[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35577-35579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14608]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket ID NRC-2014-0147]


AP1000 Standard Technical Specifications

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Generic technical specification travelers; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on its generic technical specification travelers (GTSTs) 
for the development of standard technical specifications (STS) for the 
AP1000 certified reactor design based on the AP1000 generic technical 
specifications (GTS). Each GTST documents the safety basis for proposed 
improvements to one or more GTS sections that will result in 
corresponding sections in the AP1000 STS, which will be the subject of 
a NUREG (similar to NUREG-1431, STS for Westinghouse Plants). The 
purpose of the GTSTs is to provide an orderly method of soliciting and 
processing

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public comments on proposed enhancements and updates to the GTS and the 
associated GTS Bases.

DATES: Submit comments by September 22, 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 
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-2014-0147. 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 notice.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, 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: Craig Harbuck, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
telephone: 301-415-3140, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0147 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
information related to this action, which the NRC possesses and is 
publicly available, by any of the following methods:
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0147.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 
AP1000 GTSTs draft files are available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML14129A393.
     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-2014-0147 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. Background

    The content of each GTST, which includes the associated technical 
specification subsection(s), resides in an automated database 
application. Following incorporation of public comment resolutions into 
the database and NRC approval of the updated GTSTs, the database 
application will be used to efficiently generate files for the AP1000 
STS, which will be published as a NUREG.
    The proposed improvements to the GTS include: (1) Applicable 
changes made to operating reactor STS since Rev. 2 of NUREG-1431 that 
are contained in NRC-approved Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF) 
Travelers; (2) addition of site-specific information provided by the 
AP1000 lead plant combined license (COL) applicant (i.e., Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company for Vogtle Electric Generating Plant [VEGP] 
Units 3 and 4) that was approved for the plant-specific TS issued with 
the COL--site-specific information will be denoted by enclosing it in 
brackets in the AP1000 STS; (3) standard departures from the GTS, GTS 
Bases, or both that were proposed by the lead plant COL applicant and 
approved as an exemption from the GTS, GTS Bases, or both in the plant-
specific TS issued with the COL; (4) changes to the lead plant's plant-
specific TS that were approved by the NRC as part of an amendment to 
the COL (e.g., Amendment 13 to COL No. NPF-91 for VEGP Unit 3); and (5) 
other changes recommended by the NRC staff, including clarifications 
and enhancements of the GTS Bases.
    In addition to automating production of files for GTSTs and AP1000 
STS, in the future, the database application may be used to more 
efficiently process AP1000 STS change proposals and--after issuance of 
COLs and AP1000 plants begin operation--COL amendment applications to 
change plant-specific TS. A nuclear power reactor licensee, for 
example, could request plant-specific TS changes based on NRC approved 
GTST changes after confirming the applicability of the GTST's safety 
basis for the changes to the reactor's licensing basis and design. The 
NRC staff is requesting comment on the draft GTSTs prior to issuing the 
initial AP1000 STS and announcing its availability for referencing in 
license amendment applications.
    The Design Control Document (DCD) in a design certification 
application for a new reactor design includes generic technical 
specifications (GTS). A Combined Operating License (COL) applicant who 
references a certified reactor design must adopt the DCD GTS approved 
by rulemaking (e.g., Appendix D to Part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) for the AP1000 design) into the plant-
specific TS. After COL issuance, the licensee can obtain changes to the 
plant-specific TS, which were issued with and as part of the COL, 
through the license amendment process prescribed by 10 CFR 50.90. The 
AP1000 GTS are based upon the Westinghouse STS (NUREG-1431, Revision 
2). There have been two subsequent major revisions to the Westinghouse 
STS (Revisions 3 and 4).
    Current operating reactor STS (NUREG-1430, -1431, -1432, -1433, and 
-1434) are revised through the industry's pressurized water reactor 
(PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) owner groups' Technical 
Specifications Task Force (TSTF) working with TS staff of the Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) with participation by

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TS staff in the Office of New Reactors (NRO) and NRC technical and 
projects staff as needed. The TSTF change process serves to make 
corrections and improvements to the STS. The TSTF usually proposes 
changes and after conducting a safety review the NRR TS staff either 
approves or disapproves the changes. The TSTF change process is 
intended to facilitate NRR's control of STS and plant specific TS 
changes by processing proposed changes to the STS in a manner that 
supports subsequent plant-specific TS license amendment applications. 
The Westinghouse STS revisions are derived from specific TSTF changes 
approved by NRC.
    The NRO TS staff is creating STS NUREGs for the new reactor 
certified designs in order to maintain consistency and standardization 
of TS. The NRO TS staff will manage changes to the new reactor STS 
using a web-based automated system currently under development. The new 
reactor STS change process is envisioned to eventually be included with 
the TSTF change process for operating reactor STS. Applying the TSTF 
change process to new reactor STS NUREGs will promote consistency with 
operating reactor STS NUREGs and maintain standardization among all 
reactor designs for similar or equivalent TS requirements.
    The NRO TS staff is preparing AP1000 STS based upon the GTS with 
applicable TSTF changes approved for Westinghouse STS incorporated. 
Each of the approved TSTF changes to Westinghouse STS (NUREG-1431, 
Revision 2) has been analyzed for applicability and a GTST has been 
created for each AP1000 GTS section incorporating the applicable 
approved TSTF changes. The GTSTs are designed to facilitate COL holder 
adoption. The GTST files are kept in a database that can be used to 
generate the latest version of the AP1000 STS. VEGP Units 3 and 4 (the 
AP1000 Reference COLs, or lead plants) were licensed to AP1000 DCD 
Revision 19. Shortly after COL issuance, the COL holder submitted a 
license amendment request (LAR) to upgrade the VEGP Units 3 and 4 
plant-specific TS via approved license amendments in accordance with 10 
CFR 50.90. The VEGP Units 3 and 4 license amendments to upgrade the 
plant-specific TS are reflected in the draft AP1000 GTSTs for which the 
staff is soliciting comments.
    The NRC staff will evaluate any comments received, provide a 
response to the comments and make appropriate changes to the GTST 
documents. Following resolution of public comments the final GTSTs will 
be used to create Revision 0 of the AP1000 STS NUREG. The availability 
of the AP1000 STS NUREG Revision 0 and the supporting GTST documents 
will then be announced for consideration by licensees to upgrade plant-
specific TS. Each amendment application made in response to the notice 
of availability will be processed and noticed in accordance with 
applicable rules and NRC procedures.
    This proposal to make available NRC approved changes to GTS 
provisions, as documented in GTSTs and incorporated in the AP1000 STS 
and associated STS Bases, for adoption in plant-specific TS is 
applicable to all AP1000 COL holders. COL holders are anticipated to 
propose license amendments to update plant-specific TS with applicable 
GTST changes. To efficiently process the incoming license amendment 
applications, the staff requests that each licensee applying for 
changes contained in approved GTSTs include in its application 
justifications for adopting the proposed changes that are consistent 
with the safety basis given in the GTSTs; the amendment application 
should also justify any plant specific deviations from the approved 
GTST changes proposed for adoption.
    If the staff announces the availability of a GTST change, licensees 
wishing to adopt the change must submit an application in accordance 
with applicable rules and other regulatory requirements. For each 
application the staff will publish a notice of consideration of 
issuance of amendment to facility operating licenses, a proposed no 
significant hazards consideration determination, and a notice of 
opportunity for a hearing.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of June 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Antonio F. Dias,
Acting Branch Chief, Balance of Plant and Technical Specifications 
Branch, Division of Safety Systems and Risk Assessment, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-14608 Filed 6-20-14; 8:45 am]
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