensees or regulatory approvals either now or 
in

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the future (absent a voluntary request for change from the licensee or 
holder of a regulatory approval).
    The NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the draft BTP 8-9 or SRP to existing licenses and 
regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final BTP 8-9 or SRP--
even if considered guidance within the purview of the issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52--would not need to be evaluated as if it 
were a backfit or as being inconsistent with issue finality provisions. 
If, in the future, the NRC staff seeks to impose a position in the 
draft BTP 8-9 or SRP (if finalized) on holders of already issued 
licenses in a manner that 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.
    3. Backfitting and issue finality do not--with limited exceptions 
discussed below--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. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue 
finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with certain exclusions--were 
intended to apply to every NRC action that 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 NRC staff does not, 
at this time, intend to impose the positions represented in the draft 
BTP 8-9 or SRP (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 BTP 8-9 or SRP in a manner that 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.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of May 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and Rulemaking, 
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-13061 Filed 6-4-14; 8:45 am]
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