Proposed Revisions to Conduct of Operations, 57141-57143 [2014-22733]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 2014 / Notices Executive Director’s Remarks and Financial and Management Report; (6) Internal Controls Update; (7) U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution Report and Discussion; (8) Communications Discussion and Udall Foundation Web site; (9) Native Nations Institute Report; (10) Education Programs Report; and (11) Internal Personnel Matters. PORTIONS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: All agenda items except as noted below. PORTIONS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC: Executive Session to Discuss Internal Personnel Matters. CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Philip J. Lemanski, Executive Director, 130 South Scott Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701, (520) 901–8500. Dated: September 19, 2014. Elizabeth E. Monroe, Executive Assistant, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, and Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2014–22811 Filed 9–22–14; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 6820–FN–P NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 National Science Foundation. Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95–541. AGENCY: ACTION: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received. DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, or views with respect to this permit application by October 24, 2014. This application may be inspected by interested parties at the Permit Office, address below. ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Room 755, Division of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Li Ling Hamady, ACA Permit Officer, at the above address or ACApermits@ nsf.gov or (703) 292–7149. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:41 Sep 23, 2014 Jkt 232001 directed by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95–541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has developed regulations for the establishment of a permit system for various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and certain geographic areas a requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas. Application Details Permit Application: 2015–008 1. Applicant Dr. Michael J. Polito, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 1002–Y Energy, Coast & Environment Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Activity for Which Permit Is Requested: Take, Import; The applicant intends to opportunistically obtain small samples of blood (1mL), and body and tail feathers from Macaroni, Gentoo, ´ Chinstrap, and Adelie penguins from breeding sites in the South Orkneys, South Shetland, and Antarctic Peninsula regions while based aboard a commercial tour ship. These samples will be used for genetic and stable isotope studies to help interpret migratory connectivity and diet. Up to one site for Macaroni penguins, up to ´ six sites each for Chinstrap and Adelie penguins, and up to eight sites for Gentoos will be sampled with up to 20 individuals sampled per site. Samples will be sent back to the USA for analysis. Location: Sites in the South Orkneys, South Shetland, and Antarctic Peninsula regions. Dates: 1 November 2014 through 31 September 2015. 57141 Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. This is the required notice. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Li Ling Hamady, ACA Permit Officer, Division of Polar Programs, Rm. 755, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230. Or by email: ACApermits@nsf.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 8, 2014 the National Science Foundation published a notice in the Federal Register of a permit application received. The permit was issued on September 17, 2014 to: Matthew Lazzara, Permit No. 2015–005. Nadene G. Kennedy, Polar Coordination Specialist, Division of Polar Programs. [FR Doc. 2014–22708 Filed 9–23–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2014–0203] Proposed Revisions to Conduct of Operations Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Standard review plan-draft section revision; request for comment. AGENCY: AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising the following sections and soliciting public comment on the following sections in Chapter 13, ‘‘Conduct of Operations,’’ of NUREG–0800, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,’’ Section 13.1.1, ‘‘Management and Technical Support Organization’’; Section 13.1.2–13.1.3, ‘‘Operating Organization’’; Section 13.2.1, ‘‘Reactor Operator Requalification Program; Reactor Operator Training’’; Section 13.2.2, ‘‘Non-licensed Plant Staff Training’’; Section 13.5.1.1, ‘‘Administrative Procedures—,General’’; and Section 13.5.2.1, ‘‘Operating and Emergency Operating Procedures.’’ DATES: Submit comments by November 24, 2014. Comments received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is only able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ACTION: ADDRESSES: Nadene G. Kennedy, Polar Coordination Specialist, Division of Polar Programs. [FR Doc. 2014–22710 Filed 9–23–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 National Science Foundation. Notice of permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation of 1978, Public Law 95–541. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permits issued under the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 SUMMARY: 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM 24SEN1 57142 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 2014 / Notices for Docket ID NRC–2014–0203. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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–06–44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. For additional direction on accessing information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan DeGange, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001; telephone: 301–415–6992 or email to: Jonathan.DeGange@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments publicly-available information related to this action by the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2014–0203. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the NRC Library at https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. For the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in the ‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section. • 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. A. Obtaining Information B. Submitting Comments Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2014– 0203 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain Please include Docket ID NRC–2014– 0203 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. 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 submissions. 