Regulatory Guide 8.11, Revision 1, Applications of Bioassay for Uranium, 40088-40090 [2015-17018]

Download as PDF asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 40088 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 133 / Monday, July 13, 2015 / Notices Issue Summary (RIS) 2015–08, ‘‘Oversight of Counterfeit, Fraudulent, and Suspect Items in the Nuclear Industry.’’ This RIS is intended to heighten awareness of existing NRC regulations and how they apply to the nuclear industry stakeholders’ oversight of counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items (CFSI). This RIS is addressed to all NRC’s licensees and certificate holders, Agreement State radiation control program directors, and state liaison officers, as well as addressees’ contractors and vendors. DATES: The RIS is available as of July 13, 2015. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2014–0212 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 Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2014–0212. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual 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 ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 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, 301–415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. • This RIS is also available on the NRC’s public Web site at https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/gen-comm/reg-issues/ (select ‘‘2015’’ and then select ‘‘RIS 2015–08’’). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Gaslevic, Office of New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–2776, email: James.Gaslevic@ nrc.gov. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:27 Jul 10, 2015 Jkt 235001 The NRC published a notice of opportunity for public comment on this RIS in the Federal Register (79 FR 59521) on October 2, 2014. The agency received comments from eight commenters. The staff considered all comments, which resulted in minor clarifications to the RIS. The evaluation of these comments and the resulting changes to the RIS are discussed in a publicly available memorandum that is in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15008A192. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7thh day of July 2015. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Sheldon D. Stuchell, Chief, Generic Communications Branch, Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2015–16954 Filed 7–10–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2015–0001] Sunshine Act Meeting Notice DATE: July 13, 20, 27, August 3, 10, 17, 2015. Commissioners’ Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. STATUS: Public and Closed. PLACE: Week of July 13, 2015 There are no meetings scheduled for the week of July 13, 2015. Week of July 20, 2015—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of July 20, 2015. Week of August 17, 2015—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of August 17, 2015. * * * * * The schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on short notice. For more information or to verify the status of meetings, contact Glenn Ellmers at 301–415–0442 or via email at Glenn.Ellmers@nrc.gov. * * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet at: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/ public-meetings/schedule.html. * * * * * The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from the public meetings in another format (e.g. braille, large print), please notify Kimberly Meyer, NRC Disability Program Manager, at 301–287–0727, by videophone at 240–428–3217, or by email at Kimberly.Meyer-Chambers@ nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. * * * * * Members of the public may request to receive this information electronically. If you would like to be added to the distribution, please contact the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (301– 415–1969), or email Brenda.Akstulewicz@nrc.gov or Patricia.Jimenez@nrc.gov. Week of July 27, 2015—Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the week of July 27, 2015. Dated: July 9, 2015. Glenn Ellmers, Policy Coordinator, Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 2015–17276 Filed 7–9–15; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P Week of August 3, 2015—Tentative Thursday, August 6, 2015 9:30 a.m. Strategic Programmatic Overview of the Operating Reactors Business Line (Public Meeting); (Contact: Nathan Sanfilippo: 301– 415–8744). This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/. Week of August 10, 2015—Tentative Thursday, August 13, 2015 9:00 a.m. Briefing on Greater-ThanClass-C Low-Level Radioactive Waste (Public Meeting); (Contact: Gregory Suber—301–415–8087). This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/. PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2014–0210] Regulatory Guide 8.11, Revision 1, Applications of Bioassay for Uranium Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 8.11, ‘‘Applications of Bioassay for Uranium.’’ This guide provides methods that the NRC staff considers acceptable for the development and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 133 / Monday, July 13, 2015 / Notices implementation of a bioassay program for monitoring the intake of mixtures of uranium isotopes by occupationally exposed workers. This guide applies to licenses issued under ‘‘Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material.’’ ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2014–0210 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2014–0210. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Document collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ adams.html. To begin the search, select ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 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, 301–415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. Revision 1 of RG 8.11 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML15054A618. The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14133A612. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not required to reproduce them. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harriet Karagiannis, telephone: 301– 251–7477; email: Harriet.Karagiannis@ nrc.gov or Casper Sun, telephone: 301– 251–7912; email: Casper.Sun@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: available to the public information regarding 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, or for amendments to such permits and licenses. The draft Revision 1 of RG 8.11 was issued with a temporary identification as Draft Regulatory Guide, DG–8054 and published in the Federal Register to obtain public comments (79 FR 60190; October 6, 2014). The NRC issued the initial version of RG 8.11 in June 1974 to provide guidance to NRC licensees on methods the staff found acceptable to demonstrate compliance with the then current version of NRC’s radiation protection regulations in 10 CFR part 20. In 1991 the NRC promulgated amendments to its 10 CFR part 20 regulations (56 FR 23360; May 21, 1991). The 1991 rulemaking included substantive amendments to the 10 CFR part 20 regulations as well as a renumbering of those regulations. As such, this revision (Revision 1) to the guide updates the guide’s crossreferences to the current 10 CFR part 20 regulations. In addition, the guide endorses for use certain sections of a voluntary consensus standard, namely, the American National Standards Institute/ Health Physics Society N13.22–2013 standard, ‘‘Bioassay Programs for Uranium,’’ as a means for licensees to demonstrate compliance with the NRC regulations, 10 CFR 20.1201, ‘‘Occupational Dose Limits for Adults,’’ and 10 CFR 20.1204, ‘‘Determination of Internal Exposure.’’ Specifically, 10 CFR 20.1201(e) requires NRC licensees to limit the soluble uranium intake to an occupational worker to 10 milligrams in a week, in addition to annual occupational dose limits, and 10 CFR 20.1204(a) requires NRC licensees to take suitable and timely measurements of the concentrations of radioactive materials in air in work areas and the quantities of radionuclides in the bodies of occupational workers. Finally, this guide identifies the bioassay interpretation methods in the NRC document NUREG/CR–4884, ‘‘Interpretation of Bioassay Measurement,’’ as an acceptable method to comply with NRC requirements. I. Introduction II. Additional Information DG–8054 was published in the Federal Register (79 FR 60190; October 6, 2014) for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment period The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC’s ‘‘Regulatory Guide’’ series. This series was developed to describe and make VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:27 Jul 10, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 40089 closed on December 5, 2014. The NRC received one comment submission. This comment submission and the staff responses to the comments set forth in that comment submission are available under ADAMS Accession Number ML15014A269. III. Congressional Review Act This regulatory guide 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 Licensees may voluntarily use the guidance in this regulatory guide (Revision 1 of RG 8.11) to demonstrate compliance with the underlying NRC regulations. Methods or solutions that differ from those described in this regulatory guide may be deemed acceptable if they provide sufficient basis and information for the NRC staff to verify that the proposed alternative demonstrates compliance with the appropriate NRC regulations. Current licensees (i.e., persons holding a NRC issued license as of the date of issuance of this regulatory guide) may continue to use guidance the NRC found acceptable for complying with the identified regulations as long as their current licensing basis remains unchanged. The acceptable guidance may be from the previous version of this regulatory guide. Licensees may use the information in this regulatory guide for actions which do not require NRC review and approval. Licensees may also use the information in this regulatory guide to resolve regulatory or inspection issues. The NRC staff does not intend or approve any imposition or backfitting of the guidance in this regulatory guide (see 10 CFR 70.76, ‘‘Backfitting’’). The NRC staff does not expect any current licensee to use or commit to using the guidance in this regulatory guide, unless such licensee makes a change to its licensing basis. The NRC staff does not expect or plan to initiate NRC regulatory action that would require the use of this regulatory guide. Examples of such regulatory actions include the issuance of an order or generic communication, or the promulgation of a rule, requiring the use of this regulatory guide without further backfit consideration. During regulatory discussions on licensee-specific operational issues, the NRC staff may discuss with licensees various actions consistent with staff positions in this regulatory guide, as one acceptable means of meeting the E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1 40090 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 133 / Monday, July 13, 2015 / Notices underlying NRC regulatory requirements. Such discussions would not ordinarily be considered backfitting, even if prior versions of this regulatory guide are part of the licensee’s licensing basis. However, unless this regulatory guide is part of the licensee’s licensing basis, the staff may not represent to the licensee that the licensee’s failure to comply with the positions in this regulatory guide constitutes a violation. If a current licensee voluntarily seeks a license amendment or change and (1) the NRC staff’s consideration of the request involves a regulatory issue directly relevant to this regulatory guide and (2) the specific subject matter of this regulatory guide is an essential consideration in the staff’s determination of the acceptability of the licensee’s request, then the staff may request that the licensee either follow the guidance in this regulatory guide or provide an equivalent alternative process that demonstrates compliance with the underlying NRC regulatory requirements. Such a request by the NRC staff is not considered backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 70.76(a)(1). If a licensee believes that the NRC is either using this regulatory guide or requesting or requiring the licensee to implement the methods or processes in this regulatory guide in a manner inconsistent with the discussion in the Implementation section of this regulatory guide, then the licensee may file a backfit appeal with the NRC in accordance with the guidance in NRC Management Directive 8.4, ‘‘Management of Facility-Specific Backfitting and Information Collection’’ and NUREG–1409, ‘‘Backfitting Guidelines.’’ Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of July, 2015. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Carol Moyer, Acting Branch Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. 2015–17018 Filed 7–10–15; 8:45 am] asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES BILLING CODE 7590–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–75373; File No. SR–CBOE– 2015–063] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Rule 6.49A July 7, 2015. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on June 24, 2015, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘CBOE’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Exchange filed the proposal as a ‘‘noncontroversial’’ proposed rule change pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 3 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.4 The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of the Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange p [sic] proposes to amend its Rule 6.49A relating to the transfer of positions. The text of the proposed rule change is provided below. (additions are italicized; deletions are [bracketed]) * * * * * Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated Rules * * * * * Rule 6.49A. Transfer of Positions (a)–(b) No change. (c) Transfer Procedure. (1)–(8) No change. (9) Any Request for Quotes that is to be submitted later than 12:30[0] p.m. (or two and one half hours prior to an early scheduled close) must have the approval of the President of the Exchange to have a Request Response Time of less than two hours. In no event may a Request for Quotes be submitted to the floor later than 2:30 p.m. (or thirty minutes prior to an early scheduled close). 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). CFR 240.19b–4. 3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii). 4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 2 17 VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:27 Jul 10, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 (10)–(13) No change. (d) No change. . . . Interpretations and Policies: .01–.03 No change. * * * * * The text of the proposed rule change is also available on the Exchange’s Web site (https://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/ CBOELegalRegulatoryHome.aspx), at the Exchange’s Office of the Secretary, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose Rule 6.49A describes the circumstances under which Trading Permit Holders may transfer positions and the on- and off-floor procedures for a transfer of positions. Pursuant to subparagraph (c), an on-floor transfer of positions must be represented to the trading crowd pursuant to a request for quotes and can be completed after a two-hour response time (or different time if approved by the Exchange President pursuant to subparagraph (c)(8)). Subparagraph (c)(6) indicates that transfer packages offered on the floor are subject to FLEX trading procedures in Rule 24A.5(a) through (c) or Rule 24B.5(a)(2)(i) through (iii). Pursuant to Rule 24A.5(a) or Rule 24B.5(a)(2), the submission of a request for quotes must use the forms, formats, procedures and time frames established by the Exchange. On receipt of a request for quotes in proper form, the Exchange official will initiate the request for quotes by communicating the terms and specifications on and off the floor. Rule 6.49A(c)(9) currently provides that a submission of a request for quotes for a transfer package later than 1:00 p.m. require the approval of the President of the Exchange (as that would result in a response time of less than two hours). Additionally, Rule E:\FR\FM\13JYN1.SGM 13JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 133 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40088-40090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17018]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2014-0210]


