[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32481-32482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14441]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0023]


Qualification and Training of Personnel 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 4 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.8, ``Qualification and Training 
of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG describes methods 
acceptable to the NRC staff for complying with those portions of the 
Commission's regulations associated with the selection, qualifications, 
and training for nuclear power plant personnel. Revision 4 updates the 
RG with additional experience gained since Revision 3 was issued in 
2000 by endorsing American National Standards Institute/American 
Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS)-3.1-2014, ``Selection, Qualification, and 
Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants,'' with exceptions and 
clarifications.

DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.8 is available on July 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0023 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 https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0023. 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.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://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 4 to RG 1.8 and the 
regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML19101A395 and ML16091A271, respectively.
     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.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Tindell, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2026, email: 
[email protected] and Steve Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, 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.
    Revision 4 of RG 1.8 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1329. This revision updates the RG with 
additional experience gained through inspections since Revision 3 was 
issued in 2000. It endorses American National Standards Institute/
American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS)-3.1-2014, ``Selection, 
Qualification, and Training of Personnel for Nuclear Power Plants,'' 
with certain exceptions and clarifications that are listed in the Staff 
Regulatory Guidance section of the RG.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1329 in the 
Federal Register on February 12, 2018 (83 FR 6053), for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on April 13, 2018. 
Public comments on DG-1329 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are

[[Page 32482]]

available under ADAMS Accession No. ML19101A396.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the U.S. 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

    This RG describes methods acceptable to the staff of the NRC for 
complying with those portions of the Commission's regulations 
associated with the selection, qualifications, and training for nuclear 
power plant personnel. Issuance of this RG does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule) and would not otherwise 
be inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. 
As discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of the RG, the NRC has 
no intention to impose this RG on holders of operating licenses or 
combined licenses.
    This RG may be applied to applications for operating licenses, 
combined licenses, early site permits, and certified design rules 
docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the RG, as well as 
future applications submitted after the issuance of the RG. Such action 
would not constitute backfitting as defined in the Backfit Rule or 
otherwise be inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR 
part 52, inasmuch as such applicants or potential applicants are not 
within the scope of entities protected by the Backfit Rule or the issue 
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of July 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2019-14441 Filed 7-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P