ML25363A089

Enclosure - Project Plan for Evaluating Industrys Dic Recommendations (003)

ML25363A089
Person / Time
Issue date:	12/31/2025
From:	Jason Paige NRC/NRR/DEX/ELTB
To:	Navedo T NRC/NRR/DEX
References
Download: ML25363A089 (9)

Text

Enclosure Project Plan: Evaluation of Industrys DI&C Recommendations Modernization of the NRCs Regulatory Infrastructure EO 14300 Support Activities I.

SUMMARY

In letters dated October 28, 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24302A311), April 18, 2025 (ML25111A068), and July 31, 2025 (ML25213A112), the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) provided industrys priorities for digital instrumentation and control (DI&C) regulatory modernization and recommendations on accelerating NRC reform. This project plan provides a strategic approach for evaluating industrys recommendations to enhance regulatory clarity, predictability, and efficiency to support modern DI&C systems deployment. Specifically, this plan defines the process for evaluating industrys recommendations, the objectives, and the schedule and deliverables for completing this plan. The expected outcome of the staffs evaluation is to understand the underlying issues that the recommendations are attempting to address and determine the acceptability of industrys recommendations. The evaluation will include the challenges and proposed solutions for implementing the recommendations, alternative staff recommendations for addressing the underlying issues when deemed necessary, and specific actions and the associated priorities for implementing the industry or alternative staff recommendations. This activity supports the NRCs vision to establish a modern, risk-informed regulatory infrastructure with reduced uncertainty that will continue to enable the expanded safe use of digital technologies in new reactor designs and operating plants.

II.

BACKGROUND On February 25, 2016, the NRC Commission directed the staff to develop an integrated strategy to modernize the NRCs DI&C regulatory infrastructure (SRM-SECY-15-0106 (ML16056A614)).

On May 31, 2016, the staff developed an integrated action plan (IAP) documented in SECY-16-0070 (ML16126A140) which identified a strategy to modernize the NRCs regulatory infrastructure to enhance the agencys capability to determine whether there is reasonable assurance of safety and security in DI&C systems for nuclear facilities. The IAPs objective was to provide a process that is timely, efficient and effective, and provides a consistent and predictable regulatory process for staff and stakeholders. The IAP identified the following key topics for addressing DI&C regulatory challenges and improving timeliness, efficiency, and effectiveness: 1. common cause failure (CCF), 2. changes under 10 CFR 50.59 Changes, tests and experiments, and 3. commercial grade dedication of digital equipment under 10 CFR Part 21, Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance. In addition, under the IAP activities, the staff established the NRCs vision for the modernized I&C regulatory structure of reducing complexity that enables the expanded safe use of digital technologies. On October 25, 2016, the Commission approved the implementation of the staffs IAP to modernize the NRCs I&C regulatory infrastructure (SRM-SECY-16-0070 (ML16299A157)).

As a result of completing the IAP, the Commission approved the staffs recommendation to update the CCF policy at SRM-SECY-22-0076 (ML23145A181). The staff issued implementing guidance for using risk-informed approaches for addressing CCF, which is presented within NUREG-0800, Chapter 7, BTP 7-19, Rev. 9, Guidance for Evaluation of Defense in Depth and Diversity to Address Common-Cause Failure Due to Latent Defects in Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems. The staff also revised guidance for completing digital modifications under 50.59 (RIS 2002-22, Supplement 1, Clarification On Endorsement Of Nuclear Energy Institute Guidance In Designing Digital Upgrades In Instrumentation and Control Systems, RG 1.187, Rev. 3, Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, Changes, Tests, and Experiments endorsing NEI 96-07, Rev. 1, Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation), endorsed industry guidance on commercial grade dedication (RG 1.250, Dedication of Commercial-Grade Digital I&C Items for Use in Nuclear power Plants, endorsing NEI 17-06, Rev. 1, Guidance on Using IEC 61508 SIL Certification to Support the Acceptance of Commercial Grade Digital Equipment for Nuclear Safety Related Applications), and developed a regulatory infrastructure roadmap connecting the regulatory requirements with applicable guidance.

