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