[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62292-62293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19548]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 50 and 52

[NRC-2023-0054]


Regulatory Guide: Quality Assurance Program Criteria (Design and 
Construction)

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final guide; issuance.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 6 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 1.28, ``Quality Assurance Program 
Criteria (Design and Construction)''. RG 1.28, Revision 6, endorses, 
with certain clarifications and regulatory positions, Part I and Part 
II requirements included in NQA-1-2017, NQA-1-2019, and NQA-1-2022 for 
the implementation of a quality assurance (QA) program during the 
design and construction phases of nuclear power plants and fuel 
reprocessing plants.

DATES: Revision 6 to RG 1.28 is available on September 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0054 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-2023-0054. 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

[[Page 62293]]

``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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 6 to RG 1.28 and the regulatory analysis may be found in 
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML23177A002 and ML22304A055, respectively.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Keim, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-1671, 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 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.
    In addition to the endorsement of Part I and Part II requirements 
included in NQA-1-2017, NQA-1-2019, and NQA-1-2022, this RG endorses 
NEI 14-05A, ``Guidelines for the Use of Accreditation in Lieu of 
Commercial Grade Surveys for Procurement of Laboratory Calibration and 
Test Services,'' Revision 1, issued September 2020 as an acceptable 
approach for licensees and suppliers subject to the QA requirements of 
appendix B to part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) and the definitions in 10 CFR 21.3.
    The proposed Revision 6 to RG 1.28 was issued with a temporary 
identification of Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1403 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML22304A054).

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of availability of DG-1403 in the 
Federal Register on May 3, 2023 (88 FR 27713) for a 30-day public 
comment period. The public comment period closed on June 2, 2023. 
Public comments on DG-1403 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23177A003.
    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.

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

    The issuance of this regulatory guide does not constitute 
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' and as 
described in NRC Management Directive 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, 
Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information Requests'', or affect 
issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, 
Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' because, as 
explained in this regulatory guide, 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: September 6, 2023.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2023-19548 Filed 9-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P