[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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