[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 39 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10283-10284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04353]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0068]


Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the 
final Japan Lessons-Learned Division Interim Staff Guidance (JLD-ISG), 
JLD-ISG-2012-01, Revision 1, ``Compliance with Order EA-12-049, Order 
Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation 
Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events.'' This JLD-ISG 
provides guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactor 
licensees with the identification of measures needed to comply with 
requirements to mitigate challenges to key safety functions. These 
requirements are contained in Order EA-12-049, ``Order Modifying 
Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for 
Beyond-Design-Basis External Events.''

DATES: This guidance is effective on February 29, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0068 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0068. 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.
     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 
JLD-ISG-2012-01, Revision 1 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML15357A163.
     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.
     NRC's Interim Staff Guidance Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg/japan-lessons-learned.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Bowman, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-2963; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background Information

    The original interim staff guidance (ISG), Final Japan Lessons-
Learned Project Directorate Interim Staff Guidance (JLD-ISG), JLD-ISG-
2012-01, ``Compliance with Order EA-12-049, Order Modifying Licenses 
with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-
Design-Basis External Events,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML12229A174) was 
issued to describe to the public methods acceptable to the NRC for 
complying with Order EA-12-049, ``Order Modifying Licenses with Regard 
to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis 
External Events'' (Order EA-12-049), issued March 12, 2012 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12054A736). This ISG endorsed the methodologies 
described in the industry guidance document, Nuclear Energy Institute 
(NEI) 12-06, ``Diverse and Flexible Coping Strategies (FLEX) 
Implementation Guide'' (NEI 12-06), Revision 0 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12242A378) submitted on August 21, 2012. The staff is now issuing 
Revision 1 to JLD-ISG-2012-01. This revision incorporates the NRC's 
review strategy described in COMSECY 14-0037, ``Integration of 
Mitigating Strategies for Beyond-Design Basis External Events and the 
Reevaluation of Flooding Hazards'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML14238A616) 
and endorses NEI 12-06, Revision 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16005A625).
    The NRC issued Order EA-12-049 following evaluation of the Japan 
earthquake and tsunami, and resulting nuclear accident, at the 
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in March 2011. Order EA-12-049 
requires all licensees and construction permit holders to develop a 
three-phase approach for mitigating beyond-design-basis external 
events. The initial phase requires the use of installed equipment and 
resources to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent 
fuel pool cooling. The transition phase requires providing sufficient, 
portable, onsite equipment and consumables to maintain or restore these 
functions until they can be accomplished with resources brought from 
off site. The final phase requires obtaining sufficient offsite 
resources to sustain those functions indefinitely. Order EA-12-049 also 
specified that the NRC would issue final interim staff guidance in 
August 2012, to provide additional details on an acceptable approach 
for complying with Order EA-12-049.
    The original version of this ISG which endorsed the original NEI 
12-06 was issued on August 29, 2012. The NRC staff revised this ISG in 
order to incorporate acceptable alternative approaches to compliance 
proposed by licensees and after clarifying its position on the 
interdependency of the Mitigating Strategies responses and the 
responses to the seismic and flooding reevaluations. The staff's 
clarified position was addressed in COMSECY-14-0037. This revised 
guidance will be publicly available and used by members of the industry 
to help develop their responses to Order EA-12-049, including impacts 
of the reevaluated seismic and flooding information, and by the NRC 
staff in its reviews of the

[[Page 10284]]

licensees' strategies. On November 10, 2015 (80 FR 69702), the NRC 
requested public comments on draft JLD-ISG-12-01, Revision 1. The NRC 
staff received comments from four stakeholders which were considered in 
the development of the final JLD-ISG-12-01, Revision 1. The questions, 
comments, and staff resolutions of those comments are contained in 
``NRC Responses to Public Comments: Revision to Japan Lessons-Learned 
Division Interim Staff Guidance JLD-ISG-2012-01: Compliance with Order 
EA-12-049, Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for 
Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15357A142).

II. Congressional Review Act

    This ISG revision is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review 
Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget 
has not found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional 
Review Act.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This ISG provides guidance on an acceptable method for implementing 
the requirements contained in Order EA-12-049. Licensees may 
voluntarily use the guidance in JLD-ISG-2012-01, Revision 1 to 
demonstrate compliance with Order EA-12-049. Methods or solutions that 
differ from those described in this ISG may be deemed acceptable if 
they provide sufficient basis and information for the NRC to verify 
that the proposed alternative demonstrates compliance with Order EA-12-
049. Issuance of this ISG does not constitute backfitting as defined in 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.109, 
``Backfitting'' (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.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22 day of February 2016.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jack R. Davis,
Director, Japan Lessons-Learned Division, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2016-04353 Filed 2-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P