[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8880-8881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02060]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0187]


Human Factors Engineering

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 Section 18.0, ``Human Factors Engineering,'' 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 revision is March 2, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0187 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-2015-0187. 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 notice (if 
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a 
document is referenced. The final revisions, previously issued draft 
revisions for public use and comment,

[[Page 8881]]

and redline strikeouts comparing final revisions with draft revisions 
are available in ADAMS under the following Accession Nos.: ML16125A114, 
ML13108A095, and ML16125A296, respectively.
     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, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-3053; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On August 10, 2015 (80 FR 47958), the NRC published for public 
comment a proposed revision of Section 18.0, ``Human Factors 
Engineering,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the 
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR 
Edition.'' On October 8, 2015, the NRC received a request to extend the 
comment period for 30 days. Prior to granting the request, the NRC 
received a request for a public meeting to discuss industry comments. A 
public meeting was held on January 7, 2016, and on February 24, 2016 
(81 FR 9226), the NRC published an extension of the public comment 
period for the SRP. The public comment period closed on March 11, 2016. 
A summary of comments received and the staff's disposition of the 
comments are available in a separate document, ``Response to Public 
Comments on Draft Standard Review Plan, Section 18.0, ``Human Factors 
Engineering,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML16112A329). In addition to 
revising the text of SRP 18.0 to address public comments, the staff 
revised the text to add a reference to NUREG-1852; reinserted specific 
guidance that was in previous versions of SRP 18.0 but deleted during 
the draft phase of Revision 3; and made editorial changes. None of 
these revisions changed the staff's approach to reviewing human factors 
engineering information in licensing applications.

II. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Section 18 of the SRP provides guidance to the staff for reviewing 
applications for a construction permit and an operating license under 
part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) with 
respect to systems associated with human factors engineering. Section 
18.0 of the SRP provides guidance for reviewing an application for a 
standard design approval, a standard design certification, a combined 
license, and a manufacturing license under 10 CFR part 52 with respect 
to the same subject matters.
    Issuance of this SRP section revision does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) nor is it 
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 to NRC staff.
    The SRP provides internal guidance to the NRC staff on how to 
review an application for NRC 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 NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the SRP to existing licensees and regulatory approvals. 
Hence, the issuance of this SRP does not need to 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 licenses in a manner that challenges issue 
finality as described in the applicable part 52 issue finality 
provision, then the staff must either make the requisite showing as set 
forth in the Backfit Rule or address the criteria for avoiding issue 
finality as described in the applicable part 52 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. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue 
finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with certain exclusions--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) 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 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 section in 
a manner that 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.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of January 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Infrastruture and Advanced Reactors, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2017-02060 Filed 1-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P