[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 104 (Thursday, May 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25077-25079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11246]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0270 and NRC-2019-0086]


Guidance for Changes, Tests, and Experiments

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide, issuance; draft regulatory guide, request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 1 of regulatory guide (RG) 1.187, ``Guidance for 
Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, `Changes, Tests, and Experiments.' '' 
Concurrently the NRC is issuing for public comment DG-1356, which is 
proposed Revision 2 of RG 1.187.

DATES: Revision 1 to RG 1.187 is available on May 30, 2019.
    Submit comments on DG-1356 [NRC-2019-0086] by July 15, 2019. 
Because of the extensive communication about NEI 96-07 Appendix D over 
the past year, the NRC believes that stakeholders will be able to 
submit comments quickly. In addition, the NRC seeks to issue DG-1356 as 
expeditiously as possible. Therefore, the NRC is publishing the DG-1356 
with a 45-day comment period. 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: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0270 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding RG 1.187, Revision 
1. You may obtain publicly-available information related to RG 1.187, 
Revision 1, by using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for RG 1.187, Revision 1, by using 
Docket ID NRC-2016-0270. Address questions about NRC docket IDs in 
regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-9127; email: 
[email protected]. For technical questions, contact the 
individual 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

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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]. Revision 1 
to RG 1.187 and the regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under 
Accession Nos. ML17195A655 and ML16089A379 respectively.
    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0086 when contacting the NRC 
about DG-1356 (proposed RG 1.187, Revision 2). You may submit comments 
on DG-1356 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19045A435) by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID: NRC-2019-0086. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in regulations.gov 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: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7A06, 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.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip McKenna, telephone: 301-415-
0037; email: [email protected], or Stephen Burton, telephone: 301-
415-0038; email: [email protected]. Both are staff of 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.
    The purpose of issuing the final RG 1.187, Revision 1, concurrent 
with issuing DG-1356 for comment is to provide clarity for, and 
coordination of, NRC activities on guidance for implementing section 
50.59 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
    Revision 1 of RG 1.187 was issued with a temporary identification 
of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1334. RG 1.187, Revision 1, endorses, 
with clarifications, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 96-07, ``Guidelines 
for 10 CFR 50.59 Evaluations,'' which provides licensees with a method 
that the staff considers acceptable for use in complying with the 
Commission's regulations on the process by which licensees, under 
certain conditions, may make changes to their facilities and procedures 
as described in the final safety analysis report (FSAR), and conduct 
tests or experiments not described in the FSAR, without prior NRC 
approval.
    Concurrent with issuing Revision 1 of RG 1.187, the NRC is issuing 
DG-1356 for public comment under NRC docket number NRC-2019-0086. DG-
1356 proposes additional guidance on digital instrumentation and 
control modifications. Specifically, DG-1356 endorses with exceptions 
and clarifications, NEI 96-07, Appendix D, Revision 0, ``Supplemental 
Guidance for Application of 10 CFR 50.59 to Digital Modifications.'' If 
finalized, DG-1356 would become RG 1.187, Revision 2.

II. Additional Information: RG 1.187, Revision 1

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1334 in the 
Federal Register on December 23, 2016 (81 FR 94275) for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on February 21, 2017. 
Public comments on DG-1334 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18123A363.
    The NRC is issuing RG 1.187, Revision 1, to implement lessons-
learned from the NRC Report ``Review of Lessons Learned from the San 
Onofre Steam Generator Tube Degradation Event,'' dated March 6, 2015. 
(ADAMS Package Accession No. ML15062A125).
    Specifically, RG 1.187, Revision 1, clarifies statements in Section 
4.3.8 of NEI 96-07, Revision 1, regarding the definition in 10 CFR 
50.59(a)(2) of ``departure from a method of evaluation described in the 
FSAR (as updated).'' Revision 1 also clarifies statements in Section 
4.3.5 of NEI 96-07, Revision 1, regarding the meaning in 10 CFR 
50.59(c)(2)(v) of ``an accident of a different type than any previously 
evaluated in the final safety analysis report (as updated).'' This 
revision of RG 1.187 explains how licensees should apply these NEI 
guidelines to ensure they are meeting the requirements of 10 CFR 50.59.
III. Additional Information: DG-1356 (Draft RG 1.187, Revision 2)
    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, titled, ``Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, 
`Changes, Tests, and Experiments,' '' temporarily identified by its 
task number, DG-1356, is proposed Revision 2 of RG 1.187. DG-1356 
provides guidance on complying with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.59 
when performing a digital instrumentation and controls (digital I&C) 
modification. Specifically, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 96-07, 
Appendix D, Revision 0, ``Supplemental Guidance for Application of 10 
CFR 50.59 to Digital Modifications,'' was submitted to the NRC on 
November 30, 2018. As discussed in Section C of RG 1.187, DG-1356 
endorses NEI 96-07 and finds that it provides an acceptable approach 
for the application of 10 CFR 50.59 guidance when conducting digital 
I&C modifications, with certain exceptions and clarifications.
    DG-1356 is being issued for public comment to facilitate the 
Commission's direction in the Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM)--
SECY-16-0070, ``Staff Requirements--SECY-16-0070--Integrated Strategy 
to Modernize the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Digital 
Instrumentation and Control Regulatory Infrastructure'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML16299A157). The NRC staff has engaged the public, NEI, 
and industry representatives to improve the guidance for applying 10 
CFR 50.59 to digital I&C-related design modifications as part of a 
broader effort to modernize the regulatory infrastructure for digital 
I&C.

IV. Congressional Review Act

    RG 1.187, Revision 1, 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

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defined in the Congressional Review Act.

V. Backfitting and Issue Finality

Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 1.187

    Revision 1 of Regulatory Guide 1.187 clarifies statements in 
Section 4.3.8 and 4.3.5 of Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 96-07, 
Revision 1, ``Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation'' 
(ML003771157), which the NRC first endorsed in RG 1.187, Rev 0 
(ML003759710). Issuance of RG 1.187, Revision 1, does not constitute 
backfitting under Sec.  50.109 and is not otherwise inconsistent with 
issue finality under 10 CFR part 52. As discussed in the 
``Implementation'' section of this RG, NRC staff does not intend or 
approve any imposition or backfitting of the guidance in this RG. If, 
in the future, the NRC seeks to impose a position in Revision 1 of RG 
1.187 in a manner that does not provide issue finality as described in 
an applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC must address the 
criteria for avoiding issue finality as described in the applicable 
issue finality provision.

Draft Regulatory Guide DG-1356

    Draft regulatory guide DG-1356, if finalized as Regulatory Guide 
1.187, Revision 2, would endorse NEI 96-07, Appendix D, with conditions 
and clarifications. NEI 96-07, Appendix D, and the NRC staff's 
conditions and clarifications, provide guidance on the application of 
the 10 CFR 50.59 change process to digital I&C modifications. The draft 
regulatory guide, if finalized, 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.'' As 
discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of this RG, NRC staff does 
not intend or approve any imposition or backfitting of the guidance in 
this RG. If, in the future, the NRC seeks to impose a position in 
Revision 2 of RG 1.187 in a manner that does not provide issue finality 
as described in an applicable issue finality provision, then the NRC 
must address the criteria for avoiding issue finality as described in 
the applicable issue finality provision.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of May, 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. 2019-11246 Filed 5-29-19; 8:45 am]
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