[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69446-69448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24189]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 194 / Thursday, October 6, 2016 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 69446]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[NRC-2004-0006, NRC-2002-0018]
RIN 3150-AH29


Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-of-Coolant Accident Technical 
Requirements

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Rulemaking activity; discontinuation.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing 
a rulemaking activity titled, ``Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-Of-
Coolant Accident Technical Requirements.'' The purpose of this action 
is to inform members of the public of the discontinuation of this 
rulemaking and to provide a brief discussion of the NRC's decision to 
discontinue it. This rulemaking activity will no longer be reported in 
the NRC's portion of the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory 
Actions (the Unified Agenda).

DATES: Effective October 6, 2016, the rulemaking activity discussed in 
this document is discontinued.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2004-0006 for the rulemaking 
and Docket ID NRC-2002-0018 for the petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-
50-75, 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-2004-0006 for the 
rulemaking and Docket ID NRC-2002-0018 for PRM-50-75. 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 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced.
     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: Robert Beall, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3874; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Process for Discontinuing Rulemaking Activities
III. Discussion
IV. Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-75)
V. Conclusion

I. Background

    In SECY-16-0009, ``Recommendations Resulting from the Integrated 
Prioritization and Re-Baselining of Agency Activities,'' dated January 
31, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16028A189), the NRC staff requested 
Commission approval to implement recommendations on work to be shed, 
de-prioritized, or performed with fewer resources. One of the items 
listed to be shed (i.e., discontinued) was a rulemaking titled, ``Risk-
Informed Changes to Loss-Of-Coolant Accident Technical Requirements,'' 
that would have amended Sec.  50.46 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling 
systems (ECCS) for light-water nuclear power reactors'' (50.46a ECCS 
rulemaking). In the Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) for SECY-16-
0009, dated April 13, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16104A158), the 
Commission approved discontinuing the 50.46a ECCS rulemaking, and 
directed the NRC staff to publish a Federal Register notice to inform 
the public that the rule is being discontinued.
    A discussion of the NRC's decision to discontinue the rulemaking on 
``Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-Of-Coolant Accident Technical 
Requirements'' is provided in Section III of this document.

II. Process for Discontinuing Rulemaking Activities

    When the NRC staff identifies a rulemaking activity that can be 
discontinued, it will request, through a Commission paper, approval 
from the Commission to discontinue the rule. The Commission provides 
its decision by issuing an SRM. If the Commission approves 
discontinuing the rulemaking activity, the NRC staff will inform the 
public of the Commission's decision.
    A rulemaking activity may be discontinued at any stage of the 
rulemaking process. For a rulemaking activity that has received public 
comments, the NRC staff will consider those comments before 
discontinuing it; however, the NRC staff will not provide individual 
comment responses.
    After Commission approval to discontinue the rulemaking activity, 
the NRC staff will update the next edition of the Unified Agenda to 
indicate that the rulemaking is discontinued. The rulemaking activity 
will appear in the completed section of that edition of the Unified 
Agenda, but will not appear in subsequent editions.

III. Discussion

    In the SRM for SECY-02-0057,\1\ ``Update to SECY-01-0133, `Fourth 
Status Report on Study of Risk-Informed Changes to the Technical 
Requirements of 10 CFR part 50 (Option 3) and Recommendations on Risk-
Informed Changes to 10 CFR 50.46 (ECCS Acceptance Criteria),' '' dated 
March 31, 2003 (ADAMS Accession No.

[[Page 69447]]

