Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During Preoperational and Startup Testing, 10505-10506 [2017-02864]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 28 / Monday, February 13, 2017 / Notices
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subject systems are in compliance with
the current licensing and design bases
and applicable regulatory requirements,
and that suitable design, operational,
and testing control measures are in
place for maintaining this compliance;
and (2) collect the requested
information to determine whether
additional regulatory action is required.
As a result of its review of the GL 2008–
01 responses, the NRC identified that
some plant-specific TS did not cover all
systems or locations susceptible to gas
accumulation. Accordingly, the NRC
staff determined that enhancements to
TSs and the standard technical
specifications (STSs) were desirable.
The nuclear industry undertook two
primary initiatives to address the
desired regulatory guidance and TS
enhancements, NEI 09–10 and TSTF–
523. The NRC issued RIS 2013–09,
‘‘NRC Endorsement of NEI 09–10,
Revision 1a-A, ‘Guidelines for Effective
Prevention and Management of System
Gas Accumulation’’’ (ADAMS
Accession No. ML13178A152), to
endorse NEI 09–10 as an acceptable and
recommended approach for managing
gas accumulation. The NRC staff
approved for use TSTF–523, Revision 2,
in a Federal Register notice on January
15, 2014 (79 FR 2700).
Although the NRC issued plantspecific closure letters following its
review of information submitted in
response to GL 2008–01, the closure
letters did not address development of
additional regulatory guidance or
enhancements to both plant-specific TS
and STS requirements. The NRC staff
accepted the incorporation of a gas
management program consistent with
NEI 09–10 and the adoption of TSTF–
523 as approaches for plants to
sufficiently demonstrate the continued
operability of safety significant systems
susceptible to gas accumulation.
III. Request for Comment
This draft RIS sets forth the regulatory
history of the NRC’s concerns with gas
accumulation, as summarized above in
Section II, ‘‘Background.’’ This draft
RIS, if finalized would advise affected
entities that those licensees who choose
not to implement NEI 09–10 and TSTF–
523 must ensure, through some
appropriate means, that systems remain
operable with respect to the potential
for accumulation of gas, in accordance
with their plant-specific TSs and their
plants’ licensing basis.
The NRC requests public comments
on the draft RIS. The NRC staff will
make a final determination regarding
issuance of the RIS after it considers any
public comments received in response
to this request. The draft RIS is available
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:41 Feb 10, 2017
Jkt 241001
in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML16244A787.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 06th day
of February 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Sheldon D. Stuchell,
Chief, Generic Communications Branch,
Division of Policy and Rulemaking, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2017–02866 Filed 2–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2015–0161]
Comprehensive Vibration Assessment
Program for Reactor Internals During
Preoperational and Startup Testing
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 4
to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.20,
‘‘Comprehensive Vibration Assessment
Program for Reactor Internals During
Preoperational and Startup Testing.’’
This RG describes methods and
procedures that the NRC staff considers
acceptable when developing a
comprehensive vibration assessment
program for reactor internals during
preoperational and startup testing.
DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.20 is available
on February 13, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2015–0161 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publically-available
information related to this document,
using the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2015–0161. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 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
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
10505
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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 4 to Regulatory Guide 1.20,
and the regulatory analysis may be
found in ADAMS under Accession Nos.
ML16056A338 and ML15083A388,
respectively.
• 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:
Thomas Scarbrough, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301–415–2794,
email: Thomas.Scarbrough@nrc.gov;
Yuken Wong, Office of New Reactors,
telephone: 301–415–0500, email:
Yuken.Wong@nrc.gov, and Stephen
Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research, telephone: 301–15–7000,
email: Stephen.Burton@nrc.gov. All are
staff members of the 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 NRC staff uses in
evaluating specific issues or postulated
events, and data that the NRC staff
needs in its review of applications for
permits and licenses.
Revision 4 of RG 1.20 was issued with
a temporary identification of Draft
Regulatory Guide, DG–1323. This
revision expands the guidance related to
flow-induced vibration, acoustic
resonance, acoustic-induced vibration,
and mechanical-induced vibration for
boiling water reactor, pressurized water
reactor, and small modular reactor
(SMR) nuclear power plants. For SMRs,
this includes guidance for the control
rod drive system and control rod drive
mechanisms, which might be contained
in an integral reactor vessel module.
The additional guidance in Revision 4 is
based in part on lessons learned from
the review of recent applications,
including both new plant applications
and extended power uprate
applications. In addition, Revision 4 re-
E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM
13FEN1
10506
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 28 / Monday, February 13, 2017 / Notices
defines and clarifies the prototype,
limited prototype, and non-prototype
classifications of reactor internal
configurations.
II. Additional Information
The DG–1323 was published in the
Federal Register on July 2, 2015 (80 FR
38239) for a 60-day public comment
period. The public comment period
closed on August 31, 2015. Public
comments on DG–1323 and the NRC
staff responses to the public comments
are available in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML16056A341.
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
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 and Issue Finality
Issuance of this regulatory guide does
not constitute backfitting as defined in
section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (the
Backfit Rule), and is not otherwise
inconsistent with the issue finality
provisions in 10 CFR part 52. This
regulatory guide does not apply to any
nuclear reactor construction permits or
operating licenses under 10 CFR part 50,
design certifications and combined
licenses under 10 CFR part 52, or
license amendment requests for
extended power uprates at operating
reactors already issued by the NRC prior
to issuance of the regulatory guide. The
NRC has already completed its review of
the comprehensive vibration assessment
programs (CVAPs) for power reactor
internals for these construction permits,
operating licenses, design certifications,
combined operating licenses, and
license amendments for extended power
uprates. Therefore, no further NRC
regulatory action with respect to CVAPs
will occur for those licenses, permits,
certifications, and authorizations for
which the guidance in the regulatory
guide is relevant, absent voluntary
action by the licensees to use the
guidance to demonstrate compliance
with the underlying NRC regulations.