As a long-term item under the May 31, 2016, IAP, the staff identified an activity to update the regulations in 10 CFR 50.55a(h), Protection and safety systems, that currently referenced an older version of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard (IEEE Std.) 603 (i.e.,

1991), Standard Criteria for Safety Systems for Nuclear Power Generating Stations. On September 14, 2023, the staff hosted a public meeting to discuss the staffs IEEE Std. 603 activities and the associated options for providing a path forward for using IEEE Std. 603-2018 and future revisions to the standard. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain stakeholder feedback on the staffs options and to better understand industrys needs for meeting the requirements for the design of protection and safety systems for operating new, and advanced reactors. By letter dated November 3, 2023, NEI provided its recommendations for IEEE Std. 603 (ML23307A127), which was for the NRC to incorporate by reference (IBR) the 2018 version of the standard with the exception of Section 5.16 (Common Cause Failure) into 10 CFR 50.55a(h). In December 2023, the staff initiated a rulemaking to IBR IEEE 603-2018 into the regulations. However, with the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act (ADVANCE Act) of 2024 requiring the NRC to enhance its efficient, timely, and predictable reviews of license applications, NEI provided recommendations for the NRCs consideration, which included an updated recommendation for 10 CFR 50.55a(h).

In its letter dated October 28, 2024, NEI recommended: 1. eliminating 10 CFR 50.55a(h) (i.e.,

removal of referenced IEEE standards in the regulations) and instead rely upon the General Design Criteria in 10 CFR 50 Appendix A; 2. streamlining I&C guidance in NUREG-0800, Chapter 7 for operating plants via the use of the Design Review Guide (DRG): Instrumentation and Control for Non-Light Water (Non-LWR) Reviews; 3. incorporating clear, concise review guidance for human factors engineering in a single document; 4. using a systems engineering review approach towards digital technology in lieu of prescriptive regulatory guidance associated with each phase of the lifecycle process; and 5. revising DI&C-ISG-06, Licensing Process, to streamline the license amendment review process by expanding the review areas that should be included under the Alternate Review Process, and moving the guidance out of Interim Staff Guidance and into a long-term, durable regulatory document.

By letter dated April 18, 2025, NEI communicated industrys top priorities for resolving longstanding challenges in licensing of modern DI&C systems. Industrys top priorities (immediate action) included items 1 and 5 above and included a new recommendation to endorse the risk-informed CCF methodology in NEI 20-07, Guidance for Addressing Common Cause Failure in High Safety-Significant Safety-Related Digital I&C Systems, as a top priority.

Items 2, 3, and 4 were identified as essential long-term actions to modernize the regulatory infrastructure.

On May 23, 2025, Executive Order 14300, Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, directed the NRC to address a wide range of activities, including reforming and modernizing the NRCs regulations and associated guidance documents. By letter dated July 31, 2025, NEI provided specific recommendations for implementing the executive order, including recommendations for enabling faster deployment of modern technology while preserving safety. In addition to the aforementioned recommendations, the DI&C recommendations included: 1. Revising RIS-2002-22, Supplement 1 to remove the restriction on Reactor Protection System (RPS) and Engineered Safety Features Actuation System (ESFAS);

2. Removing DI&C CCF policy (SRM-SECY-22-0076); 3. Revising staff review guidance (NUREG-0800, Chapter 7, BTP 7-19) to remove the assumption that digital CCF exists in DI&C systems in defense-in-depth analysis. Instead, allowing for risk-informed approaches to determine if a digital CCF concurrent with a Design Basis Event is a credible, realistic risk using CCF likelihood consistent with other Beyond Design Basis Events (BDBEs).

Regarding 10 CFR 50.55a(h), the staff proceeded with the IBR IEEE 603-2018 rulemaking due to it supporting the ADVANCE Act and EO 14300 objectives of efficient, timely, and predictable reviews of license applications. However, the staff is also evaluating the elimination of 10 CFR 50.55a(h) under the petition for rulemaking process (PRM 50-127 (ML25066A248)).

III.

OBJECTIVES The objective of this plan is for the staff to evaluate the NEIs recommendations discussed in Section II above to determine the need for any actions to further modernize the NRCs current I&C regulatory infrastructure and to prioritize the actions for implementation. This plan will also ensure that the outcome of the staffs evaluation supports developing clear messaging for internal and external stakeholder engagements.

IV.

