[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 23 (Monday, February 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7816-7818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02349]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0021]


Quality Assurance Program Requirements (Operations)

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-1300, ``Quality 
Assurance Program Requirements (Operations).''

DATES: Submit comments by April 1, 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

[[Page 7817]]

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-2013-
0021. 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-2013-0021. 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 Additional Information Contact: Paul Prescott, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-415-3026 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0021 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-2013-0021.
    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 ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The draft regulatory guide is available in ADAMS under 
Accession Number ML12276A071. The regulatory analysis may be found in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML12276A072.
    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-2013-0021 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. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' (RG) 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.
    This RG describes methods that the NRC staff considers acceptable 
for complying with the provision of part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities,'' 10 CFR 50.34(b)(6)(ii), Contents of 
applications; technical information, and 10 CFR Part 52 ``Licenses, 
Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' 10 CFR 
52.79(a)(27), Contents of applications; technical information in final 
safety analysis report. Both sections require compliance with 10 CFR 
Part 50, Appendix B, ``Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear power 
Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants,'' which, in part, requires the 
establishment of Quality Assurance (QA) controls for the implementation 
of managerial and administrative controls to assure safe operation.
    The draft regulatory guide, entitled, ``Quality Assurance Program 
Requirements (Operations),'' is temporarily identified by its task 
number, DG-1300. The DG-1300 is proposed revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 
1.33, dated Febuary 1978.
    This revision (Revision 3) of RG 1.33 endorses ANSI/ANS 3.2-2012, 
``Managerial, Administrative, and Quality Assurance Controls for 
Operational Phase of Nuclear Power Plants,'' which is an update to the 
standard that was endorsed in Revision 2, ANS 3.2/ANSI N18.7-1976, 
``Administrative Controls and Quality Assurance for the Operational 
Phase of Nuclear Power Plants.'' The updated standard incorporates 
operational experience since the original standard was developed, and 
is better focused on QA of plant operations because information on QA 
of design and construction was moved to another standard. The NRC staff 
has reviewed ANSI/ANS 3.2-2012 and determined that the revised standard 
provides acceptable guidance on QA of plant operations. The staff's 
review is documented in the ANS 3.2 Side-By-Side Comparison 
(ML12276A076).

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final regulatory guide does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not 
otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 
Part 52. 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.
    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

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issuance of the regulatory guide. Such action does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CRF 50.109(a)(1) or is 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 25th day of January 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-02349 Filed 2-1-13; 8:45 am]
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