ML20205Q750

Draft Vision Statement on Performance-Based Approaches

ML20205Q750
Person / Time
Issue date:	04/22/1999
From:	NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES)
To:
References
NUDOCS 9904220051
Download: ML20205Q750 (3)

Text

6 a-4 DRAFT " VISION STATEMENT" ON PERFORMANCE-BASED APPROACHES Office of Nuclear Reaulatory Research. NRC This statement is meant to provide an instrument for fruitful discussions among NRC staff regarding the pursuit of pedormance-based approaches to regulation. RES recognizes the substantial strides being made in various program offices which are intended to improve the extent to which regulatory decisions are made more performance-based. Examples are the revisions to the reactor regulatory oversight process and the project to risk inform 10 CFR Part

50. The immediate objective of this statement is to facilitate more meaningful participation by NRR and NMSS in the stakeholders meeting on April 14,1999.

I The vision for developing performance-based approaches can be viewed in the long term, medium term and near term perspectives. It is better to begin with the long term perspective so that the direction of progress on the activity can be better articulated and understood.

The long term driver for pursuing performance-based approaches is the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) with its emphasis on performance measurement and focus on results. An aspect of NRC's performance would be measured by the regulatory criteria that the agency estab!ishes, which, when followed by licensees, result in safe outcomes.

The current regulatory framework is not always tied directly to performance objectives.

The Commission has provided direction to the staff in the Strategic Plan and the SRM on SECY-98-144 (White Paper on Risk Informed and Performance-Based Regulation) that risk-informed approaches and performance-based approaches should be pursued, individually or in combination, as part of the improvements to the regulatory framework. There appears to be an expectation that the performance-based approaches will lag risk-informed approaches, perhaps because methods, tools and data are currently lacking. Reactor and materials arenas should be included in the improvement efforts.

Moving in the direction of performance-based regulation should improve the objectivity of regulatory decisions and provide flexibility in meeting regulatory requirements which will facilitate safe outcomes. Although PRAs could be useful for applying performance-based i

approaches in dealing with specific issues (for example, where in a system performance data is more important), PRAs are not strictly necessary to pursue this activity, in the long run, what is O!

required is a methodology to identify where performanco criteria should be applied as part of the regulatory requirements and provide a basis for dotermining what each criterion should be for a given safety outcome. Applying such a methodology to a complex combination of systems (such as a nuclear power plant) could yield insights which complement the understanding developed from PRAs.

Research is needed before a fully developed methodology can be realized for application in a wide range of issues. Participation by industry would be required to validate the results which flow from such research. All stakeholders would have to be involved in developing a consensus that the flexibility afforded by the performance-based approach is being employed appropriately. A potential significant benefit could be that public confidence is enhanced by the complementary contributions of risk assessment information and applied performance measures working hand in hand.

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a Before any of the long term benefits of pursuing performance-based approaches can be experienced, important challenges must be overcome in the medium term. For the current purpose, the medium term is defined as the upcoming period of two to three years over which budgetary plans would have to be developed. It must be recognized that the efforts applied to this activity will balance the perceived benefits of performance-based regulation with the costs as9ociated with developing the needed methods, tools and data as well as the costs associated with using such regulations in the field.

Over the medium term, pursuit of performance-based approaches is proposed to have three aspects. The first aspect is increasing licensee flexibility relative to the application of rules, regulatory guidance and regulatory practice (determined with the involvement of stakeholders) without significant adverse affect on the safety outcome. Such an effort would be similar to that proposed under Strategy 5 of the staff's Excellence Plan. It may or may not involve technical assistance contracts. The routine application of rules and guidance by the staff could offer opportunities in this regard. All program offices would participate; for most of the staff, only a small amount of extra time would be involved. The day-to-day experience of NRC staff (or industry personnel) would be expected to reveal possibilities for identifying such candidates.

RES can provide a clearinghouse to screen the benefits of performance-based attributes against the cost of achieving these benefits. Keeping such a process informal is likely to increase the number of suggestions.

The second medium term aspect of pursuing performance-based approaches is to tap into the experience that is accumulating in various areas. In some areas where intensive efforts are ongoing (such as the improvements to the reactor regulatory oversight process) maintaining an awareness of progress would be sufficient, in other areas where the regulatory action has been completed (such as the promulgation of Appendix J, Part 50), the effort would involve learning the lessons from the implementation phase of applying it to specific licensees. The objective of studying experience is to develop an information base for instances where performance-based approaches seem to work readily, and identify possible reasons where they do not appear to work readily.

The third medium term aspect is to continue pursuit of methods to model and apply performance-based approaches, NUREG/CR 5392 being an example. This work involved a literature search and some case studies. The technical information may be useful to NRR and NMSS to more explicitly identify aspects of performance critical to safe outcomes, for example, in the reactor regulatory oversight process. A useful future application could be to systematically explore the reasons for a decline in performance indicators. Again, the work could proceed with or without technical assistance.

The near term activities aro geared to responding to and following up relative to the SRM on SECY-98-132 (Plans to increase Performance-Based Approaches in Regulatory Activities).

The SRM requires a staff response which specifically addresses coordination among the program offices, consolidating comments and experience from a wide variety of sources, and development of guidance and criteria by RES for selecting performance-based activities. RES has the lead to prepare the staff response, which is due to the Commission by May 24,1999.

A stakeholders meeting has been set up on April 14,1999 to obtain input that will be used in preparing the staff response. The following questions will be posed to the panel of participants, which is expected to include NEl, UCS, and a regional representative:

i a

There have been significant difficulties in applying risk methods to rules and regulations e

that address areas such as quality assurance, security, and fitness-for-duty. Can a performance based approach provide a more cost-effective way to address these regulations? Are there other regulatory areas not readily amenable to PRA which could likewise be addressed using a performance-based approach?

How can performance based approaches be used to address non reactor regulatory e

areas such as the licensing of radioactive materials and radiation devices?

Is there sufficient infrastructure (methods, tools and data) in the NRC and licensee e

community to apply performance-based approaches effectively? If not, what additional work needs to be done? Will work in the quest of performance-based regulations be cost-beneficial?

Are there any additional regulatory areas where performance information could be used e

to support rule changes? If possible, identify the specific rule, the general approach, and criteria that could be used to assure that the intent of the rule is met.

e Are there any regulatory areas in addition to rule changes where a performance-based approach could be effective? If possible, please identify such areas with sufficient specificity that NRC can follow through with an action plan.

How should the activity on improving the application of performance-based approaches e

be related to the efforts to risk-inform 10 CFR Part 50 or the on-going efforts to revise the reactor regulatory oversight process?

The input from the stakeholders meeting will be incorporated into a SECY within a short period and expedited review and concurrence will be sought from NRR and NMSS. An ACRS sub-committee meeting has been set up on April 21,1999 to discuss the staff's plans in this area.

The plans offered to the Commission will include a discussion of the medium and long term objectives, as well as provide schedules for the short term elements as follows, based on estimates of levels of effort to be done in the near future:

A modification will be proposed in the format of the Rulemaking Activity Plan to include a section on identified candidates for conversion to a performance-based approach.

A modification will be proposed in the standard language in Federal Register Notices seeking public comments for proposed rules specifically asking whether parts of the rule i

are unnecessarily prescriptiva and whether a performance-based approach could be uwd.

A task will be proposed for RES to develop screening and review processos for selecting performance based activities.

RES is committed to working cooperatively with the program offices to ensure that the technical 4

basis that _will be developed for any regulatory changes receives adequate review across the board before any public announcements are made. As the details of the tasks supporting this activity become better defined, such coordination will improve in quality and effectiveness.