Proposed Revisions To Draft Branch Technical Position 8-8 Onsite (Emergency Diesel Generators) and Offsite Power Sources Completion Time Extensions, 61082-61084 [2019-24551]

Download as PDF 61082 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 12, 2019 / Notices The National Science Foundation, as directed by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95–541, 45 CFR 670), 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 requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Application Details Permit Application: 2020–010 1. Applicant: Heather J. Lynch, Stony Brook University, 610 Life Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794. Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Harmful Interference; Enter Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). The applicant would survey chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) colonies in the South Shetland Islands including multiple sites on Low Island. The outcomes of the surveys would be useful in determining population abundance and distribution of chinstrap penguins, important consumers of Antarctic krill. Surveys would be completed using direct manual counts (on foot) and by operating small, remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) over colonies. RPAS would be operated by experienced pilots at altitudes of at least 30 meters above wildlife. Although no significant disturbance is expected, both manual counts and RPAS overflights have the potential to disturb chinstrap penguins as well as Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), gentoo penguin (P. papua), southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus), southern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), cape petrel (Daption capense), Antarctic blue-eyed shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps), Antarctic brown skua (Catharacta antarctica), south polar skua (C. maccormicki), kelp gull (Larus dominicanus), and Antarctic tern (Sterna vittata) based on the locations of the surveys. The applicant expects that several million chinstrap penguins would be surveyed by RPAS. The applicant would enter ASPA 152 to complete surveys at Low Island. The applicant would also collect samples of ticks, guano, and tissue samples salvaged from already dead gentoo penguins in support of the research. Location: ASPA 152 Western Bransfield Strait; South Shetland Islands: Low Island, Smith Island, Snow VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:47 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 250001 Island, Elephant Island; Antarctic Peninsula region. Dates of Permitted Activities: January 1–March 1, 2020. Permit Application: 2020–017 2. Applicant: Joseph A. Covi, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Wilmington, NC 28403. Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Enter Antarctic Specially Protected Areas. The application proposes to enter four Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica for the purposes of collecting small sediment samples from freshwater lakes and ephemeral ponds. The applicant would enter ASPA 125, Fildes Peninsula; ASPA 132, Potter Peninsula; ASPA 150, Ardley Island, Maxwell Bay; and ASPA 171 Narebski Point, Barton Peninsula. The applicant plans to access the ASPAs by boat and on foot. Up to six sediment samples will be collected near the shoreline or from an inflatable boat from each of up to eight lakes and eight ephemeral ponds in total. Sediment core samples may be taken through holes drilled in the ice cover, as applicable. The applicant and agents will adhere to the management plans for each of the ASPAs that they propose to enter. Location: King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica; ASPA 125, Fildes Peninsula; ASPA 132, Potter Peninsula; ASPA 150, Ardley Island, Maxwell Bay; and ASPA 171 Narebski Point, Barton Peninsula. Dates of Permitted Activities: December 1, 2019–March 31, 2022. Permit Application: 2020–018 3. Applicant: Zicheng Yu, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Lehigh University, 1 West Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Activity for Which Permit is Requested: Enter Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). The applicant requests access to ASPA 113, 126, and 134 to collect small samples of moss and peat and carry out field measurements. Moss samples would primarily consist of two species, Polytrichum strictum and Chorisodontium aciphyllum, and would be collected by hand. Cores of peat moss up to 100 cm deep would be collected by box corer (3 inches by 4 inches) or permafrost corer (2-inch diameter). A limited number of samples would be collected from within the ASPAs and from other nearby locations within the Palmer Basin ASMA. No equipment or PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 instrumentation would be installed in any ASPA. To minimize the potential for unintentional transfer of soils or organisms, the application and agents would clean sample collection tools, as well as clothing and shoes, between visits to different field sites. The samples would be processed at the home institution. Data gathered from this research will advance the understanding of peat moss banks to climate change during the last 3,000 years. The applicant would also operate a small, remotely piloted aircraft system equipped with a camera in order to map vegetation and peat moss beds. Location: Antarctic Peninsula region; ASMA 7, Southwest Anvers Island and Palmer Basin; ASPA 113, Litchfield Island, Arthur Harbor, Anvers Island, Palmer Archipelago; ASPA 126, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands; ASPA 134 Cierva Point and offshore islands, Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula. Dates of Permitted Activities: February 16, 2020–March 31, 2020. Erika N. Davis, Program Specialist, Office of Polar Programs. [FR Doc. 2019–24542 Filed 11–8–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7555–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2019–0177] Proposed Revisions To Draft Branch Technical Position 8–8 Onsite (Emergency Diesel Generators) and Offsite Power Sources Completion Time Extensions 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,’’ Branch Technical Position (BTP) 8–8, ‘‘Onsite (Emergency Diesel Generators) and Offsite Power Sources Completion Time Extensions.’’ The NRC seeks comments on the proposed draft section revision of the BTP concerning guidance for the completion time extension requests for onsite or offsite power sources. DATES: Comments must be filed no later than January 13, 2020. Comments received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM 12NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 12, 2019 / Notices consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2019–0177. Address questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7– A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff. 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, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–3053; email: Mark.Notich@ nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2019– 0177 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this action by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2019–0177. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 pdr.resource@ nrc.gov. The draft revision and current revision to BTP 8–8, ‘‘Onsite (Emergency Diesel Generators) and Offsite Power Sources Completion Time Extensions’’ are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML19219A184 and ML113640138, respectively. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:47 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 250001 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–2019– 0177 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 proposed draft section revision of BTP 8–8. The changes to Standard Review Plan (SRP) Chapter 8 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 section would also provide guidance for reviewing an application for a combined license under part 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends to finalize BTP 8–8 in ADAMS and post it on the NRC’s public website at https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/. 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 Chapter 8 of the SRP provides guidance to the staff for electrical engineering issues. BTP 8–8 of the SRP provides guidance for the review of information addressing onsite and offsite power sources completion time extensions. Issuance of this SRP section revision does not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 61083 Rule) nor is it inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC’s position is based upon the following considerations. 1. The SRP positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the SRP is guidance directed to the NRC staff with respect to its 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 guidance intended for use by only the staff are not matters that constitute backfitting as that term is defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) or involve the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR part 52. 2. Backfitting and issue finality—with certain exceptions discussed below—do not apply to current or future applicants. Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, the subject of 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 of 10 CFR part 52 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 10 CFR part 50 operating license applicant references a construction permit or a 10 CFR part 52 combined license applicant references a license (e.g., an early site permit) and/or an NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design certification rule) for which specified issue finality provisions apply. The NRC staff does not currently intend to impose the positions represented in this final SRP section in a manner that constitutes backfitting or is inconsistent with any issue finality provision of 10 CFR part 52. If in the future the NRC staff seeks to impose positions stated in this SRP section in a manner that would constitute backfitting or be inconsistent with these issue finality provisions, the NRC staff must make the showing as set forth in the Backfit Rule or address the regulatory criteria set forth in the applicable issue finality provision, as applicable, that would allow the staff to impose the position. 3. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the SRP positions on existing nuclear power plant licensees either now or in the future (absent a voluntary request for a 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 this final SRP section to existing (already E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM 12NON1 61084 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 12, 2019 / Notices issued) licenses (e.g., operating licenses and combined licenses) and regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of this SRP guidance—even if considered guidance subject to the Backfit Rule or the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52—would not need to 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 licenses in a manner that would constitute backfitting or does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision, then the staff must make a showing as set forth in the Backfit Rule or address the criteria set forth in the applicable issue finality provision, as applicable, that would allow the staff to impose the position. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of November, 2019. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dennis C. Morey, Chief, Licensing Projects Branch, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2019–24551 Filed 11–8–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. MC2020–20 and CP2020–19] New Postal Products Postal Regulatory Commission. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing for the Commission’s consideration concerning negotiated service agreements. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps. DATES: Comments are due: November 14, 2019. ADDRESSES: 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. SUMMARY: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 202–789–6820. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents 17:47 Nov 08, 2019 II. Docketed Proceeding(s) 1. Docket No(s).: MC2020–20 and CP2020–19; Filing Title: USPS Request to Add Priority Mail Contract 558 to Competitive Product List and Notice of Filing Materials Under Seal; Filing Acceptance Date: November 5, 2019; Filing Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR 3020.30 et seq., and 39 CFR 3015.5; Public Representative: Curtis E. Kidd; Comments Due: November 14, 2019. 1 See Docket No. RM2018–3, Order Adopting Final Rules Relating to Non-Public Information, June 27, 2018, Attachment A at 19–22 (Order No. 4679). I. Introduction II. Docketed Proceeding(s) VerDate Sep<11>2014 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 website (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 3007.301.1 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 deadline(s) for each request appear in section II. Jkt 250001 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 This Notice will be published in the Federal Register. Darcie S. Tokioka, Acting Secretary. [FR Doc. 2019–24520 Filed 11–8–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P POSTAL SERVICE Product Change—Priority Mail Negotiated Service Agreement Postal ServiceTM. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule’s Competitive Products List. DATES: Date of required notice: November 12, 2019. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service® hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3), on November 5, 2019, it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a USPS Request to Add Priority Mail Contract 558 to Competitive Product List. Documents are available at www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2020–20, CP2020–19. SUMMARY: Sean Robinson, Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law. [FR Doc. 2019–24464 Filed 11–8–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710–12–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–87469; File No. SR– CboeEDGX–2019–068] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Fee Schedule To Adopt a New Type of Tier Related to Automated Improvement Mechanism Customer Volume November 5, 2019. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on November 1, 2019, Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX’’) filed with the 1 15 2 17 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). CFR 240.19b–4. E:\FR\FM\12NON1.SGM 12NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61082-61084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24551]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2019-0177]


