[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4642-4643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1715]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a revision to a guide 
in its Regulatory Guide Series. This series has been developed to 
describe and make available to the public such information as methods 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
Commission's regulations, techniques used by the staff in evaluating 
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data needed by the staff 
in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 1.160, ``Monitoring the 
Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants,'' provides 
guidance on meeting the Commission's rules on maintenance and 
monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance in nuclear power plants. 
Although the concept of trigger values was included in the original 
guide as an option to be used as an alert to reveal emergency diesel 
generator performance problems that may need additional monitoring or 
corrective actions, it was clearly noted that conformance with such 
triggers was not a statistical demonstration of maintaining the 
emergency diesel generator reliability levels at levels selected for 
compliance with the station blackout rule (10 CFR 50.63). Since there 
has been continued misinterpretation of the triggers as related to 
statistical achievement of selected emergency diesel generator 
reliability, all language in this Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide 1.160 
pertaining to emergency diesel generator performance and trigger values 
was deleted to avoid any misconceptions on their statistical 
significance. The Commission expects that in implementing the 
maintenance rule as applied to emergency diesel generators, each 
licensee will set performance goals that are consistent with the 
licensee's coping analysis performed to comply with the station 
blackout rule (10 CFR 50.63), unless there is a documented basis for 
the inconsistency.
    No comments were received from the public regarding emergency 
diesel generator performance as related to the deletion of the trigger 
values. However, a number of comments were received requesting further 
clarification of [[Page 4643]] language in a guide, and the NRC staff 
has made some minor changes in language, as appropriate. Comments were 
also received from the Nuclear Energy Institute, State of Illinois 
Department of Nuclear Safety, Arizona Public Service Company, PECO 
Energy Company and Northeast Utilities System on matters that were not 
directly related to the removal of emergency diesel generator 
performance criteria and trigger values or clarification of language in 
the draft version of this guide, DG-1031, which was issued in June 
1994. These matters were addressed previously in response to the 
comment period for the maintenance rule C10 CFR 50.65) and Regulatory 
Guide 1.160, and the commenters did not present new information that 
would lead the NRC staff to reconsider their prior resolution. The 
comments received, and the staff's basis for disposition of the 
comments, are available for public inspection and copying at the 
Commission's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC.
    Comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in 
guides currently being developed or improvements in all published 
guides are encouraged at any time. Written comments may be submitted to 
the Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of 
Information and Publications Services, Office of Administration, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
    Regulatory guides are available for inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC. Copies of 
issued guides may be purchased from the Government Printing Office at 
the current GPO price. Information on current GPO prices may be 
obtained by contacting the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government 
Printing Office, Post Office Box 37082, Washington, DC 20013-7082, 
telephone (202) 512-2249. Issued guides may also be purchased from the 
National Technical Information Service on a standing order basis. 
Details on this service may be obtained by writing NTIS, 5285 Port 
Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.

(5 U.S.C. 552(a))

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of January 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eric S. Beckjord,
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 95-1715 Filed 1-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M