[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 170 (Thursday, September 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45655-45656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21280]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0383]


Draft Regulatory Guide: Issuance, Availability

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of issuance and availability of Draft Regulatory Guide, 
DG-1227.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Helton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: (301) 251-7594 or e-
mail to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public 
comment a draft guide in the agency's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. This 
series was 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.
    The draft regulatory guide (DG), titled, ``An Approach for Plant-
Specific, Risk-Informed Decisionmaking: Technical Specifications,'' is 
temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1227, which should be 
mentioned in all related correspondence. DG-1227 is proposed Revision 1 
of Regulatory Guide 1.177, dated August 1998. The NRC's policy 
statement on probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) encourages greater use 
of this analysis technique to improve safety decisionmaking and improve 
regulatory efficiency. The NRC staff's Risk-Informed and Performance-
Based Plan (RPP) formerly known as the PRA Implementation Plan 
describes current or planned activities to expand use of this 
analytical method. One activity under way in response to the policy 
statement is the use of PRA in support of decisions to modify an 
individual plant's technical specifications (TS).
    Licensee-initiated TS changes that are consistent with currently 
approved staff positions (e.g., regulatory guides, standard review 
plans, branch technical positions, or the Standard Technical 
Specifications (STS)) are normally evaluated by the staff using 
traditional engineering analyses. A licensee would not be expected to 
submit risk information in support of the proposed change. Licensee-
initiated TS change requests that go beyond current staff positions may 
be evaluated by the staff using traditional engineering analyses as 
well as the risk-informed approach set forth in this regulatory guide. 
A licensee may be requested to submit supplemental risk information if 
such information is not provided in the original submittal by the 
licensee. If risk information on the proposed TS change is not provided 
to the staff, the staff will review the information provided by the 
licensee to determine whether the application can be approved based 
upon the information provided using traditional methods and will either 
approve or reject the application based upon the review.

II. Further Information

    The NRC staff is soliciting comments on DG-1227. Comments may be 
accompanied by relevant information or supporting data and should 
mention DG-1227 in the subject line. Comments submitted in writing or 
in electronic form will be made available to the public in their 
entirety through the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management 
System (ADAMS).
    Because your comments will not be edited to remove any identifying 
or contact information, the NRC cautions you against including any 
information in your submission that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed.
    The NRC requests that any party soliciting or aggregating comments 
received from other persons for submission to the NRC inform those 
persons that the NRC will not edit their comments to remove any 
identifying or contact information, and therefore, they should not 
include any information in their comments that they do not want 
publicly disclosed. You may submit comments by any of the following 
methods:
    1. Mail comments to: Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Mail Stop: 
TWB-05-B01M, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    2. Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov 
and search for documents filed under Docket ID [NRC-2009-0383]. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, 301-492-3668; e-mail 
[email protected].
    3. Fax comments to: Rulemaking and Directives Branch, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at (301) 492-3446.
    Requests for technical information about DG-1227 may be directed to 
the NRC contact, Donald Helton at (301) 251-7594 or e-mail to 
[email protected].
    Comments would be most helpful if received by November 3, 2009. 
Comments received after that 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 DG-1227 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

[[Page 45656]]

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. ML091200294.
    In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) 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 25th day of August 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea D. Valentin,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. E9-21280 Filed 9-2-09; 8:45 am]
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