[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70575-70576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28047]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0254]


Advanced Light-Water Reactor Probabilistic Risk Assessment

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this 
notice for use of and requesting public comment on its draft Interim 
Staff Guidance (ISG) DC/COL-ISG-028, ``Assessing the Technical Adequacy 
of the Advanced Light-Water Reactor Probabilistic Risk Assessment for 
the Design Certification Application and Combined License 
Application.'' The purpose of this ISG would be to provide guidance for 
assessing the technical adequacy of the probabilistic risk assessment 
(PRA) needed for advanced light-water reactor (ALWR) design 
certification (DC) and combined license (COL) applications. This 
guidance would only address the typical conditions for the DC and COL 
application.

DATES: Submit comments by January 26, 2015. 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-2014-0254. 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, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0254 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0254.
     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 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. The proposed DC/

[[Page 70576]]

COL-ISG-028 is available electronically under ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14230A111.
     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-2014-0254 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 in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment 
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment 
submissions into ADAMS, and 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 into ADAMS.

II. Background

    The NRC staff issues DC/COL-ISGs to facilitate timely 
implementation of current staff guidance and to facilitate activities 
associated with review of applications for DCs and COLs by the Office 
of New Reactors. The NRC staff intends to incorporate the final 
approved DC/COL-ISG-28 into the next revision of Regulatory Guide (RG) 
1.200, Revision 2, ``An Approach for Determining the Technical Adequacy 
of Probabilistic Risk Assessment Results for Risk-Informed Activities'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML090410014), RG 1.206, ``Combined License 
Applications for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML070720184), and NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,'' SRP 
Section 19.0 ``Probabilistic Risk Assessment and Severe Accident 
Evaluation for New Reactors'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML12132A481), as 
appropriate.
    An early version of this ISG was made publicly available to support 
the September 9, 2014, meeting of the Working Group on Advanced Light 
Water Reactors for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers/
American Nuclear Society Joint Standards Committee on Nuclear Risk 
Management (ADAMS Accession No. ML14248A683). The public should not 
provide comments to the early version of the ISG.
    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 DC/COL-ISG-28.

Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC is proposing to issue interim guidance for the NRC staff 
for assessing the technical adequacy of probabilistic risk assessments 
submitted as part of advanced light-water reactor design certification 
applications and combined license applications. Issuance of the draft 
ISG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined section 
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 ISG positions, if finalized, do not constitute 
backfitting, inasmuch as the ISG 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 applicants 
or licensees are protected under 10 CFR 50.109 or issue finality 
provisions in 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 under 10 CFR part 52--with 
certain exclusions discussed below--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), NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design 
certification rule), or both, with specified issue finality provisions. 
The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions 
represented in the draft ISG (if finalized) 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 ISG (if finalized) 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.
    3. The staff has no intention to impose the draft ISG 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 draft ISG to existing (already issued) licenses (e.g., 
operating licenses and combined licenses) and regulatory approvals. 
Hence, the draft ISG--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 draft ISG (if finalized) 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, as applicable.

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 
yet determined whether it is a major rule as defined in the 
Congressional Review Act.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of November, 2014.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Advanced 
Reactor and Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-28047 Filed 11-25-14; 8:45 am]
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