[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 136 (Friday, July 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46117-46118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16767]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0220]


Seismic Design Classification 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 5 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.29, ``Seismic Design 
Classification for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG describes a method 
that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for use in identifying 
and classifying those features of light-water-reactor (LWR) nuclear 
power plants that must be designed to withstand the

[[Page 46118]]

effects of the safe-shutdown earthquake (SSE).

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0220 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-2015-0220. 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 ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document. Revision 5 of RG 1.29, is available in ADAMS under Accession 
No. ML16118A148. The regulatory analysis is also available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML15131A397.
     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: Yiu Law, Office of New Reactors, 
telephone: 301-415-0523, email: [email protected], and Edward O'Donnell, 
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3317, email: 
Edward.O'[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 staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the staff needs in 
its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 5 of RG 1.29 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1315. Revision 5 of RG 1.29 contains minor 
non-substantive changes that do not present new regulatory 
requirements, but clarifies content in Section C, ``Staff Regulatory 
Guidance,'' by (1) addition of a reference to the definition of the 
reactor coolant pressure boundary in section 50.2 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), and (2) a reorganization of 
systems and subsystems to add clarity to the staff guidance. In 
addition, it adds a reference to a related international standard, and 
it was reformatted to align with the current program guidance for 
regulatory guides.

II. Additional Information

    The DG-1315 was published in the Federal Register (80 FR 55878) on 
September 17, 2015 for a 60-day public comment period. Public comments 
on DG-1315 and the staff's responses to the public comments are 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16118A149.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    The RG 1.29 describes a method that the staff of the NRC considers 
acceptable for use in identifying and classifying those features of LWR 
nuclear power plants that must be designed to withstand the effects of 
the SSE. Issuance of this 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, 
combined licenses, early site permits, and certified design rules 
docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the final regulatory 
guide, as well as future applications submitted after the issuance of 
the regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in the Backfit Rule or be 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 8th day of July 2016.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carol E. Moyer,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-16767 Filed 7-14-16; 8:45 am]
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