10 C.F.R. §§ 53.1200–53.1221

Major portion of a standard design. If the applicant seeks review of a major portion of a standard design, the application need only contain the information required by this section to the extent the requirements are applicable to the major portion of the standard design for which NRC staff approval is sought. If an applicant seeks approval of a major portion of the design, the scope of the application for which approval is sought must include all functional design criteria necessary to demonstrate compliance with the safety criteria in §§ 53.210, 53.220 and 53.450(e), as applicable, for the major portion of the standard design for which NRC staff approval is sought. Such applicants must identify conditions related to interfaces with systems outside the scope of the major portion of the standard design for which NRC staff approval is sought, and functional or physical boundary conditions between the major portion of the standard design for which NRC staff approval is sought and the remainder of the standard design. These conditions must be demonstrated when the standard design approval is incorporated into a subsequent CP, design certification, ML, or COL application.

Final Safety Analysis Report. The application must contain an FSAR that describes the facility and the limits on its operation, presents a safety analysis of the SSCs and of the facility, or major portions thereof, for which the applicant seeks design approval, and must include the following information:

In addition to the FSAR, the application must also include the following:

If there are SSCs of the plant which required research and development to confirm the adequacy of their design, provide a report in the application which documents the resolution of any safety questions associated with such SSCs.

A description of how the performance of each design feature has been demonstrated capable of fulfilling functional design criteria considering interdependent effects through either analysis, appropriate test programs, prototype testing, operating experience, or a combination thereof, in accordance with § 53.440(a).

Upon completion of its review of a submittal under §§ 53.1200 through 53.1221 and receipt of a report by the ACRS under § 53.1215, the NRC staff must publish a determination in the Federal Register as to whether or not the design is acceptable, subject to appropriate terms and conditions, and make an analysis of the design in the form of a report available at the NRC website, https://www.nrc.gov.

A standard design approval issued under this section is valid for 15 years from the date of issuance and may not be renewed. A design approval continues to be valid beyond the date of expiration in any proceeding on an application for a CP, OL, COL, or ML under this part that references the design approval and is docketed before the date of expiration of the design approval.

An approved design must be used by and relied upon by the NRC staff and the ACRS in their reviews of any standard design certification or individual facility license application under this part that incorporates by reference a standard design approved under this part unless there exists significant new information that substantially affects the earlier determination or other good cause.

The determination and report by the NRC staff do not constitute a commitment to issue a permit or license, or in any way affect the authority of the Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, or presiding officers in any proceeding under part 2 of this chapter.

Except for information requests seeking to verify compliance with the current licensing basis of the standard design approval, information requests to the holder of a standard design approval 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 § 53.1580 and must be approved by the Executive Director for Operations or authorized designee before issuance of the request.

The Commission will require, before granting a CP, COL, OL, or ML that references a standard design approval, that information normally contained in engineering documents, such as analyses, drawings, procurement specifications, or construction and installation specifications, be completed and available for audit if the more detailed information is necessary for the Commission to verify the information in the application and make its safety determination, including the determination that the application is consistent with the design approval information. This information may be acquired by appropriate arrangements with the design approval applicant.