[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12129-12130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03890]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2015-0091]
Quality Group Classifications and Standards for Water-, Steam-,
and Radioactive-Waste-Containing Components of 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 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.26, ``Quality Group
Classifications and Standards for Water-, Steam-, and Radioactive-
Waste-Containing Components of Nuclear Power Plants.'' This guidance
has been revised to update references to related NRC's guidance, to
incorporate lessons learned from recent NRC reviews and regulatory
activities, and to align the format and content of the guide with the
current program guidance for RGs which was developed since Revision 4
of RG 1.26 was issued.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0091 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-2015-0091. 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 Regulatory Guide 1.26, and the regulatory
analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML16082A501 and
ML14356A247, 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: Tuan Le, Office of New Reactors,
telephone: 301-415-2297, email: [email protected]; or 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:
[[Page 12130]]
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 1.26 was issued with a temporary identification as
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1314. This guidance has been revised to
update references to related NRC guidance, to incorporate lessons
learned from recent NRC reviews and regulatory activities, and to align
the format and content of the guide with the current program guidance
for regulatory guides (RGs) which was developed since Revision 4 of RG
1.26 was issued.
II. Additional Information
The DG-1314, was published in the Federal Register on April 16,
2015 (80 FR 20511), for a 60-day public comment period. The public
comment period closed on June 15, 2015. No public comments were
received on DG-1314.
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
Revision 5 of RG 1.26 describes a quality classification system
related to specified national standards that may be used to determine
quality standards acceptable to the NRC staff for satisfying General
Design Criterion (GDC) 1, ``Quality Standards and Records,'' as set
forth in appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power
Plants,'' to part 50 title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,''
for components containing water, steam, or radioactive material in
light-water-cooled nuclear power plants. 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 22nd day of February, 2017.
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. 2017-03890 Filed 2-27-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P