[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 95 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28896-28897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11710]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2013-0095]


Design Limits and Loading Combinations for Metal Primary Reactor 
Containment System Components

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.57, ``Design Limits and Loading 
Combinations for Metal Primary Reactor Containment System Components,'' 
in which there are no substantive changes to the RG. The revision 
includes correction of a subsection title and editorial changes to 
improve clarity. This guide describes a method that the NRC staff 
considers acceptable for design limits and loading combinations for 
metal primary reactor containment system components.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0095 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, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0095. 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.
     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]. Revision 2 of Regulatory 
Guide 1.57 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML 12325A043.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's Public Document Room O1-F21, One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Rivera-Lugo, telephone: 301-
251-7652, email: [email protected]; or Edward O'Donnell, 
telephone: 301-251-7455, email: [email protected]. Both of the 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. Regulatory guides were developed to 
describe and make available to the public information 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. The NRC 
typically seeks public comment on a draft version of a regulatory guide 
by announcing its availability for comment in the Federal Register. 
However, as explained on page 7 of NRC Management Directive 6.6 
``Regulatory Guides,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML110330475) the NRC may 
directly issue a final regulatory guide without a draft version or 
public comment period if the changes to the regulatory guide are non-
substantive.
    The NRC is issuing Revision 2 of RG 1.57 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12325A043) directly as a final regulatory guide because the changes 
between Revision 1 and Revision 2 are non-substantive. The revision was 
to correct an error in a subsection title on page ten of Revision 1, 
which referred to the ultimate capacity of concrete containment 
structures when it should be steel containments, since metal primary 
reactor containment systems are the focus of this regulatory guide. In 
addition, Revision 1 specifically referred to Section 3.8.2, ``Steel 
Containment'' of NRC's Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety 
Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants, NUREG-0800) (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML100630179) without further elaboration on the application of the 
guidance. This was corrected by importing the guidance found in NUREG-
0800, Section 3, 8.2 into Revision 2 of RG 1.57. This did not change 
the staff's regulatory guidance. In addition, editorial changes were 
made to improve clarity and ADAMS Accession Numbers were added in the

[[Page 28897]]

reference section to facilitate public access to the documents.

II. 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. The changes in Revision 2 of RG 1.57 are limited to editorial 
changes to improve clarity and the correction of a title. These changes 
do not fall within the kinds of agency actions that constitute 
backfitting or are subject to limitations in the issue finality 
provisions of part 52. Accordingly, the NRC did not address the Backfit 
Rule or issue finality provisions of part 52.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This regulatory guide is a rule as designated in the Congressional 
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and 
Budget has not found it to be a major rule as designated in the 
Congressional Review Act.

IV. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

    Revision 2 of RG 1.57 is being issued without public comment. 
However, you may at any time submit suggestions to the NRC for 
improvement of existing regulatory guides or for the development of new 
regulatory guides to address new issues. Suggestions can be submitted 
by the form available online at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. Suggestions will be considered 
in future updates and enhancements of the regulatory guide.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of May, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-11710 Filed 5-15-13; 8:45 am]
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