SCOPE This plan provides an approach for evaluating industrys recommendations discussed in Section II above. The evaluation of the recommendations and deliverables listed herein will be completed by the due dates listed in Section V below. In addition, this plan prioritizes the recommendations by taking into consideration the potential impact on the NRCs regulatory infrastructure, industrys feedback, NRC staffs workload, and ongoing activities to modernize the DI&C regulatory infrastructure. The priorities will assist with implementing the specific actions identified from the staffs evaluation. Below is a list of DI&C recommendations that will be evaluated under this plan, their priority (High=immediate action; Medium=potential dependency on a high priority item; and Low=long-term action), and the basis for its priority. The assigned priorities are based on the best available information at this time. As discussed in Section V (Evaluation) below, the NRC staff will host a public meeting to better understand the industrys basis for their objectives and recommendations, which will inform any future revisions to the assigned priorities listed herein. There may be some instances where the staff will work and complete the specific actions of a medium or low priority item in parallel to a high priority item based on the outcome of the staffs evaluation and the interdependency between the items.

Industrys Recommendations Priority Basis Remove DI&C CCF policy (SRM-SECY 93-087 and SRM-SECY-22-0076)

High Supports top-down approach by first evaluating policy Potentially greatest impact on increasing flexibility for addressing CCF Addresses multiple objectives Note: The following recommendations will be evaluated subsequent to evaluating the DI&C CCF policy to better understand the path forward for addressing them.

Revise RIS-2002-22, Supplement 1 to remove the restriction on RPS and ESFAS (NEI letter dated July 2025). Intent: expand scope of being able to complete DI&C mods under 50.59.

High Potentially greatest impact on increasing flexibility for addressing CCF Addresses multiple objectives Revise staff review guidance (NUREG-0800, Chapter 7, BTP 7-19) to remove the assumption that digital CCF exists in DI&C systems in defense-in-depth analysis.

Allow for risk-informed approach to determine if a digital CCF concurrent with a Design Basis Event is a credible, realistic risk using CCF likelihood consistent with other BDBEs.

High Potentially greatest impact on increasing flexibility for addressing CCF Addresses multiple objectives Approve NEI 20-07 to license DI&C systems where digital CCF presents a credible, realistic risk.

High Supports a systems engineering approach for addressing DI&C hazards Addresses multiple objectives Revise DI&C-ISG-06 to streamline the license amendment review process.

Medium Dependent on the Limerick review Should be coordinated with industry to support next DI&C LAR Hosted several workshops to identify lessons-learned Incorporate clear, concise review guidance for human factors engineering in a single document Medium Dependent on the ISG-06 recommendation Remove 10 CFR 50.55a(h) which incorporates by reference outdated safety criteria standards. Instead, rely on 10 CFR 50, Appendix A General Design Criteria (GDC).

Low Recommendation is being evaluated under the Petition for Rulemaking process (PRM 50-127)

Ongoing IEEE 603-2018 draft rulemaking is in progress Interdependency on CCF recommendations Streamline I&C guidance in NUREG 0800, Chapter 7 for operating plants Low The DRG is available for the operating fleet Received industry feedback that NUREG 0800 is sufficient for the operating fleet Use a systems engineering review approach towards digital technology in lieu of prescriptive regulatory guidance associated with each phase of the lifecycle process Low Approval of NEI 20-07 provides a basis for using a systems engineering approach This is being evaluated by the NRCs Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research V.

EVALUATION This section provides the structure of the working group and their roles and responsibilities, the process that the working group will follow for evaluating industrys recommendations, and the specific actions and deliverables for completing this project plan.

Working Group The working group will consist of staff from the Division of Engineering and External Hazards (DEX) as the core team and subject matter experts (SMEs) from across the agency (e.g., Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)). The DEX core team has the overall responsibility for completing the actions below and for ensuring that the deliverables are conducted in a thorough, effective, and efficient manner.

The DEX core team will include staff from the Long-Term Operations and Modernization Branch (ELTB) and the Instrumentation and Controls Branch (EICB). The SMEs will support the core team members with defined assignments that are identified during working group meetings.

Name Organization Role Structure Calvin Cheung (Team Lead)

David Rahn Kenn Miller Dinesh Taneja Samir Darbali Gilberto Blas Rodriguez Jaison Monachan NRR/DEX Core Team Members Working Group Team Derek Halverson Ismael Garcia Brian Green Steve Alferink RES NSIR NRR/DRO NRR/DRA Subject Matter Experts Jason Paige NRR/DEX Branch Chief Management Support Marilyn Diaz DEX Dep Dir (acting)

NRR/DEX LT Sponsor Process This plan uses a top-down review approach for evaluating industrys recommendations. The process includes reviewing the NRCs current I&C regulatory infrastructure (regulations, policy, guidance) to understand what challenges the industrys recommendations are attempting to address. The staffs evaluation should make a determination if the current I&C regulatory infrastructure satisfies the objectives (e.g., does the previous modernization effort address the challenges or is there new information, data or operating experience that could be used to further improve the regulatory infrastructure), if the recommendations are a viable option for addressing the challenges, and if there are any alternative options (staff or industry) for addressing the challenges.

