Solicitation for Public Comment on Potential Alternatives To Resolve Generic Safety Issue 191, Pressurized Water Reactor Sump Performance, 24925-24926 [2011-10712]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 3, 2011 / Notices notice. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made available for public inspection. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC cautions you against including any information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. Comments submitted should reference Docket No. NRC–2011–0059. You may submit your comments by any of the following methods. Electronic comments: Go to https:// www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. NRC–2011–0059. Mail comments to NRC Clearance Officer, Tremaine Donnell (T–5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. Questions about the information collection requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Tremaine Donnell (T–5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001, by telephone at 301– 415–6258, or by e-mail to INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@NRC.GOV. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of April 2011. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Tremaine Donnell, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information Services. [FR Doc. 2011–10648 Filed 5–2–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2011–0090] Solicitation for Public Comment on Potential Alternatives To Resolve Generic Safety Issue 191, Pressurized Water Reactor Sump Performance Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Solicitation of public comment. AGENCY: The NRC is seeking public comment on potential alternatives for risk informing the path forward to resolve Generic Safety Issue (GSI) 191, Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Sump Performance. DATES: Submit comments by July 5, 2011. ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC–2011–0090 in the subject line of your comments. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form will be posted on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site, https:// www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information, srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:39 May 02, 2011 Jkt 223001 the NRC cautions you against including any information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly disclosed. The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not include any information in their comments that they do not want publicly disclosed. You may submit comments by any one of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC–2011–0090. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone: 301–492–3668; e-mail: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. • Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWB–05– B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. • Fax comments to: RADB at 301– 492–3446. You can access publicly available documents related to this notice using the following methods: • NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC’s PDR, O1–F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are available online in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of the NRC’s public documents. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC’s PDR reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. • Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and supporting materials related to this notice can be found at https://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC–2011– 0090. Mr. Stewart Bailey, Chief of Safety Issue Resolution Branch, telephone (301) 415–1321, e-mail: Stewart.Bailey@nrc.gov, or in writing at FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 24925 the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. Background The NRC identified a potential susceptibility of PWR emergency core cooling system (ECCS) recirculation sump screens and associated flow paths to debris blockage during design basis accidents that require recirculation operation. As a result, all operating PWR licensees were requested in Generic Letter (GL) 2004–02, Potential Impact of Debris Blockage on Emergency Recirculation during Design Basis Accidents at Pressurized-Water Reactors, to perform a mechanistic evaluation of the recirculation functions and, as appropriate, to take additional actions (e.g., plant modifications) to ensure system functionality. An overview of licensee and NRC staff actions to address GSI–191 can be found in Policy Issue Notation Vote Paper (SECY–10–0113) which presented to the Commission the regulatory path forward options for closure. In a Staff Requirement Memorandum (SRM) dated December 23, 2010, the Commission directed the staff, in part, to explore alternative paths forward for resolving GSI–191. Discussion While GSI–191 has not yet been fully resolved, the NRC believes that measures taken thus far in response to the sump-clogging issue have contributed greatly to the safety of US nuclear power plants. Given the vastly enlarged advanced strainers installed, compensatory measures already taken, and the low probability of challenging pipe breaks, adequate levels of safety and defense-in-depth are currently being maintained. In light of these factors, the Commission directed that the staff should take the time needed to consider all options to a risk-informed, safety conscious resolution to GSI–191. The SRM to SECY–10–0113 stated that the staff should employ innovation and creativity in fully exploring the policy and technical implications of all available alternatives for risk informing the path forward. These alternatives were to include, but not be limited to, how proposed rule for Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 50.46a might impact this issue, and how the application of a ‘‘no-transition-breaksize’’ approach might work. SECY–10– 0113 is publically available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession No. ML101820296. The SRM to SECY–10–0113 is also publically E:\FR\FM\03MYN1.SGM 03MYN1 24926 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 85 / Tuesday, May 3, 2011 / Notices available in ADAMS under accession No. ML103570354. Stakeholders and interested parties are encouraged to introduce other options, issues, and information for the NRC’s consideration. In an effort to facilitate public involvement, the staff previously solicited public input during the 2011 NRC Regulatory Information Conference (RIC), held in Rockville, MD. During the RIC, GSI–191 was the subject of one of the RIC technical sessions. Information concerning the 2011 RIC is available at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ conference-symposia/ric. The GSI–191 technical session agenda and links to all presentation documents can be found at https://ric.nrcgateway.gov/docs/ abstracts/SessionAbstract_7.htm. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of April 2011. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Sher Bahadur, Acting Director, Division of Safety Systems, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2011–10712 Filed 5–2–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2011–0095] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES I. Background Pursuant to Section 189a.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) is publishing this regular biweekly notice. The Act requires the Commission publish notice of any amendments issued, or proposed to be issued and grants the Commission the authority to issue and make immediately effective any amendment to an operating license upon a determination by the Commission that such amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, notwithstanding the pendency before the Commission of a request for a hearing from any person. This biweekly notice includes all notices of amendments issued, or proposed to be issued from April 7, 2011, to April 20, 2011. The last biweekly notice was published on April 19, 2011 (76 FR 21917 to 21928). VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:39 May 02, 2011 Jkt 223001 Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing The Commission has made a proposed determination that the following amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. Under the Commission’s regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) Involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. The basis for this proposed determination for each amendment request is shown below. The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final determination. Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-day comment period should circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example in derating or shutdown of the facility. Should the Commission take action prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. Should the Commission make a final No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, any hearing will take place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently. Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules, Announcements and Directives Branch (RADB), TWB–05–B01M, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Register notice. Written comments may also be faxed to the RADB at 301–492– 3446. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Room O1– F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any person(s) whose interest may be affected by this action may file a request for a hearing and a petition to intervene with respect to issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating license. Requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the Commission’s ‘‘Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings’’ in 10 CFR part 2. Interested person(s) should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the Commission’s PDR, located at One White Flint North, Room O1–F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. Publicly available records will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System’s (ADAMS) Public NRC Library on the Internet at the NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/cfr/. If a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order. As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the following general requirements: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the requestor’s/petitioner’s right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor’s/petitioner’s property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the proceeding on the requestor’s/petitioner’s interest. The petition must also identify the specific contentions which the requestor/ E:\FR\FM\03MYN1.SGM 03MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24925-24926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10712]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0090]


