[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70578-70579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27606]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2019-0233]


Target set Identification and Development for Nuclear Power 
Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

[[Page 70579]]


ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 5.81, ``Target set Identification 
and Development for Nuclear Power Plants,'' as a final RG. RG 5.81 
provides guidance the NRC considers acceptable for applicant or 
licensee analysis, development, documentation, and reevaluation of 
target set elements and target sets, including preventive operator 
actions that may be credited to prevent core damage (e.g., non-
localized fuel melting, and/or core destruction) or loss of spent fuel 
coolant and exposure of spent fuel. This revision of the guide 
(Revision 1) clarifies issues that have been identified through 
interactions with stakeholders and inspection activities since the 
original publication of the guide.

DATES: Revision 1 to RG 5.81 is available on December 23, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Revision 1 to RG 5.81 contains Official Use Only--Security 
Related Information (OUO-SRI). Therefore, this RG is being withheld 
from public disclosure, but is available to those affected licensees, 
stakeholders who have established a need to know and cleared 
stakeholders who have access authorization. For access to RG 5.81, 
contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wesley Held, Office of Nuclear 
Security and Insident Response, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
telephone: 301-287-3591, email: [email protected]; or Mekonen 
Bayssie,Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research; telephone: 301-415-1699, 
email: [email protected]. Alternatively, you may make suggestions 
or comments on RG 5.81 via email to: 
[email protected]. Please do not 
include any potentially classified or sensitive information in your 
email.

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.
    Regulatory Guide 5.81 provides licensees with guidance on meeting 
the requirements described in section 73.55(f) of title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),''Target Sets.'' Specifically, it sets 
forth approaches that the NRC considers acceptable for use by 
applicants or licensees in analyzing, developing, documenting, and 
evaluating target set elements and target sets, including operator 
actions that may be credited to prevent core damage (e.g., non-
localized fuel melting, and/or core destruction) or loss of spent fuel 
coolant and exposure of spent fuel.
    This revision of RG 5.81 (Revision 1) incorporates lessons learned 
from operating experience. Specifically, this revision clarifies issues 
that have been identified through interactions with stakeholders and 
inspection activities since the original publication of the guide.

II. Additional Information

    Regulatory Guide 5.81 contains OUO-SRI information. Accordingly, 
this RG is being withheld from public disclosure. It will be made 
available to those affected licensees and stakeholders who have an 
established need-to-know for access to the RG. The NRC did not announce 
the availability of the draft RG for public comment because the guide 
contains OUO-SRI information. Nonetheless, the NRC is issuing this 
notice to inform the public of the issuance of this revision to the RG.
    On August 14, 2018, the NRC issued a memorandum (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML19324F694) transmitting the draft regulatory guide for comment to 
stakeholders who have an established need-to-know for access to the 
document. The stakeholders' comment period closed on October, 15, 2018. 
The NRC received 20 comments from stakeholders. The comments and the 
associated agency responses to the publc comments contain OUO-SRI 
information and are not available to the public. These comment 
responses can be obtained by those licensees and stakeholders who have 
established a need-to-know for access to the regulatory guide. For 
access to RG 5.81 or the comments and comment resolution documment, 
contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.

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

    This RG provides applicants or licensees with guidance to meet the 
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 73.55, ``Requirements for Physical 
Protection of Licensed Activities in Nuclear Power Reactors Against 
Radiological Sabotage.'' Issuance of this regulatory guide does not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' or 
affect issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, 
Licenses, Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' 
because as explained in Section D., ``Implementation,'' of the 
regulatory guide, NRC staff does not intend to use the guidance in this 
regulatory guide to support NRC staff actions in a manner that would 
constitute backfitting. If, in the future, the NRC seeks to impose a 
position in this regulatory guidein a manner that constitutes 
backfitting or affects the issue finality for a Part 52 approval, then 
the NRC will address the backfitting provision in 10 CFR 50.109 or the 
applicable issue finality provision in Part 52 respectively.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of December 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. 2019-27606 Filed 12-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P