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 submissions into ADAMS. II. Availability of Documents The ADAMS accession numbers for the current revisions, proposed draft revisions, and redline strikeouts comparing current revisions and the proposed revisions of individual sections are available in ADAMS under the following accession numbers: SRP Section Current revision Draft revision Redline strikeout 13.1.1 .......................................................................................................................................... 13.1.2–13.1.3 .............................................................................................................................. 13.2.1 .......................................................................................................................................... 13.2.2 .......................................................................................................................................... 13.5.1.1 ....................................................................................................................................... 13.5.2.1 ....................................................................................................................................... ML070460302 ML070250009 ML070100636 ML070100637 ML112730402 ML070100635 MB13311B662 ML13311B719 ML13311B565 ML14030A091 ML13115A067 ML13311B514 ML13330B669 ML13330B690 ML13330B645 ML14051A028 ML13115A093 ML13311B773 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES III. Further Information The NRC seeks public comments on the proposed revision of Standard Review Plan (SRP) Sections 13.1.1, 13.1.2–13.1.3, 13.2.1, 13.2.2, 13.5.1.1, and 13.5.2.1. The changes to SRP Chapter 13 reflect the current staff reviews, methods and practices based on lessons learned from the NRC’s reviews of design certification and combined license applications completed since the last revision of this chapter. The draft SRP sections, if finalized, would provide guidance to the staff for reviewing applications for a construction permit and an operating license under part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) with respect to conduct of operations. The draft SRP sections would also provide guidance for reviewing an VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:41 Sep 23, 2014 Jkt 232001 application for a standard design approval, a standard design certification, a combined license, and a manufacturing license under 10 CFR part 52 with respect to those same subject matters. Following the NRC staff’s evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends to finalize the revised SRP Sections 13.1.1, 13.1.2–13.1.3, 13.2.1, 13.2.2, 13.5.1.1, and 13.5.2.1 in ADAMS and post the revised sections on the NRC’s public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/. The SRP is guidance for the NRC staff. The SRP is not a substitute for the NRC’s regulations, and compliance with the SRP is not required. IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality Issuance of the draft SRP sections, if finalized, would not constitute PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (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 SRP positions, if finalized, do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance to NRC staff. The SRP 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 10 CFR part 52. 2. Backfitting and issue finality—with certain exceptions discussed below—do not protect current or future applicants. E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM 24SEN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 2014 / Notices 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— was intended to apply to every NRC’s action which 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) and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design certification rule) with specified issue finality provisions. The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions represented in the draft SRP sections (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 SRP sections (if finalized) in a manner which 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 SRP positions 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 SRP sections to existing (already issued) licenses (e.g., operating licenses and combined licenses) and regulatory approvals. Hence, the draft SRPs—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 SRPs (if finalized) on holders of already issued licenses in a manner which 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 applicable issue finality provision, as applicable. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of September, 2014. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:41 Sep 23, 2014 Jkt 232001 57143 For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Joseph Colaccino, Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors. Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001; telephone: 301–415–6992 or email to: Jonathan.DeGange@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: [FR Doc. 2014–22733 Filed 9–23–14; 8:45 am] I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2014–0204] Quality Assurance Program Description—Design Certification, Early Site Permit and New License Applicants Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Standard review plan—draft section revision; request for comment. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting public comment on draft NUREG–0800, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,’’ Section 17.5, ‘‘Quality Assurance Program Description—Design Certification, Early Site Permit and New License Applicants.’’ DATES: Comments must be filed no later than November 24, 2014. 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 on or 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2014–0204. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3422; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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–06–44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. For additional direction on accessing information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan DeGange, Office of New SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2014– 0204 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this document by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2014–0204. • 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/readingrm/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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The proposed SRP Section 17.5, Revision 1, ‘‘Quality Assurance Program Description—Design Certification, Early Site Permit and New License Applicants,’’ is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14035A202. A redline strikeout comparing the proposed Revision 1 and current Revision 0 can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14035A201. • 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– 0204 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 that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in you comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https:// www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS. E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM 24SEN1

Agencies

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 185 (Wednesday, September 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57141-57143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22733]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0203]

Proposed Revisions to Conduct of Operations

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Standard review plan-draft section revision; request for
comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising the
following sections and soliciting public comment on the following
sections in Chapter 13, ``Conduct of Operations,'' of NUREG-0800,
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for
Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,'' Section 13.1.1, ``Management and
Technical Support Organization''; Section 13.1.2-13.1.3, ``Operating
Organization''; Section 13.2.1, ``Reactor Operator Requalification
Program; Reactor Operator Training''; Section 13.2.2, ``Non-licensed
Plant Staff Training''; Section 13.5.1.1, ``Administrative Procedures--
,General''; and Section 13.5.2.1, ``Operating and Emergency Operating
Procedures.''

DATES: Submit comments by November 24, 2014. Comments received after
this date will be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the
Commission is only able to ensure consideration only for comments
received on or 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search

[[Page 57142]]

for Docket ID NRC-2014-0203. Address questions about NRC dockets to
Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-3422; email:
Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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-06-44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
For additional direction on accessing information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan DeGange, Office of New
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-6992 or email to: Jonathan.DeGange@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0203 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0203.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS):
You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the NRC
Library at https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. For the convenience of the
reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this
document are provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
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-2014-0203 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. 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 submissions. 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Availability of Documents

The ADAMS accession numbers for the current revisions, proposed
draft revisions, and redline strikeouts comparing current revisions and
the proposed revisions of individual sections are available in ADAMS
under the following accession numbers:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SRP Section Current revision Draft revision Redline strikeout
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13.1.1............................ ML070460302 MB13311B662 ML13330B669
13.1.2-13.1.3..................... ML070250009 ML13311B719 ML13330B690
13.2.1............................ ML070100636 ML13311B565 ML13330B645
13.2.2............................ ML070100637 ML14030A091 ML14051A028
13.5.1.1.......................... ML112730402 ML13115A067 ML13115A093
13.5.2.1.......................... ML070100635 ML13311B514 ML13311B773
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Further Information

The NRC seeks public comments on the proposed revision of Standard
Review Plan (SRP) Sections 13.1.1, 13.1.2-13.1.3, 13.2.1, 13.2.2,
13.5.1.1, and 13.5.2.1. The changes to SRP Chapter 13 reflect the
current staff reviews, methods and practices based on lessons learned
from the NRC's reviews of design certification and combined license
applications completed since the last revision of this chapter. The
draft SRP sections, if finalized, would provide guidance to the staff
for reviewing applications for a construction permit and an operating
license under part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR) with respect to conduct of operations. The draft SRP sections
would also provide guidance for reviewing an application for a standard
design approval, a standard design certification, a combined license,
and a manufacturing license under 10 CFR part 52 with respect to those
same subject matters.
Following the NRC staff's evaluation of public comments, the NRC
intends to finalize the revised SRP Sections 13.1.1, 13.1.2-13.1.3,
13.2.1, 13.2.2, 13.5.1.1, and 13.5.2.1 in ADAMS and post the revised
sections on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/. The SRP is guidance for the NRC
staff. The SRP is not a substitute for the NRC's regulations, and
compliance with the SRP is not required.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

Issuance of the draft SRP sections, if finalized, would not
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (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 SRP positions, if finalized, do not constitute
backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance to NRC staff.
The SRP 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 10 CFR part 52.
2. Backfitting and issue finality--with certain exceptions
discussed below--do not protect current or future applicants.

[[Page 57143]]

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--was intended to apply to every
NRC's action which 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) and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a
design certification rule) with specified issue finality provisions.
The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions
represented in the draft SRP sections (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 SRP sections (if
finalized) in a manner which 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 SRP positions 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 SRP sections to existing (already issued)
licenses (e.g., operating licenses and combined licenses) and
regulatory approvals. Hence, the draft SRPs--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 SRPs (if finalized)
on holders of already issued licenses in a manner which 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 applicable issue finality provision, as applicable.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of September, 2014.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Advanced
Reactors and Rulemaking, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2014-22733 Filed 9-23-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

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