[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 87 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24672-24673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09728]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0252]


Quality Group Classifications and Standards for Water-, Steam-, 
and Radioactive-Waste-Containing Components of 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-1371, ``Quality Group 
Classifications and Standards for Water-, Steam-, and Radioactive-
Waste-Containing Components of Nuclear Power Plants.'' This proposed 
Revision 6 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.26, incorporates additional 
information that provides guidance for alternative quality 
classification systems for components in light-water reactor (LWR) 
nuclear power plants and updates the staff position regarding 
classification of Quality Group C components to reflect the latest 
guidance on systems that contain radioactive material since Revision 5 
(02/2017), of RG 1.26 was issued. The appendices to this RG provide 
guidance for alternative quality classification systems for components 
in LWR nuclear power plants.

DATES: Submit comments by July 6, 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 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-2020-0252. 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-7A06, 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: Thomas Scarbrough, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2794 email: 
[email protected] or James Steckel, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301 415-1026 email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff members 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-2020-0252 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding 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-2020-0252.
     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].
     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-2020-0252 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 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.

[[Page 24673]]

    The DG, titled, ``Quality Group Classifications and Standards for 
Water-, Steam-, and Radioactive-Waste-Containing Components of Nuclear 
Power Plants'' is a proposed revision temporarily identified by its 
task number, DG-1371 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20168A883). The draft guide 
is proposed Revision 6 of RG 1.26, ``Quality Group Classifications and 
Standards for Water-, Steam-, and Radioactive-Waste-Containing 
Components of Nuclear Power Plants'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML16082A501). 
The proposed revision guidance for a quality classification system 
related to specified national standards that may be used to determine 
quality standards acceptable to the staff of the NRC for satisfying 
General Design Criterion 1, ``Quality Standards and Records,'' as set 
forth in appendix A, ``General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 
``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities'' for 
components containing water, steam, or radioactive material in light-
water-cooled nuclear power plants.
    Changes are being made to provide guidance for alternative quality 
classification systems for components in light-water reactor nuclear 
power plants and updates the staff position regarding classification of 
Quality Group C components to reflect the latest guidance on systems 
that contain radioactive material since Revision 5, (02/2017) of RG 
1.26 was issued.
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML20168A893). 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-1371, if finalized, would revise RG 1.26, incorporate additional 
information that provides guidance for alternative quality 
classification systems for components in LWR nuclear power plants, and 
update the staff position regarding classification of Quality Group C 
components to reflect the latest guidance on systems that contain 
radioactive material. Issuance of DG-1371, if finalized, would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' 
and as described in NRC Management Directive (MD) 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 the issue finality of any approval 
issued under 10 CFR part 52.

    Dated: May 4, 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. 2021-09728 Filed 5-6-21; 8:45 am]
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