[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 221 (Monday, November 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73089-73090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25175]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0230]


Fire Protection for 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-1359, ``Fire Protection 
for 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 governing a civilian nuclear 
power generating plant's fire protection program (FPP).

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-2020-0230. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in

[[Page 73090]]

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: 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-2020-0230 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-2020-0230.
     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-2020-0230 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.
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 for Nuclear Power Plants,'' is 
temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1359 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20231A835). The draft guide DG-1359 is a proposed Revision 4 of RG 
1.189. This revision of the guide (Revision 4) addresses new issues 
identified since the guide was previously revised and released in 2018. 
This includes incorporation of the latest guidance on fire-induced 
circuit failures, multiple high impedance failures, open secondary 
circuits on current transformers, and shorting switches. Updates also 
include partial endorsements of Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 00-01, 
``Guidance for Post Fire Safe Shutdown Circuit Analysis,'' Revision 4, 
issued September 2016, and guidance based on NUREG/CR-7150, ``Joint 
Assessment of Cable Damage and Quantification of Effects from Fire 
(JACQUE-FIRE),'' Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML12313A105, 
ML14141A129, and ML17331B098.)
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML20231A874). The staff develops a 
regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing or revising a 
regulatory guide as well as alternative courses of action.

II. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    DG-1359, if finalized, would provide the most recent guidance 
acceptable to the NRC staff for compliance with section 50.48(a) and 
(b) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and 10 CFR 
part 50, appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power 
Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979.'' Issuance of DG-1359, 
if finalized, would not constitute backfitting, as that term is 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''; 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-1359, applicants and licensees would not be required 
to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1359.

    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. 2020-25175 Filed 11-13-20; 8:45 am]
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