[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30285-30287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12785]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0131]


Proposed Revision to Site Characteristics and Site Parameters

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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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 NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition,'' Section 2.0, ``Site Characteristics and Site Parameters.'' 
The NRC seeks comments on the proposed revised section of the SRP 
concerning site characteristics and site parameters.

DATES: Submit comments by July 27, 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-2015-0131. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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: O12-H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
     For additional direction on accessing information and 
submitting comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting 
Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Notich, telephone: 301-415-3053; 
email: [email protected], or Demetrius Murray, telephone: 301-415-
7646; 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-2015-0131 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. 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-2015-0131.
     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 numbers for the documents associated with the proposed 
revisions are available in ADAMS as follows: SRP Section 2.0, ``Site 
Characteristics and Site Parameters.'' proposed Revision 1 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15043A732), current Revision 0 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML070400364), and the redline document (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14091B080).
     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-2015-0131 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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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. Further Information

    The NRC proposes to revise SRP Section 2.0, ``Site Characteristics 
and Site Parameters,'' in Chapter 2 of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review 
Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power 
Plants: LWR Edition.'' The proposed changes to the SRP Section 2.0 
reflect the current staff review methods and practices based on lessons 
learned from NRC reviews of early site permit, design certification and 
combined license applications completed since the last revision of this 
section. The changes include: (1) Clarifying the areas of review by 
providing definitions and a more detailed description of what is 
reviewed under part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), application; (2) adding more detailed to text and references 
to regulations to clarify acceptance criteria requirements; and (3) 
providing clarification on the review of site parameters and site 
characteristics.
    Following the NRC staff's evaluation of public comments, the NRC 
intends to finalize SRP Section 2.0, Revision 1 in ADAMS and post it on 
the NRC's public Web site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/. The SRP is a 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 SRP section revisions does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) nor is it 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The 
NRC's position is based upon the following considerations.

1. The SRP Positions 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 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 SRP to existing licenses and regulatory approvals. 
Hence, the issuance of this SRP--even if

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considered guidance within the purview of the issue finality provisions 
in 10 CFR part 52--does not need to be evaluated as if it were 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 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) 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 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 section 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.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of May 2015.
    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. 2015-12785 Filed 5-26-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P