[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 48 (Monday, March 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 10755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04828]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2017-0130]


Qualification of Safety-Related Lead Storage Batteries for 
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 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.158, ``Qualification of Safety-
Related Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Nuclear Power Plants.'' 
RG 1.158 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 also for batteries with duty cycles longer than 8 
hours.

DATES: Revision 1 to RG 1.158 is available on March 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0130 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-2017-0130. 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.
     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: Lilliana Ramadan, telephone: 301-415-
2463, email: [email protected], or Stephen Burton, telephone: 
301-415-7000, 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. Discussion

    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 NRC staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs 
in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 1 of RG 1.158 was issued with a temporary identification 
of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1338. This revision provides updated 
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.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1338 in the 
Federal Register on May 31, 2017 (82 FR 24996) for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on July 31, 2017. 
Public comments on DG-1338 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available under ADAMS under Accession No. ML17256A103.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG 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 1 to RG 1.158 endorses, 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.
    Issuance of Revision 1 to RG 1.158 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, 
``Licenses, Certifications and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' 
The subject of this 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 provisions in 
10 CFR part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of March 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. 2018-04828 Filed 3-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P