[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71101-71102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27035]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0162]


Safety Review of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit 
Applications

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on its draft interim staff guidance (ISG), ``Safety 
Review of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications.'' 
The NRC staff is preparing for the review of construction permit 
applications. The purpose of this ISG is to clarify existing guidance 
and to assist the NRC staff in determining whether an application to 
construct a light-water power-reactor facility meets the minimum 
requirements to issue a construction permit.

DATES: Submit comments by January 28, 2022. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received 
before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0162. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, 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: Carolyn Lauron, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-2736, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0162 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0162.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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]. The draft ISG for the ``Safety Review 
of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21165A157.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2021-0162 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

    The NRC anticipates the submission of power-reactor construction 
permit (CP) applications within the next few years based on 
preapplication engagement initiated by several prospective applicants. 
The review of these applications falls within the two-step licensing 
process under Part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization 
Facilities,'' and involves the issuance of a CP before an operating 
license (OL). The NRC last issued a power-reactor CP in the 1970s. Most 
recently, the NRC issued combined construction and operating licenses 
(combined licenses (COLs)) for power reactors through the one-step 
licensing process under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and 
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' using the guidance in NUREG-0800, 
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for 
Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition'' (https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/cover/index.html); and Regulatory 
Guide (RG) 1.206, ``Combined License Applications for Nuclear Power 
Plants (LWR Edition),'' issued June 2007 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML070720184). The NRC has periodically updated some of the standard 
review plan (SRP) guidance and issued Revision 1 to RG 1.206, 
``Applications for Nuclear Power Plants,'' in October 2018 
(ML18131A181).
    The licensing process under 10 CFR part 50 allows an applicant to 
begin construction with preliminary design information instead of the 
final design required for a COL under 10 CFR part 52. Although the two-
step licensing process provides flexibility and allows a more limited 
safety review before construction, the design has less finality before 
the applicant commits to construction of the facility. The final safety 
analysis report (FSAR) submitted with the OL application should 
describe in detail the final design of the facility as constructed; 
identify the changes from the criteria, design, and bases in the CP 
preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR); and discuss the bases for, 
and safety significance of, the changes from the PSAR. Before issuing 
an OL, the NRC staff will review the applicant's final design in the 
FSAR to determine whether all the Commission's safety requirements have 
been met.

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    The SRP contains the NRC staff review guidance for light-water 
reactor applications submitted under 10 CFR part 50 or 10 CFR part 52. 
In addition to the CP review guidance in the SRP, RG 1.70, ``Standard 
Format and Content of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: 
LWR Edition,'' Revision 3, issued November 1978 (ADAMS Package 
Accession No. ML011340122), offers some insights on the level of detail 
that is required for the PSAR in support of the CP application, but 
these insights may be limited to the degree that the guidance does not 
account for subsequent requirements, NRC technical positions, or 
advances in technical knowledge. RG 1.206 provides guidance for 10 CFR 
part 52 applications, including for early site permits and COLs, and 
includes insights on the level of detail needed for final design 
information if the CP applicant chooses to provide such information. 
The draft ISG discusses the use of these guidance documents and 
supplements the guidance in the SRP.
    The NRC recently issued CPs for two nonpower production and 
utilization facilities--SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc., and Northwest 
Medical Isotopes, LLC. Some of the lessons learned from these reviews 
are applicable to the review of power-reactor CP applications, as 
discussed in the draft ISG. The draft ISG also discusses other issues 
pertinent to the safety review of CP applications for light-water power 
reactors, including the benefits accruing from preapplication 
engagement, the relationship between the CP and OL reviews, the NRC's 
approach for reviewing applications incorporating prior NRC approvals, 
the potential effect of ongoing regulatory activities on CP reviews, 
and licensing requirements for source, byproduct, and special nuclear 
material.

    Dated: December 9, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Smith,
Director, Division of New and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-27035 Filed 12-13-21; 8:45 am]
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