[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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