[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45311-45312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16553]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0202]


Protection Against Extreme Wind Events and Missiles for 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 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.117, Protection Against Extreme 
Wind Events and Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG describes 
an approach that the NRC staff considers acceptable for identifying 
those structures, systems, and components of light water cooled 
reactors that should be protected from the effects of the worst case 
extreme winds and wind-generated missiles, so they remain functional.

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.117 is available on July 13, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0202 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-2015-0202. 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 (if it is available 
in

[[Page 45312]]

ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document. Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide 1.117, and the regulatory 
analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15356A213 and 
ML14356A106, respectively.
     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: Gordon Curran, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-1247, email: [email protected]; and Stephen Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, 
telephone: 301-415-7000, email: [email protected]. Both are staff 
members 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 1.117 was issued with a temporary identification 
of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1313. This guide is being revised to 
address new issues identified since the NRC originally issued the 
guide. As indicated in RG 1.76, ``Design Basis Tornado and Tornado 
Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML070360253), 
tornado wind speeds may not bound hurricane wind speeds for certain 
portions of the Atlantic and gulf coasts. In this case, the structures, 
systems, and components should be designed to withstand the effects of 
the design basis hurricane and hurricane-generated missiles so that 
they remain functional, as defined in RG 1.221, ``Design Basis 
Hurricane and Hurricane Missiles for Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML110940300). In addition, the title has been updated to 
better reflect the purpose of the guidance.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of Availability of DG-1313 in the 
Federal Register on August 28, 2015 (80 FR 52346), for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on October 27, 2015. 
Public comments on DG-1313 and the NRC staff's responses to the public 
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15356A214.

 III. 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.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This regulatory guide describes methods and procedures that the 
staff considers acceptable for use in identifying those structures, 
systems, and components (SSCs) of light water cooled reactors that 
should be protected from the effects of the worst case extreme winds 
and wind-generated missiles, so that they remain functional. Although 
not expressly stated in DG-1313, the regulatory guidance in this 
regulatory guide is directed at applicants for nuclear power reactor 
construction permits and operating licenses under part 50 of title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), applicants for standard 
design certifications under subpart B of 10 CFR part 52, and combined 
licenses under subpart C of part 52.
    This 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.'' Applicants and potential 
applicants are not, with certain exceptions, protected by either the 
Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions under part 52. Neither 
the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality provisions under part 52--with 
certain exclusions discussed below--were intended to apply to every NRC 
action that substantially changes the expectations of current and 
future applicants.
    The exceptions to the general principle are applicable whenever a 
combined license applicant references a part 52 license (i.e., an early 
site permit or a manufacturing license) and/or part 52 regulatory 
approval (i.e., a design certification rule or design approval). The 
NRC staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions 
represented in the regulatory guide in a manner that is inconsistent 
with any issue finality provisions in these part 52 licenses and 
regulatory approvals. If, in the future, the staff seeks to impose a 
position in this regulatory guide in a manner that does not provide 
issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision, 
then the NRC staff must address the issue finality criteria in the 
applicable issue finality provision (10 CFR 52.63 for standard design 
certification rules, and 10 CFR 52.98 for combined licenses).
    Existing licensees and applicants of final design certification 
rules will not be required to comply with the positions set forth in 
this regulatory guide unless the licensee or design certification rule 
applicant seeks a voluntary change to its licensing basis with respect 
to the inclusion or exclusion of SSCs that must be protected against 
extreme winds and extreme wind effects. In such cases, backfitting and 
issue finality will not apply if the NRC determines that the safety 
review of the licensee-initiated or applicant-initiated change must 
include reconsideration of the methods and procedures used in 
identifying those SSCs. Further information on the staff's use of the 
regulatory guide is contained in the regulatory guide under Section D. 
Implementation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of July, 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-16553 Filed 7-12-16; 8:45 am]
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