[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39373-39374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10908]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Final Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a 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.
    Revision 4 of Regulatory Guide 1.97, entitled ``Criteria for 
Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Plants,'' 
describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in 
complying with the agency's regulations with respect to satisfying 
criteria for accident monitoring instrumentation in nuclear power 
plants. Specifically, the method described in this regulatory guide 
relates to General Design Criteria 13, 19, and 64, as set forth in 
Appendix A to Title 10, Part 50, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR part 50), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization 
Facilities.'' In addition, Subsection (2)(xix) of 10 CFR 50.34(f), 
``Additional TMI-Related Requirements,'' requires operating reactor 
licensees to provide adequate instrumentation for use in

[[Page 39374]]

monitoring plant conditions following an accident that includes core 
damage.
    This revision of Regulatory Guide 1.97 represents an ongoing 
evolution in the nuclear industry's thinking and approaches with regard 
to accident monitoring systems for nuclear power plants. Specifically, 
this revision endorses (with certain clarifying regulatory positions 
specified in Section C of the revised guide) the ``Criteria for 
Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Generating 
Stations,'' which the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 
(IEEE) promulgated as IEEE Std. 497-2002.
    This revised regulatory guide is intended for licensees of new 
nuclear power plants.\1\ Previous revisions of this regulatory guide 
remain in effect for licensees of current operating reactors,\1\ who 
are unaffected by this proposed revision. (See regulatory position 
1 in Section C of the revised guide for information regarding 
the applicability of IEEE Std. 497-2002 for current operating 
reactors.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The terms ``new nuclear power plant'' and ``new plant'' 
refer to any nuclear power plant for which the licensee obtained an 
operating license after the NRC issued Revision 4 of Regulatory 
Guide 1.97. The terms ``current operating reactor'' and ``current 
plant'' refer to any nuclear power plant for which the licensee 
obtained an operating license before the NRC issued Revision 4 of 
Regulatory Guide 1.97.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC previously solicited public comment on this revised guide 
by publishing a Federal Register notice (70 FR 49953) concerning Draft 
Regulatory Guide DG-1128 on August 25, 2005. Following the closure of 
the public comment period on October 14, 2005, the staff considered all 
stakeholder comments in the course of preparing Revision 4 of 
Regulatory Guide 1.97. The staff's responses to all comments received 
are available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under 
Accession ML061580516.
    The NRC staff encourages and welcomes comments and suggestions in 
connection with improvements to published regulatory guides, as well as 
items for inclusion in regulatory guides that are currently being 
developed. 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.
    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 Revision 4 of Regulatory 
Guide 1.97 may be directed to Barry S. Marcus at (301) 415-2823 or 
[email protected].
    Regulatory guides are available for inspection or downloading 
through the NRC's public Web site in the Regulatory Guides document 
collection of the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. Electronic copies of Revision 4 of 
Regulatory Guide 1.97 are also available in the NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, under Accession ML061580448.
    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 19th day of June, 2006.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Sheron,
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
 [FR Doc. E6-10908 Filed 7-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P