FINAL RULE, 10 CFR Part 50.55a, CODES
AND STANDARDS 2009-2013, APPROVAL OF AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEER'S CODE CASES The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
is amending its regulations to incorporate by reference recent
editions and addenda to the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME) Codes for nuclear power plants and a standard for
quality assurance. The NRC is also incorporating by reference six
ASME Code Cases. This action is in accordance with the NRC’s policy
to periodically update the regulations to incorporate by reference
new editions and addenda of the ASME Codes and is intended to
maintain the safety of nuclear power plants and to make NRC
activities more effective and efficient.
The current Part 50 annual
burden is 45,202 responses and 4,378,653 hours. The final rule
decreases the annual number of responses by 148 and the annual
burden hours on Industry by a total of 8,659 hours making the new
Part 50 total 4,369,994 hours and 45,054 responses. The final rule
incorporates by reference OM and BPV code cases from ASME,
described above, which reduce the burden on industry and the NRC by
a reduction in relief and alternative requests submitted and
reviewed as a result of aspects of plant operation covered by these
code cases. A review of Code alternate requests submitted to the
NRC over the last 5 years identified that these submittals ranged
from a few pages to several hundred pages with an average of
approximately 32 pages with average technical complexity.
Therefore, the NRC estimates that a Code Case submittal requires an
average of 300 hours of effort to develop the technical
justification and an additional 80 hours to perform research,
review, approve, process, and submit the document to the NRC for
use of alternatives under 10 CFR 50.55a(z). Therefore, the revised
total estimated burden is 380 hours per alternative. The final rule
adds procedural updates to concrete containment examinations,
fracture toughness provisions, MOV testing, and Cast Austenitic
Stainless Steel examinations, which add burden to the industry. The
new MOV testing requirements also result in a reduction in burden
of the costly quarterly MOV testing currently required. Overall,
the final rule will result in a one-time industry burden of 5,605
hours in the first three years (1,868 annualized hours) to
implement the changes that revise the procedures to the new ASME
standards. The annual, recurring changes resulting from the final
rule represent an overall decrease in burden of 9,677 hours.
Following the implementation phase, the industry will see a reduced
burden for the aspects of plant operation covered by the code cases
in the final rule.
$87,478,560
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Dan Doyle 301 415-3748
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
ASME 09-13 Final Rule - analysis of public comments.docx
10 CFR Part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities