[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61043-61044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27661]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2017-0237]


Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation 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-1335, ``Criteria for 
Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Plants.'' The DG-
1335 is proposed revision 5 of regulatory guide (RG) 1.97, (same 
title), last revised in June 2006 (Revision 4). This guide describes an 
approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to meet regulatory 
requirements for instrumentation to monitor accidents in nuclear power 
plants. It endorses, with clarifications, the Institute of Electrical 
and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Standard (Std.) 497-2016, ``IEEE 
Standard Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear 
Power Generating Stations.''

DATES: Submit comments by February 26, 2018. 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0237. 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: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: OWFN-12H08, 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.

[[Page 61044]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pong Chung, telephone: 301-415-2363, 
email: [email protected]; and Stephen Burton, telephone: 301-415-7000, 
email: [email protected]. Both are staff members 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-2017-0237 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0237.
     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. 
ML17083A134. The regulatory analysis for this DG is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML17083A133.
     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-2017-0237 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    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 entering 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 ``Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation 
for Nuclear Power Plants,'' is proposed revision 5 to RG 1.97. The 
proposed revised RG is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-
1335. The DG provides a more technology-neutral approach and brings the 
regulatory guide more in line with related international standards. 
This revision introduces a new set of variables for parameters that may 
be monitored when following severe accident management guidelines. The 
NRC staff determined that RG 1.97 should be revised to endorse the 2016 
version of IEEE Std. 497, with certain exceptions and clarifications, 
and to make additional clarifying changes to support new reactor 
license applications, design certifications, and applications for 
license amendments.
    Revising RG 1.97 to endorse the current version of the IEEE 
consensus standard is in accordance with Section 12(a)(2) of Public Law 
104-113, ``National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995,'' 
(codified at 15 U.S.C. 272(b)(3)) and is consistent with the NRC policy 
of evaluating the latest versions of national consensus standards to 
determine their suitability for endorsement by regulatory guides. This 
revision also will comply with the NRC's Management Directive (MD) 6.5, 
``NRC Participation in the Development and Use of Consensus Standards'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16193A497).
    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 website at 
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/index.html.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Draft regulatory guide DG-1335, if finalized as revision 5 to RG 
1.97, would endorse, with certain exceptions and clarifications, the 
2016 revision of IEEE Std. 497, which contains a more technology-
neutral approach and brings current guidance more in line with related 
international standards. This revision introduces a new set of 
variables for parameters that may be monitored when following severe 
accident management guidelines. Applicants and licensees may 
voluntarily use the guidance in DG-1335, if finalized as revision 5 to 
RG 1.97, to demonstrate compliance with the underlying NRC regulations. 
Current licensees may continue to use guidance the NRC found previously 
acceptable for complying with the identified regulations as long as 
their current licensing basis remains unchanged. As such, this 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.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December 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. 2017-27661 Filed 12-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P