[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54854-54855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19562]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2014-0203]
Conduct of Operations
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Standard review plan--final section revision; final issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing final
revisions to the following sections in Chapter 13, ``Conduct of
Operations,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of
Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition'':
Section 13.1.1, ``Management and Technical Support Organization'';
Section 13.1.2-13.1.3, ``Operating Organization''; Section 13.2.1,
``Reactor Operator Requalification Program; Reactor Operator
Training''; Section 13.2.2, ``Non-licensed Plant Staff Training''; and
Section 13.5.1.1, ``Administrative Procedures--General.''
DATES: The effective date of this Standard Review Plan (SRP) update is
September 16, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0203 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access 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-2014-0203. 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]. For
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this
document.
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.
The NRC posts its issued staff guidance on the NRC's
external Web page (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark D. Notich, Office of New
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-3053; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On September 24, 2014 (79 FR 57141), the NRC published for public
comment the proposed revisions to Chapter 13 of the SRP. A summary of
the comments and the NRC staff's disposition of the comments are
available in a separate document, ``Public Comment Response Table SRP
Section 13.1.1 through 13.5.1.1'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML15008A024).
The Office of New Reactors is revising these sections from their
current versions. Details of specific changes in the proposed revisions
are included at the end of each of the proposed sections.
The changes to this SRP chapter reflect NRC staff's current review
methods and practices based on lessons learned from the NRC's reviews
of design certification and combined license applications completed
since the last revision of this chapter.
II. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Issuance of these revised SRP sections does not constitute
backfitting as defined in Sec. 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Backfitting,'' (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 SRP positions 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'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 licensees either now or in the future.
The staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions
described in the SRP to existing (already issued) licenses and
regulatory approvals. Therefore, the issuance of a final SRP--even if
considered guidance that 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 staff seeks to impose a position in the SRP on holders
of already issued licenses in a manner which 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. This is because neither the Backfit
Rule nor the issue finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with
certain exclusions discussed in the next paragraph--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 staff does not, at
this time, intend to impose the positions represented in the 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 SRP in a manner
that does not provide issue finality as
[[Page 54855]]
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.
III. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons.
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SRP Section Current version Final revision Redline strikeout
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13.1.1................................................. ML13311B662 ML15005A449 ML16078A165
13.1.2-13.1.3.......................................... ML13311B719 ML15007A296 ML16081A063
13.2.1................................................. ML13311B565 ML15006A035 ML16081A014
13.2.2................................................. ML14030A091 ML15006A129 ML16081A022
13.5.1.1............................................... ML13115A067 ML15006A205 ML16078A352
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IV. Congressional Review Act
In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the NRC has
determined that this action is not a major rule and has verified this
determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of
the Office of Management and Budget.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of August, 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. 2016-19562 Filed 8-16-16; 8:45 am]
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