[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58574-58575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23250]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2013-0048]
Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Storage
Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.129, ``Maintenance, Testing, and
Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power
Plants.'' The guide describes methods that the NRC staff considers
acceptable for use in complying with the agency's regulations with
regard to the maintenance, testing, and replacement of vented lead-acid
storage batteries in nuclear power plants.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0048 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access publicly-available information related to this action by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0048. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; 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 document is
referenced. Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.129 is available in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML13170A112. The regulatory analysis may be found
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13170A116.
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: Liliana Ramadan, telephone: 301-251-
7642; 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. 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.
The NRC developed RG 1.129 to describe a method that the NRC staff
considers acceptable for use in complying with the agency's regulations
with regard to the maintenance, testing, and replacement of vented
lead-acid storage batteries in nuclear power plants. Specifically, the
method described in this regulatory guide relates to General Design
Criteria (GDC) 1, 17, and 18 as set forth in appendix A, ``General
Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants,'' to part 50 of Title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities.''
The NRC issued Revision 3 of RG 1.129 with a temporary
identification as Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1269, in the Federal
Register on March 12, 2013 (78 FR 15753), for a 60-day public comment
period. The public comment period closed on May 13, 2013, and the NRC
staff's response to the comments can be found in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML13170A114.
RG 1.129, Revision 3 endorses (with certain clarifying regulatory
positions) the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Std 450-
[[Page 58575]]
2010, ``IEEE Recommended Practice for Maintenance, Testing, and
Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary
Applications.'' That standard is an update of IEEE Std 450-2002, which
formed the basis for RG 1.129, Revision 2. The revised IEEE Std 450-
2010 refines the condition monitoring guidance and the use of rate-
adjusted test methods for acceptance testing to ensure consistent
performance of vented lead-acid batteries. Among the changes in RG
1.129, Revision 3 from the prior version is the deletion of clarifying
regulatory positions 6 and 8. The former is addressed by IEEE 450-2010
and is not needed. The latter provides information on optional test
methods and, unless otherwise stated in a regulatory position, this
endorsement of IEEE-450-2010 does not apply to them. Therefore it is
superfluous.
Revision 3 of RG 1.129 represents the NRC staff's current guidance
for future users and applications. Earlier versions of this regulatory
guide, however, continue to be acceptable for those licensees whose
licensing basis includes earlier versions of this regulatory guide,
absent a licensee-initiated change to its licensing basis. Additional
information on the NRC staff's use of this revised regulatory guide
with respect to both current and future users and applications is set
forth in the ``Implementation'' section of the revised regulatory
guide.
II. Congressional Review Act
This regulatory guide is a rule as defined 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 defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
III. Backfitting and Issue Finality
Regulatory Guide 1.129, Revision 3, 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,
``Licenses, Certifications and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.''
Revision 3 of this regulatory guide provides guidance on one possible
means for meeting NRC's regulatory requirements with regard to the
maintenance, testing, and replacement of vented lead-acid storage
batteries in nuclear power plants in GDCs 1, 17 and 18, and the
qualification testing requirements of Criterion III of 10 CFR Part 50,
Appendix B. Existing licensees and applicants of final design
certification rules will not be required to comply with the positions
set forth in Revision 3 of this 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 Regulatory Guide 1.129,
Revision 3, is contained in the regulatory guide under section D.
Implementation.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of September, 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering,
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-23250 Filed 9-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P