Physical Security Hardware-Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria, 45312-45314 [2016-16469]

Download as PDF 45312 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 13, 2016 / Notices ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document. Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide 1.117, and the regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15356A213 and ML14356A106, respectively. • 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. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not required to reproduce them. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gordon Curran, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301– 415–1247, email: Gordon.Curran@ nrc.gov; and Stephen Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301–415–7000, email: Stephen.Burton@nrc.gov. Both are staff members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES I. Introduction The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC’s ‘‘Regulatory Guide’’ series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the public information regarding methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the agency’s regulations, techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses. Revision 2 of RG 1.117 was issued with a temporary identification of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG–1313. This guide is being revised to address new issues identified since the NRC originally issued the guide. As indicated in RG 1.76, ‘‘Design Basis Tornado and Tornado Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML070360253), tornado wind speeds may not bound hurricane wind speeds for certain portions of the Atlantic and gulf coasts. In this case, the structures, systems, and components should be designed to withstand the effects of the design basis hurricane and hurricanegenerated missiles so that they remain functional, as defined in RG 1.221, ‘‘Design Basis Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML110940300). In addition, the title has been updated to better reflect the purpose of the guidance. VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:08 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 238001 II. Additional Information The NRC published a notice of Availability of DG–1313 in the Federal Register on August 28, 2015 (80 FR 52346), for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment period closed on October 27, 2015. Public comments on DG–1313 and the NRC staff’s responses to the public comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15356A214. III. Congressional Review Act This regulatory guide 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. Backfitting and Issue Finality This regulatory guide describes methods and procedures that the staff considers acceptable for use in identifying those structures, systems, and components (SSCs) of light water cooled reactors that should be protected from the effects of the worst case extreme winds and wind-generated missiles, so that they remain functional. Although not expressly stated in DG– 1313, the regulatory guidance in this regulatory guide is directed at applicants for nuclear power reactor construction permits and operating licenses under part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), applicants for standard design certifications under subpart B of 10 CFR part 52, and combined licenses under subpart C of part 52. This does not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, ‘‘Licenses, Certifications and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.’’ Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, protected by either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions under part 52. Neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality provisions under 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 a combined license applicant references a part 52 license (i.e., an early site permit or a manufacturing license) and/or part 52 regulatory approval (i.e., a design certification rule or design approval). The NRC staff does not, at this time, PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 intend to impose the positions represented in the regulatory guide in a manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions in these part 52 licenses and regulatory approvals. If, in the future, the staff seeks to impose a position in this regulatory guide in a manner that does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC staff must address the issue finality criteria in the applicable issue finality provision (10 CFR 52.63 for standard design certification rules, and 10 CFR 52.98 for combined licenses). Existing licensees and applicants of final design certification rules will not be required to comply with the positions set forth in this regulatory guide unless the licensee or design certification rule applicant seeks a voluntary change to its licensing basis with respect to the inclusion or exclusion of SSCs that must be protected against extreme winds and extreme wind effects. In such cases, backfitting and issue finality will not apply if the NRC determines that the safety review of the licensee-initiated or applicant-initiated change must include reconsideration of the methods and procedures used in identifying those SSCs. Further information on the staff’s use of the regulatory guide is contained in the regulatory guide under Section D. Implementation. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of July, 2016. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Harriet Karagiannis, Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. 2016–16553 Filed 7–12–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2016–0126] Physical Security Hardware— Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria 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 14.3.12, ‘‘Physical Security Hardware— Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 13, 2016 / Notices Acceptance Criteria.’’ The NRC seeks comments on the draft section revision of the standard review plan (SRP) concerning inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria (ITAAC) related to physical security hardware (PS– ITAAC). Comments must be filed no later than August 12, 2016. 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–2016–0126. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–287–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: OWFN–12–H08, 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: Mark Notich, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301–415–3053, email: Mark.Notich@nrc.gov; or Nishka Devaser, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301–415–5196; email: Nishka.Devaser@nrc.gov, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DATES: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2016– 0126 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–2016–0126. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:08 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 238001 available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection 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. The ADAMS accession numbers for the draft revision, current revision, and redline strikeout comparing the current revision and the draft revision of the section are available in ADAMS under the following accession numbers: Draft revision 2 (ML16032A050), current revision 1 (ML100970568), and redline strikeout (ML16032A096). • 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–2016– 0126 in your comment submission. The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. 