[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2934-2935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-01556]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[[NRC-2019-0041]


Instrument Sensing Lines

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1352, ``Instrument 
Sensing Lines.'' DG-1352 describes an approach that is acceptable to 
the staff of the NRC to meet regulatory requirements for instrument 
sensing lines in nuclear power plants. The DG would endorse, with 
certain clarifications, standards that were updated and corrected 
subsequent to the last time the NRC endorsed them. More information on 
updates can be found in the ``Additional Information'' section below.

DATES: Submit comments by April 9, 2019. 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-2019-0041. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Krupskaya Castellon; telephone: 301-287-
9122; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, 
contact the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7A06M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    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: David Dawood, Telephone: 301-415-2389, 
email: [email protected], Yaguang, Yang, Telephone: 301-415-0655, 
email: [email protected], and Michael Eudy, Telephone: 301-415-3104, 
email: [email protected]. All are staff members of the Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research, 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-2019-0041 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-2019-0041.
     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 ``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]. DG-1352 and the Regulatory Analysis 
are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18158A303 and ML18158A301 
respectfully.
     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-2019-0041 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 DG, entitled, ``Instrument Sensing Lines,'' is a proposed 
revision temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1352. DG-1352 is 
proposed revision 2 of RG 1.151, ``Instrument Sensing Line.'' DG-1352 
describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to 
meet regulatory requirements for instrument sensing lines in nuclear 
power plants. It endorses, with certain clarifying regulatory 
positions, American National Standards Institute/International Society 
of Automation (ANSI/ISA)-67.02.01-2014, ``Nuclear Safety-Related 
Instrument Sensing Line Piping and Tubing Standard for Use in Nuclear 
Power Plants.'' The revision of ANSI/ISA-67.02.01 previously endorsed 
by the NRC was revised by ANSI/ISA in 2014. This DG also references the 
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard ISO 2186-
2007, ``Fluid Flow in Closed Conduits--Connections for Pressure Signal 
Transmissions between Primary and Secondary Elements.'' In addition, 
this DG incorporates recent operating experience, as described in NRC 
Information Notice (IN) 2013-12, ``Improperly Sloped Instrument Sensing 
Lines,'' dated July 3, 2013.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This DG may be applied to applications for operating licenses under 
title 10 of the Code of Federal

[[Page 2935]]

Regulations (10 CFR) part 50 or 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 part 52. The exceptions are whenever 
an applicant references a part 50 or part 52 license (e.g., a 
construction permit) and/or regulatory approval (e.g., a design 
certification or a standard design approval) with specified backfitting 
or issue finality provisions.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of February, 2019.

    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. 2019-01556 Filed 2-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P