[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37666-37667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16131]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0153]


Acceptance of Commercial-Grade Design and Analysis Computer 
Programs for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; 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-1305, ``Acceptance of 
Commercial-Grade Design and Analysis Computer Programs for Nuclear 
Power Plants.'' This DG provides new (i.e., not preceded by earlier 
guidance on the same subject) guidance that describes acceptance 
methods that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable in meeting 
regulatory requirements for acceptance and dedication of commercial-
grade design and analysis computer programs for nuclear power plants.

DATES: Submit comments by August 31, 2015. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specified subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0153. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) 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 accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Lipscomb, Office of New

[[Page 37667]]

Reactors, 301-415-6838, email: [email protected], or Steve 
Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, 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-2015-0153 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publically-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-2015-0153.
     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 (if available in 
ADAMS), is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The 
DG is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML14119A286.
     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-2015-0153 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 enters 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. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public information regarding methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the staff needs in 
its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The DG, entitled, ``Acceptance of Commercial-Grade Design and 
Analysis Computer Programs for Nuclear Power Plants,'' is temporarily 
identified by its task number, DG-1305. This DG provides new guidance 
that describes acceptance methods that the staff of the NRC considers 
acceptable in meeting regulatory requirements for acceptance and 
dedication of commercial-grade design and analysis computer programs 
for nuclear power plants.

II. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Draft Guide-1305 describes acceptable methods for meeting the 
dedication requirements in part 21 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) and 10 CFR 50.55(e) with respect to design and 
analysis computer programs for nuclear power plants. The draft 
regulatory guide, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, 
``Licenses, Certifications and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' 
This regulatory guide, if finalized, represents the first NRC guidance 
on this subject. Issuance of new guidance, by itself, does not 
represent backfitting unless the NRC intends to impose the guidance on 
existing licensees and currently-approved design certification rules 
issued under part 52. The NRC does not have such an intention. Existing 
licensees and applicants of final design certification rules will not 
be required to comply with the positions set forth in this draft 
regulatory guide, unless the licensee or design certification rule 
applicant seeks a voluntary change to its licensing basis with respect 
to safety-related power operated valve actuators, and where the NRC 
determines that the safety review must include consideration of the 
qualification of the valve actuators. Further information on the 
staff's use of the draft regulatory guide, if finalized, is contained 
in the draft regulatory guide under Section D. Implementation.
    Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain 
exceptions, afforded protection by either the Backfit Rule or any issue 
finality provisions under part 52. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the 
issue finality provisions under 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. Therefore, the positions in any final draft regulatory 
guide, if imposed on applicants, would not represent backfitting 
(except as discussed below). The exceptions to the general principle 
are applicable whenever a combined license applicant references a part 
52 license (i.e., an early site permit or a manufacturing license) and/
or part 52 regulatory approval (i.e., a design certification rule or 
design approval. The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the 
positions represented in the draft regulatory guide in a manner that is 
inconsistent with any issue finality provisions in these part 52 
licenses and regulatory approvals. If, in the future, the staff seeks 
to impose a position in this regulatory guide 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 applicable issue finality 
provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of June, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-16131 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
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