[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]
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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.
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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]
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