[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 235 (Monday, December 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72709-72710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28601]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0232]


Probabilistic Risk Assessment and Severe Accident Evaluation for 
New Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on the NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR [Light 
Water Reactor] Edition,'' Section 19.0, Revision 3, ``Probabilistic 
Risk Assessment and Severe Accident Evaluation for New Reactors.'' The 
NRC seeks public comment on draft Section 19.0, Revision 3, concerning 
deletion of certain considerations for the design certification rule, 
additional proposed acceptance criteria and review procedures for the 
NRC staff's review of an applicant's assessment of risk from accidents 
that could affect multiple modules in facilities with small modular 
integral pressurized water reactors (iPWRs), and additional procedures 
for the NRC staff's review of the results of the Probabilistic Risk 
Assessment (PRA) for non-power modes of operation.

DATES: Submit comments by February 6, 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 
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-2012-0232. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-44M, 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: Jonathan DeGange, telephone: 301-415-
6992, email: [email protected] or Nishka Devaser, telephone: 
301-415-5196, email: [email protected], both are staff of the 
Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555 0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0232 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-2012-0232.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library 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 SRP draft Section 19.0, 
Revision 3, Section Revision 2, and a redline strikeout detailing the 
specific changes from Revision 2 to Revision 3 are available in ADAMS 
under Accession Nos. ML14161A594, ML071700652, and ML14161A558.
     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-2012-0232 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 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. Background

    On October 9, 2012 (77 FR 61446), the NRC solicited public comment 
on a prior version of draft Section 19.0, Revision 3. However, recent 
pre-application interactions between NRC staff and potential applicants 
for design certification have highlighted the NRC's expectations for 
information that is sufficiently complete and technically adequate to 
allow the NRC staff to conduct its detailed technical review and 
complete it within a predictable timeframe. For this reason, the NRC 
believes that it is important to include the additional guidance in 
Section 19.0, Revision 3, at this time.

III. Further Information

    The NRC seeks public comment on draft Section 19.0, Revision 3.

[[Page 72710]]

Specifically, the NRC seeks public comment only on the following three 
specific areas of focus: (1) Deletion of considerations for the design 
certification rule, (2) proposed acceptance criteria and review 
procedures for the NRC staff's review of the applicant's assessment of 
risk from accidents that could affect multiple modules in facilities 
with small modular iPWRs, and (3) procedures for the NRC staff's review 
of the results of the PRA for non-power modes of operation. This 
revision should clarify guidance related to the PRA for non-power modes 
of operation and small modular iPWRs.
    Following the NRC staff's evaluation of public comments, the NRC 
intends to finalize SRP Section 19.0, Revision 3 in ADAMS and post it 
on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/. The SRP is guidance for the NRC 
staff. The SRP is not a substitute for the NRC's regulations, and 
compliance with the SRP is not required.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this draft SRP, 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 the NRC staff.
    The SRP provides internal guidance to the NRC staff on how to 
review an application for NRC's 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 was 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 NRC 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 NRC 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 NRC staff must address the criteria for avoiding 
issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of November 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. 2014-28601 Filed 12-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P