Next Steps Deliverables Actions Due Date Document industrys basis for the objectives and recommendations (e.g., meeting summary).

1. Host public meeting to gain a better understanding of the recommendations and gain insights on what challenges the recommendations are attempting to address.

Early January 2026 Identify specific actions to implement industry recommendations or staff identified alternative recommendations.

1. Evaluate if the recommendation can maintain safety while enabling faster deployment of modern technology. The staffs evaluation should consider:

a. Challenges (safety, legal) with implementing the recommendation under the current I&C regulatory infrastructure (regulations, policy, and guidance).

b. Ongoing draft rulemakings that may impact implementation of the recommendation.

c. Using NEIs July 31, 2025, objectives for DI&C to inform the staffs evaluation.

d. Data and operating experience.

e. Alternative recommendations (staff or industry identified) for addressing challenges with digital deployment.

2. Identify specific actions to implement the recommendation (revisions to regulations, policy, guidance, etc.). For example, use Figure 1 to identify actions for the CCF recommendations.

a. Prioritize the actions and develop a schedule for implementation.

b. Outline the proposed revisions to implement the specific actions.

End of January 2026 Engage with stakeholders on the staffs evaluation

1. Engage with internal and external stakeholders (briefings, public meetings) to obtain feedback on the staffs evaluation.

a. Consider stakeholder feedback to make any necessary changes to the staffs evaluation.

Early February 2026 Document the staffs evaluation via action plan and next steps

2. Develop a memo to DEX management documenting the staffs assessment of the NEIs recommendations and any staff recommendations for further modernizing the I&C regulatory End of February 2026 infrastructure. The action plan should include:

a. Summary of recommendations and specific actions for implementation

b. Priorities for implementing the specific actions

c. Outline of revisions to regulations, policy, and guidance.

VI.

SCHEDULE The deliverables listed in Section V above should be completed by the end of February 2026.

The schedule for completing the highest priority actions identified from the staffs evaluation will be aligned with EO 14300 and the associated rulemaking activities.

Figure 1: Sample Decision Tree for Addressing NEIs Recommendations on CCF NRC Eliminates CCF Policy and Guidance NRC Revises CCF Policy and Guidance CCF policy states that CCF is considered, not assumed CCF policy states that CCF must be demonstrated to be BDBE Revise NEI 20-07 as means to demonstrate high reliability system Revise/endorse NEI 96-07, App D to include qualitative assessment for RPS/ESFAS Revise BTP 7-19 Sunset RIS 2002-22 and RIS 2002-22 Supplement 1 Revise NEI 20-07 as means to demonstrate CCF is BDBE and address CCF if not BDBE Revise/endorse NEI 96-07, App D to include qualitative assessment for RPS/ESFAS Revise BTP 7-19 Sunset RIS 2002-22 and RIS 2002-22 Supplement 1 Approve NE 20-07 as means to address CCF Revise ISG-06 to incorporate lessons-learned Revise/endorse NEI 96-07, App D to include qualitative assessment for RPS/ESFAS Revise NUREG-0800, CH. 7 Revise Design Review Guide Sunset SRM-SECY-93-087 and SRM-SECY-22-0076 Sunset BTP 7-19 Sunset RIS 2002-22 and RIS 2002-22 Supplement 1 Oversight Focused CCF is not driver for DI&C mods under 50.59 Inspections verify safe implementation of digital mods Increased Flexibility Digital mods may be implemented under 50.59, depending on how CCF is addressed Use of risk-informed approach and operating experience to address CCF Notes:

Sample decision tree is for addressing NEIs recommendations on CCF Based on the staffs evaluation of recommendations, decision tree will help determine implementing actions The potential revisions to policy/guidance are examples (i.e., the final revisions will be based on the staffs evaluation)

The implementing actions are the highest priority actions, dependent on the path of the decision tree (e.g., there may be additional lower priority actions identified)

Refined LAR Scope Provides risk-informed approach for addressing CCF in a LAR Incorporates lessons-learned from the Limerick review Yes Yes OR No No