ML23348A084
| ML23348A084 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/23/2024 |
| From: | Meraj Rahimi NRC/RES/DE/RGDB |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML23324A005 | List: |
| References | |
| DG-4034, NRC-2023-0153 RG 4.7 Rev 4 | |
| Download: ML23348A084 (5) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 50, 52, and 100
[NRC-2023-0153]
Regulatory Guide: General Site Suitability for Nuclear Power St ations
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guide; issuance.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revisi on 4 to
Regulatory Guide (RG), 4.7, General Site Suitability for Nucle ar Power Stations.
Revision 4 to RG 4.7 describes the major site characteristics r elated to public health and
safety and environmental issues that the NRC staff considers in determining the
suitability of sites for commercial nuclear power stations.
DATES: Revision 4 to RG 4.7 is available on February 29, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0153 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly
available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
- Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and
search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0153. Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; ema il:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the in dividuals listed in the
For Further Information Contact section of this document.
- NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAM S Public
Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.ht ml. To begin the
search, select Begin Web-based ADAMS Search. For problems wit h ADAMS, please contact the NRCs Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at
301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS ac cession number
for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is p rovided the first time that it
is mentioned in this document.
- NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly
available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appoint ment to visit the PDR,
please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday throu gh Friday, except
Federal holidays.
Revision 4 to RG 4.7 and the regulatory analysis may be found i n ADAMS under
Accession Nos. ML23348A082 and M L23123A095, respectively.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not required to
reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3317; email: Edward.ODo nnell@nrc.gov and
Belkys Sosa, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone: 3 01-415-3357; email:
Belkys.Sosa@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulat ory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing a revision in the NRCs Regulatory Guide s eries. This
series was developed to describe methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for
implementing specific parts of the agencys regulations, to exp lain techniques that the
staff uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to describe information
that the staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
2 The proposed Revision 4 to RG 4.7 was issued with a temporary i dentification of
Draft Regulatory Guide (DG)-4034. The NRC staff revised RG 4.7 to include alternative
approaches to the populationdensity criterion and to expand the regulatory guidance
developed for large light-water reactor (LWR) technology with a ppropriate modifications
for advanced reactor designs (e.g., non-LWR technologies and li ght-water small modular
reactors). Specifically, this revision includes a new appendix A, which implements the
Commission approved alternative population-related criteria in SRM-SECY-20-0045
Population-Related Siting Considerations for Advanced Reactors, (ADAMS Accession
No. ML22194A885). Appendix A provides guidance on alternatives to the existing
guidance in section C.1.4 of this RG that establishes a fixed d istance of 20 miles out to
which population density is assessed for any new application. R eaders should
understand that the body of this RG was developed for large LWR s, while appendix A is
intended for advanced reactor designs. This revision also remov es repetition and
improves clarity. Text from the discussion section and the two tables in Revision 3 to the
RG were brought together in Section C, Staff Regulatory Guidan ce. To present each
topic in Section C cohesively, the document was structured to l ist (1) relevant statutes
and regulations, (2) related guidance, and (3) considerations, regulatory experience, and
staff positions.
II. Additional Information
The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-4034 in t he Federal
Register on October 18, 2023 (88 FR 71777) for a 30-day public comment period. The
public comment period closed on November 17, 2023. Public comme nts on DG-4034
and the staff responses to the public comments are available in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML23324A007.
3 As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671), this
document is being published in the Rules section of the Federal Register to comply
with publication requirements under chapter I of title 1 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR).
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG 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 t o be a major rule as
defined in the Congressional Review Act.
IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of this RG does not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109,
Backfitting, and as described in NRC Management Directive (MD ) 8.4, Management of
Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information R equests, would not affect
the issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52; and would not constitute
forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4. This RG will not apply to
any construction permits, operating licenses, early site permit s, limited work
authorizations issued under 10 CFR 50.10, or combined licenses, for which the NRC
issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) preceded by a draft EIS under
10 CFR 51.76 or 51.75, any of which were issued by the NRC prio r to issuance of this
final RG. The NRC has already completed its siting determinatio n for those construction
permits, operating licenses, early site permits, limited work a uthorizations, and combined
licenses. Therefore, no further NRC regulatory action on siting will occur for those
licenses, permits, and authorizations, for which the guidance i n the RG would be
relevant. The methods described in this RG will be used in eval uating applications for
construction permits, early site permits, combined operating li censes and limited work
authorizations, which includes information under 10 CFR 51.49(b ) or (f), with respect to
4 compliance with applicable regulations governing the siting of new nuclear power plants
and testing facilities, unless the applicant proposes an accept able alternative method for
complying with those regulations. Methods that differ from thos e described in this RG
may be deemed acceptable if the applicant provides sufficient b asis and information for
the NRC staff to verify that the proposed alternative complies with the applicable NRC
regulations.
V. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides
A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the NRC for
improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs. Suggestions can be
submitted on the NRCs public website at https://www.nrc.gov/re ading-rm/doc-
collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. Suggestions will be cons idered in future updates
and enhancements to the Regulatory Guide series.
Dated: February 23, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Meraj Rahimi, Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
5