[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 153 (Monday, August 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47958-47959]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19585]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0187]


Human Factors Engineering

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 requesting 
public comment on draft NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition,'' Section 18.0, ``Human Factors Engineering.''

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than October 9, 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-2015-0187. 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 D. Notich, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone at 301-415-3053 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information.

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0187 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-2015-0187.
     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 it available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The 
proposed revision to SRP Section 18.0, ``Human

[[Page 47959]]

Factors Engineering.'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML13108A095. A redline strikeout comparing the proposed revision to the 
current version can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13108A098.
     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-2015-0187 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's Office of New Reactors and Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation are revising SRP Section 18.0, ``Human Factors Engineering'' 
from the current Revision 2. Details of specific proposed changes are 
included at the end of the revised section. The changes to this SRP 
section reflect current staff reviews, methods and practices based on 
lessons learned from NRC reviews of design certification and combined 
license applications completed since the last revision of this section. 
The changes also reflect updated regulatory guidance contained in 
NUREG-0711, ``Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model,'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12324A013).
    Changes to SRP Chapter 18 include: (1) Relocating to NUREG-0711 
details regarding review of new applications and amendments to existing 
licenses, (2) providing additional discussion and detail regarding 
inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria (ITAAC) and 
design acceptance criteria (DAC) for new reactor applications submitted 
in accordance with requirements in part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 
for Nuclear Power Plants,'' (3) clarifying expectations for 10 CFR part 
52 combined license reviews, (4) providing additional details regarding 
review interfaces, (5) making editorial and formatting revisions, 
including revised section numbering, and (6) incorporating guidance 
from the previously issued SRP Chapter 18, Appendix A, ``Manual 
Operator Actions.''
    Following the NRC staff's evaluation of public comments on the 
proposed Revision 3, the NRC intends to finalize SRP Section 18.0 
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 
regulations, and compliance with the SRP is not required.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC is issuing a proposed revision to SRP Chapter 18.0. This 
document is used by the NRC staff as regulatory guidance while 
reviewing a control room design that reflects state-of-the-art human 
factor principles before a licensee commits to fabrication, or revision 
of fabricated control room panels and layouts. Issuance of this draft 
SRP, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 
CFR 50.109 (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 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 nuclear power plant licensees or regulatory approvals either 
now or in the future (absent a voluntary request for change from the 
licensee, holder of a regulatory approval, or a design certification 
applicant).
    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 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 draft SRP (if 
finalized) 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) 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 (if finalized) in a 
manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of July, 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. 2015-19585 Filed 8-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P