[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 79369-79370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22246]
========================================================================
Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 189 / Monday, September 30, 2024 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 79369]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 70
[NRC-2024-0159]
Regulatory Guide: Monitoring of Combustible Gases and Vapors in
Plutonium Processing and Fuel Fabrication Plants
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guide; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.7, ``Monitoring of Combustible
Gases and Vapors in Plutonium Processing and Fuel Fabrication Plants,''
in which there are minor corrections with no substantive changes in the
NRC staff's regulatory positions. RG 3.7 provides guidance with regard
to protecting against the possibility of the formation of flammable
mixtures with combustible gases and vapors. This guidance is needed to
protect against the possibility of the formation of flammable mixtures
with these gases and vapors when combustible gases and solvents are
used within the confinement barriers of a plutonium processing and fuel
fabrication plant.
DATES: Revision 1 to RG 3.7 is available on September 30, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0159 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-2024-0159. 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 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. Revision 1 to RG 3.7
may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML24162A095.
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.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Cortes, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-7331; email:
[email protected]; and Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-3346, email:
[email protected]. Both are staff at the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing an administrative revision to an existing guide
in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. Regulatory guides are
developed to describe and make available to the public information and
methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific
parts of the agency's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in
evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and data that the
staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
The NRC typically seeks public comment on a draft version of an RG
by announcing its availability for comment in the Federal Register.
However, as explained in NRC's Management Directive (MD) 6.6
``Regulatory Guides,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML22010A233) the NRC may
directly issue a final RG without a draft version or public comment
period if the changes to the RG are non-substantive.
Thus, the NRC is issuing Revision 1 of RG 3.7 directly as a final
RG because there are no changes in the staff positions between Revision
0 and Revision 1. Revision 1 of RG 3.7 incorporates minor corrections,
and other editorial changes that are administrative in nature. The
changes are intended to improve clarity and do not alter the NRC
staff's regulatory guidance for the ``Monitoring of Combustible Gases
and Vapors in Plutonium Processing and Fuel Fabrication Plants,''
licensees.
II. Additional Information
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 chapter
I of title 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG is not a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808).
IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
The NRC staff may use this RG as a reference in its regulatory
processes, such as licensing, inspection, or enforcement. However, the
NRC staff does not intend to use the guidance in this RG to support NRC
staff actions in a manner that would constitute backfitting as that
term is defined in 10 CFR 50.109, ``Backfitting,'' and as described in
NRC MD 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue
Finality, and Information Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087),
nor does the NRC staff intend to use the guidance to affect the issue
finality of an approval under 10 CFR part 52. The staff also does not
intend to use the guidance to support NRC staff actions in a manner
that constitutes forward fitting as that term is defined and described
in MD 8.4. If a licensee believes that the NRC is using this RG in a
manner
[[Page 79370]]
inconsistent with the discussion in the Implementation section of RG
3.7, then the licensee may file a backfitting or forward fitting appeal
with the NRC in accordance with the process in MD 8.4.
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
to address new issues. 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 24, 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. 2024-22246 Filed 9-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P