[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5494-5496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2025]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Draft Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability Public Workshop

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued for public 
comment a draft revision to an existing guide in the agency's 
Regulatory Guide Series. This series has been developed to describe and 
make available to the public such information as methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff 
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.

[[Page 5495]]

    The draft Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 1.188, entitled ``Standard 
Format and Content for Applications To Renew Nuclear Power Plant 
Operating Licenses,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-
1140, which should be mentioned in all related correspondence. Like its 
predecessor, the proposed revision describes a method that the NRC 
staff finds acceptable for complying with the NRC's regulatory 
requirements in title 10, part 54, of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR part 54), ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for 
Nuclear Power Plants'' (commonly known as the license renewal rule). 
Specifically, 10 CFR part 54 specifies the information that a nuclear 
power plant licensee must include in its application to renew an 
operating license issued by the NRC.
    The NRC initially issued this guide as Regulatory Guide 1.188, 
dated July 2001, after soliciting and resolving public comments on 
three draft regulatory guides (DG-1104 in August 2000, DG-1047 in 
August 1996, and DG-1009 in December 1990). As such, Regulatory Guide 
1.188 incorporated lessons learned from the review of license renewal 
applications and Owners Group topical report reviews. The guide also 
incorporated relevant information gleaned from developing the 
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of License Renewal Applications 
for Nuclear Power Plants'' (NUREG-1800),\1\ and the ``Generic Aging 
Lessons Learned (GALL) Report'' (NUREG-1801), as well as public 
comments received on those documents. (The staff summarized those 
comments in NUREG-1739, ``Analysis of Public Comments on the Improved 
License Renewal Guidance Documents.'' )
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    \1\ Copies are available at current rates from the U.S. 
Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20402-
9328 (telephone (202) 512-1800); or from the National Technical 
Information Service (NTIS) by writing NTIS at 5285 Port Royal Road, 
Springfield, VA 22161; http://www.ntis.gov; telephone (703) 487-
4650. Copies are available for inspection or copying for a fee from 
the NRC's Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
MD; the PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR, Washington, DC 20555; 
telephone (301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-4209; fax (301) 415-3548; e-
mail is [email protected]. These documents are also available 
electronically through the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/.
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    Since the NRC initially published Regulatory Guide 1.188, the 
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has developed Revision 5 of NEI 95-10, 
``Industry Guideline for Implementing the Requirements of 10 CFR part 
54--The License Renewal Rule,'' dated January 2005.\2\ The NRC staff 
has reviewed that document and found that, with the exceptions 
discussed in Section C, ``Regulatory Position,'' of Draft Regulatory 
Guide DG-1140, Revision 5 of NEI 95-10 provides guidance that the staff 
considers acceptable for use in implementing the license renewal rule.
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    \2\ Copies are available for inspection or copying for a fee 
from the NRC's Public Document Room at 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD; the PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR, Washington, 
DC 20555; telephone (301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-4209; fax (301) 415-
3548; e-mail [email protected]. This document is also available through 
the NRC's license renewal Web page at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/guidance.html#nuclear, and through the 
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession No. 
ML050280113. Note, however, that the NRC has temporarily suspended 
public access to ADAMS so that the agency can complete security 
reviews of publicly available documents and remove potentially 
sensitive information. Please check the NRC's Web site for updates 
concerning the resumption of public access to ADAMS.
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    The NRC staff is soliciting stakeholder comments on Draft 
Regulatory Guide DG-1140 and/or Revision 5 of NEI 95-10, and 
specifically on any inconsistency or incompatibility between the 
guidance in these documents and the NRC guidance set forth in NUREG-
1800 and NUREG-1801. Toward that end, the NRC is also announcing a 
public workshop to gather public comments on the revised documents. The 
workshop is scheduled for March 2, 2005, and will be held in the 
Commissions' Hearing Room, Room O-1G16, at the NRC's headquarters in 
Rockville, Maryland. For further details and the workshop agenda, see 
the related meeting notice, which will be available on the NRC's public 
Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/meeting-schedule.html.
    The NRC staff anticipates that the workshop will give participants 
an opportunity to ask questions, obtain further information, offer 
comments and opinions, and otherwise facilitate the formulation and 
preparation of written comments for NRC staff consideration of the 
revised license renewal guidance documents. To ensure that the staff 
records all stakeholder input, the proceedings of the workshop will be 
transcribed and the NRC staff will prepare a summary report to 
categorize the comments.
    Comments on Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1140 and/or Revision 5 of NEI 
95-10 may be submitted in writing or in electronic form. Please mention 
DG-1140 in the subject line of your comments. All comments should 
include supporting justification in enough detail for the NRC staff to 
evaluate the need for changes in the guidance, as well as references to 
the operating experience, industry standards, or other relevant 
reference materials that provide a sound technical basis for such 
changes. Editorial and style comments are not necessary because the NRC 
staff anticipates the need to edit and reformat the guidance documents 
before issuing them in final form.
    Comments Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1140 and/or Revision 5 of NEI 
95-10 will be made available to the public in their entirety in the 
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). 
Personal information will not be removed from your comments. You may 
submit comments by any of the following methods.
    Mail comments to: Rules and Directives Branch, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. You may also submit comments 
via the NRC's rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address 
questions about our rulemaking Web site to Carol A. Gallagher (301) 
415-5905; e-mail [email protected].
    Hand-deliver comments to: Rules and Directives Branch, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on 
Federal workdays.
    Fax comments to: Rules and Directives Branch, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 415-5144.
    Requests for technical information about Draft Regulatory Guide DG-
1140 may be directed to Mr. M.P. Lintz, at (301) 415-4051 or via e-mail 
to [email protected].
    Comments would be most helpful if received by March 31, 2005. 
Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical 
to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date. Although a time limit is given, 
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.
    Electronic copies of the draft regulatory guide are available 
through the NRC's public Web site under Draft Regulatory Guides in the 
Regulatory Guides document collection of the NRC's Electronic Reading 
Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. Electronic 
copies are also available in the NRC's Agencywide

[[Page 5496]]

Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession ML050230010. Note, 
however, that the NRC has temporarily suspended public access to ADAMS 
so that the agency can complete security reviews of publicly available 
documents and remove potentially sensitive information. Please check 
the NRC's Web site for updates concerning the resumption of public 
access to ADAMS.
    In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), which is located at 11555 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland; the PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. The PDR can also be reached by telephone at 
(301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-4205, by fax at (301) 415-3548; and by e-
mail to [email protected]. Requests for single copies of draft or final 
guides (which may be reproduced) or for placement on an automatic 
distribution list for single copies of future draft guides in specific 
divisions should be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Reproduction and 
Distribution Services Section; by e-mail to [email protected]; or by 
fax to (301) 415-2289. Telephone requests cannot be accommodated.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is 
not required to reproduce them.

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


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of January, 2005.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gina F. Thompson,
 Acting Director, Program Management, Policy Development and Analysis 
Staff, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 05-2025 Filed 2-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P