[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 12, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38827-38828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15227]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2024-0161]
Regulatory Guide: Qualification of Fiber-Optic Cables,
Connections, and Optical Fiber Splices for Use in Safety Systems for
Production and Utilization Facilities
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a new
Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.257, ``Qualification of Fiber-Optic Cables,
Connections, and Optical Fiber Splices for Use in Safety Systems for
Production and Utilization Facilities.'' This RG describes an approach
that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC for use in complying with
the NRC's regulations that address the environmental qualification of
fiber-optic cables, connections, and optical fiber splices in safety
systems in production and utilization facilities. This RG endorses,
subject to the conditions described in Section C of the RG, the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 1682-
2023, ``IEEE Standard for Qualifying Fiber Optic Cables, Connections,
and Optical Fiber Splices for Use in Safety Systems in Nuclear Power
Generating Stations.''
DATES: Revision 0 to RG 1.257 is available on August 12, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0161 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-2024-0161. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) 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
[[Page 38828]]
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin ADAMS Public 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 0 to RG 1.257 and the regulatory analysis may be found in
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML25052A253 and ML24201A069, respectively.
RGs 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] or Vance
Petrella, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-
1048; 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 new 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.
RG 1.257 was issued with a temporary identification of Draft
Regulatory Guide, (DG)-1427 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24201A068).
II. Additional Information
The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1427 in the
Federal Register on October 29, 2024 (89 FR 85889) for a 30-day public
comment period. The public comment period closed on November 29, 2024.
Public comments on DG-1427 and the staff responses to the public
comments are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML25052A132.
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 meet the criteria at 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of RG-1.257, Revision 0 does not constitute backfitting as
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''; 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 this RG,
licensees would not be required to comply with the positions set forth
in this RG.
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.
VI. Executive Order (E.O.) 12866
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs determined that
this RG is not a significant regulatory action under E.O. 12866.
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)
Dated: August 7, 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2025-15227 Filed 8-11-25; 8:45 am]
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