[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 217 (Friday, November 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67206-67207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26835]


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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: Revision to regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
revision 1 to regulatory guide (RG) 1.73, ``Qualification Tests for 
Safety-Related Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG is being 
revised to provide applicants and licensees with the most current 
information on testing safety-related actuators in nuclear power 
plants. This RG 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.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0129 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this document 
using 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: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected].
     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 1 of RG 1.73 is available in ADAMS under Accession 
No. ML13210A463. The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML12219A400.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine for free or 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: Darrell Murdock (email: 
[email protected]) or Mark Orr (email: [email protected]); 
telephone 301-415-7000, 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

[[Page 67207]]

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.
    Revision 1 of RG 1.73 provides applicants and licensees with the 
most current information on testing safety-related actuators in nuclear 
power plants. The current version of RG 1.73, ``Qualification Tests of 
Electric Valve Operators Installed Inside the Containment of Nuclear 
Power Plants'' was issued January 1974. It endorses 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 updated three times, in 1985, 1996, and 2006. However, the RG has 
not been updated since 1974. This revision updates RG 1.73 to endorse 
the current version of IEEE Std. 382-2006, ``Standard for Qualification 
of Safety-Related Actuators for

II. Additional Information

    Revision 1 of RG 1.73 was issued for public comment as draft 
regulatory guide (DG)-1235, ``Qualification Tests for Safety-Related 
Actuators in Nuclear Power Plants'' on May 1, 2013, (78 FR 25488) for a 
60 day public comment period. The public comment period closed on June 
28, 2013 and 2 sets of comments were received. These comments resulted 
in revisions to the final RG. The comments and the NRC staff response 
are available in ADAMS at Accession No. ML13210A462.

III. Congressional Review Act

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

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final RG 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 RG, the NRC has no 
current intention to impose this RG on holders of current operating 
licenses or combined licenses.
    This RG may be applied to applications for operating licenses and 
combined licenses docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the 
final RG, as well as future applications for operating licenses and 
combined licenses submitted after the issuance of the RG. Such action 
does not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 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 24th day of October 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guide Development Branch, Division of Engineering, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2013-26835 Filed 11-7-13; 8:45 am]
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