[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10505-10506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02864]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0161]


Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals 
During Preoperational and Startup Testing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 4 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.20, ``Comprehensive Vibration 
Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During Preoperational and 
Startup Testing.'' This RG describes methods and procedures that the 
NRC staff considers acceptable when developing a comprehensive 
vibration assessment program for reactor internals during 
preoperational and startup testing.

DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.20 is available on February 13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0161 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-2015-0161. 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 4 to Regulatory Guide 1.20, and the regulatory 
analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML16056A338 and 
ML15083A388, 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: Thomas Scarbrough, Office of New 
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-2794, email: [email protected]; 
Yuken Wong, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301-415-0500, email: 
[email protected], and Stephen Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, telephone: 301-15-7000, email: [email protected]. All 
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 4 of RG 1.20 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1323. This revision expands the guidance 
related to flow-induced vibration, acoustic resonance, acoustic-induced 
vibration, and mechanical-induced vibration for boiling water reactor, 
pressurized water reactor, and small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear 
power plants. For SMRs, this includes guidance for the control rod 
drive system and control rod drive mechanisms, which might be contained 
in an integral reactor vessel module. The additional guidance in 
Revision 4 is based in part on lessons learned from the review of 
recent applications, including both new plant applications and extended 
power uprate applications. In addition, Revision 4 re-

[[Page 10506]]

defines and clarifies the prototype, limited prototype, and non-
prototype classifications of reactor internal configurations.

II. Additional Information

    The DG-1323 was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2015 
(80 FR 38239) for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment 
period closed on August 31, 2015. Public comments on DG-1323 and the 
NRC staff responses to the public comments are available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML16056A341.

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

    Issuance of this regulatory guide 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. This 
regulatory guide does not apply to any nuclear reactor construction 
permits or operating licenses under 10 CFR part 50, design 
certifications and combined licenses under 10 CFR part 52, or license 
amendment requests for extended power uprates at operating reactors 
already issued by the NRC prior to issuance of the regulatory guide. 
The NRC has already completed its review of the comprehensive vibration 
assessment programs (CVAPs) for power reactor internals for these 
construction permits, operating licenses, design certifications, 
combined operating licenses, and license amendments for extended power 
uprates. Therefore, no further NRC regulatory action with respect to 
CVAPs will occur for those licenses, permits, certifications, and 
authorizations for which the guidance in the regulatory guide is 
relevant, absent voluntary action by the licensees to use the guidance 
to demonstrate compliance with the underlying NRC regulations. The 
regulatory guide may be applied to applications for construction 
permits, operating licenses, design certifications, combined licenses, 
and license amendments for extended power uprates, any of which are 
docketed and under review by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the 
regulatory guide. The regulatory guide may also be applied to 
applications for construction permits, operating licenses, design 
certifications, combined licenses, and license amendments for extended 
power uprates, any of which are submitted after the issuance of the 
regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) and is not otherwise inconsistent with 
the applicable issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52 because such 
applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, 
protected by either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions 
under 10 CFR part 52. This is because neither the Backfit Rule nor the 
issue finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with certain exclusions 
discussed below--was 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 an applicant references a 10 CFR part 52 license (e.g., an 
early site permit), NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design 
certification rule), or both, with specified issue finality provisions. 
The NRC 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. If, in the future, the staff seeks 
to impose a position in the regulatory guide in a manner that does not 
provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality 
provision, then the staff must address the criteria for avoiding issue 
finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of February, 2017.

    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. 2017-02864 Filed 2-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P