[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2525-2526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00708]



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 Rules and Regulations
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2018 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 2525]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[NRC-2011-0088]
RIN 3150-AI97


Incorporation by Reference of American Society of Mechanical 
Engineers Codes and Code Cases; Correction

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a final 
rule in the Federal Register on July 18, 2017, to incorporate by 
reference recent editions of and addenda to the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Codes for nuclear power plants. The final 
rule contained a minor error when referring to a table related to 
certification requirements for non-destructive examination personnel. 
In addition, the final rule contained a minor error in a requirement 
for check valve monitoring. This document corrects the final rule by 
revising the section that contains these errors.

DATES: This correction is effective January 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0088 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may 
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0088. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For questions, contact the 
individual 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 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]. 
There are no NRC documents referenced in this document.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Bladey, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3280; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC published a final rule in the 
Federal Register on July 18, 2017 (82 FR 32934), to incorporate by 
reference recent editions of and addenda to the ASME Codes for nuclear 
power plants in chapter I of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR). The final rule contained a minor error when 
referring to a table related to certification requirements for non-
destructive examination personnel. The final rule inadvertently 
prohibited the use of the entire appendix containing the table instead 
of prohibiting only the table and subarticle as intended. The final 
rule also contained a minor error in the requirement for check valve 
monitoring in 10 CFR 50.55a(b)(3)(iv) by referencing an incorrect 
edition of the ASME Code for Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power 
Plants (OM Code). In particular, the final rule amended 10 CFR 
50.55a(b)(3)(iv) to state that licensees applying Appendix II, 1998 
Edition through the 2012 Edition of the ASME OM Code shall satisfy the 
requirements of paragraphs (b)(3)(iv)(A), (B), and (D). This 
requirement should have applied only to the 1998 Edition through the 
2002 Addenda of the ASME OM Code, because the remaining portion of 10 
CFR 50.55a(b)(3)(iv) addresses the check valve provisions effective 
after the 2002 Addenda of the ASME OM Code. This document corrects the 
final rule by revising the section that contains these errors.

Rulemaking Procedure

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)), an agency 
may waive the normal notice and comment requirements if it finds, for 
good cause, that they are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to 
the public interest. As authorized by 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), the NRC 
finds good cause to waive notice and opportunity for comment on this 
amendment because the corrections will have no substantive impact and 
are of a minor and administrative nature dealing with an error in a 
reference to a table in a document being incorporated by reference and 
an error when referring to a specific edition of the ASME OM Code.
    As discussed in the statement of considerations on page 56826 of 
the proposed rule (80 FR 56820; September 18, 2015) and on page 32942 
of the final rule (82 FR 32934; July 18, 2017), the NRC intended to 
prohibit the use of a table and subarticle with an accelerated training 
process for ultrasonic examination nondestructive examination 
personnel. The rule language inadvertently prohibited the use of the 
entire appendix, and this amendment corrects the error by prohibiting 
the use of the table and subarticle only.
    As discussed in the statement of considerations on page 56832 of 
the proposed rule (80 FR 56820; September 18, 2015) and on page 32950 
of the final rule (82 FR 32934; July 18, 2017), the NRC intended that a 
specific requirement for check valve monitoring in 10 CFR 
50.55a(b)(3)(iv) apply only to the 1998 Edition through the 2002 
Addenda of the ASME OM Code. The final rule inadvertently referenced 
the 2012 Edition of the ASME OM Code in this requirement rather than 
the 2002 Addenda. This amendment corrects the error by replacing ``2012 
Edition'' with ``2002 Addenda'' in the second sentence of the 
introductory text of 10 CFR 50.55a(b)(3)(iv).
    This amendment does not require action by any person or entity 
regulated by the NRC. Also, the final rule does not change the 
substantive responsibilities of any person or entity regulated by the 
NRC. Furthermore, for the reasons stated above, the NRC finds, pursuant 
to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), that good cause

[[Page 2526]]

exists to make this rule effective upon publication of this notice.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 50

    Administrative practice and procedure, Antitrust, Classified 
information, Criminal penalties, Education, Fire prevention, Fire 
protection, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, 
Nuclear power plants and reactors, Penalties, Radiation protection, 
Reactor siting criteria, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Whistleblowing.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553, the NRC is adopting 
the following amendments to 10 CFR part 50:

PART 50--DOMESTIC LICENSING OF PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION 
FACILITIES

0
1. The authority citation for part 50 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 11, 101, 102, 103, 
104, 105, 108, 122, 147, 149, 161, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 
187, 189, 223, 234 (42 U.S.C. 2014, 2131, 2132, 2133, 2134, 2135, 
2138, 2152, 2167, 2169, 2201, 2231, 2232, 2233, 2234, 2235, 2236, 
2237, 2239, 2273, 2282); Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, secs. 
201, 202, 206, 211 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846, 5851); Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1982, sec. 306 (42 U.S.C. 10226); National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); 44 U.S.C. 3504 
note; Sec. 109, Pub. L. 96-295, 94 Stat. 783.


0
2. Amend Sec.  50.55a by revising paragraph (b)(2)(xviii)(D) and the 
introductory text of paragraph (b)(3)(iv) to read as follows:


Sec.  50.55a   Codes and standards.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (xviii) * * *
    (D) NDE personnel certification: Fourth provision. The use of 
Appendix VII, Table VII-4110-1 and Appendix VIII, Subarticle VIII-2200 
of the 2011 Addenda and 2013 Edition of Section XI of the ASME BPV Code 
is prohibited. When using ASME BPV Code, Section XI editions and 
addenda later than the 2010 Edition, licensees and applicants must use 
the prerequisites for ultrasonic examination personnel certifications 
in Appendix VII, Table VII-4110-1 and Appendix VIII, Subarticle VIII-
2200 in the 2010 Edition.
* * * * *
    (3) * * *
    (iv) OM condition: Check valves (Appendix II). Licensees applying 
Appendix II, ``Check Valve Condition Monitoring Program,'' of the ASME 
OM Code, 1995 Edition with the 1996 and 1997 Addenda, shall satisfy the 
requirements of paragraphs (b)(3)(iv)(A) through (C) of this section. 
Licensees applying Appendix II, 1998 Edition through the 2002 Addenda, 
shall satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (b)(3)(iv)(A), (B), and 
(D) of this section. Appendix II of the ASME OM Code, 2003 Addenda 
through the 2012 Edition, is acceptable for use with the following 
requirements. Trending and evaluation shall support the determination 
that the valve or group of valves is capable of performing its intended 
function(s) over the entire interval. At least one of the Appendix II 
condition monitoring activities for a valve group shall be performed on 
each valve of the group at approximate equal intervals not to exceed 
the maximum interval shown in the following table:

  Table II--Maximum Intervals for Use When Applying Interval Extensions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Maximum
                                                             interval
                             Maximum interval between         between
       Group size         activities of member valves in   activities of
                                the groups (years)         each valve in
                                                             the group
                                                              (years)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>=4.....................  4.5...........................              16
3.......................  4.5...........................              12
2.......................  6.............................              12
1.......................  Not applicable................              10
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of January, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cindy Bladey,
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Rulemaking Support Branch, Division of 
Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-00708 Filed 1-17-18; 8:45 am]
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