[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71480-71482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27882]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0076]


Evaluating Electromagnetic and Radio-Frequency Interference in 
Safety-Related Instrumentation and Control Systems

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide, issuance.

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[[Page 71481]]

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.180, ``Guidelines for Evaluating 
Electromagnetic and Radio-Frequency Interference in Safety-Related 
Instrumentation and Control Systems.'' RG 1.180 provides guidance on 
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) practices and test methods that the 
staff of the NRC consider acceptable for qualifying safety-related 
instrumentation and control (I&C) systems for the expected 
electromagnetic environment in nuclear power plants. The RG would 
endorse, with certain exceptions, standards that were updated and 
corrected subsequent to the last time the NRC endorsed them in RG 
1.180. More information on updates can be found in the ``Supplementary 
Information'' section below.

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.180 is available on December 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0076 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-2018-0076. Address 
questions about NRC dockets 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 2 to RG 1.180 and the 
regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML19175A044 and ML17188A397 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: David Dawood, Telephone: 301-415-2389, 
email: [email protected], and Michael Eudy, Telephone: 301-415-3104, 
email: [email protected]. Both are staff members of the Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research, 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 2 of RG 1.180 was issued with a temporary identification 
of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1333. Revision 2 of RG 1.180 updates the 
guidance on EMC practices and test methods that the staff of the NRC 
consider acceptable for qualifying safety-related I&C systems for the 
expected electromagnetic environment in nuclear power plants. The 
revised RG endorses the current versions of previously endorsed 
military, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and 
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) specifications and 
standards; incorporates additional guidance for evaluating the effects 
of electrostatic discharge; and accounts for the evolution of the 
operational environment at nuclear power plants arising from the 
increased use of digital technology, including wireless communication 
for both personnel (personal digital assistants and smartphones) and 
industrial (remote I&C) applications.
    Department of Defense, Federal, National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, NASA, Department of Energy, and Government 
specifications, standards, handbooks, and publications are available 
free from www.EverySpec.com. Copies of IEEE documents may be purchased 
from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Service 
Center, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855, or through 
the IEEE's public website at http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/index.html. Copies of IEC documents may be 
obtained through its website at http://www.iec.ch/ or by writing the 
IEC Central Office at P.O. Box 131, 3 Rue de Varemb[eacute], 1211 
Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41 22 919 02 11.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1333 in the 
Federal Register on April 24, 2018 (83 FR 17867) for a 60-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on June 25, 2018. 
Public comments on DG-1333 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available under ADAMS under Accession No. ML19175A048.

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

    Revision 2 to RG 1.180, would update the guidance on EMC practices 
and test methods that the staff of the NRC consider acceptable for 
qualifying safety-related I&C systems for the expected electromagnetic 
environment in nuclear power plants. This RG would not constitute 
backfitting as defined in title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) section 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.'' 
The subject of this RG, as described above, is an NRC-defined process 
that does not fall within the purview of subjects covered by either the 
Backfit Rule or the issue finality provision in 10 CFR part 52. 
Issuance of the RG would not constitute backfitting as defined in 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 19th day of December, 2019.


[[Page 71482]]


    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. 2019-27882 Filed 12-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P