[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26725-26726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09491]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0106]


Guidance for Changes During Construction for New Nuclear Power 
Plants Licenses Under 10 CFR Part 52

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment a draft regulatory guide (DG) DG-1321, ``Guidance for 
Changes During Construction for New Nuclear Power Plants Licenses Under 
10 CFR Part 52.'' This DG proposes new guidance that the NRC staff 
consider acceptable for implementation of a process for making changes 
to the design of structures, systems, and components of a facility 
being constructed under a combined license. The staff is also seeking 
input on whether to incorporate guidance on two issues into DG-1321: 
The continued viability of an existing process for treating changes 
during construction, i.e., the preliminary amendment request process 
and the timing and review of license amendment requests submitted after 
the Commission publishes a Notice of Intended Operations.

DATES: Submit comments by July 6, 2020. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. In addition to general comments, the NRC is also requesting 
specific comments as discussed below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document. Although a time limit is given, comments and 
suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in guides currently 
being developed or improvements in all published guides are encouraged 
at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search

[[Page 26726]]

for Docket ID NRC-2020-0106. Address questions about NRC dockets to 
Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-9127; email: 
[email protected]. For technical questions, contact the 
individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7A06, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marieliz Johnson, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-5861, email: 
[email protected], and Michael Eudy, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3104, email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0106 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses 
and is publicly available, by the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0106.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, 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]. DG-1321 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML19340B290 and the draft regulatory analysis (RA) is available in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML20010G336.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2020-0106 in your comment submission. 
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information 
in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. 
The NRC posts all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov 
and also enters the comment submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not 
routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact 
information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information in their comment submissions 
that they do not want to be publicly disclosed. Your request should 
state that the NRC will not edit comment submissions to remove such 
information before making the comment submissions available to the 
public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe to 
the public methods that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in 
implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulations, techniques that 
the staff uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and 
information that the staff needs in its review of applications for 
permits and licenses. The staff is also issuing for public comment a 
draft Regulatory Analysis. The staff develops a Regulatory Analysis to 
assess the value of issuing a guide as well as alternative courses of 
action.
    The DG, titled ``Guidance for Changes During Construction for New 
Nuclear Power Plants Licenses Under 10 CFR Part 52,'' is temporarily 
identified by its task number, DG-1321. DG-1321 proposes new guidance 
that the staff of the NRC will, if issued as a final regulatory guide, 
consider acceptable for implementation of a process for making proposed 
changes to a facility being constructed under a combined license 
covered by Part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR). Specifically, this RG addresses the timing of the initiation of 
construction of a facility SSC in accordance with a proposed change to 
the design of the SSC. This DG also addresses the timing of submission 
of a 10 CFR 52.99(c)(1) ITAAC closure notification for an SSC 
constructed in accordance with a proposed change that requires an 
amendment under the applicable change process.

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    This DG, if finalized, would provide guidance on implementation of 
a process for making changes to the design of structures, systems, and 
components of a facility being constructed under a combined license. 
Issuance of this DG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC 
Management Directive 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, 
Issue Finality, and Information Requests''; affect issue finality of 
any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certificates, and 
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants''; or constitute forward fitting as 
defined in Management Directive 8.4, because, as explained in this DG, 
licensees are not required to comply with the positions set forth in 
this DG. If, in the future, the NRC were to impose a position in this 
DG in a manner that would constitute backfitting or forward fitting or 
affect the issue finality for a Part 52 approval, then the NRC would 
address the backfitting provision in 10 CFR 50.109, the forward fitting 
provision of Management Directive 8.4, or the applicable issue finality 
provision in Part 52, respectively.

IV. Specific Requests for Comments

    In addition to the general request for comments on DG-1321, the NRC 
is also seeking specific comments that address the following questions:
    1. Should the preliminary amendment request process described in 
Interim Staff Guidance COL-ISG-025, ``Interim Staff Guidance on Changes 
during Construction under 10 CFR Part 52'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15058A383), be incorporated into this regulatory guide?
    2. Should the regulatory guide discuss the timing and review of 
license amendment requests submitted after the Commission publishes the 
Notice of Intended Operation discussed in 10 CFR 52.103(a) and before 
the 10 CFR 52.103(g) finding, given that such changes could potentially 
impact ITAAC closure notifications? Are there issues related to the 
timing of ITAAC closure notifications? If so, then please provide input 
on the issues that should be addressed.

    Dated: April 29, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2020-09491 Filed 5-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P