[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 43 (Monday, March 6, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13735-13737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04460]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 50 and 52

[NRC-2023-0028]


Draft Regulatory Guide: Sizing of Large Lead-Acid Storage 
Batteries

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

ACTION: Proposed 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-1418, ``Sizing of 
Large Lead-Acid Storage Batteries.'' This DG is proposed

[[Page 13736]]

Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.212 of the same name. DG-1418 
describes an approach that is acceptable to the NRC staff to meet 
regulatory requirements for sizing of large lead-acid storage batteries 
for production and utilization facilities. It endorses, with 
clarifications, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 
(IEEE) Standard 485-2020, ``IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-
Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications.''

DATES: Submit comments by April 5, 2023. 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-2023-0028. 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: Solomon Sahle, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3781, email: 
[email protected] and Liliana Ramadan, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2463, 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-2023-0028 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-2023-0028.
     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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (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-2023-0028 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 comments 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 ``Sizing of Large Lead-Acid Storage Batteries,'' 
is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1418 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML22307A132).
    DG-1418 is proposed Revision 2 to RG 1.212 and it endorses, with 
some limitations and a clarification, IEEE Standard (Std.) 485-2020, 
and includes production and utilization facilities licensed under parts 
50 and 52 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The 
previous version of this RG endorsed, with certain clarifications, IEEE 
Std. 485-2010. In 2020, the IEEE revised IEEE Std. 485 to refine the 
methods for defining direct current (dc) load guidance and sizing large 
lead acid batteries to ensure consistent performance. The revised IEEE 
standard provides a succinct document for the sizing of batteries with 
informative annexes. The NRC staff determined that, based on the 
revised IEEE standard, a revision to this RG is needed to support 
applications for new reactor licenses, design certifications, and 
license amendments.
    The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory 
analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML22307A144). The staff developed a 
regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing or revising a 
regulatory guide as well as alternative courses of action.
    As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671), 
this document is being published in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of 
the Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under 1 
CFR chapter I.

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    Issuance of DG-1418, 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''; affect issue 
finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, 
Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants''; or constitute 
forward

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fitting as defined in MD 8.4, because, as explained in this DG, 
licensees would not be required to comply with the positions set forth 
in this DG.

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: February 28, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2023-04460 Filed 3-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P