[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 92853-92855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27422]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[Docket No. PRM-50-126; NRC-2024-0173]
Technical Specifications for Nuclear Power Reactors
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing, and request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a
petition for rulemaking (PRM) from Brian D. Mann on behalf of the
Technical Specifications Task Force, the Pressurized Water Reactor
Owners Group, and the Boiling Water Reactor Owners' Group, dated
September 13, 2024, requesting that the NRC revise its regulations to
apply risk insights to the selection of technical specifications
Limiting Conditions for Operation and to update the regulation to be
consistent with the guidance in the NRC's Standard Technical
Specifications. The petition was docketed by the NRC on October 1,
2024, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-126. The NRC is examining
the issues raised in PRM-50-126 to determine whether they should be
considered in rulemaking. The NRC is requesting public comment on this
petition at this time.
DATES: Submit comments by February 10, 2025. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or 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-2024-0173. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang; telephone: 301-415-3228;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time (ET),
Federal workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
[[Page 92854]]
You can read a plain language description of this petition for
rulemaking at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2024-0173. 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: Denise Edwards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 404-997-
4432, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0173 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-2024-0173.
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 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.
NRC's PDR: The NRC PDR, where you may examine and order
copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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
a.m. and 4 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-2024-0173 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. The Petitioner and Petition
The PRM was filed by Brian D. Mann on behalf of the Technical
Specifications Task Force, the Pressurized Water Reactor Owners Group,
and the Boiling Water Reactor Owner's Group. The PRM requests that the
NRC revise its regulations at title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), section 50.36, ``Technical specifications,'' to
apply risk insights to the selection of technical specifications (TS)
Limiting Conditions for Operation (LCO) and to update the regulation to
be consistent with the guidance in the NRC's Standard Technical
Specifications (STS). The PRM may be found in ADAMS under Accession
number ML24274A209.
III. Discussion of the Petition
The petitioner requests the NRC revise 10 CFR 50.36 to apply risk
insights to the selection of technical specifications TS LCO and to
update the regulation to be consistent with the guidance in the NRC's
STS. The petitioner proposes the following specific changes to risk-
inform the criteria for selection of LCOs:
Revise the selection criteria for LCOs to state that items
that satisfy 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(B) and (C) (i.e., Criterion 2 and
Criterion 3) must also be shown by probabilistic risk assessment to be
significant to public health and safety.
Update the description of 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(D) (i.e.,
Criterion 4) to eliminate the reference to operating experience and to
distinguish Criterion 4 from the revised Criteria 2 and 3.
Although not part of the proposed rule changes, the
Petitioner also suggests that in conjunction with the rule change the
Commission update the ``Final Policy Statement on Technical
Specifications Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors'' (58 FR 39132,
July 22, 1993), to reflect changes made to 10 CFR 50.36.
The petitioner states that these changes will allow future
improvements to plant safety and operation to be made based on the
application of risk to the TS selection criteria. The rule as currently
written does not allow for these types of improvements.
The petitioner also proposes updates to 10 CFR 50.36 to make the
rule more consistent with the NRC's STS and to remove information that
is no longer applicable. These changes are proposed on a ``not-to-
interfere'' basis with the primary change to risk-inform the TS LCO
selection criteria. To align the rule with the NRC's STS, the
petitioner proposed the following specific changes:
Revise the regulation to not require TS bases for the
Design Features. The petitioner points out that neither the STS nor
plant TS approved by the NRC include Bases for Design Features. The
petitioner states that this change would align the regulation with over
50 years of Commission practice.
Eliminate the requirement that the TS include requirements
designated as limiting safety system settings (LSSS). The petitioner
states that in the STS, LSSS have been merged with the LCO requirements
for instrumentation. Additionally, the petitioner states that the
industry and the NRC have disagreed on what constitutes an LSSS causing
confusion in the application of the regulation. Based on this, the
petitioner recommends deletion of this requirement.
Revise the description of Surveillance Requirements (SRs)
to no longer state that SRs assure that the necessary quality of
systems and components is maintained. The petitioner states that the
regulation is inaccurate in stating that SRs assure the quality of
systems and components is maintained because there are many aspects of
system or component quality that are not monitored by TS SRs and are
instead verified by other means, such as the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers Code, vendor quality assurance audits, licensee
receipt inspections, and the licensee's NRC-approved Quality Assurance
Program. Based on this, the petitioner concludes that none of the
actions to assure quality are confirmed by TS SRs, so the description
of SRs should be revised.
Revise the Administrative Controls description to remove
the requirement to include recordkeeping, and review and audit, and to
include a requirement for licensee programs. The petitioner
[[Page 92855]]
states that in 1993, these requirements were removed from the STS. In
addition, the Administrative Controls section of the STS includes
programs not described in the regulation. Based on this, the petitioner
proposed to update the description of Administrative Controls to be
consistent with the STS.
Eliminate the unnecessary exceptions for plants licensed
prior to 1969. The petitioner states that these exceptions are no
longer applicable as all operating plants have TS included in the
license. The petitioner suggests that this provision be removed to
simplify the regulations.
IV. Conclusion
The NRC has determined that the petition meets the sufficiency
requirements for docketing a PRM under 10 CFR 2.803, ``Petition for
rulemaking-NRC action.'' The NRC will examine the issues raised in PRM-
50-126 and any comments received in response to this comment request to
determine whether these issues should be considered in rulemaking. The
public can monitor further action on the rulemaking that will address
this petition by searching Docket ID NRC-2024-0173 on the Federal
rulemaking website, https://www.regulations.gov. The site allows
members of the public to receive alerts when changes or additions occur
in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder
(NRC-2024-0173); (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an
email address and click on the ``Subscribe'' link. The NRC also tracks
the status of all NRC rules and PRMs on its website at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/rulemaking/rules-petitions.html.
Dated: November 19, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carrie Safford,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-27422 Filed 11-22-24; 8:45 am]
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