[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25488-25489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10255]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0079]


Qualification Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in 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-1235, ``Qualification 
Tests for Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants.'' DG-1235 
is proposed Revision 1 of RG 1.73, dated January 1974. This revision 
endorses, with clarifications, the enhanced consensus practices for 
qualifying safety-related actuators, and actuator components, in 
Nuclear Power Generating Stations in order to demonstrate their ability 
to perform their intended safety functions under all required 
conditions as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics 
Engineers (IEEE) standard 382-2006, ``Standard for Qualification of 
Safety-Related Actuators for Nuclear Power Generating Stations.''

DATES: Submit comments by June 28, 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 submit comment by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0079. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to  http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0079. 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: Darrell Murdock, telephone: 301-251-
7629, email: [email protected]; or Mark Orr, telephone: 301-251-
7495, email: [email protected]. Both of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0079 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 the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0079.
     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 ML103120727. 
The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML103120737.
    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-2013-0079 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 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 entering 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

[[Page 25489]]

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 ``Qualification Tests for 
Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants'' is temporarily 
identified by its task number, DG-1235. The DG-1235 is proposed 
Revision 1 of RG 1.73, ``Qualification Tests of Electric Valve 
Operators Installed Inside the Containment of Nuclear Power Plants'' 
dated January 1974. The initial version of RG 1.73, endorsed IEEE Std. 
382-1972, ``IEEE Trial-Use Guide for Type Test of Class I Electric 
Valve Operators for Nuclear Power Generating Stations.'' The IEEE 
standard was revised in 1985, again in 1996, and, most recently, in 
2006. But RG 1.73 was not updated. This revision updates RG 1.73 to 
endorse the current version of IEEE Std. 382-2006, ``Standard for 
Qualification of Safety-Related Actuators for Nuclear Power Generating 
Stations.''

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This draft regulatory guide, if finalized, does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and is not 
otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 
Part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications and Approvals for Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' This regulatory guide provides guidance on one possible means 
for meeting NRC's regulatory requirements for environmental 
qualification of safety-related power-operated valve actuators in 
nuclear power plants as set forth in the regulations and the 
qualification testing requirements of Criterion III, ``Design Control'' 
of Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 50 to verify adequacy of design for 
service under design basis event conditions. Existing licensees and 
applicants of final design certification rules will not be required to 
comply with these new positions set forth in this draft regulatory 
guide, unless the licensee or design certification rule applicant seeks 
a voluntary change to its licensing basis with respect to safety-
related power operated valve actuators, and where the NRC determines 
that the safety review must include consideration of the qualification 
of the valve actuators. Further information on the staff's use of the 
draft regulatory guide, if finalized, is contained in the RG under 
section D. Implementation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of April 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-10255 Filed 4-30-13; 8:45 am]
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