[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33132-33133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13090]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0072]


Quality Verification for Plate-Type Uranium-Aluminum Fuel 
Elements for Use in Research and Test Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
revision to Regulatory Guide (RG) 2.3, ``Quality Verification for 
Plate-Type Uranium-Aluminum Fuel Elements for Use in Research and Test 
Reactors.'' This guide describes a method that the staff of the NRC 
considers acceptable for complying with the Commission's regulations 
concerning establishing and executing a quality assurance program for 
verifying the quality of plate-type uranium-aluminum fuel elements used 
in research and test reactors (RTRs).

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0072 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-2012-0072. 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]. 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

[[Page 33133]]

document is referenced. Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide 2.3 is available 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML12160A492. The regulatory analysis may 
be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML12160A494.
     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.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-251-7477; email: 
[email protected], or Geoffrey Wertz, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0893; email: [email protected],

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public information such as 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.
    Revision 2 of RG 2.3 was issued with a temporary identification as 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-2005. This guide describes a method that the 
staff of the NRC considers acceptable for complying with the 
Commission's regulations concerning establishing and executing a 
quality assurance program for verifying the quality of plate-type 
uranium-aluminum fuel elements used in RTRs. This guide describes 
methods that the NRC's staff considers acceptable to implement Section 
50.34(a)(7) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
which requires each applicant for a construction permit to build a 
production or utilization facility to describe in its preliminary 
safety analysis report the quality assurance program that will be 
applied to the design, fabrication, construction, and testing of the 
facility's structures, systems, and components.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published DG-2005 in the Federal Register on March 22, 2012 
(77 FR 16868) for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment 
period closed on May 21, 2012. Public comments on DG-2005 and the NRC 
staff responses to the public comments are available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML12160A496.

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. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The NRC's backfit provisions are found in its regulations at 10 CFR 
50.109, 70.76, 72.62, and 76.76, and its issue finality provisions are 
located in 10 CFR part 52. Under Section 50.2, non-power reactors are 
research or test reactors licensed in accordance with Sections 103 or 
104.c of the AEA and 10 CFR 50.21(c) or 50.22 for research and 
development. Accordingly, the backfit provisions of Part 50 would be 
the only backfit provisions potentially implicated by the issuance of 
this regulatory guide. The NRC has determined that the backfit 
provisions in Section 50.109 do not apply to test, research, or 
training reactors because the rulemaking record for Section 50.109 
indicates that the Commission intended to apply this provision to only 
power reactors, and NRC practice has been consistent with this 
rulemaking record. The Part 52 issue finality provisions do not apply 
to test, research, or training reactors because these reactors are not 
licensed under Part 52. Therefore, no backfit determination need be 
made regarding the issuance of this regulatory guide.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd 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. 2013-13090 Filed 5-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P