§ 52.171 Finality of manufacturing licenses; information requests. ( a ) ( 1 ) Notwithstanding any provision in 10 CFR 50.109, during the term of a manufacturing license the Commission may not modify, rescind, or impose new requirements on the design of the nuclear power reactor being manufactured, or the requirements for the manufacture of the nuclear power reactor, unless the Commission determines that a modification is necessary to bring the design of the reactor or its manufacture into compliance with the Commission's requirements applicable and in effect at the time the manufacturing license was issued, or to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection to public health and safety or common defense and security.
( 2 ) Any modification to the design of a manufactured nuclear power reactor which is imposed by the Commission under paragraph (a)(1) of this section will be applied to all reactors manufactured under the license, including those that have already been transported and sited, except those reactors to which the modification has been rendered technically irrelevant by action taken under paragraph (b) of this section.
( 3 ) In making the findings required for issuance of a construction permit, operating license, combined license, in any hearing under § 52.103, or in any enforcement hearing other than one initiated by the Commission under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, for which a nuclear power reactor manufactured under this subpart is referenced or used, the Commission shall treat as resolved those matters resolved in the proceeding on the application for issuance or renewal of the manufacturing license, including the adequacy of design of the manufactured reactor, the costs and benefits of severe accident mitigation design alternatives, and the bases for not incorporating severe accident mitigation design alternatives into the design of the reactor to be manufactured.
( b ) ( 1 ) The holder of a manufacturing license may not make changes to the design of the nuclear power reactor authorized to be manufactured without prior Commission approval. The request for a change to the design must be in the form of an application for a license amendment, and must meet the requirements of 10 CFR 50.90 and 50.92.
( 2 ) An applicant or licensee who references or uses a nuclear power reactor manufactured under a manufacturing license under this subpart may request a departure from the design characteristics, site parameters, terms and conditions, or approved design of the manufactured reactor. The Commission may grant a request only if it determines that the departure will comply with the requirements of 10 CFR 52.7, and that the special circumstances outweigh any decrease in safety that may result from the reduction in standardization caused by the departure. The granting of a departure on request of an applicant is subject to litigation in the same manner as other issues in the construction permit or combined license hearing.
( c ) Except for information requests seeking to verify compliance with the current licensing basis of either the manufacturing license or the manufactured reactor, information requests to the holder of a manufacturing license or an applicant or licensee using a manufactured reactor must be evaluated before issuance to ensure that the burden to be imposed on respondents is justified in view of the potential safety significance of the issue to be addressed in the requested information. Each evaluation performed by the NRC staff must be in accordance with 10 CFR 50.54(f) and must be approved by the Executive Director for Operations or his or her designee before issuance of the request.