[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 78 (Friday, April 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23762-23764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09422]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0045]


Steam Generator Materials and Design

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Standard review plan draft section revision; request for 
comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on draft NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition,'' Section 5.4.2.1, ``Steam Generator Materials and Design.'' 
The NRC seeks comments on the proposed draft section revision of the 
Standard Review Plan (SRP),

[[Page 23763]]

concerning the design, fabrication, and testing of steam generators.

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than May 23, 2016. 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-2016-0045. 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: Carolyn Lauron, telephone: 301-415-
2736, email: [email protected]; or Mark Notich, telephone: 301-
415.3053, 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-2016-0045 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0045.
     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 
current revision of SRP Section 5.4.2.1, ``Steam Generator Materials,'' 
is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML070380192. The draft 
revision of SRP Section 5.4.2.1, ``Steam Generator Materials and 
Design,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16029A367. The 
redline strikeout version of SRP Section 5.4.2.1, ``Steam Generator 
Materials and Design,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML16029A374.
     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-2016-0045 in your comment submission.
    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 seeks public comment on the proposed draft section revision 
SRP Section 5.4.2.1. The changes to this SRP section reflect current 
staff review 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.
    Following the NRC staff's evaluation of public comments, the NRC 
intends to finalize SRP Section 5.4.2.1, Revision 4, 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

    Issuance of these draft SRP sections, if finalized, would not 
constitute Backfitting as defined in Sec.  50.109 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), (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 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 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.
    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

[[Page 23764]]

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 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, 14th day of April, 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Infrastructure, and Advanced Reactors, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-09422 Filed 4-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P