[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 155 (Tuesday, August 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48573-48574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17534]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0183]


Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power Plants During 
Decommissioning

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1370, ``Fire Protection 
Program for Nuclear Power Plants During Decommissioning.'' This 
proposed revision of the guide (Revision 1) addresses new information 
identified since Revision 0 of this guide was issued. The guidance in 
Revision 0 of the regulatory guide (RG) does not include guidance for 
plants that have transitioned to the National Fire Protection 
Association (NFPA) Standard 805, ``Performance-Based Standard for Fire 
Protection for Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants,'' 2001 
Edition. This guide is being revised to include guidance for plants 
that have transitioned to NFPA 805, 2001 Edition.

DATES: Submit comments by October 13, 2020. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0183. 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.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naeem Iqbal, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3346, email: [email protected] and 
Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 
301-415-3346, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0183 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding

[[Page 48574]]

this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to 
this action, by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0183.
     NRC Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://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 reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by 
email to [email protected].

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2020-0183 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enters the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a draft guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe 
methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific 
parts of the agency's regulations, to explain techniques that the staff 
uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to 
describe information that the staff needs in its review of applications 
for permits and licenses.
    The DG, titled, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power Plants 
During Decommissioning,'' is proposed Revision 1 of RG 1.191 and is 
temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1370. This proposed 
revision addresses new information identified since Revision 0 of this 
guide was issued. The guidance in Revision 0 of the RG is for plants 
licensed under section 50.48(b) of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) or 10 CFR part 50, appendix R, ``Fire Protection 
Program for Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 
1979.'' Revision 0 does not include guidance for plants that have 
transitioned to the NFPA 805 licensing basis (i.e., 10 CFR 50.48(c)). 
This guide is being revised to include guidance for plants that have 
transitioned to NFPA 805, 2001 Edition, via 10 CFR 50.48(c). The DG is 
electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20078K920.
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20078K925. The staff 
develops a regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing or 
revising a regulatory guide as well as alternative courses of action.

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    DG-1370 to RG 1.191, Revision 1, describes methods acceptable to 
the NRC staff for complying with the NRC's regulations for fire 
protection programs for licensees that have certified that their plants 
have permanently ceased operations and that the fuel has been 
permanently removed from the reactor vessels.
    The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions 
represented in the draft RG (if finalized) in a manner that would 
constitute backfitting or affect the issue finality of a 10 CFR part 52 
approval. If, in the future, the staff seeks to impose a position in 
the draft RG (if finalized) in a manner that constitutes backfitting or 
does not provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue 
finality provision, then the staff would need to address the Backfit 
Rule or the criteria for avoiding issue finality as described in the 
applicable issue finality provision.
    The staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions 
represented in the draft RG (if finalized) in a manner that would 
constitute forward fitting. If, in the future, the staff seeks to 
impose a position in the draft RG (if finalized) in a manner that 
constitutes forward fitting, then the staff would need to address the 
forward fitting criteria in Management Directive 8.4, ``Management of 
Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information 
Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087).

    Dated: August 6, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2020-17534 Filed 8-10-20; 8:45 am]
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