[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P