[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70575-70576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28047]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2014-0254]
Advanced Light-Water Reactor Probabilistic Risk Assessment
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 issuing this
notice for use of and requesting public comment on its draft Interim
Staff Guidance (ISG) DC/COL-ISG-028, ``Assessing the Technical Adequacy
of the Advanced Light-Water Reactor Probabilistic Risk Assessment for
the Design Certification Application and Combined License
Application.'' The purpose of this ISG would be to provide guidance for
assessing the technical adequacy of the probabilistic risk assessment
(PRA) needed for advanced light-water reactor (ALWR) design
certification (DC) and combined license (COL) applications. This
guidance would only address the typical conditions for the DC and COL
application.
DATES: Submit comments by January 26, 2015. 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
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting
comments on a specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0254. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: 3WFN-06-A44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
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: Tanya Hood, Office of New Reactors,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001;
telephone: 301-415-1387, email: [email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0254 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0254.
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 number for each document referenced (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. The proposed DC/
[[Page 70576]]
COL-ISG-028 is available electronically under ADAMS Accession No.
ML14230A111.
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.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2014-0254 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment
submissions into ADAMS, and 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 staff issues DC/COL-ISGs to facilitate timely
implementation of current staff guidance and to facilitate activities
associated with review of applications for DCs and COLs by the Office
of New Reactors. The NRC staff intends to incorporate the final
approved DC/COL-ISG-28 into the next revision of Regulatory Guide (RG)
1.200, Revision 2, ``An Approach for Determining the Technical Adequacy
of Probabilistic Risk Assessment Results for Risk-Informed Activities''
(ADAMS Accession No. ML090410014), RG 1.206, ``Combined License
Applications for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS Accession No.
ML070720184), and NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the
Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,'' SRP
Section 19.0 ``Probabilistic Risk Assessment and Severe Accident
Evaluation for New Reactors'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML12132A481), as
appropriate.
An early version of this ISG was made publicly available to support
the September 9, 2014, meeting of the Working Group on Advanced Light
Water Reactors for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers/
American Nuclear Society Joint Standards Committee on Nuclear Risk
Management (ADAMS Accession No. ML14248A683). The public should not
provide comments to the early version of the ISG.
The NRC posts all final ISGs on the NRC's public Web page at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/isg/, which is where the public
may easily obtain access to DC/COL-ISG-28.
Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC is proposing to issue interim guidance for the NRC staff
for assessing the technical adequacy of probabilistic risk assessments
submitted as part of advanced light-water reactor design certification
applications and combined license applications. Issuance of the draft
ISG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined section
50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (the
Backfit Rule) or otherwise be inconsistent with the issue finality
provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC's position is based upon the
following considerations.
1. The draft ISG positions, if finalized, do not constitute
backfitting, inasmuch as the ISG is internal guidance to NRC staff.
The ISG provides interim guidance to the staff on how to review an
application for NRC regulatory approval in the form of licensing.
Changes in internal staff guidance are not matters for which applicants
or licensees are protected under 10 CFR 50.109 or issue finality
provisions in part 52.
2. Backfitting and issue finality--with certain exceptions
discussed below--do not protect current or future applicants.
Applicants and potential 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), 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 the draft ISG (if finalized) in a manner that is
inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, the
staff seeks to impose a position in the draft ISG (if finalized) 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.
3. The staff has no intention to impose the draft ISG on existing
nuclear power plant licenses or regulatory approvals either now or in
the future (absent a voluntary request for change from the licensee,
holder of a regulatory approval, or a design certification applicant).
The staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions
described in the draft ISG to existing (already issued) licenses (e.g.,
operating licenses and combined licenses) and regulatory approvals.
Hence, the draft ISG--even if considered guidance which is within the
purview of the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52--need not be
evaluated as if it were a backfit or as being inconsistent with issue
finality provisions. If, in the future, the staff seeks to impose a
position in the draft ISG (if finalized) on holders of already issued
licenses in a manner that does not provide issue finality as described
in the applicable issue finality provision, then the staff must make
the showing as set forth in the Backfit Rule, or address the criteria
for avoiding issue finality as described in the applicable issue
finality provision, as applicable.
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
yet determined whether it is a major rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of November, 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Advanced
Reactor and Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-28047 Filed 11-25-14; 8:45 am]
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