[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68787-68788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19187]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 28, 2024 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 68787]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 50 and 52

[NRC-2024-0140]


Draft Regulatory Guides: Criteria for Power Systems for Nuclear 
Power Plants and Criteria for the Protection of Class 1E Power Systems 
and Equipment for Nuclear Power Plants

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission

ACTION: Draft guides; request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment two related draft Regulatory Guides (DGs) namely DG-
1420, ``Criteria for Power Systems for Nuclear Power Plants,'' and DG-
1354, ``Criteria for the Protection of Class 1E Power Systems and 
Equipment for Nuclear Power Plants.'' DG-1420 is proposed Revision 4 to 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.32 of the same name and DG-1354 is newly 
proposed Revision 0 of RG 1.238. DG-1420 describes an approach that is 
acceptable to the NRC staff to meet regulatory requirements for the 
design, operation, and testing of electric power systems in nuclear 
power plants. DG-1354 describes an approach that is acceptable to the 
NRC staff for use in complying with NRC regulations that address the 
protection of Class 1E power systems and equipment at nuclear power 
plants.

DATES: Submit comments by September 27, 2024. 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-2024-0140. 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: Michael Eudy, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3104; email: 
[email protected], Mohammad Sadollah, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, telephone: 301-415-6804; email: [email protected], 
and Sheila Ray, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone 301-
415-365; email: [email protected]. All 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-2024-0140 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-2024-0140.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0140 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 comment into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment two DGs in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series namely DG-1354 and DG-1420. 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 ``Criteria for Power Systems for Nuclear Power 
Plants,'' is temporarily identified by its task

[[Page 68788]]

number, DG-1420 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24158A060) and the DG, entitled, 
``Criteria for the Protection of Class 1E Power Systems and Equipment 
for Nuclear Power Plants,'' is temporarily identified by its task 
number, DG-1354 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24158A041).
    DG-1420 describes an approach that is acceptable to the NRC staff 
to meet regulatory requirements for the design, operation, and testing 
of electric power systems in nuclear power plants. DG-1420 endorses, 
with exceptions and clarifications, the Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard (Std.) 308 2020, ``IEEE Standard 
Criteria for Class 1E Power Systems for Nuclear Power Generating 
Stations.'' In addition, DG-1420 includes the guidance provisions of RG 
1.41, Revision 0, ``Preoperational Testing of Redundant On-Site 
Electric Power Systems to Verify Proper Load Group Assignments,'' which 
describes methods acceptable to the NRC for independence among 
redundant, onsite power sources and their load groups as part of the 
initial preoperational testing program and after major modifications or 
repairs. The staff plans to withdraw RG 1.41 if DG-1420 is finalized as 
RG 1.32, Revision 4.
    DG-1354 describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of 
the NRC for use in complying with NRC regulations that address the 
protection of Class 1E power systems and equipment at nuclear power 
plants. DG-1354 endorses, with exceptions, additions and 
clarifications, IEEE Std. 741-2022, ``IEEE Standard for Criteria for 
the Protection of Class 1E Power Systems and Equipment for Nuclear 
Power Generating Stations.''
    The staff is also issuing for public comment the draft regulatory 
analyses (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML24158A062 and ML24158A042). The staff 
developed these regulatory analyses to assess the value of issuing or 
revising the RGs 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 
chapter I of title 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    If finalized, DG-1420 and DG-1354, 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 fitting as defined in MD 8.4, because, as explained in these 
DGs, licensees would not be required to comply with the positions set 
forth in these DGs.

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: August 21, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2024-19187 Filed 8-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P