[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18005-18006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06285]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 58 / Monday, March 27, 2023 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 18005]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[NRC-2022-0159]


Regulatory Guide: Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented 
Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Production and Utilization Facilitiesl

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final guide; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 4 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.129, ``Maintenance, Testing, and 
Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Production and 
Utilization Facilities.'' This revised guidance provides information to 
manage vented lead-acid battery degradation such that a battery in 
service would retain its readiness for supporting design-basis events. 
It endorses, with certain clarifying regulatory positions, Institute of 
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard (Std.) 450-2020, 
which provides the recommended maintenance, test schedules, and testing 
procedures intended to optimize the life and performance of permanently 
installed vented lead-acid storage batteries used for standby power 
applications. It also provides guidance to determine when batteries 
should be replaced.

DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.129 is available on March 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0159 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. 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-2022-0159. 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 questions regarding use of 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.
    Revision 4 to RG 1.129 and the regulatory analysis may be found in 
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML22332A409 and ML22026A443, respectively.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Ray, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3653; email: [email protected]; and 
James Steckel, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-
415-1026; 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 to an existing 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.
    Revision 4 of RG 1.129 was issued with a temporary identification 
number of DG-1401 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22026A441).
    Revision 4 of RG 1.129 describes an approach that may be used to 
determine quality standards acceptable to the NRC staff to meet the 
regulatory requirements provides guidance to manage vented lead-acid 
battery degradation such that a battery in service would retain its 
readiness for supporting design-basis events. Revision 4 of RG 1.129 
also endorses, with certain clarifying regulatory positions, IEEE Std. 
450-2020, which provides the recommended maintenance, test schedules, 
and testing procedures intended to optimize the life and performance of 
permanently installed vented lead-acid storage batteries used for 
standby power applications. It also provides guidance to determine when 
batteries should be replaced.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC issued RG 1.129, Revision 3, in September 2013, to endorse 
(with certain clarifying regulatory positions) IEEE Std. 450-2010. 
Since then, IEEE has revised the standard as IEEE Std. 450-2020 to 
provide clarifying guidance on maintenance, testing, and corrective 
actions. The revised IEEE standard provides guidance for the condition 
monitoring of stationary batteries. The staff determined that, based on 
the revised IEEE standard, a revision to this RG is necessary for 
guidance to support new license applications, design certifications, 
and applications for license amendments.
    The NRC published a notice of availability of DG-1401 in the 
Federal Register on August 29, 2022 (87 FR 52814) for a 30-day public 
comment period. There were no comments from the public submitted for 
DG-1401, and no staff responses were needed.
    As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671), 
this document is being published in the ``Rules'' section of the 
Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under 1 CFR 
chapter I.

[[Page 18006]]

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

    Issuance of RG 1.129, Revision 4 does not constitute backfitting as 
defined in Sec.  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.'' As explained in RG 1.129, Revision 4, applicants and 
licensees are not required to comply with the positions set forth in 
this regulatory guide.

V. 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: March 22, 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. 2023-06285 Filed 3-24-23; 8:45 am]
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