[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 236 (Friday, December 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73056-73057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29618]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0293]


Initial Test Programs for Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1259, ``Initial Test 
Programs for Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants.'' This guide describes 
the general scope and depth that the staff of the NRC considers 
acceptable for Initial Test Programs (ITPs) for light water cooled 
nuclear power plants.

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 are publically available, 
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2012-
0293. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0293. 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: Frank Talbot, Office of New Reactors, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

[[Page 73057]]

Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3146 or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0293 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0293.
     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 No. ML12298A071. The 
regulatory analysis may be found under ADAMS Accession No. ML12298A073.
    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-2012-0293 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 that that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post 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. Further 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, ``Initial Test Programs for 
Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Plants,'' is temporarily identified by its 
task number, DG-1259. The DG-1259 is proposed revision 4 of Regulatory 
Guide (RG) 1.68, dated March 2007.
    This guide describes the general scope and depth that the NRC staff 
considers acceptable for ITPs for light water cooled nuclear power 
plants. This RG is being revised to address design qualification tests 
for new design certifications (DCs) and combined licenses (COLs) using 
the requirements in part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for 
Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG is also being revised to add some 
preoperational, low-power and power ascension tests for new light water 
reactors (LWRs) licensed under 10 CFR Part 52. In addition, this RG is 
being revised to add new and updated references.
    The DG has 3 appendices. Appendix A addresses the specific tests 
recommended or required for the ITPs. Appendix B provides information 
about ITP-related inspections that the NRC staff will perform, 
including the appropriate regional office staff. Finally, Appendix C 
contains guidance on the preparation and content of procedures for 
preoperational, fuel loading, initial criticality, low power, and power 
ascension tests.

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 CRF 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 30th day of November 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-29618 Filed 12-6-12; 8:45 am]
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