[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23750-23751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09275]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0096]


Control of Heavy Loads at Nuclear Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1381, ``Control of Heavy 
Loads at Nuclear Facilities.'' This DG is a proposed new regulatory 
guide to endorse selected national consensus standards related to heavy 
load handling that replace NRC technical reports. The national 
consensus standards provide greater flexibility in the selection of 
lifting equipment and have incorporated recent operating experience to 
provide a more accurate risk-informed perspective of heavy load 
handling activities.

DATES: Submit comments by June 3, 2021. 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

[[Page 23751]]

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-2021-0096. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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: Steven R. Jones, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2712, email: 
[email protected]; or Stanley Gardocki, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, telephone: 301-415-1067, 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-2021-0096 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-2021-0096.
     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]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order 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 or 
301-415-4737, 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-2021-0096 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 ``Control of Heavy Loads at Nuclear Facilities,'' is 
temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1381 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML21006A335). The draft guide is a proposed new regulatory guide for 
control of heavy loads at nuclear facilities to provide reasonable 
assurance safety functions would be accomplished following handling 
system equipment failure. The existing guidance is contained in 
technical reports NUREG-0612, ``Control of Heavy Loads in Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' dated August 1980 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070250180) and 
NUREG-0554, ``Single Failure-Proof Cranes for Nuclear Power Plants,'' 
dated May 1979 (ADAMS Accession No. ML110450636). This guidance has not 
been updated and does not reflect a current risk-informed perspective 
regarding heavy load handling activities. To provide updated guidance, 
DG-1381 endorses, with clarifications, the following consensus 
standards:
     American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Standard 
(Std.) NML-1, ``Rules for the Movement of Loads Using Overhead Handling 
Equipment in Nuclear Facilities,'' 2019.
     ASME Std. NOG-1, ``Rules for Construction of Overhead and 
Gantry Cranes (Top Running Bridge, Multiple Girder),'' 2020.
     ASME Std. BTH-1, ``Design of Below-the-Hook Lifting 
Devices,'' 2017, Chapters 1 through 3.
    The use of consensus standards where available is consistent with 
Commission Policy and provides updated information reflecting operating 
experience.
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML21006A337). 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

    Issuance of DG-1381, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting 
as that term is defined in Section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 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 MD 8.4; or affect issue 
finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, 
Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' As explained in 
DG-1381, applicants and licensees are not required to comply with the 
positions set forth in DG-1381.

    Dated: April 28, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-09275 Filed 5-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P