[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 19 (Thursday, January 29, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3932-3933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01756]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2024-0217]
Interim Staff Guidance: Content of Risk Assessment and Severe
Accident Information in Light-Water Power Reactor Construction Permit
Applications
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guidance; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) DRA-ISG-2026-01, ``Content of Risk
Assessment and Severe Accident Information in Light-Water Power Reactor
Construction Permit Applications'' to clarify the scope and depth of
the NRC staff review of the description of risk assessment and severe
accident information in the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR)
for a light-water power reactor (LWR) construction permit (CP)
application that uses risk assessment and severe accident information.
The NRC is aware of one applicant's interest in submitting a CP
application within the next few years, and this guidance is applicable
to the review of all applications for a CP for a LWR but not to non-LWR
applications.
DATES: This guidance is effective on March 2, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0217 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0217. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email
to [email protected]. The final ISG for the ``Content of Risk
Assessment and Severe Accident Information in Light-Water Power Reactor
Construction Permit Applications'' is available in ADAMS under Package
Accession No. ML25099A047.
NRC's PDR: The 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. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: India Banks, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-287-0787; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On January 16, 2025 (90 FR 4806), the staff requested public
comments on the draft ISG, DRA-ISG-2024-XX, ``Content of Risk
Assessment and Severe Accident Information in Light-Water Power Reactor
Construction Permit Applications.'' The NRC issued the draft ISG in
anticipation of the submission of power-reactor CP applications over
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 outlined in 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 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 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML18131A181).
The licensing process under 10 CFR part 50 allows an applicant to
begin
[[Page 3933]]
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
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.
The SRP contains the NRC staff review guidance for light-water
power 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. Regulatory Guide 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.
On October 31, 2022, the NRC staff issued ISG DNRL-ISG-2022-01,
``Safety Review of Light-Water Power Reactor Construction Permit
Applications,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML22189A099), to facilitate safety
reviews of LWR CP applications and to supplement the guidance in the
SRP. DNRL-ISG-2022-01 describes the regulatory requirements, applicable
review guidance in the SRP, and special topics for an LWR CP
application. DNRL-ISG-2022-01 provides guidance on the staff review of
the preliminary design information in the PSAR including the
description and safety assessment of the site on which the facility is
to be located. DNRL-ISG-2022-01 does not provide specific information
relevant to the review of probabilistic risk assessment and alternative
risk evaluations supporting an LWR CP application but points generally
to the SRP to provide the NRC staff with an acceptable approach for
reviewing such information. The staff has developed this ISG to clarify
the scope and depth of the staff review of the description of risk
assessment and severe accident information in the PSAR for a light-
water power reactor CP application that uses risk assessment and severe
accident information.
The comments received by the NRC on the draft ISG are identified,
summarized, and considered in Appendix A, ``Resolution of Public
Comments on Draft Interim Staff Guidance DRA-ISG-2026-01, `Content of
Risk Assessment and Severe Accident Information in Light-Water Power
Reactor Construction Permit Applications' '' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML25099A053).
II. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
This ISG provides guidance for the NRC staff review of light-water
power reactor construction permit applications. Issuance of this final
ISG would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the
Backfit Rule) and as described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.4,
``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and
Information Requests''; would not constitute forward fitting as that
term is defined and described in MD 8.4; and would not affect the issue
finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52. The guidance
would not apply to any current licensees or applicants or existing or
requested approvals under 10 CFR part 52, and therefore its issuance
cannot be a backfit or forward fit or affect issue finality.
III. Congressional Review Act
This ISG 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. Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' dated
September 30, 1993, provides that the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs determine whether a regulatory action is significant
as defined by Executive Order 12866 and will review significant
regulatory actions. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
determined that this final ISG is not a significant regulatory action
under Executive Order 12866.
Dated: January 26, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michele Sampson,
Director, Division of New and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2026-01756 Filed 1-28-26; 8:45 am]
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