[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11490-11492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04184]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0117]


Acceptability of ASME Code Section III, Division 5, High 
Temperature Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Supplement to draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment supplemental information for draft regulatory guide 
(DG), DG-1380 (proposed Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide [RG] 1.87), 
``Acceptability of ASME Code Section III, Division 5, `High Temperature 
Reactors.''' This DG endorses, with conditions, the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code) 
Section III, ``Rules for Construction of Nuclear Facility Components,'' 
Division 5, ``High Temperature Reactors,'' and Code Cases N-861 and N-
862. On August 20, 2021, the NRC published DG-1380 requesting public 
comment. Since then, the NRC staff has reviewed Code Cases N-872 and N-
898 for potential endorsement. This supplemental notice informs the 
public that the NRC staff is considering endorsement of these two 
additional Code Cases in the final RG 1.87 (Revision 2) and requests 
comments on the proposed endorsement and revisions.

DATES: Submit comments by March 31, 2022. 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.

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-2021-0117. 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: Jeffrey Poehler, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-8353, email: 
[email protected], Robert Roche-Rivera, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-8113, email: [email protected], and Maryam Khan, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, 
telephone: 301-415-6215, email: [email protected]. All 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-2021-0117 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 11491]]

     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0117.
     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.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's 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-2021-0117 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 supplemental information to 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 proposed Revision 2 to RG 1.87, entitled ``Acceptability of 
ASME Code Section III, Division 5, `High Temperature Reactors,' '' is 
temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1380 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML21091A276). Its regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML21091A277. On August 20, 2021, the NRC published DG-
1380 for public comment (86 FR 46888). DG-1380 endorsed, with 
conditions, the ASME Code Section III, Division 5, and Code Cases N-861 
and N-862. Since then, the NRC staff has reviewed Code Cases N-872 and 
N-898 for potential endorsement. This supplemental notice for DG-1380 
informs the public that the NRC staff is considering the endorsement of 
these two additional Code Cases in the final RG 1.87 (Revision 2) and 
provides supplemental information addressing the proposed endorsement 
and revisions. The technical basis for the NRC's proposed endorsement 
of Code Cases N-872 and N-898 is contained in Technical Letter Report 
TLR-RES/DE/REB-2022-01, ``Review of Code Cases Permitting Use of 
Nickel-Based Alloy 617 in Conjunction with ASME Section III, Division 
5'' (ML22031A137).

III. Request for Comment

    The NRC staff welcomes comments on the following proposed 
endorsement and revisions to DG-1380.
    In Section C of DG-1380, the staff is proposing to (1) add a new 
Table 1, ``Acceptable ASME Code, Section III, Division 5 Code Cases,'' 
to list Code Case N-872, which the staff proposes to endorse without 
conditions; (2) renumber what was previously designated as Table 1 in 
DG-1380 to Table 2, ``Conditionally Acceptable ASME Code, Section III, 
Division 5 Code Cases''; and (3) add Code Case N-898 with proposed 
conditions in the renumbered Table 2 as follows:
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IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    DG-1380, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined 
in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC Management Directive 
(MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, 
and Information Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087); 
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, ``Licenses, Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power 
Plants.'' The guidance would not apply to any current licensees or 
applicants or existing or requested approvals under 10 CFR part 52, and
    therefore, its issuance cannot be a backfit or forward fit or 
affect issue finality. Further, as explained in DG-1380, applicants and 
licensees would not be required to comply with the positions set forth 
in DG-1380.

    Dated: February 23, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2022-04184 Filed 2-28-22; 8:45 am]
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