[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 169 (Wednesday, August 31, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60029-60030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20873]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2015-0211]
Instrumentation and Controls Guidance
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Standard review plan-final section revision; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
final revision to Chapter 7, ``Instrumentation and Controls,'' of
NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the Review of Safety
Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition.''
DATES: The effective date of this SRP update is September 30, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0211 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-2015-0211. 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.
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.
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. Background
On September 16, 2015 (80 FR 55654), the NRC published for public
comment the proposed revisions to Chapter 7 of the SRP. The NRC made no
changes to the proposed revisions after the consideration of comments
received. A summary of the comments and the NRC staff's disposition of
the comments are available in a separate document, ``Response to Public
Comments on Draft SRP Sections in Chapter 7.''
The Office of New Reactors and the Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation are 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 current NRC staff's 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 Finality Provisions
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) and
is not 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 do 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 staff on how to review an
application for the 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
current licensees and regulatory approvals 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
[[Page 60030]]
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 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 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
which 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.
III. Congressional Review Act
This action 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.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons.
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ADAMS
Document accession No.
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Summary of Comments and NRC Staff Disposition of ML16050A366
Comments--Response to Public Comments on Draft SRP
Sections in Chapter 7..................................
SRP 7.0, ``Instrumentation and Controls--Overview of ML16020A049
Review Process,'' Revision 7...........................
SRP 7.1, ``Instrumentation and Controls--Introduction,'' ML16020A050
Revision 6.............................................
Table 7-1, ``Table 7-1 Regulatory Requirements, ML16020A103
Acceptance Criteria, and Guidelines for Instrumentation
and Control Systems Important to Safety,'' Revision 6..
SRP 7.2, ``Reactor Trip System,'' Revision 6............ ML16020A059
SRP 7.3, ``Engineered Safety Features Systems,'' ML16020A082
Revision 6.............................................
SRP 7.4, ``Safe Shutdown Systems,'' Revision 6.......... ML16020A086
SRP 7.5, ``Information Systems Important to Safety,'' ML16020A088
Revision 6.............................................
SRP 7.6, ``Interlock Systems Important to Safety,'' ML16020A092
Revision 6.............................................
SRP 7.7, ``Control Systems,'' Revision 6................ ML16020A095
SRP 7.8, ``Diverse Instrumentation and Control ML16020A096
Systems,'' Revision 6..................................
SRP 7.9, ``Data Communication Systems,'' Revision 6..... ML16020A097
App. 7.0-A, ``Review Process for Digital Instrumentation ML16019A085
and Control Systems,'' Revision 6......................
App. 7.1-A, ``Acceptance Criteria and Guidelines for ML16019A088
Instrumentation and Controls Systems Important to
Safety,'' Revision 6...................................
App. 7.1-B, ``Guidance for Evaluation of Conformance to ML16019A091
IEEE Std 279,'' Revision 6.............................
App. 7.1-C, ``Guidance for Evaluation of Conformance to ML16019A107
IEEE Std 603,'' Revision 6.............................
App. 7.1-D, ``Guidance for Evaluation of the Application ML16019A114
of IEEE Std 7-4.3.2,'' Revision 1......................
BTP 7-1, ``Guidance on Isolation of Low-Pressure Systems ML16019A127
from the High-Pressure Reactor Coolant System,''
Revision 6.............................................
BTP 7-2, ``Guidance on Requirements of Motor-Operated ML16019A299
Valves in the Emergency Core Cooling System Accumulator
Lines,'' Revision 6....................................
BTP 7-3, ``Guidance on Protection System Trip Point ML16019A358
Changes for Operation with Reactor Coolant Pumps Out of
Service,'' Revision 6..................................
BTP 7-4, ``Guidance on Design Criteria for Auxiliary ML16020A028
Feedwater Systems,'' Revision 6........................
BTP 7-5, ``Guidance on Spurious Withdrawals of Single ML16020A033
Control Rods in Pressurized Water Reactors,'' Revision
6......................................................
BTP 7-6, ``Guidance on Design of Instrumentation and ML16011A106
Controls Provided to Accomplish Changeover from
Injection to Recirculation Mode,'' Revision 6..........
BTP 7-8, ``Guidance for Application of Regulatory Guide ML16020A044
1.22,'' Revision 6.....................................
BTP 7-9, ``Guidance on Requirements for Reactor ML16011A062
Protection System Anticipatory Trips,'' Revision 6.....
BTP 7-10, ``Guidance on Application of Regulatory Guide ML16019A169
1.97,'' Revision 6.....................................
BTP 7-11, ``Guidance on Application and Qualification of ML16019A184
Isolation Devices,'' Revision 6........................
BTP 7-12, ``Guidance on Establishing and Maintaining ML16019A200
Instrument Setpoints,'' Revision 6.....................
BTP 7-13, ``Guidance on Cross-Calibration of Protection ML16019A240
System Resistance Temperature Detectors,'' Revision 6..
BTP 7-14, ``Guidance on Software Reviews for Digital ML16019A308
Computer-Based Instrumentation and Control Systems,''
Revision 6.............................................
BTP 7-17, ``Guidance on Self-Test and Surveillance Test ML16019A316
Provisions,'' Revision 6...............................
BTP 7-18, ``Guidance on the Use of Programmable Logic ML16019A327
Controllers in Digital Computer-Based Instrumentation
and Control Systems,'' Revision 6......................
BTP 7-19, ``Guidance for Evaluation of Diversity and ML16019A344
Defense-in-Depth in Digital Computer-Based
Instrumentation and Control Systems,'' Revision 7......
BTP 7-21, ``Guidance on Digital Computer Real-Time ML16020A036
Performance,'' Revision 6..............................
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* No changes resulting from public comments. See documents in the
package at ADAMS Accession No. ML16008B013 to see changes made since
the last proposed revision.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th 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. 2016-20873 Filed 8-30-16; 8:45 am]
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