[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 28102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11830]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0383]


Notice of Issuance of Regulatory Guide

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of issuance and availability of Regulatory Guide 1.177, 
Revision 1, ``An Approach for Plant-Specific, Risk-Informed 
Decisionmaking: Technical Specifications.''

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Helton, Probabilistic Risk 
Assessment Branch, Division of Risk Analysis, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone 301-251-7594 or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a revision 
to an existing guide in the agency's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. This 
series was developed to describe and make available to the public 
information such as methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for 
implementing specific parts of the agency'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 1 of Regulatory Guide 1.177, ``An Approach for Plant-
Specific, Risk-Informed Decisionmaking: Technical Specifications,'' was 
issued with a temporary identification as Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-
1227. This regulatory guide describes methods acceptable to the NRC 
staff for assessing the nature and impact of proposed technical 
specifications (TS) changes by considering engineering issues and 
applying risk insights. Licensees submitting risk information (whether 
on their own initiative or at the request of the staff) should address 
each of the principles of risk-informed regulation discussed in this 
regulatory guide. Licensees should identify how chosen approaches and 
methods (whether they are quantitative or qualitative, traditional or 
probabilistic), data, and criteria for considering risk are appropriate 
for making the necessary decision.
    This regulatory guide provides the staff's recommendations for 
using risk information to evaluate changes to nuclear power plant TS 
completion times and surveillance frequencies in order to assess the 
impact of such proposed changes on the risk associated with plant 
operation. The guidance provided here does not preclude other 
approaches for requesting TS changes. Rather, this regulatory guide is 
intended to improve consistency in regulatory decisions related to TS 
changes in which the results of risk analyses are used to help justify 
the change. As such, this regulatory guide, the use of which is 
voluntary, provides guidance concerning an approach that the NRC has 
determined to be acceptable for analyzing issues associated with 
proposed changes to a plant's TS and for assessing the impact of such 
proposed changes on the risk associated with plant design and 
operation. Additional or revised guidance might be provided for new 
reactors (e.g., advanced light-water reactors) licensed under 10 CFR 
part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power 
Plants.''
    Other types of TS changes that follow the principles outlined in 
this regulatory guide may be proposed and will be considered on their 
own merit.

II. Further Information

    In August 2009, DG-1227 was published with a public comment period 
of 60 days from the issuance of the guide. The public comment period 
closed on November 3, 2009. Electronic copies of Regulatory Guide 
1.177, Revision 1 are available through the NRC's public Web site under 
``Regulatory Guides'' at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/.
    In addition, regulatory guides are available for inspection at the 
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) located at Room O-1F21, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738. 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) 397-4209, 
by fax at (301) 415-3548, and by e-mail to [email protected].
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of May, 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2011-11830 Filed 5-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P