[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30469-30470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13876]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0131]


Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at 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-1336, ``Monitoring the 
Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants.'' This proposed 
guide, Revision 4, has been revised to addresses new issues identified 
since Revision 3 of RG 1.160 was issued and endorses with clarification 
NUMARC 93-01, ``Industry Guidelines for Monitoring the Effectiveness of 
Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants,'' Revision 4F. The proposed 
revision describes methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for 
compliance with the requirements for monitoring the effectiveness of 
maintenance at nuclear power plants.

DATES: Submit comments by July 30, 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-2018-0131. 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.
     Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: TWFN-7A60, 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: Ami Agrawal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-8310, email: [email protected]; and 
Stephen Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-
415-7000, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the 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-2018-0131 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-2018-0131.
     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-1336 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18129A080.
     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-2018-0131 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 Maintenance Rule (Part 50.65 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR)) requires each holder of an operating license for 
a nuclear power plant under 10 CFR part 50 and each holder of a 
combined license under 10 CFR part 52 (after the Commission makes 
certain findings) to monitor the performance or condition of 
structures, systems, or components, against licensee-established goals, 
in a manner sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that in-scope 
structures, systems, and components intended functions. The Maintenance 
Rule also applies to nuclear power plant for which the licensee has 
submitted the certifications that it has ceased operating permanently, 
but limited to structures, systems, or components associated with the 
storage, control, and maintenance of spent fuel in a safe condition, in 
a manner sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that these 
structures, systems, and components are

[[Page 30470]]

capable of fulfilling their intended functions. Last, an application 
for a combined license shall contain a final safety analysis report 
that provides a description of the program, and its implementation, for 
monitoring the effectiveness of maintenance necessary to meet the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.65.
    The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) is submit revision 4F of NUMARC 
93-01, ``Industry Guideline for Monitoring the Effectiveness of 
Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants'' for endorsement. NEI explained 
that NUMARC 93-01 was developed to establish an acceptable approach for 
licensees to meet the Maintenance Rule. Revision 4F of NUMARC 93-01 
addresses the application of the Maintenance Rule to the use of diverse 
and flexible coping strategies (FLEX) support guidelines (FSGs) in 
plant emergency operating procedures (EOPs), as well as some other 
minor wording changes.
    The DG, entitled, ``Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' is a proposed revision temporarily identified 
by its task number, DG-1336. DG-1336 is proposed revision 4 of RG 
1.160, ``Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' The NRC's proposed revision to RG 1.160 would endorse with 
clarification NUMARC 93-01 Revision 4F. The NRC finds that endorsement 
would be beneficial in that the agency positions with respect to FLEX 
equipment, the Maintenance Rule, and Revision 4F of NUMARC 93-01 would 
be readily understood.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This DG describes methods acceptable to the staff of the NRC for 
demonstrating compliance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.65, 
``Requirements for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Maintenance at 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' of 10 CFR part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities.'' As discussed in Section D. 
``Implementation'' of this DG, the NRC does not intend to impose this 
guide, if finalized, on applicants for, or holders of, licenses.
    This DG may be applied to applications for combined licenses under 
10 CFR part 52 docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the 
final regulatory guide, as well as future applications submitted after 
the issuance of the regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in the 10 CFR 50.109 or be otherwise 
inconsistent with the applicable issue finality provision in 10 CFR 
part 52, inasmuch as such applicants or potential applicants, with 
certain exceptions, are not within the scope of entities that are the 
subject of the Backfit Rule or an issue finality provision in 10 CFR 
part 52. However, the scope of backfitting and issue finality extends 
only to the matters resolved in the license or regulatory approval. The 
matters addressed in this DG (concerning monitoring the effectiveness 
of maintenance at nuclear power plants) has not previously been 
proposed to be for a construction permit, design certification rule, or 
standard design approval. Therefore, the extent to which an applicant 
can rely on a backfitting or issue finality provision is limited to the 
extent that the applicant has addressed the matters in this regulatory 
guide during the review and approval of the construction permit, design 
certification rule, or standard design approval.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of June, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Edward O'Donnell,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2018-13876 Filed 6-27-18; 8:45 am]
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