ML030910476), the Commission directed the NRC staff to prepare a 
proposed rule that would provide a risk-informed alternative maximum 
loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) break size. On June 9, 2003, and July 
24, 2003, the NRC staff held two public meetings \2\ to obtain 
stakeholder feedback on this proposed rule. As a result of these 
interactions, the NRC staff found differences between the stated 
Commission objectives and industry stakeholder interests.
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    \1\ SECY-02-0057, ``Update to SECY-01-0133, `Fourth Status 
Report on Study of Risk-Informed Changes to the Technical 
Requirements of 10 CFR part 50 (Option 3) and Recommendations on 
Risk-Informed Changes to 10 CFR 50.46 (ECCS Acceptance Criteria),' 
'' dated March 29, 2002 (ADAMS Accession No. ML020660607).
    \2\ Meeting Summaries: June 9, 2003 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML031810178), and July 24, 2003 (ADAMS Accession No. ML032130059).
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    To reach a common understanding of the objectives of the 
rulemaking, the NRC staff requested additional Commission direction in 
SECY-04-0037, ``Issues Related to Proposed Rulemaking to Risk-Inform 
Requirements Related to Large Break Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) 
Break Size and Plans for Rulemaking on LOCA with Coincident Loss-of-
Offsite Power,'' dated March 3, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML040490133). 
The Commission directed the NRC staff in the SRM for SECY-04-0037, 
dated July 1, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML041830412), to determine an 
appropriate risk-informed alternative break size and remove breaks 
larger than this size from the design-basis event category.
    In SECY-05-0052, ``Proposed Rulemaking for `Risk-Informed Changes 
to Loss-of-Coolant Accident Technical Requirements,' '' dated March 29, 
2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML050480172), the NRC staff provided a 
proposed rule to the Commission for approval. In the SRM for SECY-05-
0052, dated July 29, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML052100416), the 
Commission approved publication of the proposed rule.
    On November 7, 2005, the NRC published the proposed rule in the 
Federal Register (70 FR 67597). After evaluating the public comments, 
the NRC staff completed the draft final rule language.
    On October 31 and November 1, 2006, the NRC staff met with the 
Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) to discuss the draft 
final rule. In a letter dated November 16, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML063190465), the ACRS recommended that the NRC staff not issue the 
rule in its current form and suggested numerous changes, primarily to 
strengthen the assurance of defense-in-depth provided for large pipe 
breaks.
    The NRC staff evaluated the ACRS recommendations and, in SECY-07-
0082, ``Rulemaking to Make Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-of-Coolant 
Accident Technical Requirements; 10 CFR 50.46a, `Alternative Acceptance 
Criteria for Emergency Core Cooling Systems for Light Water Nuclear 
Power Reactors,' '' dated May 16, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML070180692), sought additional Commission direction on both the 
priority of the rule and the issues raised by the ACRS. In the SRM for 
SECY-07-0082, dated August 10, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML072220595), 
the Commission approved the NRC staff's recommendations for a revised 
rule priority and an approach for addressing ACRS concerns and 
completing the final rule.
    The NRC staff modified the rule by making numerous substantive 
changes in the draft final rule. The NRC published a supplemental 
proposed rule for public comment on August 10, 2009 (74 FR 40006). The 
NRC staff evaluated the public comments received on the supplemental 
proposed rule and prepared a revised draft final rule. The draft final 
rule language was made publicly available on May 12, 2010, in the 
rulemaking docket on www.regulations.gov (NRC-2004-0006). The NRC staff 
prepared the final draft rule and discussed it in meetings with the 
ACRS subcommittee and full committee on September 22 and October 7, 
2010. The ACRS provided its views on the rule to the Commission in a 
letter dated October 20, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102850279).
    In SECY-10-0161, ``Final Rule: Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-of-
Coolant Accident Technical Requirements (10 CFR 50.46(a)) (RIN 3150-
AH29),'' dated December 10, 2010 (ADAMS Accession No. ML102210460), the 
NRC staff submitted a final rulemaking package to the Commission for 
approval. The Commission's review of the final rule was suspended to 
address higher-priority issues associated with the March 2011 Fukushima 
Dai-ichi accident. On April 20, 2012, the NRC staff requested to 
withdraw the 50.46a ECCS final rule from Commission consideration so 
that the NRC staff could review the rule and ensure its compatibility 
with the ongoing regulatory framework activities under Recommendation 1 
of the Fukushima Near-Term Task Force report (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML111861807). The Commission approved the NRC staff's request in the 
SRM for SECY-10-0161, dated April 26, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12117A121).
    In SECY-16-0009, the NRC staff recommended that the 50.46a ECCS 
rulemaking be discontinued. Based on interactions with the nuclear 
industry, the NRC staff understood that there were concerns with the 
potential implementation burden of the rule. The NRC staff's Regulatory 
Analysis for the 50.46a ECCS final rule (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML103230250) discussed the comments submitted by the Boiling Water 
Reactor Owners Group which conveyed that it would be extremely 
difficult to evaluate the cost-benefit due to uncertainties about the 
true cost of adopting the 50.46a ECCS rule. Furthermore, at a public 
meeting on the Risk Management Regulatory Framework paper, certain 
industry representatives indicated that the industry would not be 
interested in implementing the final rule.
    As explained in SECY-16-0009, this rule would be voluntary if 
issued, so licensees could choose to not implement the requirements. 
Therefore, the NRC staff believes that there is minimal adverse impact 
on the NRC's mission, principles, or values by discontinuing this 
rulemaking. In the SRM for SECY-16-0009, the Commission approved the 
NRC staff's recommendation to discontinue this rulemaking.
    In summary, the NRC has decided not to proceed with this rulemaking 
activity because there is minimal adverse impact on our mission, 
principles, or values and the industry has indicated that there may not 
be much interest in implementing the final rule.

IV. Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-50-75)

    On February 6, 2002, Anthony R. Pietrangelo, on behalf of the 
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), filed PRM-50-75 requesting that the NRC 
amend 10 CFR 50.46 to allow licensees to use an alternative to the 
double-ended guillotine break of the largest pipe in the reactor 
coolant system (ADAMS Accession No. ML020630082). On April 8, 2002 (67 
FR 16654), the NRC published a notice of receipt and request for public 
comment for PRM-50-75. The comment period closed on June 24, 2002, and 
the NRC received 18 comment letters (ADAMS Accession No. ML082460625). 
The NRC staff determined that the issues raised in PRM-50-75 were 
appropriate for consideration and, in fact, the issues were already 
being considered in the 50.46a ECCS rulemaking. On November 6, 2008, 
the NRC published a Federal Register document (73 FR 66000) stating 
that the NRC would address the substantive comments filed in PRM-50-75 
as part of the 50.46a ECCS rulemaking. In SECY-16-0009, the staff 
recommended discontinuing the 50.46a

[[Page 69448]]

ECCS rulemaking and stated that PRM-50-75 would be addressed by 
alternative means. The NRC will issue a separate Federal Register 
document to disposition PRM-50-75.

V. Conclusion

    The NRC is no longer pursuing the ``Risk-Informed Changes to Loss-
Of-Coolant Accident Technical Requirements'' rulemaking for the reasons 
discussed in this document. In the next edition of the Unified Agenda, 
the NRC will update the entry for this rulemaking and reference this 
document to indicate that the 50.46a ECCS rulemaking is no longer being 
pursued. This rulemaking activity will appear in the completed section 
of that edition of the Unified Agenda, but will not appear in 
subsequent editions. If the NRC decides to pursue a similar or related 
rulemaking in the future, it will inform the public through a new 
rulemaking entry in the Unified Agenda.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of September 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor M. McCree,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2016-24189 Filed 10-5-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P