[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51712-51713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22262]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2017-0145]
Regulatory Guide 1.206--Applications for Nuclear Power Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance and withdrawal of interim staff
guidance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG), ``Applications for Nuclear Power
Plants.'' This update of RG 1.206, ``Combined License Applications for
Nuclear Power Plants (LWR Edition),'' dated June 2007, provides updated
guidance for prospective applicants regarding the format and content of
applications for new nuclear power plants. The revision reflects the
lessons learned regarding the review of nuclear power plant
applications since 2007. Two significant changes include: (1) The
addition of new guidance to applicants for standard design
certifications (DCs) and early site permits (ESPs), and (2) the removal
of detailed technical information for a combined license (COL) that was
highly redundant with information in NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan
for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR
Edition'' (SRP). The NRC is additionally withdrawing four interim staff
guidance documents due to the incorporation of their guidance into RG
1.206, Revision 1.
DATES: Revision 1 to RG 1.206 is available on October 12, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0145 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-2017-0145. 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 No. for each document referenced (if it is available in
ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in 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. Revision 1 to RG 1.206 and
the regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos.
ML18131A181 and ML17013A624, respectively.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Hayes, Office of New Reactors,
301-415-7442, email: [email protected], who is a member of the
staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC's
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and
make available to the public information regarding methods that are
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the
agency's regulations, techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs
in its review of applications for permits and licenses. Revision 1 of
RG 1.206 was issued with a temporary identification of Draft Regulatory
Guide (DG)-1325.
RG 1.206, Revision 1, entitled ``Applications for Nuclear Power
Plants,'' provides revised guidance for prospective applicants
regarding the format and content of applications for new nuclear power
plants under the provisions in part 52 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals
for Nuclear Power Plants.''
RG 1.206, Revision 1, reflects changes based on lessons learned
regarding the review of nuclear power plant DC, ESP, and COL
applications under 10 CFR part 52, since the initial issuance of RG
1.206 in 2007. The scope of the revision has been expanded beyond COL
applications to more explicitly address the current application process
related to applications for DCs, ESPs, and limited work authorizations
and the title has been changed accordingly. It provides more integrated
guidance regarding the overall format and content for COL, DC, and ESP
applications and additionally reflects the NRC staff's position that,
although the guidance therein is intended for applicability to power
reactors with light-water reactor (LWR) technology, it will be
generally applicable to other types of power reactors (e.g., non-LWRs).
RG 1.206, Revision 1, also satisfies the two remaining action items
from the NRC's April 2013, Lessons Learned Report (ADAMS Accession No.
ML13059A240) by (1) revising RG 1.206 to reflect lessons learned and
(2) incorporating DC/COL ISG11, ``Finalizing Licensing Basis
Information,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML092890623) in the revised RG
1.206. This revision also reflects the removal of detailed technical
information on COL Safety Analysis Report content relative to the 2007
version of RG 1.206 that was highly redundant with information that is
provided and maintained in the SRP. Under 10 CFR 52.17(a)(1)(xii), 10
CFR 52.47(a)(9), and 10 CFR 52.79(a)(41),
[[Page 51713]]
applicants for ESP, DC and COL are respectively required to document an
evaluation against applicable sections of the SRP and describe
differences in specific information provided in the SRP including
measures given in the SRP acceptance criteria. This requirement
effectively provides applicants more current and comprehensive
information related to detailed COL safety analysis report technical
content and methods or approaches that the staff previously has found
acceptable for meeting NRC requirements than what is available in RG
1.206, Rev. 0.
The guidance in RG 1.206, Revision 1, is divided into two parts:
Section C.1 provides guidance for the organization, content, and format
of an application under 10 CFR part 52; and Section C.2 contains
information and guidance on a number of application regulatory topics
related to the preparation, submittal, acceptance, and review of
applications. The application regulatory topics include updated
guidance that will allow the withdrawal of interim staff guidance. The
NRC staff withdraws the following four documents:
DC/COL-ISG-011, ``Interim Staff Guidance Finalizing
Licensing Basis Information'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML092890623),
ESP/DC/COL-ISG-015, ``Interim Staff Guidance on Post
Combined License Commitments'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML091671355),
COL/ESP-ISG-04, ``Interim Staff Guidance on the Definition
of Construction and on Limited Work Authorizations'' (ADAMS Accession
No. ML082970729), and
DC/COL ISG-08, ``Final Interim Staff Guidance Necessary
Content of Plant-Specific Technical Specifications When a Combined
License is Issued'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML083310259).
In September 2014, as part of its periodic review of related
guidance in RG 1.70, Revision 3 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14272A331),
``Standard Format and Content of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear
Power Plants (LWR),'' the staff recommended the withdrawal of RG 1.70
once information relevant to the licensing of nuclear power plants
under 10 CFR part 50 is included in an update to RG 1.206. RG 1.70 is
used by the operating fleet. As such, the NRC staff will not withdraw
RG 1.70 but if information relevant to the licensing of nuclear power
plants under 10 CFR part 50 is included in a future update to RG 1.70
or another guidance document, the staff may set a date beyond which RG
1.70 should no longer be referenced or used as guidance for licensing
actions. The additional scope related to 10 CFR part 50 construction
permits and operating licenses is not included in the current revision
of RG 1.206 and RG 1.70 has not been withdrawn.
The technical application guidance for a safety analysis report
that was previously included in RG 1.206, Revision 0, is being updated
to reflect lessons learned and will be developed into interim staff
guidance (ISG), a NUREG, or other knowledge management document. The
document is expected to be useful to both applicants and to staff
working on future updates to the SRP, however, direct incorporation of
applicant guidance in the SRP is not expected.
II. Additional Information
The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1325 in the
Federal Register on June 20, 2017, Volume 82, page 28101, for a 90-day
public comment period. The public comment period closed on September
18, 2017. Public comments on DG-1325 and the staff responses to the
public comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18129A197.
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG 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. Backfitting and Issue Finality
RG 1.206, Revision 1, provides guidance for applicants regarding
the format and content of applications for new ESPs, DCs, and COLs
under 10 CFR part 52. Issuance of RG 1.206, Revision 1, does not
constitute backfitting under 10 CFR part 50 and is not otherwise
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As
discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of this RG, the NRC has no
current intention to impose the RG on current holders of ESPs or COLs
or a DC applicant under 10 CFR part 52.
RG 1.206, Revision 1, can be applied to applications for 10 CFR
part 52 ESPs, COLs, and DCs. Such action does not constitute
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not
otherwise inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in
10 CFR part 52, inasmuch as such 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 below, 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), an NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a
design certification rule), or both, with specified issue finality
provisions. The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the
positions represented in RG 1.206, Revision 1, in a manner that is
inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, the
staff seeks to impose a position in RG 1.206, Revision 1, 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.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of October 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennivine K. Rankin,
Acting Chief, Licensing Branch 3, Division of Licensing, Siting, and
Environmental Analysis, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2018-22262 Filed 10-11-18; 8:45 am]
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