[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 23, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66464-66465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25260]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[NRC-2021-0194]


Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, ``Changes, Tests and 
Experiments,'' at Non-Power Production or Utilization Facilities

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 a draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-2007, ``Guidance for 
Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, ``Changes, Tests and Experiments,'' at 
Non-power Production or Utilization Facilities.'' This DG describes an 
approach that is acceptable to the NRC staff to meet the regulatory 
requirements ``Changes, tests and experiments,'' at a nonpower 
production and utilization facility (NPUF), as defined in the DG.

DATES: Submit comments by December 23, 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-2021-0194. 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: Michael Eudy, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3104, email: 
[email protected] and Duane Hardesty, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3724, 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-2021-0194 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:

[[Page 66465]]

     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0194.
     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].
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), 
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an 
email to [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), 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-2021-0194 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 DG 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, entitled ``Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, 
``Changes, Tests and Experiments,'' at Non-power Production or 
Utilization Facilities,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, 
DG-2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21243A103).
    This DG, if finalized, would describe an approach that is 
acceptable to the staff of the NRC to meet the regulatory requirements 
of Sec.  50.59 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 
at NPUFs, as defined in the DG. It would endorse, with clarifications 
and an exception, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 21-06, ``Guidelines 
for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation at Non-power Production and Utilization 
Facilities,'' issued August 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21236A089).
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML21243A104) for DG-1389. The staff 
developed the regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing DG-
2007 as well as alternative courses of action.

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    The issuance of this DG, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting, as that term is defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' 
because Sec.  50.109 does not apply to research reactors, testing 
facilities, and other non-power facilities licensed under 10 CFR part 
50, as documented in the preamble to the proposed rule, ``Non-Power 
Production or Utilization Facility License Renewal'' (82 FR 15643; 
March 30, 2017).

    Dated: November 15, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-25260 Filed 11-22-21; 8:45 am]
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