[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94430-94431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30908]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0198]


Design of Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems, and 
Reactor Coolant System and Connected Systems 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 several sections in Chapter 3, ``Design of 
Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems Reactor Coolant System 
and Connected Systems,'' and Chapter 5, ``Reactor Coolant System and 
Connected Systems,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition.'' The revisions to these standard review plan (SRP) sections 
reflect no changes in staff position; rather they clarify the original 
intent of these SRP sections using plain language throughout in 
accordance with the NRC's Plain Writing Action Plan. Additionally, 
these revisions reflect operating experience, lessons learned, and the 
inclusion of updated guidance since the last revision, and address the 
applicability of regulatory treatment of non-safety systems where 
appropriate. The staff also deleted text in one of the Chapter 5 SRPs, 
as the text contained guidance that was included in other SRPs and, 
therefore, does not constitute removal of guidance and added several 
references to updated standards and guidance.

DATES: The effective date of this Standard Review Plan (SRP) update is 
January 23, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0198 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-2015-0198. 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: 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]; both staff at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    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 Standard Review Plan Sections from Chapters 3 and 5: 
Design of Structures, Components, Equipment, and Systems, and Reactor 
Coolant System and

[[Page 94431]]

Connected Systems'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML16088A345).
    The Office of New Reactors and the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation are revising these sections from their current revisions. 
Details of specific changes in the proposed revisions are included at 
the end of each of the proposed sections.
    The changes to these SRP sections reflect current NRC staff 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) 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 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 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 ADAMS accession numbers revised sections are available in ADAMS 
under the accession numbers in the table below.

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                                                               ADAMS
                        Document                          accession No.*
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Section 3.6.2, ``Determination of Rupture Locations and      ML16088A041
 Dynamic Effects Associated with the Postulated Rupture
 of Piping,'' Revision 3................................
Section 3.9.1, ``Special Topics for Mechanical               ML16088A068
 Components,'' Revision 4...............................
Section 3.10, ``Seismic and Dynamic Qualification of         ML16088A101
 Mechanical and Electrical Equipment,'' Revision 4......
Section 5.2.1.1, ``Compliance with the Codes and             ML16088A127
 Standards Rule, 10 CFR 50.55a,'' Revision 4............
Section 5.2.1.2, ``Applicable Code Cases,'' Revision 4..     ML16088A219
Branch Technical Position 3-4, ``Postulated Rupture          ML16085A315
 Locations in Fluid System Piping Inside and Outside
 Containment,'' Revision 3..............................
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* See documents in the package at ADAMS Accession Number ML16083A387 to
  see changes made since last revision.


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December, 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. 2016-30908 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
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