ansys1000
Not quite in the order you gave them, but here's the answers. Though this is accurate to the best of my ability, the answers, as always, are my private opinion and are not legally binding on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The General Design Criteria (GDC) are incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Specifically Title 10 CFR the CFR, Part 50, Appendix A. Whether these
regulatory requirements apply to a currently operating nuclear plant depends on when the plant was licensed, as the regulation was not retroactively applied. They would apply to new plants that need to meet 10 CFR Part 50 requirements.
The Standard Review Plan (SRP) is the document used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff in evaluating licenses and license amendments. It is not a regulatory requirement but rather provides NRC internal guidance on how to review licensing matters in order to ensure that regulatory requirements are met. Not meeting the SRP might delay getting a licensing action approved or result in requests for additional information.
NUREGS (There is no word definition for these!) are reports that document the NRC position on an issue/ licensing action. They are not regulatory requirements. However, if approval for a licensing action was based upon something described in a NUREG, and the information in the NUREG becomes inccorrect, then a violation of regulatory requirements might occur.
Regulatory Guides (RG) are basically position papers from the NRC that provide acceptable ways to perform an action. RG's are not regulatory requirements. However, if a RG is not followed than a licensing action might be delayed or additional requests for information might be needed prior to granting the licensing action. Further, if a RG was committed to by a licensee and documented as part of the basis for granting a licensing action, then no longer meeting the RG might result in a regulatory requirement not being met.
You didn't mention these, but for completeness sake:
Generic communications from the NRC such as Bulletins, Generic Letters (GL), Information Notices (IN) and Regulatory Issue Summaries (RIS) are not regulatory requirements. Bulletins and GL's do require a response to the NRC and the accuracy of that response is covered by regulations.
The best place to find out information about these and other NRC documents is, of course, the NRC website
Click on Electronic Reading Room, then on Collections of Documents by Type.
Patricia Lougheed
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