[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 221 (Thursday, November 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69052-69053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24998]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC 2022-0063]


Performance-Based Containment Leak Test Program

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-1391, ``Performance-
Based Containment Leak Test Program''. This DG is proposed Revision 1 
to regulatory guide (RG) 1.163 of the same name. The proposed revision 
provides guidance on an acceptable performance-based leak-test program, 
leakage-rate test methods, procedures, and analyses that may be used to 
comply with NRC regulations.

DATES: Submit comments by December 19, 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-2022-0063. 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: Brian Lee, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2916, email: [email protected], and Kyle 
Song, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3612, 
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-2022-0063 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:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0063.
     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-2022-0063 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.

[[Page 69053]]

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 ``Performance-Based Containment Leak Test 
Program,'' is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1391 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML22006A317).
    This revision of the guide (Revision 1) addresses new guidance for 
implementing Option B ``Performance-Based Requirements'' of Appendix J, 
``Primary Reactor Containment Leakage Testing for Water-Cooled Power 
Reactors,'' of part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR). Specifically, extending Type A test intervals up to 15 years, 
extending Type C test intervals up to 75 months, and an update to ANSI/
ANS-56.8-2020 for acceptable industry standards on technical methods 
and techniques for performing Types A, B, and C tests. This proposed 
revised guide contains information specific for a leakage rate testing 
program for both older plants and newer reactors licensed under both 10 
CFR parts 50 and 52.
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML22007A009). The staff developed the 
regulatory analysis to assess the value of revising RG 1.163 as well as 
alternative courses of action.

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    Issuance of DG-1391, 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''; would not 
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, certifications, and approvals for nuclear power 
reactors.'' As explained in DG-1391, applicants and licensees would not 
be required to comply with the positions set forth in DG-1391.

IV. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

    A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the 
NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs. 
Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. 
Suggestions will be considered in future updates and enhancements to 
the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.

    Dated: November 10, 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. 2022-24998 Filed 11-16-22; 8:45 am]
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