[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 111 (Tuesday, June 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33221-33222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13516]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2013-0123]
Reliability Assurance Program
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Standard review plan final section revision; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
final revision to the following section of NUREG-0800, ``Standard
Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power
Plants: LWR Edition,'' Section 17.4, ``Reliability Assurance Program.''
DATES: The effective date of this Standard Review Plan (SRP) update is
July 10, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0123 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0123. 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 and previously issued draft revision for
public use and comment, and redline strikeout comparing the final
revision with the draft revision are available in ADAMS under the
following Accession Nos.:
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SRP section Final revision Draft revision Redline strikeout
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17.4.............................. ML13296A435.......... ML13296A435.......... ML13296A436
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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: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 11, 2013 (78 FR 35072), the NRC published for public
comment a proposed revision to SRP Section 17.4, ``Reliability
Assurance Program.'' Comment submissions were received on the proposed
revision. The staff made changes to the proposed revision after
consideration of the comments.
The staff made several administrative changes to the text in the
document to facilitate flow and better clarify the guidance based on
comments received. Additional changes were made to add clarity to
guidance on programmatic controls, and clarify how applicants must
address Combined License Action Items and Certification Requirements
and Restrictions.
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),'' Section 17.4,
``Reliability Assurance Program'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13296A437).
II. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Issuance of this final SRP section does not constitute backfitting
as defined in Section 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
NRC staff's position is based upon the following considerations:
1. The SRP positions do not constitute backfitting, since 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
[[Page 33222]]
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. 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 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
currently intend to impose the positions represented in this SRP
section in a manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality
provisions of 10 CFR Part 52. If in the future the NRC staff does
indeed intend to impose positions inconsistent with these issue
finality provisions, the NRC staff must address the regulatory criteria
for avoiding issue finality.
3. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the 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 SRP section to existing (already issued) licenses
(e.g., operating licenses and combined licenses) and regulatory
approvals--in this case, design certifications. Hence, the issuance of
this SRP guidance, 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 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 applicable issue finality provision, as
applicable.
III. Congressional Review Act
This action is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th 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. 2014-13516 Filed 6-9-14; 8:45 am]
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