[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45312-45314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16469]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0126]


Physical Security Hardware--Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and 
Acceptance Criteria

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 draft NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition,'' Section 14.3.12, ``Physical Security Hardware--Inspections, 
Tests, Analyses, and

[[Page 45313]]

Acceptance Criteria.'' The NRC seeks comments on the draft section 
revision of the standard review plan (SRP) concerning inspections, 
tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria (ITAAC) related to physical 
security hardware (PS-ITAAC).

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than August 12, 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-2016-0126. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
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 accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Notich, Office of New Reactors, 
telephone: 301-415-3053, email: [email protected]; or Nishka Devaser, 
Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301-415-5196; 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-2016-0126 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-2016-0126.
     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 numbers for the draft revision, current revision, and 
redline strikeout comparing the current revision and the draft revision 
of the section are available in ADAMS under the following accession 
numbers: Draft revision 2 (ML16032A050), current revision 1 
(ML100970568), and redline strikeout (ML16032A096).
     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-2016-0126 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 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 into ADAMS.

II. Further Information

    The NRC seeks public comment on the draft section revision of the 
SRP. This section has been revised to assist NRC staff with the review 
of PS-ITAAC in a combined license application or a design certification 
application. The PS-ITAAC are reviewed to determine whether the designs 
and specifications for PS-ITAAC are in accordance with the applicable 
regulatory requirements of 10 CFR part 73.
    Revision 2 to SRP Section 14.3.12 incorporates the requirements for 
vehicle control measures under Sec.  73.55(e)(10)(i)(B) of title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and incorporates 
recommendations from NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-05, ``Lessons 
Learned to Improve Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance 
Criteria Submittal'' revision 1, September 23, 2010. The technical 
changes in accordance with the new Sec.  73.55 are incorporated in each 
section of this revision (since Revision 1 of this section, dated April 
2010) of the SRP as applicable.
    Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends 
to incorporate the final approved guidance into the next revision of 
NUREG-0800. 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 this draft SRP, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in Sec.  50.109 of 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 directed at the 
NRC staff with respect to their regulatory responsibilities.
    The SRP provides guidance to the NRC staff on how to review an 
application for NRC regulatory approval in the form of licensing. 
Changes in internal NRC 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 
current licensees or already-issued regulatory approvals 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 (already issued) licenses and 
regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final SRP--even if 
considered guidance which is within the purview of the issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52--need not 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 holders of licenses SRP in a manner which 
does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue 
finality provision, then the NRC staff must make the showing as

[[Page 45314]]

set forth in the Backfit Rule or address the criteria for avoiding 
issue finality as described 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. This is because neither the Backfit 
Rule nor the issue finality provisions under 10 CFR 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.
    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 in a manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality 
provisions. If, in the future, the NRC staff seeks to impose a position 
in the draft SRP in a manner which does not provide issue finality as 
described in the applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC 
staff must address the criteria for avoiding issue finality as 
described in the applicable issue finality provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of July 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. 2016-16469 Filed 7-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P