[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37782-37783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15572]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2012-0237]
Regulatory Treatment of Non-Safety Systems for Passive Advanced
Light Water Reactors
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Standard review plan; 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 19.3, ``Regulatory Treatment of Non-
Safety Systems (RTNSS) for Passive Advanced Light Water Reactors.''
DATES: The effective date of this Standard Review Plan (SRP) update is
August 1, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0237 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain 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-2012-0237. 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.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly-
[[Page 37783]]
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 final revision for Section 19.3,
``Regulatory Treatment of Non-Safety Systems (RTNSS) for Passive
Advanced Light Water Reactors.'' is available under ADAMS Accession No
ML14035A149.
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 at 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 or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 12, 2012 (77 FR 62270) the NRC staff published for
public comment the initial issuance of Section 19.3, ``Regulatory
Treatment of Non-Safety Systems (RTNSS) for Passive Advanced Light
Water Reactors,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML12128A405).
The NRC staff received comment submissions on the proposed
revision. The NRC staff made several changes to the proposed revision
after consideration of the comments. Additionally, in July 2013 (78 FR
41436) the staff re-noticed the draft SRP section to include a revised
position on treatment of the high winds external hazard for certain
RTNSS structures, systems and components. Comments from both the
original request for comment and subsequent re-issuance are documented
alongside the NRC staff's respective response in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML14035A148. A redline strikeout comparing the proposed draft and
final revisions can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14035A146.
II. Backfitting and Issue Finality
This SRP provides guidance to the staff for reviewing applications
for a construction permit and an operating license under part 50 of
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) with respect to
the regulatory treatment of non-safety systems. The draft SRP would
also provide guidance for reviewing an application for a standard
design approval, a standard design certification, a combined license,
and a manufacturing license under 10 CFR part 52 with respect to these
same subject matters.
Issuance of this final SRP section does 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. The
NRC 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 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.
The staff notes that with respect to economic simplified boiling
water reactor (ESBWR) design certification application currently under
consideration by the NRC, the NRC staff does not intend to reevaluate
the adequacy of RTNSS SSCs, because for the ESBWR design already meets
the guidance discussed in this SRP Section.
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 and combined licenses.
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 in the applicable
issue finality provision.
III. Congressional Review Act
This action is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 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 23rd day of June, 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino, Chief,
Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and Rulemaking, Office of
New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-15572 Filed 7-1-14; 8:45 am]
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