[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 1 (Friday, January 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57-58]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30770]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0041]


Revision to Seismic Design Parameters

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Standard review plan-final section revision; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
final revision to the following section in Chapter 3 of NUREG-0800, 
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for 
Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,'' Section 3.7.1, ``Seismic Design 
Parameters.''

DATES: The effective date of this Standard Review Plan (SRP) update is 
February 2, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0041 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-2013-0041. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
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 in this notice (if 
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a 
document is referenced. The final revision for Standard Review Plan 
(SRP) Section 3.7.1, ``Seismic Design Parameters,'' is available under 
ADAMS Accession No. ML14198A460. A redline strikeout comparing the 
proposed revision to the final revision can be found in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML14198A466. The responses to public comments can be 
found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14198A462.
     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 NRC posts its issued staff guidance on the 
NRC's external Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/.

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] or 
Nishka Devaser, telephone: 301-415-5196, email: [email protected], 
Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555 0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On March 1, 2013 (78 FR 13911), the NRC published for public 
comment the proposed revision to this section of the SRP. The staff 
made changes to the proposed revision after consideration of comments 
received. A summary of the comments and the staff's disposition of the 
comments are available in a separate document, ``Response to Public 
Comments on Draft SRP Section 3.7.1'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14198A462).
    The changes to this SRP section reflect current staff's 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. Changes include: (1) Enhancements to 
guidance to the staff for evaluating the acceptability of seismic, 
civil, structural design, and analysis issues, (2) updates to review 
interfaces to improve the efficiency and consistency of staff reviews 
and (3) updates to references covered in the section.
    The revised section has incorporated staff dispositions of all 
public comments received on the proposed revision. The most salient 
changes in response to the public comments are the rewrite of Appendix 
B to SRP Section 3.7.1. The new Appendix B provides further enhancement 
of the guidance on developing power spectral density functions 
associated with ground motion artificial time histories. No new SRP 
acceptance criteria were added as a result of this rewrite of Appendix 
B.

II. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final SRP section does not constitute backfitting 
as defined in Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The 
staff's position is based upon the following considerations:
    1. The SRP positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the 
SRP is internal guidance directed at the NRC staff with respect to 
their regulatory responsibilities.
    The SRP provides 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. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the SRP positions on 
current licensees and regulatory approvals either now or in the future.
    The staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the SRP to existing (already issued) licenses and 
regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final SRP--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 SRP on holders 
of already issued holders of licenses SRP in a manner which 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 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. 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.

[[Page 58]]

    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 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 SRP 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.

III. Congressional Review Act

    In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the NRC has 
determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified this 
determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 
the Office of Management and Budget.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of December, 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. 2014-30770 Filed 12-31-14; 8:45 am]
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