[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 213 (Monday, November 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65414-65415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26214]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Draft Regulatory Guide: Granting Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Granting of Request To Extend the Comment Period of 
Draft Regulatory Guide (DG)-1200, ``An Approach for Determining the 
Technical Adequacy of Probabilistic Risk Assessment Results for Risk-
Informed Activities.''

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Drouin, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: (301) 415-6675 or e-
mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued for public 
comment DG-1200, which was published in the Federal Register , 73 FR 
35170, on June 20, 2008. DG-1200 is proposed Revision 2 of Regulatory 
Guide 1.200 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.

II. Further Information

    The NRC staff requested receipt of comments on DG-1200 by September 
24, 2008, (including any implementation schedule) and its associated 
regulatory analysis or value/impact statement. By this action, the NRC 
staff is extending the comment period until December 31, 2008. Comments 
received after December 31, 2008, would be considered if 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.

III. Request To Extend the Comment Period

Basis for the Request

    The NRC received the following extension request:
    In a joint letter, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 
(ASME) and the American Nuclear Society (ANS) requested that the public 
review and comment period on Draft Guide 1200 (proposed Revision 2 of 
Regulatory Guide [RG] 1.200) be extended to the end of December 2008 
with a subsequent publication date of Revision 2 to RG 1.200 (``An 
Approach for Determining the Technical Adequacy of Probabilistic Risk 
Assessment Results for Risk-Informed Activities'') extended to the end 
of March 2009. The extension will allow Addendum A to the ``Standard 
for Level 1/Large Early Release Frequency Probabilistic Risk Assessment 
for Nuclear Power Plant Applications'' (ASME/ANS RA-S-2008) to be 
endorsed in Revision 2 to RG 1.200.

[[Page 65415]]

Response to Request

    The request for an extension to the comment period is approved 
until December 31, 2008.
    We agree that Addendum A is a needed improvement to the ASME/ANS 
standard RA-S-2008 and would result in a more effective and efficient 
implementation of both the standard and RG 1.200. Consequently, we are 
extending the public review and comment period to December 31, 2008, 
and the final publication of Revision 2 to RG 1.200 to March 31, 2009.
    ASME and ANS have cooperated worked to develop this PRA standard in 
support of NRC's PRA quality initiative/plan in support of risk-
informed regulation (SECY-04-0118, ``Plan for the Implementation of the 
Commission's Phased Approach to Probabilistic Risk Assessment 
Quality,'' dated July 13, 2004). This plan identified the various 
technical guidance documents (e.g. , standards) needed to support the 
various risk-informed activities.
    Requests for technical information about DG-1200 may be directed to 
the NRC contact, Mary Drouin at (301) 415-6675 or e-mail to 
[email protected].
    Electronic copies of DG-1200 are available through the NRC's public 
Web site under Draft Regulatory Guides in the ``Regulatory Guides'' 
collection of the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. Electronic copies are also available in 
ADAMS (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html), under Accession No. 
ML081200566.
    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].
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is 
not required to reproduce them.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29 day of October, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea D. Valentin,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E8-26214 Filed 10-31-08; 8:45 am]
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