Regulatory Guide 8.11, Revision 1, Applications of Bioassay for 
Uranium

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 8.11, ``Applications of Bioassay 
for Uranium.'' This guide provides methods that the NRC staff considers 
acceptable for the development and

[[Page 40089]]

implementation of a bioassay program for monitoring the intake of 
mixtures of uranium isotopes by occupationally exposed workers. This 
guide applies to licenses issued under ``Domestic Licensing of Special 
Nuclear Material.''

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0210 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0210. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Document collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this notice (if 
that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a 
document is referenced. Revision 1 of RG 8.11 is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML15054A618. The regulatory analysis may be found 
in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14133A612.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harriet Karagiannis, telephone: 301-
251-7477; email: Harriet.Karagiannis@nrc.gov or Casper Sun, telephone: 
301-251-7912; email: Casper.Sun@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the Office 
of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public information regarding 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, or for amendments 
to such permits and licenses. The draft Revision 1 of RG 8.11 was 
issued with a temporary identification as Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-
8054 and published in the Federal Register to obtain public comments 
(79 FR 60190; October 6, 2014).
    The NRC issued the initial version of RG 8.11 in June 1974 to 
provide guidance to NRC licensees on methods the staff found acceptable 
to demonstrate compliance with the then current version of NRC's 
radiation protection regulations in 10 CFR part 20. In 1991 the NRC 
promulgated amendments to its 10 CFR part 20 regulations (56 FR 23360; 
May 21, 1991). The 1991 rulemaking included substantive amendments to 
the 10 CFR part 20 regulations as well as a renumbering of those 
regulations. As such, this revision (Revision 1) to the guide updates 
the guide's cross-references to the current 10 CFR part 20 regulations.
    In addition, the guide endorses for use certain sections of a 
voluntary consensus standard, namely, the American National Standards 
Institute/Health Physics Society N13.22-2013 standard, ``Bioassay 
Programs for Uranium,'' as a means for licensees to demonstrate 
compliance with the NRC regulations, 10 CFR 20.1201, ``Occupational 
Dose Limits for Adults,'' and 10 CFR 20.1204, ``Determination of 
Internal Exposure.'' Specifically, 10 CFR 20.1201(e) requires NRC 
licensees to limit the soluble uranium intake to an occupational worker 
to 10 milligrams in a week, in addition to annual occupational dose 
limits, and 10 CFR 20.1204(a) requires NRC licensees to take suitable 
and timely measurements of the concentrations of radioactive materials 
in air in work areas and the quantities of radionuclides in the bodies 
of occupational workers. Finally, this guide identifies the bioassay 
interpretation methods in the NRC document NUREG/CR-4884, 
``Interpretation of Bioassay Measurement,'' as an acceptable method to 
comply with NRC requirements.

