§ 52.171 Finality of manufacturing licenses; information requests.
(a)(1) Notwithstanding any provision
in 10 CFR 50.109, during the term of a
manufacturing license the Commission
may not modify, rescind, or impose new
requirements on the design of the
nuclear power reactor being
manufactured, or the requirements for
the manufacture of the nuclear power
reactor, unless the Commission
determines that a modification is
necessary to bring the design of the
reactor or its manufacture into
compliance with the Commission's
requirements applicable and in effect at
the time the manufacturing license was
issued, or to provide reasonable
assurance of adequate protection to
public health and safety or common
defense and security.
(2) Any modification to the design of a manufactured nuclear power reactor which is imposed by the Commission under paragraph (a)(1) of this section will be applied to all reactors manufactured under the license, including those that have already been transported and sited, except those reactors to which the modification has been rendered technically irrelevant by action taken under paragraph (b) of this section.
(3) In making the findings required for issuance of a construction permit, operating license, combined license, in any hearing under § 52.103, or in any enforcement hearing other than one initiated by the Commission under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, for which a nuclear power reactor manufactured under this subpart is referenced or used, the Commission shall treat as resolved those matters resolved in the proceeding on the application for issuance or renewal of the manufacturing license, including the adequacy of design of the manufactured reactor, the costs and benefits of severe accident mitigation design alternatives, and the bases for not incorporating severe accident mitigation design alternatives into the design of the reactor to be manufactured.
(b)(1) The holder of a manufacturing
license may not make changes to the
design of the nuclear power reactor
authorized to be manufactured without
prior Commission approval. The request
for a change to the design must be in the
form of an application for a license
amendment, and must meet the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.90 and 50.92.
(2) An applicant or licensee who
references or uses a nuclear power
reactor manufactured under a
manufacturing license under this
subpart may request a departure from
the design characteristics, site
parameters, terms and conditions, or
approved design of the manufactured
reactor. The Commission may grant a
request only if it determines that the
departure will comply with the
requirements of 10 CFR 52.7, and that
the special circumstances outweigh any
decrease in safety that may result from
the reduction in standardization caused
by the departure. The granting of a
departure on request of an applicant is
subject to litigation in the same manner
as other issues in the construction
permit or combined license hearing.
(c) Except for information requests
seeking to verify compliance with the
current licensing basis of either the
manufacturing license or the
manufactured reactor, information
requests to the holder of a
manufacturing license or an applicant or
licensee using a manufactured reactor
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 10 CFR 50.54(f) and must be
approved by the Executive Director for
Operations or his or her designee before
issuance of the request.
[72 FR 49543, Aug. 28, 2007]