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 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. Further Information The NRC seeks public comment on the draft section revision of the SRP. This section has been revised to assist NRC staff with the review of PS–ITAAC in a combined license application or a design certification application. The PS–ITAAC are reviewed to determine whether the designs and specifications for PS–ITAAC are in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements of 10 CFR part 73. Revision 2 to SRP Section 14.3.12 incorporates the requirements for vehicle control measures under PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 45313 § 73.55(e)(10)(i)(B) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and incorporates recommendations from NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008– 05, ‘‘Lessons Learned to Improve Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria Submittal’’ revision 1, September 23, 2010. The technical changes in accordance with the new § 73.55 are incorporated in each section of this revision (since Revision 1 of this section, dated April 2010) of the SRP as applicable. Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends to incorporate the final approved guidance into the next revision of NUREG–0800. The SRP is guidance for the NRC staff. The SRP is not a substitute for the NRC regulations, and compliance with the SRP is not required. III. Backfitting and Issue Finality Issuance of this draft SRP, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in § 50.109 of 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 SRP positions, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance directed at the NRC staff with respect to their regulatory responsibilities. The SRP provides guidance to the NRC staff on how to review an application for NRC regulatory approval in the form of licensing. Changes in internal NRC staff guidance are not matters for which either nuclear power plant applicants or licensees are protected under either the Backfit Rule or the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR part 52. 2. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the SRP positions on current licensees or already-issued regulatory approvals either now or in the future. The NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions described in the draft SRP to existing (already issued) licenses and regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final SRP—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 NRC staff seeks to impose a position in the SRP on holders of already issued holders of licenses SRP in a manner which does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC staff must make the showing as E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1 45314 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 13, 2016 / Notices set forth in the Backfit Rule or address the criteria for avoiding issue finality as described applicable issue finality provision. 3. Backfitting and issue finality do not—with limited exceptions not applicable here—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 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 NRC staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions represented in the draft SRP in a manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, the NRC staff seeks to impose a position in the draft SRP in a manner which does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC staff must address the criteria for avoiding issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of July 2016. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Joseph Colaccino, Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of Engineering, Infrastructure and Advanced Reactors, Office of New Reactors. [FR Doc. 2016–16469 Filed 7–12–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. CP2016–237] New Postal Product Postal Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Commission is noticing recent Postal Service filing for the Commission’s consideration concerning a negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps. DATES: Comments are due: July 14, 2016. jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:08 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 238001 Submit comments electronically via the Commission’s Filing Online system at https:// www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit comments electronically should contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section by telephone for advice on filing alternatives. ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 202–789–6820. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Docketed Proceeding(s) I. Introduction The Commission gives notice that the Postal Service filed request(s) for the Commission to consider matters related to negotiated service agreement(s). The request(s) may propose the addition or removal of a negotiated service agreement from the market dominant or the competitive product list, or the modification of an existing product currently appearing on the market dominant or the competitive product list. Section II identifies the docket number(s) associated with each Postal Service request, the title of each Postal Service request, the request’s acceptance date, and the authority cited by the Postal Service for each request. For each request, the Commission appoints an officer of the Commission to represent the interests of the general public in the proceeding, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505 (Public Representative). Section II also establishes comment deadline(s) pertaining to each request. The public portions of the Postal Service’s request(s) can be accessed via the Commission’s Web site (https:// www.prc.gov). Non-public portions of the Postal Service’s request(s), if any, can be accessed through compliance with the requirements of 39 CFR 3007.40. The Commission invites comments on whether the Postal Service’s request(s) in the captioned docket(s) are consistent with the policies of title 39. For request(s) that the Postal Service states concern market dominant product(s), applicable statutory and regulatory requirements include 39 U.S.C. 3622, 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR part 3010, and 39 CFR part 3020, subpart B. For request(s) that the Postal Service states concern competitive product(s), applicable statutory and regulatory requirements include 39 U.S.C. 3632, 39 U.S.C. 3633, 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR part 3015, and 39 CFR part 3020, subpart B. Comment PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 deadline(s) for each request appear in section II. II. Docketed Proceeding(s) 1. Docket No(s).: CP2016–237; Filing Title: Notice of United States Postal Service of Filing a Functionally Equivalent Global Expedited Package Services 3 Negotiated Service Agreement and Application for NonPublic Treatment of Materials Filed Under Seal; Filing Acceptance Date: July 6, 2016; Filing Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 39 CFR 3020.30 et seq.; Public Representative: Kenneth R. Moeller; Comments Due: July 14, 2016. This notice will be published in the Federal Register. Ruth Ann Abrams, Acting Secretary. [FR Doc. 2016–16457 Filed 7–12–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. R2011–6] New Postal Product Postal Regulatory Commission. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The Commission is noticing recent Postal Service filing for the Commission’s consideration concerning a negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps. DATES: Comments are due: July 18, 2016. SUMMARY: Submit comments electronically via the Commission’s Filing Online system at https:// www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit comments electronically should contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section by telephone for advice on filing alternatives. ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 202–789–6820. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Docketed Proceeding(s) I. Introduction The Commission gives notice that the Postal Service filed request(s) for the Commission to consider matters related to negotiated service agreement(s). The request(s) may propose the addition or removal of a negotiated service agreement from the market dominant or E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45312-45314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16469]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0126]


