Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

35008

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 124 / Thursday, July 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules
requirements on applicants that reference appendix G to 10 CFR part 52.
This provision reflects the fact that only some operational requirements, including portions of the generic technical specification in Chapter 16 of the DCD, were completely or comprehensively reviewed by the NRC
in this design certification proposed rule proceeding. The NRC notes that operational requirements may be imposed on licensees referencing this design certification through the inclusion of license conditions in the license or inclusion of a description of the operational requirement in the plant-specific final safety analysis report.1 The NRCs choice of the regulatory vehicle for imposing the operational requirements will depend upon, among other things, 1 whether the development and/or implementation of these requirements must occur prior to either the issuance of the COL or the Commission finding under 52.103g, and 2 the nature of the change controls that are appropriate given the regulatory, safety, and security significance of each operational requirement.
Also, paragraph VI.C allows the NRC
to impose future operational requirements distinct from design matters on applicants who reference this design certification. License conditions for portions of the plant within the scope of this design certification e.g., startup and power ascension testing are not restricted by 52.63. The requirement to perform these testing programs is contained in the Tier 1 information. However, ITAAC
cannot be specified for these subjects because the matters to be addressed in these license conditions cannot be verified prior to fuel load and operation when the ITAAC are satisfied. In the absence of detailed design information to evaluate the need for and develop specific post-fuel load verifications for these matters, the NRC is reserving the right to impose, at the time of COL
issuance, license conditions addressing post-fuel load verification activities for portions of the plant within the scope of this design certification.
Paragraph VI.D reiterates the restrictions contained in Section VIII of appendix G to 10 CFR part 52 placed upon the NRC when ordering generic or plant-specific modifications, changes, or additions to structures, systems, and 1 Certain activities ordinarily conducted following fuel load and, therefore, considered operational requirements, but which may be relied upon to support a Commission finding under 52.103g, may themselves be the subject of ITAAC to ensure their implementation prior to the 52.103g finding.

VerDate Sep<11>2014

16:17 Jun 30, 2021

Jkt 253001

components, design features, design criteria, and ITAAC within the scope of the certified design.
Paragraph VI.E provides that the NRC
will specify at an appropriate time the procedures on how to obtain access to sensitive unclassified and nonsafeguards information SUNSI and safeguards information SGI for the NuScale design certification rule.
Access to such information would be for the sole purpose of requesting or participating in certain specified hearings, such as hearings required by 52.85 or an adjudicatory hearing. For proceedings where the notice of hearing was published before the effective date of the final rule, the Commissions order governing access to SUNSI and SGI
shall be used to govern access to such information within the scope of the rulemaking. For proceedings in which the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing is published after the effective date of the final rule, paragraph VI.E
applies and governs access to SUNSI
and SGI.
G. Duration of This Appendix Section VII
The purpose of Section VII of appendix G to 10 CFR part 52 is, in part, to specify the period during which this design certification may be referenced by an applicant for a COL, under 52.55, and the period it will remain valid when the design certification is referenced. For example, if an application references this design certification during the 15-year period, then the design certification would be effective until the application is withdrawn or the license issued on that application expires. The NRC intends for appendix G to 10 CFR part 52 to remain valid for the life of any COL that references the design certification to achieve the benefits of standardization and licensing stability. This means that changes to, or plant-specific departures from, information in the plant-specific DCD must be made under the change processes in Section VIII for the life of the plant.
H. Processes for Changes and Departures Section VIII
The purpose of Section VIII of appendix G to 10 CFR part 52 is to set forth the processes for generic changes to, or plant-specific departures including exemptions from, the DCD.
The NRC adopted this restrictive change process in order to achieve a more stable licensing process for applicants and licensees that reference design certification rules. Section VIII is divided into three paragraphs, which
PO 00000

Frm 00010

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

correspond to Tier 1, Tier 2, and operational requirements.
Generic changes called modifications in 52.63a3 must be accomplished by rulemaking because the intended subject of the change is this design certification rule itself, as is contemplated by 52.63a1.
Consistent with 52.63a3, any generic rulemaking changes are applicable to all plants, absent circumstances which render the change technically irrelevant. By contrast, plant-specific departures could be required by either an order to one or more applicants or licensees; or an applicant or licensee-initiated departure applicable only to that applicants or licensees plants, similar to a 50.59
departure or an exemption. Because these plant-specific departures will result in a DCD that is unique for that plant, Section X would require an applicant or licensee to maintain a plant-specific DCD. For purposes of brevity, the following discussion refers to the processes for both generic changes and plant-specific departures as change processes. Section VIII refers to an exemption from one or more requirements of this appendix and addresses the criteria for granting an exemption. The NRC cautions that when the exemption involves an underlying substantive requirement i.e., a requirement outside this appendix, then the applicant or licensee requesting the exemption must demonstrate that an exemption from the underlying applicable requirement meets the criteria of 52.7 and 50.12.
For the NuScale review, the staff followed the approach described in SECY170075, Planned Improvements in Design Certification Tiered Information Designations, dated July 24, 2017 ADAMS Accession No.
ML16196A321, to evaluate the applicants designation of information as Tier 1 or Tier 2 information. Unlike some of the prior DCAs, this application did not contain any Tier 2 information.
As described in SECY170075, prior design certification rules in 10 CFR part 52, appendices A through E, information contained in the DCD was divided into three designations: Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 2. Tier 1 information is the portion of design-related information in the generic DCD that the Commission approves in the 10 CFR
part 52 design certification rule appendices. To change Tier 1
information, NRC approval by rulemaking or approval of an exemption from the certified design rule is required. Tier 2 information is also approved by the Commission in the 10
CFR part 52 design certification rule
E:FRFM01JYP1.SGM

01JYP1