II. Additional Information

    DG-8054 was published in the Federal Register (79 FR 60190; October 
6, 2014) for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment period 
closed on December 5, 2014. The NRC received one comment submission. 
This comment submission and the staff responses to the comments set 
forth in that comment submission are available under ADAMS Accession 
Number ML15014A269.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This regulatory guide 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

    Licensees may voluntarily use the guidance in this regulatory guide 
(Revision 1 of RG 8.11) to demonstrate compliance with the underlying 
NRC regulations. Methods or solutions that differ from those described 
in this regulatory guide may be deemed acceptable if they provide 
sufficient basis and information for the NRC staff to verify that the 
proposed alternative demonstrates compliance with the appropriate NRC 
regulations. Current licensees (i.e., persons holding a NRC issued 
license as of the date of issuance of this regulatory guide) may 
continue to use guidance the NRC found acceptable for complying with 
the identified regulations as long as their current licensing basis 
remains unchanged. The acceptable guidance may be from the previous 
version of this regulatory guide. Licensees may use the information in 
this regulatory guide for actions which do not require NRC review and 
approval. Licensees may also use the information in this regulatory 
guide to resolve regulatory or inspection issues.
    The NRC staff does not intend or approve any imposition or 
backfitting of the guidance in this regulatory guide (see 10 CFR 70.76, 
``Backfitting''). The NRC staff does not expect any current licensee to 
use or commit to using the guidance in this regulatory guide, unless 
such licensee makes a change to its licensing basis. The NRC staff does 
not expect or plan to initiate NRC regulatory action that would require 
the use of this regulatory guide. Examples of such regulatory actions 
include the issuance of an order or generic communication, or the 
promulgation of a rule, requiring the use of this regulatory guide 
without further backfit consideration.
    During regulatory discussions on licensee-specific operational 
issues, the NRC staff may discuss with licensees various actions 
consistent with staff positions in this regulatory guide, as one 
acceptable means of meeting the

[[Page 40090]]

underlying NRC regulatory requirements. Such discussions would not 
ordinarily be considered backfitting, even if prior versions of this 
regulatory guide are part of the licensee's licensing basis. However, 
unless this regulatory guide is part of the licensee's licensing basis, 
the staff may not represent to the licensee that the licensee's failure 
to comply with the positions in this regulatory guide constitutes a 
violation.
    If a current licensee voluntarily seeks a license amendment or 
change and (1) the NRC staff's consideration of the request involves a 
regulatory issue directly relevant to this regulatory guide and (2) the 
specific subject matter of this regulatory guide is an essential 
consideration in the staff's determination of the acceptability of the 
licensee's request, then the staff may request that the licensee either 
follow the guidance in this regulatory guide or provide an equivalent 
alternative process that demonstrates compliance with the underlying 
NRC regulatory requirements. Such a request by the NRC staff is not 
considered backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 70.76(a)(1).
    If a licensee believes that the NRC is either using this regulatory 
guide or requesting or requiring the licensee to implement the methods 
or processes in this regulatory guide in a manner inconsistent with the 
discussion in the Implementation section of this regulatory guide, then 
the licensee may file a backfit appeal with the NRC in accordance with 
the guidance in NRC Management Directive 8.4, ``Management of Facility-
Specific Backfitting and Information Collection'' and NUREG-1409, 
``Backfitting Guidelines.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of July, 2015.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carol Moyer,
Acting Branch Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, 
Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-17018 Filed 7-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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