Solicitation for Public Comment on Potential Alternatives To 
Resolve Generic Safety Issue 191, Pressurized Water Reactor Sump 
Performance

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Solicitation of public comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The NRC is seeking public comment on potential alternatives 
for risk informing the path forward to resolve Generic Safety Issue 
(GSI) 191, Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Sump Performance.

DATES: Submit comments by July 5, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Please include Docket ID NRC-2011-0090 in the subject line 
of your comments. Comments submitted in writing or in electronic form 
will be posted on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web 
site, https://www.regulations.gov. Because your comments will not be 
edited to remove any identifying or contact information, the NRC 
cautions you against including any information in your submission that 
you do not want to be publicly disclosed.
    The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those 
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed. You may submit comments by any one of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for documents filed under Docket ID NRC-
2011-0090. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 
telephone: 301-492-3668; e-mail: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
    You can access publicly available documents related to this notice 
using the following methods:
     NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine 
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents at the NRC's 
PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC 
are available online in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. If 
you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's PDR reference staff 
at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Public comments and 
supporting materials related to this notice can be found at https://www.regulations.gov by searching on Docket ID NRC-2011-0090.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stewart Bailey, Chief of Safety 
Issue Resolution Branch, telephone (301) 415-1321, e-mail: 
Stewart.Bailey@nrc.gov, or in writing at the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.

Background

    The NRC identified a potential susceptibility of PWR emergency core 
cooling system (ECCS) recirculation sump screens and associated flow 
paths to debris blockage during design basis accidents that require 
recirculation operation. As a result, all operating PWR licensees were 
requested in Generic Letter (GL) 2004-02, Potential Impact of Debris 
Blockage on Emergency Recirculation during Design Basis Accidents at 
Pressurized-Water Reactors, to perform a mechanistic evaluation of the 
recirculation functions and, as appropriate, to take additional actions 
(e.g., plant modifications) to ensure system functionality.
    An overview of licensee and NRC staff actions to address GSI-191 
can be found in Policy Issue Notation Vote Paper (SECY-10-0113) which 
presented to the Commission the regulatory path forward options for 
closure. In a Staff Requirement Memorandum (SRM) dated December 23, 
2010, the Commission directed the staff, in part, to explore 
alternative paths forward for resolving GSI-191.

Discussion

    While GSI-191 has not yet been fully resolved, the NRC believes 
that measures taken thus far in response to the sump-clogging issue 
have contributed greatly to the safety of US nuclear power plants. 
Given the vastly enlarged advanced strainers installed, compensatory 
measures already taken, and the low probability of challenging pipe 
breaks, adequate levels of safety and defense-in-depth are currently 
being maintained. In light of these factors, the Commission directed 
that the staff should take the time needed to consider all options to a 
risk-informed, safety conscious resolution to GSI-191.
    The SRM to SECY-10-0113 stated that the staff should employ 
innovation and creativity in fully exploring the policy and technical 
implications of all available alternatives for risk informing the path 
forward. These alternatives were to include, but not be limited to, how 
proposed rule for Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 
50.46a might impact this issue, and how the application of a ``no-
transition-break-size'' approach might work. SECY-10-0113 is publically 
available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS) under accession No. ML101820296. The SRM to SECY-10-0113 is 
also publically

[[Page 24926]]

available in ADAMS under accession No. ML103570354. Stakeholders and 
interested parties are encouraged to introduce other options, issues, 
and information for the NRC's consideration.
    In an effort to facilitate public involvement, the staff previously 
solicited public input during the 2011 NRC Regulatory Information 
Conference (RIC), held in Rockville, MD. During the RIC, GSI-191 was 
the subject of one of the RIC technical sessions. Information 
concerning the 2011 RIC is available at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conference-symposia/ric. The GSI-191 technical session agenda 
and links to all presentation documents can be found at https://ric.nrcgateway.gov/docs/abstracts/SessionAbstract_7.htm.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of April 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Sher Bahadur,
Acting Director, Division of Safety Systems, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011-10712 Filed 5-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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