[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55835-55836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22199]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0198]


Proposed Revisions to Radioactive Waste Management

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on the following sections in Chapter 11, ``Radioactive 
Waste Management,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition,'' Section 11.1, ``Coolant Source Terms''; Section 11.2, 
``Liquid Waste Management System''; Section 11.3, ``Gaseous Waste 
Management System''; Section 11.4, ``Solid Waste Management System''; 
Section 11.5, ``Process and Effluent Radiological Monitoring 
Instrumentation and Sampling Systems''; Branch Technical Position 11-3, 
``Design Guidance for Solid Radioactive Waste Management Systems 
Installed in Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactor Plants''; Branch 
Technical Position 11-5, ``Postulated Radioactive Releases Due to a 
Waste Gas System Leak or Failure''; and Branch Technical Position 11-6, 
``Postulated Radioactive Releases due to Liquid Containing Tank 
Failures.''

DATES: Submit comments by November 17, 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-2014-0198. 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, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), 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 ``Obtaining 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; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0198 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly available information related to this document by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0198.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access 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]. For 
the convenience of the reader, instructions about accessing materials 
referenced in this document are provided in the ``Availability of 
Documents'' section.
     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-2014-0198 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. 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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Proposed revision ADAMS    Current revision ADAMS    Redline ADAMS accession
             Section                     accession No.              accession No.                  No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.1.............................  Proposed Revision 4        Current Revision 3        ML13058A231.
                                    (ML13058A173).             (ML070790010).
11.2.............................  Proposed Revision 5        Current Revision 4        ML13051A463.
                                    (ML13044A644).             (ML100740449).
11.3.............................  Proposed Revision 4        Current Revision 3        ML13070A380.
                                    (ML13065A119).             (ML070710366).
11.4.............................  Proposed Revision 4        Current Revision 3        ML13072A574.
                                    (ML13072A545).             (ML070710397).
11.5.............................  Proposed Revision 6        Current Revision 5        ML13072A136.
                                    (ML13071A494).             (ML100740509).
Branch Technical Position 11-3...  Proposed Revision 4        Current Revision 3        ML13071A160.
                                    (ML13070A352).             (ML070730202).
Branch Technical Position 11-5...  Proposed Revision 4        Current Revision 3        ML13070A465.
                                    (ML13070A322).             (ML070730056).

[[Page 55836]]

 
Branch Technical Position 11-6...  Proposed Revision 4        Current Revision 3        ML13051A586.
                                    (ML13051A458).             (ML070720635).
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    The NRC may post materials related to this document, including 
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking Web site at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2014-0198. The Federal 
rulemaking Web site allows you to receive alerts when changes or 
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-2014-0198); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email 
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how 
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or 
monthly).

III. Further Information

    The Office of New Reactors and Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 
are revising these sections from their current revisions. Details of 
specific changes in the proposed revisions are included at the end of 
each of the proposed sections.
    The changes to this SRP chapter reflect current staff review 
methods and practices based on lessons learned from NRC reviews of 
design certification and combined license applications completed since 
the last revision of this chapter. Among other changes, the revisions 
include (1) revision of the title of SRP Section 11.1 to ``Coolant 
Source Terms,'' (2) implementation of Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), 
COL/DC-ISG-013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12191A304), and (3) the revision 
also harmonizes SRP Section 11.2 with BTP 11.6 regarding the guidance 
of COL/DC-ISG-013 for calculating doses to members of the public and 
identifying acceptable criteria in assessing the radiological 
consequences of accidental releases due to tank failures.

IV. Backfitting and Finality Provisions

    Issuance of these draft SRP sections, if finalized, would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), (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 SRP positions on 
existing licensees either now or in the future.
    The NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the draft SRP to existing licenses and regulatory 
approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final 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 SRP 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.
    3. Backfitting and issue finality do not--with limited exceptions 
not applicable here--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 SRP 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 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.
    The NRC staff is issuing this notice to solicit public comments on 
the proposed SRP Sections and BTPs in Chapter 11. After the NRC staff 
considers any public comments, it will make a determination regarding 
the proposed SRP Sections and BTPs in Chapter 11. 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.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of September, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Advanced 
Reactors and Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-22199 Filed 9-16-14; 8:45 am]
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