[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]
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