Physical Security Hardware--Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and 
Acceptance Criteria

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

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

SUMMARY: 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 14.3.12, ``Physical Security Hardware--Inspections, 
Tests, Analyses, and

[[Page 45313]]

Acceptance Criteria.'' The NRC seeks comments on the draft section 
revision of the standard review plan (SRP) concerning inspections, 
tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria (ITAAC) related to physical 
security hardware (PS-ITAAC).

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than August 12, 2016. 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-2016-0126. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, 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: Mark Notich, Office of New Reactors, 
telephone: 301-415-3053, email: Mark.Notich@nrc.gov; or Nishka Devaser, 
Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301-415-5196; email: 
Nishka.Devaser@nrc.gov, 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-2016-0126 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-2016-0126.
     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 ``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 numbers for the draft revision, current revision, and 
redline strikeout comparing the current revision and the draft revision 
of the section are available in ADAMS under the following accession 
numbers: Draft revision 2 (ML16032A050), current revision 1 
(ML100970568), and redline strikeout (ML16032A096).
     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-2016-0126 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. 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 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. Further Information

    The NRC seeks public comment on the draft section revision of the 
SRP. This section has been revised to assist NRC staff with the review 
of PS-ITAAC in a combined license application or a design certification 
application. The PS-ITAAC are reviewed to determine whether the designs 
and specifications for PS-ITAAC are in accordance with the applicable 
regulatory requirements of 10 CFR part 73.
    Revision 2 to SRP Section 14.3.12 incorporates the requirements for 
vehicle control measures under Sec.  73.55(e)(10)(i)(B) of title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and incorporates 
recommendations from NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-05, ``Lessons 
Learned to Improve Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance 
Criteria Submittal'' revision 1, September 23, 2010. The technical 
changes in accordance with the new Sec.  73.55 are incorporated in each 
section of this revision (since Revision 1 of this section, dated April 
2010) of the SRP as applicable.
    Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends 
to incorporate the final approved guidance into the next revision of 
NUREG-0800. The SRP is guidance for the NRC staff. The SRP is not a 
substitute for the NRC regulations, and compliance with the SRP is not 
required.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this draft SRP, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in Sec.  50.109 of 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 SRP positions, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is internal guidance directed at the 
NRC staff with respect to their regulatory responsibilities.
    The SRP provides guidance to the NRC staff on how to review an 
application for NRC regulatory approval in the form of licensing. 
Changes in internal NRC staff guidance are not matters for which either 
nuclear power plant applicants or licensees are protected under either 
the Backfit Rule or the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR part 52.
    2. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the SRP positions on 
current licensees or already-issued regulatory approvals either now or 
in the future.
    The NRC staff does not intend to impose or apply the positions 
described in the draft SRP to existing (already issued) licenses and 
regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of a final SRP--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 NRC staff seeks to impose a position in the SRP on 
holders of already issued holders of licenses SRP in a manner which 
does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue 
finality provision, then the NRC staff must make the showing as

[[Page 45314]]

set forth in the Backfit Rule or address the criteria for avoiding 
issue finality as described applicable issue finality provision.
    3. Backfitting and issue finality do not--with limited exceptions 
not applicable here--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 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 NRC staff does not, 
at this time, intend to impose the positions represented in the draft 
SRP in a manner that is inconsistent with any issue finality 
provisions. If, in the future, the NRC staff seeks to impose a position 
in the draft SRP in a manner which does not provide issue finality as 
described in the applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC 
staff must address the criteria for avoiding issue finality as 
described in the applicable issue finality provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of July 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph Colaccino,
Chief, New Reactor Rulemaking and Guidance Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Infrastructure and Advanced Reactors, Office of New 
Reactors.
[FR Doc. 2016-16469 Filed 7-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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