[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 111 (Friday, June 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31346-31347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12280]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2019-0086]
Guidance for Implementation of Changes, Tests, and Experiments
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 1.187. This Revision (i.e.,
Revision 3) addresses a clarification to the RG in response to post-
promulgation comments on RG 1.187, Revision 2. This RG provides
licensees with a method that the NRC considers acceptable for use in
complying with the Commission's regulations on the process by which
licensees, under certain conditions, may make changes to their
facilities and procedures as described in the final safety analysis
report (FSAR) (as updated) (also referred to as the updated final
safety analysis report), and conduct tests or experiments not described
in the FSAR (as updated), without obtaining a license amendment
pursuant to NRC requirements.
DATES: Revision 3 to RG 1.187 is available on June 11, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0086 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document.
[[Page 31347]]
You may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0086. 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.
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 this document.
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.
Revision 3 to RG 1.187 and the regulatory analysis may be found in
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML21109A002 and ML19045A432, respectively.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip McKenna, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-0037, email:
[email protected] and Robert Roche-Rivera, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-8113, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing a revision in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide''
series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the
public information regarding methods that are acceptable to the NRC
staff for implementing specific parts of the agency's regulations,
techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating specific issues or
postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs in its review of
applications for permits and licenses.
RG 1.187, Revision 3, ``Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR
50.59, `Changes, Tests, and Experiments,' '' addresses a clarification
to the RG in response to post-promulgation comments on RG 1.187,
Revision 2 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20125A730). Specifically, this
Revision (i.e., Revision 3) adds an additional clarification in section
C.2.e of the RG related to the Human Factors Engineering screening
examples in NEI 96-07, Appendix D, Revision 1, ``Supplemental Guidance
for Application of 10 CFR 50.59 to Digital Modifications,'' (ADAMS
Accession No. ML20135H168), that discuss an increase in response time.
II. Additional Information
Proposed Revision 2 of RG 1.187 was issued with a temporary
identification of Draft Regulatory Guide (DG)-1356 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML19045A435).
The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1356 in the
Federal Register on May 30, 2019 (84 FR 25077) for a 45-day public
comment period. The public comment period closed on July 15, 2019.
Public comments on DG-1356 and the staff responses to the public
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20125A729. Based
on the public comments, subsequent public meetings, and revisions to
NEI 96-07, Appendix D, the NRC revised the proposed Revision 2 of RG
1.187 and issued the final Revision 2 on July 7, 2020 (85 FR 40696),
with a 30-day post-promulgation public comment period. Revision 2 of RG
1.187 endorsed NEI 96-07, Appendix D, Revision 1, as a means for
complying with the requirements of section 50.59 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Changes, tests and
experiments'' when conducting digital instrumentation and control (I&C)
modifications, with certain clarifications. The post-promulgation
public comment period closed on August 6, 2020. Post-promulgation
public comments on RG 1.187, Revision 2 and the staff responses to the
post-promulgation public comments are available under ADAMS under
Accession No. ML21109A001.
The NRC notes that a non-concurrence on RG 1.187, Revision 2, was
submitted and entered the Non-Concurrence Process (NCP) under tracking
number of NCP-2020-005. The NCP form and attachments are available in
ADAMS under Accession No. ML20197A381.
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Revision 3 of RG 1.187 provides guidance on complying with the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.59 when performing a digital I&C
modification. As explained in RG 1.187, Revision 3, licensees are not
required to comply with the positions set forth in this regulatory
guide. Therefore, RG 1.187, Revision 3, does 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
issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses,
Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.'' If, in the
future, the NRC were to impose a position in this RG 1.187, Revision 3,
in a manner that would constitute backfitting or forward fitting or
affect the issue finality for a part 52 approval, then the NRC would
address the backfitting provision in 10 CFR 50.109, the forward fitting
provision of MD 8.4, or the applicable issue finality provision in part
52, respectively.
Dated: June 7, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Programs Management Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-12280 Filed 6-10-21; 8:45 am]
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