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NRC

RIN: 3150-AH43

Publication ID: Spring 2009

Title: Decoupling of Assumed Loss of Offsite Power From Loss-of-Coolant Accidents (LOCA) [NRC-2008-0606]
Abstract: The proposed rule would amend the Commission's regulations to remove the requirement to postulate unavailability of offsite power for all loss of coolant accidents, as currently required by General Design Criterion 35. By taking into account risk insights, this requirement would be removed for the larger, less likely events, but would be retained for more frequent (smaller break) losses of coolant. The rulemaking would facilitate certain facility changes, such as emergency diesel generator start times, to optimize them for the more likely events rather than for rare events. In a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) dated March 31, 2003, the Commission directed the staff to prepare a proposed rule. On April 27, 2004, the BWR Owners Group (BWROG) submitted the topical report, "Separation of Loss of Offsite Power from Large Break LOCA" for staff review. The BWROG indicated that the topical report would support plant-specific exemption requests to implement specific plant changes that are currently not possible with the existing rule requirements. The staff recommended in SECY-04-0037 that it be allowed to finish its review of the topical report and pilot exemption request before initiating rulemaking. In its SRM of July 1, 2004, the Commission approved the staff to begin rulemaking after review of the BWROG pilot exemption request. After an ongoing dialogue, on June 12, 2008, the BWROG withdrew their topical report, stating that "...continued development of this LTR [Licensing Topical Report] is no longer cost effective and, if ultimately approved in the form presently desired by NRC staff, adoption by licensees would most likely be prohibitively expensive." Therefore, the need for this rulemaking is being reevaluated. This rulemaking activity is also considering the issues raised in a petition for rulemaking submitted by Bob Christie (PRM-50-77).
Agency: Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC)	Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Long-Term Actions
Major: No	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 10 CFR 50
Legal Authority: 42 USC 2201 42 USC 5841

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	To Be Determined

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: None
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Agency Contact: Barry W. Miller Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Washington, DC 20555-0001 Phone:301 415-4117 Email: barry.miller@nrc.gov