[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 75 (Friday, April 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21477-21478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08134]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2019-0181]


Standard Format and Content for Applications to Renew Nuclear 
Power Plant Operating Licenses

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.188, ``Standard Format and 
Content for Applications to Renew Nuclear Power Plant Operating 
Licenses.'' This RG describes the standard format and content that the 
NRC staff considers acceptable for applications for renewal and 
subsequent renewal of operating licenses for commercial nuclear power 
plants.

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.188 is available on April 17, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0181 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-2019-0181. 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 2 to RG 1.188 and the 
regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML20017A265 and ML19213A343, respectively.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bennett Brady, telephone: 301-415-
2981, email: [email protected], Amy Hull, telephone: 301-415-2435, 
email: [email protected], and Michael Eudy, telephone: 301-415-3104, 
email: [email protected]. All 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 2 of RG 1.188 was issued with a temporary identification 
of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1341. Revision 2 of RG 1.188 broadens the 
scope of the guide to include subsequent license renewal. Revision 2 of 
the guide endorses two industry guidance documents that describe 
methods that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for use in 
preparing applications for license renewal and subsequent license 
renewal.
    Specifically, this revision endorses Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 
17-01, ``Industry Guideline for Implementing the Requirements of 10 CFR 
part 54 for Subsequent License Renewal'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17339A599), which provides an acceptable approach for implementing 
the requirements of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) part 54, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' for subsequent license renewal. The guidance in 
NEI 17-01 is consistent with previously published NRC guidance. Among 
this guidance, in particular, NUREG-2191, Volumes 1 and 2, ``Generic 
Aging Lessons Learned for Subsequent License Renewal (GALL-SLR) 
Report,'' and NUREG-2192, ``Standard Review Plan for Review of 
Subsequent License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants--Final 
Report,'' (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML17187A031, ML17187A204 and 
ML17188A158). Both NUREG-2191 and NUREG-2192 underwent significant 
public interaction

[[Page 21478]]

and extensive review by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.
    The RG applies to holders of operating licenses under 10 CFR part 
50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities.'' 
The RG could also apply to holders of combined licenses under 10 CFR 
part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' However, because no combined license holder is expected to 
use this RG for at least two decades, the NRC is not expanding the RG's 
applicability to combined license holders at this time.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1341 in the 
Federal Register on September 17, 2019 (84 FR 48953) for a 30-day 
public comment period. The public comment period closed on October 17, 
2019. Public comments on DG-1341 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20017A259.

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, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    Revision 2 of RG 1.188 describes one acceptable method for 
demonstrating compliance with 10 CFR part 54 for applicants for nuclear 
power plant license renewal and subsequent license renewal. This RG 
would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, 
``Backfitting'' and as described in NRC Management Directive 8.4, 
``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and 
Information Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087); would not 
affect the issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52; 
and would not constitute forward fitting as that term is defined and 
described in Management Directive 8.4. Existing licensees and 
applicants for license renewal or subsequent license renewal will not 
be required to comply with the positions set forth in this RG. Further 
information on the staff's use of the RG is contained in the RG under 
Section D., ``Implementation.''

    Dated: April 13, 2020.

    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. 2020-08134 Filed 4-16-20; 8:45 am]
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