[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13449-13451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05754]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

RIN 3150-AI01
[NRC-2014-0137]


Draft Guidance Regarding the Alternate Pressurized Thermal Shock 
Rule

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; draft NUREG; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1299, ``Regulatory 
Guidance on the Alternate Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule'' and 
accompanying draft NUREG-2163, ``Technical Basis for Regulatory 
Guidance on the Alternate Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule.'' The DG 
provides new guidance for a method that the NRC considers acceptable to 
permit use of the alternate fracture toughness requirements for 
protection against pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events for 
pressurized water reactor (PWR) reactor pressure vessels (RPVs). The 
draft NUREG provides the technical basis for DG-1299.

DATES: Submit comments by May 12, 2015. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to ensure

[[Page 13450]]

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-2014-0137. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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: OWFN-12-H08, 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: Gary Stevens, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3608; email: 
[email protected]; Mark Kirk, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, 
telephone: 301-251-7631; email: [email protected]; or Steve Burton, 
telephone: 301-415-7000; email: [email protected]; 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-2014-0137 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0137.
     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 in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced. Draft Guide-1299, ``Regulatory Guidance 
on the Alternate Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule,'' is available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML14056A011. Draft NUREG-2163, ``Technical 
Basis for Regulatory Guidance on the Alternate Pressurized Thermal 
Shock Rule,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15058A677.
     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-2014-0137 in the subject line of your 
comment submission.
    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 into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide (DG) in the 
NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. The DG, titled ``Regulatory Guidance 
on the Alternate Pressurized Thermal Shock Rule,'' is temporarily 
identified by its task number, DG-1299. This DG provides new guidance 
for a method that the NRC considers acceptable to permit use of the 
alternate fracture toughness requirements for protection against PTS 
events for PWR RPVs in part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities,'' 10 CFR 50.61a, ``Alternate Fracture Toughness 
Requirements for Protection against Pressurized Thermal Shock Events'' 
(RIN 3150-AI01). DG-1299 is accompanied by draft NUREG-2163, 
``Technical Basis for Regulatory Guidance on the Alternate Pressurized 
Thermal Shock Rule.'' This NUREG provides the technical basis for the 
guidance recommended in DG-1299. The NRC is issuing the draft NUREG for 
public comment at the same time as the DG to allow for common review of 
both documents.
    The alternate PTS requirements are based on updated analysis 
methods, and are desirable because the requirements in 10 CFR 50.61a 
are based on overly conservative probabilistic fracture mechanics 
analyses.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The DG, if finalized, would provide guidance on the methods 
acceptable to the NRC for complying with the NRC's regulations 
associated with alternate fracture toughness requirements for 
protection against PTS events for PWR RPVs. The NUREG, if finalized, 
would provide technical bases that support the DG. The DG would apply 
to certain current holders of power reactor licenses and construction 
permits under 10 CFR part 50. The alternate PTS requirements of 10 CFR 
50.61a apply to certain holders of operating licenses for a PWR whose 
construction permit was issued before February 3, 2010; however, this 
DG also provides guidance for licensees whose construction permits were 
issued after February 3, 2010, but wish to utilize the alternate PTS 
criteria via exemption. Therefore this guidance may also apply to 
future applicants for operating licenses and construction permits under 
10 CFR part 50, as well as certain current holders of and future 
applicants for power reactor licenses under 10 CFR part 52.
    Issuance of this DG and NUREG, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting under 10 CFR part 50 and would not otherwise be 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As 
discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of DG-1299, the NRC has no 
current intention to impose the DG, if finalized, on current holders of 
10 CFR part 50 operating licenses or 10 CFR part 52 combined licenses. 
This DG, if finalized, could be applied to applications for certain 10 
CFR part 50 operating licenses or construction permits and 10 CFR part 
52 combined licenses. Such action would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in 10 CFR 50.109 or be otherwise inconsistent with the issue 
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, inasmuch as such applicants are 
not within the scope of entities protected by 10 CFR 50.109 or the 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52.


[[Page 13451]]


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of March 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-05754 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
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