[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53083-53084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21193]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0211]


Specific Environmental Guidance for Light Water Small Modular 
Reactor Reviews

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is issuing 
its final Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) Combined License and Early Site 
Permit (COL/ESP) No. 027 (COL/ESP-ISG-027), ``Specific Environmental 
Guidance for Light Water Small Modular Reactor Reviews.'' The purpose 
of this ISG is to clarify the NRC guidance and application of NUREG-
1555, ``Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear 
Power Plants: Environmental Standard Review Plan,'' with respect to 
environmental reviews for applications for licenses to construct and 
operate light water small modular reactors (SMRs). This guidance 
applies to environmental reviews associated with light water SMR 
applications for limited work authorizations, construction permits, 
operating licenses, early site permits (ESPs), and combined licenses 
(COLs).

DATES: The effective date of this COL/ESP-ISG-027 is October 6, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0211 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-2013-0211. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3442; 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 obtain publicly

[[Page 53084]]

available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection 
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]. For the convenience of the reader, 
the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the 
``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.
     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 agency posts its issued staff guidance in the agency 
external Web page http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya Hood, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone at 301-415-1387 or email at [email protected].

Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          ADAMS Accession No.                    Document title
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ML14100A648...........................  Interim Staff Guidance-027,
                                         Specific Environmental Guidance
                                         for Light Water Small Modular
                                         Reactor Reviews--Clean Version.
ML13350A041...........................  Interim Staff Guidance-027,
                                         Specific Environmental Guidance
                                         for Light Water Small Modular
                                         Reactor Reviews--Redline
                                         Version.
ML14049A011...........................  Interim Staff Guidance 26-27
                                         Comment Resolution Summary
                                         Table.
ML13347B127...........................  Interim Staff Guidance 26-27
                                         Comment Resolution Detailed
                                         Table.
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    The NRC staff issues COL/ESP-ISGs to facilitate timely 
implementation of current staff guidance and to facilitate activities 
associated with review of applications for ESPs, design certifications, 
and COLs by the Office of New Reactors. The NRC staff intends to 
incorporate the final approved COL/ESP-ISG-027 into the next revision 
of the Environmental Standard Review Plan and related guidance 
documents.
    The NRC posts all final ISGs on the NRC's public Web page at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg/, which is where the public 
may easily obtain access to COL/ESP-ISG-027.

Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this ISG does not constitute backfitting as defined in 
Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 
(the Backfit Rule). Issuance of this ISG should not be regarded as 
backfitting under Commission and Executive Director for Operations 
guidance, and would not otherwise be inconsistent with the issue 
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC staff's position is 
based upon the following considerations.
    1. The ISG positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the 
ESRP is internal guidance to NRC staff.
    The ISG provides interim 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 do not--with limited exceptions 
not applicable here--protect current or future applicants.
    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 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 ISG in a 
manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in 
the future, the staff seeks to impose a position in the ISG 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.
    3. NRC consideration of environmental impacts to address the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 
are outside the scope of matters subject to backfitting protection, and 
are not a violation of issue finality provisions
    The NRC consideration of environmental impacts to address the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 
and an applicant's submission of environmental information needed to 
support the NRC's consideration of environmental impacts under NEPA, do 
not fall within the scope of matters which constitute backfitting. 
Consideration of environmental impacts to address NEPA compliance falls 
within the scope of matters protected under issue finality provisions 
of an ESP and a COL application referencing an ESP. However, this 
protection applies only after an ESP is issued, or if a COL application 
references an ESP. The staff does not intend to apply the guidance to 
already-issued ESPs or COL applications referencing an ESP. Therefore, 
issuance of this ISG does not constitute a violation or inconsistency 
of the issue finality provisions applicable to ESPs or COL applications 
referencing an ESP.

Congressional Review Act

    This ISG 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 25th day of August, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, Policy Branch, Division of Advanced Reactor and Rulemaking, 
Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-21193 Filed 9-4-14; 8:45 am]
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