[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19686-19688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9764]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50


Public Meeting on Results of Pilot Site Visits and Revision to 
Maintenance Inspection Guidance

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Announcement of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) will 
hold a public workshop to discuss the results of nine pilot site visits 
which were conducted to assess the adequacy of the draft maintenance 
rule inspection procedure developed for use by NRC inspectors to verify 
the implementation of the maintenance rule. This document is necessary 
to inform the public that the meeting is open to the public as 
observers.

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 27, 1995, from 9:00 am to 5:00 
pm. The workshop will provide the participants an opportunity to ask 
questions, make comments during the discussion, or submit written 
comments for NRC consideration. Written comments received from 
interested parties unable to attend the workshop will also be 
considered through July 15, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Stouffers Concourse 
(Airport) Hotel, 9801 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63134, (Fax) 
(314) 429-3466. Written comments may be provided at this meeting or 
submitted after the meeting. Registration forms or further information 
should be addressed to Ronald Frahm (See FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).
    To ensure that adequate seating is available, persons planning to 
attend the workshop are requested to either call the contact designated 
below or complete and forward the attached registration form to the 
same contact by May 30, 1995. A block of rooms has been reserved at the 
Stouffers Concourse Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri, (314) 429-1100, for the 
convenience of meeting attendees. These rooms will be available at a 
reduced group rate until May 22, 1995. Attendees should identify 
themselves with the NRC Maintenance Workshop NRC-0626 to ensure the 
group rate. The NRC, however, does not encourage nor support 
frequenting this or any other specific establishment.
    The original draft procedure ``Maintenance Inspection Procedure 
XXXXX'' (dated July 25, 1994) is publicly available at the NRC Public 
Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC 20555-
0001. A revised draft revision of the inspection procedure, including 
changes from the previous workshop (March 31, 1994), and lessons 
learned from the pilot site visits will be made available at the 
workshop for discussion.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Frahm, Jr. M/S 010-A19 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone 
(301) 415-2986; FAX 301-415-2260; INTERNET:[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The draft NRC Inspection Procedure 
``Maintenance Inspection Procedure XXXXX'' was developed for inspectors 
to ascertain whether licensees have satisfactorily implemented the 
requirements of the maintenance rule. The procedure is also structured 
to verify conformance with the maintenance rule for licensees using 
NUMARC 93-01, ``Industry Guidance for Monitoring the Effectiveness of 
Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants,'' as implementing guidance.
    At the workshop, NRC representatives will present an overview of 
the pilot site visit program, revisions to the draft inspection 
procedure and, as applicable, issues related to the maintenance rule 
and the NUMARC 93-01 industry guidance. NRC regional inspection 
representatives will be available to participate in the discussions. 
The workshop will conclude with a summary of the major issues 
identified at the meeting.
    On July 10, 1991 (56 FR 31306), the NRC published the 
``Requirements for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at 
Nuclear Power Plants'' as Sec. 50.65 of 10 CFR 50 ``Domestic Licensing 
of Production and Utilization Facilities.'' The maintenance rule will 
become effective on July 10, 1996. The five year period to implement 
the rule permits time to develop implementation guidance, inspection 
procedures, and sufficient time for licensees to have in place the 
necessary controls that ensure conformance with the rule requirements. 
The Commission's determination that a maintenance rule was needed arose 
from the conclusion that proper maintenance is essential to plant 
safety, especially as plants age. Shortly after the maintenance rule 
was published, the NRC and the Nuclear Management and Resource Council 
(NUMARC) embarked on parallel efforts to develop rule implementation 
guidance. The NRC staff review of the NUMARC document found that it 
provided an acceptable method for licensees to implement the 
requirements of the maintenance rule. In June 1993, the Commission 
issued Regulatory Guide 1.160 which endorsed the NUMARC guidance NUMARC 
93-01, ``Industry Guideline for Monitoring the Effectiveness of 
Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants,'' dated May 1993. Subsequently a 
verification and validation (V & V) program was also conducted by 
NUMARC, with NRC staff observation, to test its guidance on several 
representative systems by eight nuclear utilities at nine nuclear 
units. The V & V effort concluded that the guidelines were adequate to 
implement the maintenance rule.
    The NRC staff developed a draft inspection procedure to be used by 
NRC inspectors to verify the implementation of the maintenance rule 
requirements. The NRC staff, with NEI representatives observing, 
validated the inspection procedure during pilot inspection visits at 
nine volunteer nuclear power facilities between September 1994 and 
March 1995. After considering the comments obtained from the previous 
maintenance rule inspection procedure workshop conducted in March 1994, 
and information gathered during the pilot site visits, the NRC staff 
revised the inspection procedure and is conducting this workshop to 
provide interested parties another opportunity to participate in 
discussions on the lessons learned from the pilot site visits and the 
final revision of the inspection procedure.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of April 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Richard Correia,
Chief, Reliability and Maintenance Section, Quality Assurance and 
Maintenance Branch, Division of Technical Support, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
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[FR Doc. 95-9764 Filed 4-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-C