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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 92853-92855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27422]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM-50-126; NRC-2024-0173]

Technical Specifications for Nuclear Power Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice of docketing, and request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a 
petition for rulemaking (PRM) from Brian D. Mann on behalf of the 
Technical Specifications Task Force, the Pressurized Water Reactor 
Owners Group, and the Boiling Water Reactor Owners' Group, dated 
September 13, 2024, requesting that the NRC revise its regulations to 
apply risk insights to the selection of technical specifications 
Limiting Conditions for Operation and to update the regulation to be 
consistent with the guidance in the NRC's Standard Technical 
Specifications. The petition was docketed by the NRC on October 1, 
2024, and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-50-126. The NRC is examining 
the issues raised in PRM-50-126 to determine whether they should be 
considered in rulemaking. The NRC is requesting public comment on this 
petition at this time.

DATES: Submit comments by February 10, 2025. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0173. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang; telephone: 301-415-3228; 
email: [email protected]. For technical questions contact the 
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do 
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact 
us at 301-415-1677.
     Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission at 301-415-1101.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
     Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), 
Federal workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.

[[Page 92854]]

    You can read a plain language description of this petition for 
rulemaking at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2024-0173. For 
additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, 
see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Edwards, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 404-997-
4432, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0173 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-2024-0173.
     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 ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: The NRC PDR, where you may examine and order 
copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0173 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. The Petitioner and Petition

    The PRM was filed by Brian D. Mann on behalf of the Technical 
Specifications Task Force, the Pressurized Water Reactor Owners Group, 
and the Boiling Water Reactor Owner's Group. The PRM requests that the 
NRC revise its regulations at title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), section 50.36, ``Technical specifications,'' to 
apply risk insights to the selection of technical specifications (TS) 
Limiting Conditions for Operation (LCO) and to update the regulation to 
be consistent with the guidance in the NRC's Standard Technical 
Specifications (STS). The PRM may be found in ADAMS under Accession 
number ML24274A209.

III. Discussion of the Petition

    The petitioner requests the NRC revise 10 CFR 50.36 to apply risk 
insights to the selection of technical specifications TS LCO and to 
update the regulation to be consistent with the guidance in the NRC's 
STS. The petitioner proposes the following specific changes to risk-
inform the criteria for selection of LCOs:
     Revise the selection criteria for LCOs to state that items 
that satisfy 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(B) and (C) (i.e., Criterion 2 and 
Criterion 3) must also be shown by probabilistic risk assessment to be 
significant to public health and safety.
     Update the description of 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(D) (i.e., 
Criterion 4) to eliminate the reference to operating experience and to 
distinguish Criterion 4 from the revised Criteria 2 and 3.
     Although not part of the proposed rule changes, the 
Petitioner also suggests that in conjunction with the rule change the 
Commission update the ``Final Policy Statement on Technical 
Specifications Improvements for Nuclear Power Reactors'' (58 FR 39132, 
July 22, 1993), to reflect changes made to 10 CFR 50.36.
    The petitioner states that these changes will allow future 
improvements to plant safety and operation to be made based on the 
application of risk to the TS selection criteria. The rule as currently 
written does not allow for these types of improvements.
    The petitioner also proposes updates to 10 CFR 50.36 to make the 
rule more consistent with the NRC's STS and to remove information that 
is no longer applicable. These changes are proposed on a ``not-to-
interfere'' basis with the primary change to risk-inform the TS LCO 
selection criteria. To align the rule with the NRC's STS, the 
petitioner proposed the following specific changes:
     Revise the regulation to not require TS bases for the 
Design Features. The petitioner points out that neither the STS nor 
plant TS approved by the NRC include Bases for Design Features. The 
petitioner states that this change would align the regulation with over 
50 years of Commission practice.
     Eliminate the requirement that the TS include requirements 
designated as limiting safety system settings (LSSS). The petitioner 
states that in the STS, LSSS have been merged with the LCO requirements 
for instrumentation. Additionally, the petitioner states that the 
industry and the NRC have disagreed on what constitutes an LSSS causing 
confusion in the application of the regulation. Based on this, the 
petitioner recommends deletion of this requirement.
     Revise the description of Surveillance Requirements (SRs) 
to no longer state that SRs assure that the necessary quality of 
systems and components is maintained. The petitioner states that the 
regulation is inaccurate in stating that SRs assure the quality of 
systems and components is maintained because there are many aspects of 
system or component quality that are not monitored by TS SRs and are 
instead verified by other means, such as the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers Code, vendor quality assurance audits, licensee 
receipt inspections, and the licensee's NRC-approved Quality Assurance 
Program. Based on this, the petitioner concludes that none of the 
actions to assure quality are confirmed by TS SRs, so the description 
of SRs should be revised.
     Revise the Administrative Controls description to remove 
the requirement to include recordkeeping, and review and audit, and to 
include a requirement for licensee programs. The petitioner

[[Page 92855]]

states that in 1993, these requirements were removed from the STS. In 
addition, the Administrative Controls section of the STS includes 
programs not described in the regulation. Based on this, the petitioner 
proposed to update the description of Administrative Controls to be 
consistent with the STS.
     Eliminate the unnecessary exceptions for plants licensed 
prior to 1969. The petitioner states that these exceptions are no 
longer applicable as all operating plants have TS included in the 
license. The petitioner suggests that this provision be removed to 
simplify the regulations.

IV. Conclusion

    The NRC has determined that the petition meets the sufficiency 
requirements for docketing a PRM under 10 CFR 2.803, ``Petition for 
rulemaking-NRC action.'' The NRC will examine the issues raised in PRM-
50-126 and any comments received in response to this comment request to 
determine whether these issues should be considered in rulemaking. The 
public can monitor further action on the rulemaking that will address 
this petition by searching Docket ID NRC-2024-0173 on the Federal 
rulemaking website, https://www.regulations.gov. The site allows 
members of the public to receive alerts when changes or additions occur 
in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder 
(NRC-2024-0173); (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an 
email address and click on the ``Subscribe'' link. The NRC also tracks 
the status of all NRC rules and PRMs on its website at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/rulemaking/rules-petitions.html.

    Dated: November 19, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carrie Safford,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-27422 Filed 11-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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