[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