[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24996-24997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11223]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2017-0130]


Qualification of Safety-Related Vented Lead-Acid Storage 
Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1338, ``Qualification of 
Safety-Related Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' DG-1338 is proposed revision 1 of regulatory guide (RG) 
1.158, ``Qualification of Safety-Related Lead Storage Batteries for 
Nuclear Power Plants'' dated February 1989. DG-1338 endorses (with 
clarifying regulatory positions) the Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard (Std.) 535-2013, ``IEEE Standard 
for Qualification of Class 1E Vented Lead Acid Storage Batteries for 
Nuclear Power Generating Stations.'' IEEE 535-2013 contains procedures 
for qualifying batteries with duty cycles of less than 8 hours and 
batteries with duty cycles longer than 8 hours.

DATES: Submit comments by July 31, 2017. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is 
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID: NRC-2017-0130. 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.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: TWFN-08C22, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lilliana Ramadan, telephone: 301-415-
2463, email: [email protected], or Mark Orr, telephone: 301-415-
6003, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0130 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this action. You may 
obtain publically-available information related to this action, by any 
of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0130.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents 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 
DG is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML16337A005. The regulatory analysis for this DG is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML16340A112.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2017-0130 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enters the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG 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 
NRC'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.
    The DG, entitled ``Qualification of Safety-Related Vented Lead-Acid 
Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power

[[Page 24997]]

Plants,'' is proposed revision 1 to RG 1.158. The proposed revised RG 
is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1338. The proposed 
revised RG provides more current guidance on the methods and type-test 
procedures for two different battery applications. One application is 
for batteries with duty cycles equal to or less than 8 hours and the 
other application is for batteries with duty cycles longer than 8 
hours. The 2013 revision of IEEE Std. 535 provides a qualification 
process for both applications to ensure battery performance and 
provides a normative annex with example testing regimens. The NRC staff 
determined that RG 1.158 should be revised to endorse the 2013 version 
of IEEE Std. 535 to support new reactor license applications, design 
certifications, and applications for license amendments.
    Copies of IEEE documents may be purchased from the Institute of 
Electrical and Electronics Engineers Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, PO 
Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855 or through the IEEE's public Web site at 
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/index.html.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Draft regulatory guide DG-1338, if finalized as revision 1 to RG 
1.158, would endorse, with certain clarifications, the 2013 revision of 
IEEE Std. 535 which refines the methods and type-test procedures for 
two different battery applications. One application is for batteries 
with duty cycles equal to or less than 8 hours and the other 
application is for batteries with duty cycles longer than 8 hours. The 
2013 revision of IEEE Std. 535 demonstrates and outlines the qualifying 
process for both applications to ensure battery performance. It also 
provides a comprehensive document for qualifying batteries with 
additional normative annexes. The draft regulatory guide, if finalized, 
would 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.'' The subject of this draft regulatory guide, 
as described above, is an NRC-defined process which does not fall 
within the purview of subjects covered by either the Backfit Rule or 
the issue finality provision in 10 CFR part 52. Issuance of the draft 
regulatory guide, in final form, would not constitute backfitting, and 
no further consideration of backfitting is required in order to issue 
the draft or final regulatory guide in final form.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of May 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. 2017-11223 Filed 5-30-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P