[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18089-18090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08601]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0068]


Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the 
final Revision 2 to Japan Lessons-Learned Division Interim Staff 
Guidance (JLD-ISG), JLD-ISG-2012-01, ``Compliance with Order EA-12-049, 
Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation 
Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events.'' This ISG provides 
guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactor licensees 
with the identification of measures needed to comply with requirements 
to mitigate challenges to key safety functions. These requirements are 
contained in Order EA-12-049, ``Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to 
Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External 
Events.''

DATES: This guidance is effective on April 25, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0068 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0068. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document. Revision 2 to JLD-ISG-2012-01 is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML17005A188.
     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.
     NRC's Interim Staff Guidance Website: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg/japan-lessons-learned.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Bowman, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-2963, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background Information

    The original Final Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate 
Interim Staff Guidance, JLD-ISG-2012-01 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12229A174) dated August 29, 2012, was issued to describe to the 
public methods acceptable to the NRC for complying with Order EA-12-049 
issued March 12, 2012 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML12054A736). This 
ISG endorsed the methodologies described in the industry guidance 
document, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 12-06, ``Diverse and Flexible 
Coping Strategies (FLEX) Implementation Guide,'' Revision 0, (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML12242A378), submitted on August 21, 2012. Revision 1 to 
JLD-ISG-2012-01 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15357A163) was issued on January 
22, 2016, and endorsed NEI 12-06, Revision 2 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML16005A625), issued in December 2015. The NRC staff is now issuing 
Revision 2 to JLD-ISG-2012-01, which incorporates additional guidance 
related to reevaluated seismic hazard information and some additional 
changes based on lessons learned in the implementation of Order EA-12-
049. This revision endorses NEI 12-06, Revision 4 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML16354B421), issued in December 2016.
    The NRC issued Order EA-12-049 following evaluation of the Japan 
earthquake and tsunami and resulting nuclear accident at the Fukushima 
Dai-

[[Page 18090]]

ichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011. Order EA-12-049 requires all 
licensees and construction permit holders to develop a three-phase 
approach for mitigating beyond-design-basis external events. The 
initial phase requires the use of installed equipment and resources to 
maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool 
cooling. The transition phase requires providing sufficient, portable, 
onsite equipment and consumables to maintain or restore these functions 
until they can be accomplished with resources brought from off site. 
The final phase requires obtaining sufficient offsite resources to 
sustain those functions indefinitely. Order EA-12-049 also specified 
that the NRC would issue final interim staff guidance in August 2012, 
to provide additional details on an acceptable approach for complying 
with Order EA-12-049.
    The original version of this ISG, which endorsed the original NEI 
12-06, was issued on August 29, 2012. Revision 1 to JLD-ISG-2012-01 
incorporated acceptable alternative approaches to compliance proposed 
by licensees, as well as the NRC's review strategy described in 
COMSECY-14-0037, ``Integration of Mitigating Strategies for Beyond-
Design Basis External Events and the Reevaluation of Flooding Hazards'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML14238A616), which clarified the NRC's position 
on the interdependency of the mitigating strategies responses and the 
responses to the seismic and flooding reevaluations. The NRC has 
further revised this ISG in Revision 2 in order to include additional 
guidance regarding reevaluated seismic hazard information and changes 
based on lessons learned related to mitigating strategies 
implementation. This revised guidance will be publicly available and 
used by members of the industry to help develop their responses to 
Order EA-12-049, including impacts of the reevaluated seismic and 
flooding information, and by the NRC in its reviews of licensee 
strategies. On November 10, 2016 (81 FR 79056), the NRC requested 
public comments on draft Revision 2 to JLD-ISG-2012-01. The NRC 
received comments from seven stakeholders, which were considered in the 
development of the final Revision 2 to JLD-ISG-2012-01. The questions, 
comments, and NRC resolutions of those comments are contained in ``NRC 
Responses to Public Comments: Revision 2 to JLD-ISG-2012-01, Compliance 
with Order EA-12-049, `Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to 
Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External 
Events''' (ADAMS Accession No. ML17005A187).

II. Congressional Review Act

    This ISG revision 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.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This ISG provides guidance on an acceptable method for implementing 
the requirements contained in Order EA-12-049. Licensees may 
voluntarily use the guidance in Revision 2 to JLD-ISG-2012-01 to 
demonstrate compliance with Order EA-12-049. Methods or solutions that 
differ from those described in this ISG may be deemed acceptable if 
they provide sufficient basis and information for the NRC to verify 
that the proposed alternative demonstrates compliance with Order EA-12-
049.
    Issuance of this ISG does not constitute backfitting as defined in 
section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Backfitting'' (the Backfit Rule), and is not otherwise inconsistent 
with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, 
Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of April, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Anita L. Lund,
Director, Division of Licensing Projects, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-08601 Filed 4-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P