[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 188 (Tuesday, September 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58512-58513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24654]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0229]


Design of Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems

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 soliciting 
public comment on the following sections in Chapter 3, ``Design of 
Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems Reactor Coolant System 
and Connected Systems'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition,'' Section 3.9.2, ``Dynamic Testing and Analysis of Systems, 
Structures, and Components,'' Section 3.9.4, ``Control Rod Drive 
Systems,'' Section 3.9.5, ``Reactor Pressure Vessel Internals,'' and 
Section 3.9.6, ``Functional Design, Qualification, and Inservice 
Testing Programs for Pumps, Valves, and Dynamic Restraints.''

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than November 30, 2015.

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-2015-0229. 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: Mark Notich, telephone: 301-415-3053; 
email: [email protected]; or Nishka Devaser, telephone: 301-415-5196; 
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-2015-0229 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly-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-2015-0229.
     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. For 
the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials 
referenced in this document are provided in the ``Availability of 
Documents'' section.
     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-2015-0229 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your

[[Page 58513]]

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 you 
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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Further Information

    The NRC seeks public comment on the proposed draft revisions of 
Standard Review Plan (SRP) Sections 3.9.2, 3.9.4, 3.9.5, and 3.9.6. 
These sections have been developed to assist the NRC staff review the 
design of structures, components, equipment, and systems under parts 50 
and 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The 
revisions to these SRP sections reflect no changes in staff position; 
rather they clarify the original intent of these SRP sections using 
plain language throughout in accordance with the NRC's Plain Writing 
Action Plan. Additionally, these revisions reflect operating 
experience, lessons learned, and updated guidance since the last 
revision, and address the applicability of regulatory treatment of non-
safety systems where appropriate.
    Following the NRC staff's evaluation of public comments, the NRC 
intends to finalize the proposed revisions of the subject SRP Sections 
in ADAMS and post them on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/.

III. Availability of Documents

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                                     Current revision ADAMS     Proposed revision
            SRP Section                   accession No.        ADAMS accession No.   Redline ADAMS accession No.
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Section 3.9.2, ``Dynamic Testing     Revision 3              Revision 4              ML15041A367
 and Analysis of Systems,             (ML070230008).          (ML15041A281).
 Structures, and Components''.
Section 3.9.4, ``Control Rod Drive   Revision 3              Revision 4              ML15041A334
 Systems''.                           (ML063190004).          (ML15041A242).
Section 3.9.5, ``Reactor Pressure    Revision 3              Revision 4              ML15041A320
 Vessel Internals''.                  (ML070230009).          (ML15041A234).
Section 3.9.6, ``Functional Design,  Revision 3              Revision 4              ML15041A287
 Qualification, and Inservice         (ML070720041).          (ML15040A052).
 Testing Programs for Pumps,
 Valves, and Dynamic Restraints''.
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IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of these draft SRP sections, if finalized, does not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, nor is it 
inconsistent with any of the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 
52. These draft SRP sections do not contain any new requirements for 
COL applicants or holders under 10 CFR part 52, or for licensees of 
existing operating units licensed under 10 CFR part 50. Rather, it 
contains additional draft guidance and clarification on staff review of 
Preliminary Amendment Requests.
    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 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.
    The NRC staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the 
positions represented in the draft SRP sections in a manner that is 
inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, the 
staff seeks to impose a position in the draft SRP 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 18th day of September, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kimyata Morgan Butler,
Acting Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of 
Advanced Reactors and Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2015-24654 Filed 9-28-15; 8:45 am]
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