[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6243-6244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02870]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0024]


Fire Protection for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; revision.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.189, ``Fire Protection for 
Nuclear Power Plants.'' Revision 3 of RG 1.189 includes administrative 
changes involving editorial corrections that make the document 
consistent with existing policy. None of the revisions involve changes 
to the staff regulatory positions. This guide describes a method that 
the NRC staff considers acceptable to meet regulatory requirements for 
fire protection in nuclear power plants.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0024 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0024. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 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 
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. RG 1.189 is available at ADAMS Accession No. ML17340A875.

[[Page 6244]]

     NRC's Public Document Room: You may examine and purchase 
copies of public documents at the NRC's Public Document 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: Daniel Frumkin, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulations, telephone: 301-415-2280, email: 
[email protected]; or Stanley Gardocki, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-1067, email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff members of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. Regulatory guides were developed to 
describe and make available to the public information 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 problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff 
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The NRC is issuing Revision 3 of RG 1.189 directly as a final RG, 
because the changes between Revision 2 and Revision 3 are 
administrative and non-substantive. Revision 3 of RG 1.189 also updated 
the guide to the current program guidance for RGs. The NRC added 
language to Section 1, ``Fire Protection Program,'' to clarify the 
primary objectives of fire protection plans.
    Since the issuance of Revision 2 of RG 1.189 in 2009, the NRC 
issued a Regulatory Issuance Summary to inform licensees that 
Inspection Manual Part 9900, Technical Guidance (TG 9900), 
``Operability Determinations & Functionality Assessments for Resolution 
of Degraded and Nonconforming Conditions Adverse to Quality and 
Safety,'' was reissued as Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0326, 
``Operability Determinations and Functionality Assessments for 
Conditions to Quality or Safety,'' dated January 31, 2014. Revision 3 
of RG 1.189 now includes a reference to IMC 0326 (see Section 1.5, 
``Compensatory Measures'').
    Revision 3 of RG 1.189 also corrects typographic errors that 
previously appeared in Section 1.7.7, ``Nonconforming Items,'' Section 
1.7.4, ``Inspection,'' Section 2.1.1, ``Transient Fire Hazards,'' 
Section 3.2.1, ``Fire Protection Water Supply,'' and Section 3.2.3, 
``Fire Mains.'' Previously, these errors occurred during publishing of 
the final regulatory guide, when several paragraphs were incorrectly 
indented, resulting in incorrect sub-bullet numbering. These changes 
are intended to improve clarity and do not substantially alter the 
staff's regulatory guidance.

II. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this final RG does not constitute backfitting as 
defined in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), (the Backfit Rule), and is not otherwise 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The 
changes in Revision 3 of RG 1.189 are limited to editorial changes to 
improve clarity and correct errors. These changes do not fall within 
the kinds of agency actions that constitute backfitting or are subject 
to limitations in the issue finality provisions of 10 CFR part 52. 
Accordingly, the NRC did not address the Backfit Rule or issue finality 
provisions of 10 CFR part 52.

III. Congressional Review Act

    Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide 1.189 is not a rule as defined in 
the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808).

IV. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

    Revision 3 of RG 1.189 is being issued without public comment. 
However, a member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to 
the NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new 
RGs to address new issues. Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's 
public website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. Suggestions will be considered in future updates 
and enhancements to the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of February 2018.

    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. 2018-02870 Filed 2-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P