Proposed Revisions To Draft Branch Technical Position 8-8 Onsite 
(Emergency Diesel Generators) and Offsite Power Sources Completion Time 
Extensions

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,'' Branch Technical Position (BTP) 8-8, ``Onsite (Emergency 
Diesel Generators) and Offsite Power Sources Completion Time 
Extensions.'' The NRC seeks comments on the proposed draft section 
revision of the BTP concerning guidance for the completion time 
extension requests for onsite or offsite power sources.

DATES: Comments must be filed no later than January 13, 2020. Comments 
received after this date will be considered, if it is practical to do 
so, but the Commission is able to ensure

[[Page 61083]]

consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0177. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    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, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; 
telephone: 301-415-3053; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0177 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0177.
     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 ``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 draft revision and current 
revision to BTP 8-8, ``Onsite (Emergency Diesel Generators) and Offsite 
Power Sources Completion Time Extensions'' are available in ADAMS under 
Accession Nos. ML19219A184 and ML113640138, 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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2019-0177 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 proposed draft section revision 
of BTP 8-8. The changes to Standard Review Plan (SRP) Chapter 8 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 section would also provide guidance for reviewing an 
application for a combined license under part 52 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
    Following NRC staff evaluation of public comments, the NRC intends 
to finalize BTP 8-8 in ADAMS and post it on the NRC's public website 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 regulations, and compliance with the SRP is not required.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Chapter 8 of the SRP provides guidance to the staff for electrical 
engineering issues. BTP 8-8 of the SRP provides guidance for the review 
of information addressing onsite and offsite power sources completion 
time extensions.
    Issuance of this SRP section revision does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) nor is it 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The 
NRC's position is based upon the following considerations.
    1. The SRP positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the 
SRP is guidance directed to the NRC staff with respect to its 
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 guidance intended for use by only the staff are not matters 
that constitute backfitting as that term is defined in 10 CFR 
50.109(a)(1) or involve the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR part 
52.
    2. Backfitting and issue finality--with certain exceptions 
discussed below--do not apply to current or future applicants.
    Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain 
exceptions, the subject of 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 of 10 CFR part 52 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 
10 CFR part 50 operating license applicant references a construction 
permit or a 10 CFR part 52 combined license applicant references a 
license (e.g., an early site permit) and/or an NRC regulatory approval 
(e.g., a design certification rule) for which specified issue finality 
provisions apply.
    The NRC staff does not currently intend to impose the positions 
represented in this final SRP section in a manner that constitutes 
backfitting or is inconsistent with any issue finality provision of 10 
CFR part 52. If in the future the NRC staff seeks to impose positions 
stated in this SRP section in a manner that would constitute 
backfitting or be inconsistent with these issue finality provisions, 
the NRC staff must make the showing as set forth in the Backfit Rule or 
address the regulatory criteria set forth in the applicable issue 
finality provision, as applicable, that would allow the staff to impose 
the position.
    3. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the SRP positions on 
existing nuclear power plant licensees either now or in the future 
(absent a voluntary request for a 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 this final SRP section to existing (already

[[Page 61084]]

issued) licenses (e.g., operating licenses and combined licenses) and 
regulatory approvals. Hence, the issuance of this SRP guidance--even if 
considered guidance subject to the Backfit Rule or the issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52--would not need to 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 licenses in a manner that would constitute 
backfitting or does not provide issue finality as described in the 
applicable issue finality provision, then the staff must make a showing 
as set forth in the Backfit Rule or address the criteria set forth in 
the applicable issue finality provision, as applicable, that would 
allow the staff to impose the position.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of November, 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dennis C. Morey,
Chief, Licensing Projects Branch, Division of Operating Reactor 
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2019-24551 Filed 11-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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