[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8254-8255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03346]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0011]


Criteria and Design Features for Inspection of Water-Control 
Structures Associated With Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory Guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.127, ``Criteria and Design 
Features for Inspection of Water-Control Structures Associated with 
Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG describes a method that the staff of 
the NRC considers acceptable for designing water-control structures 
(e.g., dams, slopes, canals, reservoirs, and associated conveyance 
facilities) such that periodic inspections may be performed. In 
addition, this guide describes an acceptable inspection and monitoring 
program for water-control structures. Water-control structures include 
those used in the emergency cooling water system and those relied upon 
for flood protection.

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.127 is available on February 18, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0011 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publically-available information related to this document 
using the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0011. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Document collection 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 2 of RG 1.127, is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML15107A412. The regulatory analysis may be found 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML093060317.
     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: Robert Pettis, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3214, email: 
[email protected], Kenneth Karwoski, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2752, email: [email protected], 
or Mark Orr, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-
6003, email: [email protected]. All are on the staff of the 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 regarding methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
agency's regulations, techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs 
in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 2 of RG 1.127 was issued with a temporary identification 
as Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1245. The RG is being updated to provide 
licensees and applicants with the most current guidance and to help 
ensure that applicants and licensees are able to demonstrate compliance 
with the applicable regulations.

[[Page 8255]]

II. Additional Information

    DG-1245 was published in the Federal Register on January 23, 2015 
(80 FR 3661) for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment 
period closed on March 24, 2015. Public comments on DG-1245 and the 
staff responses to the public comments are available under ADAMS 
Accession No. ML15107A414.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG 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.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This RG does not constitute backfitting as defined in section 
50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (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.'' This RG provides guidance on one 
possible means for meeting NRC's regulatory requirements for developing 
appropriate Inservice Inspection Programs (ISI) and surveillance 
programs for dams, slopes, canals, and other water-control structures 
associated with emergency cooling and flood protection water systems as 
required by General Design Criterion 45, ``Inspection of Cooling Water 
System,'' of Appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' to 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and 
Utilization Facilities.''
    Existing licensees and applicants for standard design 
certifications will not be required to comply with the new positions 
set forth in this RG, unless the licensee or standard design 
certification applicant seeks a voluntary change to its licensing basis 
with respect to ISI or surveillance programs for water-control 
structures, and where the NRC determines that the safety review must 
include consideration of the ISI or surveillance program. Further 
information on the staff's use of the RG is contained in the RG under 
Section D. Implementation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of February, 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-03346 Filed 2-17-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P