[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]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[[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