[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 227 (Monday, November 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70484-70486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28564]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0282]


Preoperational Testing of Onsite Electric Power Systems To Verify 
Proper Load Group Assignments, Electrical Separation, and Redundancy

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1294, 
``Preoperational Testing of On-Site Electric Power Systems to Verify 
Proper Load Group Assignments, Electrical Separation, and Redundancy.'' 
DG-1294 is proposed Revision 1 of RG 1.41, dated March 1973. This 
revision expands the scope of the guide to encompass preoperational 
testing of electrical power systems used to meet current Station 
Blackout regulations, time requirements for startup and alignment of 
emergency power sources, and testing requirements for facilities 
licensed under 10 CFR Part 52.

DATES: Submit comments by January 31, 2013. 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.

ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related 
to this document, which the NRC possesses and is publicly available, by 
searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-0282. 
You may submit comments by the following methods:

[[Page 70485]]

     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0282. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
     Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Kendzia, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Office of New Reactors, Division of Construction 
Inspection and Operational Programs, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
telephone: 301-415-8155 or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0282 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses 
and is publicly available, by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0282.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The draft regulatory guide 
is available electronically under ADAMS Accession Number ML12228A589. 
The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML12228A591.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2012-0282 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC posts all comment 
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment 
submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment 
submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC'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 entitled ``Preoperational Testing of On-
Site Electric Power Systems to Verify Proper Load Group Assignments, 
Electrical Separation, and Redundancy'' is temporarily identified by 
its task number, DG-1294. The DG-1294 is proposed Revision 1 of 
Regulatory Guide 1.41, ``Preoperational Testing of On-Site Electric 
Power Systems to Verify Proper Load Group Assignments, Electrical 
Separation, and Redundancy'' dated March 1973.
    Regulatory Guide 1.41 was developed to provide guidance on 
preoperational testing of on-site electrical power systems important to 
safety for load group assignments, electrical separation, and 
redundancy. The guide was first issued in 1973 and has not been revised 
despite multiple revisions to the underlying regulations. Since 1973 
the Commission has amended its regulations for loss of all alternating 
current power (Station Blackout) and loss of large areas of the plant 
due to explosions or fire, and has established a new combined 
(construction and operating) licensing process under 10 CFR part 52.
    This regulatory guide is being revised for three reasons: (1) To 
expand the scope of the guide to encompass preoperational tests for the 
electrical power systems used to meet the regulatory requirements 
addressing Station Blackout and loss of large areas of the plant due to 
explosions or fire; (2) to expand the scope of the guide to encompass 
testing the ability to meet time requirements for startup and alignment 
for use of electric power sources used to meet the regulatory 
requirements addressing Station Blackout and loss of large areas of the 
plant due to explosions or fire and (3) to update the guide references 
and address facilities licensed under 10 CFR part 52.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    As discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of this regulatory 
guide, the NRC has no current intention to impose this regulatory guide 
on holders of current operating licenses or combined licenses. 
Accordingly, the issuance of this regulatory guide would not constitute 
``backfitting'' as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) of the Backfit Rule 
or be otherwise inconsistent with the applicable issue finality 
provisions in 10 CFR part 52.
    This regulatory guide may be applied to applications for operating 
licenses and combined licenses docketed by the NRC as of the date of 
issuance of the final regulatory guide, as well as future applications 
for operating licenses and combined licenses submitted after the 
issuance of the regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) or be otherwise 
inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in 10 CFR 
part 52, inasmuch as such applicants or potential applicants are not 
within the scope of entities protected by the Backfit Rule or the 
relevant issue finality provisions in Part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of November, 2012.


[[Page 70486]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-28564 Filed 11-23-12; 8:45 am]
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