[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 221 (Monday, November 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73088-73089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25173]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2020-0231]
Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Fire Protection for Existing
Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants
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-1360, ``Risk-Informed,
Performance-Based Fire Protection for Existing Light-Water Nuclear
Power Plants.'' This regulatory guide (RG) describes an approach that
is acceptable to the NRC staff to meet the regulatory requirements in
the NRC's regulations and the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) Standard 805, ``Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection
for Light Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants,'' 2001 Edition,
which is incorporated by reference in the NRC's regulations.
DATES: Submit comments by December 31, 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;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking website:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0231. 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.
[[Page 73089]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shivani Mehta, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-0860, email:
[email protected]; Charles Moulton, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2751, email: [email protected]; or
Michael Eudy, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-
415-3104, email: [email protected]. All 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-2020-0231 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0231.
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 reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by
email to [email protected].
Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and purchase
copies of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your
request to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-
4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0231 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 will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 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 ``Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Fire Protection
for Existing Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants,'' is temporarily
identified by its task number, DG-1360 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML20231A856). The draft guide DG-1360 is a proposed Revision 2 of RG
1.205. This revision of the guide (Revision 2) addresses new
information identified since the guide was previously revised in 2009.
This RG updates the previous staff positions and endorsements made
regarding earlier versions of Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) guidance
documents, NEI-04-02, ``Guidance for Implementing a Risk-Informed,
Performance-Based Fire Protection Program Under 10 CFR 50.48(c),'' and
NEI 00-01, ``Guidance for Post Fire Safe Shutdown Circuit Analysis.''
This revision endorses NEI 04-02, Revision 3, issued 2019, and portions
of NEI-00-01, Revision 4, issued 2019, and includes guidance concerning
fire-induced circuit failures.
The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML20231A891). The staff develops a
regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing or revising a
regulatory guide as well as alternative courses of action.
Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
DG-1360, if finalized, would incorporate the latest information
concerning risk-informed, performance-based fire protection programs
and supporting guidance. Issuance of DG-1360, if finalized, would not
constitute backfitting, as that term is defined in section 50.109 of
title 10 of Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as
described in NRC Management Directive 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting,
Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information Requests''; constitute
forward fitting, as that term is defined and described in Management
Directive 8.4; or affect the issue finality of any approval issued
under 10 CFR part 52. As explained in DG-1360, applicants and licensees
would not be required to comply with the positions set forth in DG-
1360.
Dated: November 9, 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. 2020-25173 Filed 11-13-20; 8:45 am]
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