[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 236 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 85824-85825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27070]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 50, 52, and 100
[NRC-2023-0097]
Regulatory Guide: Damping Values for Seismic Design of Nuclear
Power Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 1.61, ``Damping Values for Seismic
Design of Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG provides guidance on damping
values that the NRC staff finds acceptable for use in the seismic
response analysis of seismic Category I nuclear power plant structures,
systems, and components. The specified damping values are intended for
elastic dynamic seismic analysis where energy dissipation is accounted
for by viscous damping.
DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.61 is available on December 11, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0097 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-2023-0097. 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 problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 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 2 to RG 1.61 and the regulatory analysis may be found in
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML23284A272 and ML22273A041, respectively.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marcos Rolon Acevedo, Office of
Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2208; email:
[email protected] and Edward O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research, telephone: 301-415-3317; 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.
Revision 2 to RG 1.61 was issued with a temporary identification of
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1364. RG 1.61, Revision 1, specifies the
damping values that the NRC staff considers acceptable for complying
with the agency's regulations for seismic analysis. This revision of
the RG (Revision 2) provides
[[Page 85825]]
additional guidance related to concrete properties and damping values
for use in the development of in structure response spectra. It also
includes guidance on damping for steel plate composite walls. In
addition, it updates the guidance for piping damping in RG 1.61,
Revision 1.
II. Additional Information
The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1364 in the
Federal Register on June 13, 2023 (88 FR 38408) for a 30-day public
comment period. The public comment period closed on July 13, 2023.
Public comments on DG-1364 and the staff responses to the public
comments are available under ADAMS under Accession No. ML23284A274.
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
Issuance of RG 1.61 would not constitute backfitting as that term
is 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 issue finality of an approval issued
under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for
Nuclear Power Plants,'' as explained in RG 1.61, licensees would not be
required to comply with the positions set forth in RG 1.61.
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: December 5, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen M. Wyman,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2023-27070 Filed 12-8-23; 8:45 am]
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