[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 18591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08819]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2017-0237]


Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation 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 5 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.97, ``Criteria for Accident 
Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This guide 
describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to 
meet regulatory requirements for instrumentation to monitor accidents 
in nuclear power plants. It endorses, with exceptions and 
clarifications, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 
(IEEE) Standard (Std.) 497-2016, ``IEEE Standard Criteria for Accident 
Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power Generating Stations.''

DATES: Revision 5 to RG 1.97 is available on May 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0237 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-2017-0237. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs 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 Document collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, contact the NRC's Public Document 
Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email 
to [email protected]. Revision 5 to RG 1.97 and the regulatory 
analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML18136A762 and 
ML17083A133, respectively. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and 
NRC approval is not required to reproduce them.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pong Chung, telephone: 301-415-2363, 
email: [email protected] and Stephen Burton, telephone: 301-415-7000, 
email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research at 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'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 5 of RG 1.97 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1335 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17083A134). The 
staff is issuing Revision 5 of RG 1.97 to endorse IEEE Std. 497-2016 
``Criteria for Accident Monitoring Instrumentation for Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' with exceptions and clarifications. Revision 5 also makes 
further clarifying revisions by expressly expanding the applicability 
of RG 1.97 to holders of, or applicants for, power reactor design 
certifications or combined licenses under part 52 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), and by adding references to the 
NRC's 10 CFR part 52 regulations and related NRC guidance documents.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1335 in the 
Federal Register on December 26, 2017 (82 FR 61043) for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on February 26, 2018. 
Public comments on DG-1335 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18136A761.

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

    As discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of Revision 5 to RG 
1.97, the NRC has no current intention to impose this draft regulatory 
guide on holders of current operating licenses or combined licenses. 
Revision 5 to RG 1.97 would endorse, with certain exceptions and 
clarifications, the 2016 revision of IEEE Std. 497, which contains a 
more technology-neutral approach and brings current guidance more in 
line with related international standards. This Revision introduces a 
new set of variables for parameters that may be monitored when 
following severe accident management guidelines. Applicants and 
licensees may voluntarily use the guidance in Revision 5 to RG 1.97 to 
demonstrate compliance with the underlying NRC regulations. Current 
licensees may continue to use guidance the NRC found previously 
acceptable for complying with the identified regulations as long as 
their current licensing basis remains unchanged. As such, this 
regulatory guide would 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.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, on April 25, 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. 2019-08819 Filed 4-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P