The regulatory guide may be applied to
applications for construction permits,
operating licenses, design certifications,
combined licenses, and license
amendments for extended power
uprates, any of which are docketed and
under review by the NRC as of the date
of issuance of the regulatory guide. The
regulatory guide may also be applied to
applications for construction permits,
operating licenses, design certifications,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:41 Feb 10, 2017
Jkt 241001
combined licenses, and license
amendments for extended power
uprates, any of which are submitted
after the issuance of the regulatory
guide. Such action would not constitute
backfitting as defined in 10 CFR
50.109(a)(1) and is not otherwise
inconsistent with the applicable issue
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52
because such applicants and potential
applicants are not, with certain
exceptions, protected by either the
Backfit Rule or any issue finality
provisions under 10 CFR part 52. This
is because neither the Backfit Rule nor
the issue finality provisions under 10
CFR part 52—with certain exclusions
discussed below—was intended to
apply to every NRC action that
substantially changes the expectations
of current and future applicants. The
exceptions to the general principle are
applicable whenever an applicant
references a 10 CFR part 52 license (e.g.,
an early site permit), NRC regulatory
approval (e.g., a design certification
rule), or both, with specified issue
finality provisions. The NRC does not,
at this time, intend to impose the
positions represented in the regulatory
guide in a manner that is inconsistent
with any issue finality provisions. If, in
the future, the staff seeks to impose a
position in the regulatory guide in a
manner that does not provide issue
finality as described in the applicable
issue finality provision, then the staff
must address the criteria for avoiding
issue finality as described in the
applicable issue finality provision.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day
of February, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic
Issues Branch, Division of Engineering, Office
of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2017–02864 Filed 2–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
Southern Nuclear Operating
Company, Inc. (Vogtle Electric
Generation Plant, Units 3 and 4),
Intervenor’s Appeal of LBP–16–10
(Tentative)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
9:00 a.m. Briefing on Lessons Learned
from the Fukushima Dai-ichi
Accident (Public Meeting) (Contact:
Andrew Proffitt: 301–415–1418)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
Friday, February 17, 2017
9:30 a.m. Briefing on Project Aim
(Public Meeting) (Contact: Tammy
Bloomer: 301–415–1785)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
Week of February 20, 2017—Tentative
Thursday, February 23, 2017
9:30 a.m. Joint Meeting of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission and
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(Public Meeting) (Contact: Denise
McGovern)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
Week of February 27, 2017—Tentative
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
10:00 a.m. Briefing on NRC
International Activities (Closed Ex.
1 & 9)
Thursday, March 2, 2017
9:00 a.m. Strategic Programmatic
Overview of the Fuel Facilities and
the Nuclear Materials Users
Business Lines (Public Meeting)
(Contact: Soly Soto; 301–415–7528)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
Week of March 6, 2017—Tentative
There are no meetings scheduled for
the week of March 6, 2017.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2017–0001]
Week of March 13, 2017—Tentative
Sunshine Act Meeting
There are no meetings scheduled for
the week of March 13, 2017.
February 13, 20, 27, March 6, 13,
20, 2017.
PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference
Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland.
STATUS: Public and Closed.
DATE:
Week of February 13, 2017
Thursday, February 16, 2017
8:55 a.m. Affirmation Session (Public
Meeting) (Tentative)
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Week of March 20, 2017—Tentative
Thursday, March 23, 2017
9:00 a.m. Hearing on Combined
Licenses for North Anna Nuclear
Plant, Unit 3: Section 189a. of the
Atomic Energy Act Proceeding
(Public Meeting) (Contact: James
Shea: 301–415–1388)
This meeting will be webcast live at
the Web address—https://www.nrc.gov/.
E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10505-10506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02864]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2015-0161]
Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals
During Preoperational and Startup Testing
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 4 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.20, ``Comprehensive Vibration
Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During Preoperational and
Startup Testing.'' This RG describes methods and procedures that the
NRC staff considers acceptable when developing a comprehensive
vibration assessment program for reactor internals during
preoperational and startup testing.
DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.20 is available on February 13, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0161 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publically-available information related to this document,
using the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0161. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 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 (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this
document. Revision 4 to Regulatory Guide 1.20, and the regulatory
analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML16056A338 and
ML15083A388, respectively.
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: Thomas Scarbrough, Office of New
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-2794, email: Thomas.Scarbrough@nrc.gov;
Yuken Wong, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301-415-0500, email:
Yuken.Wong@nrc.gov, and Stephen Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research, telephone: 301-15-7000, email: Stephen.Burton@nrc.gov. All
are staff members of the 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 NRC staff uses in evaluating
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs
in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
Revision 4 of RG 1.20 was issued with a temporary identification of
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1323. This revision expands the guidance
related to flow-induced vibration, acoustic resonance, acoustic-induced
vibration, and mechanical-induced vibration for boiling water reactor,
pressurized water reactor, and small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear
power plants. For SMRs, this includes guidance for the control rod
drive system and control rod drive mechanisms, which might be contained
in an integral reactor vessel module. The additional guidance in
Revision 4 is based in part on lessons learned from the review of
recent applications, including both new plant applications and extended
power uprate applications. In addition, Revision 4 re-
[[Page 10506]]
defines and clarifies the prototype, limited prototype, and non-
prototype classifications of reactor internal configurations.
II. Additional Information
The DG-1323 was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2015
(80 FR 38239) for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment
period closed on August 31, 2015. Public comments on DG-1323 and the
NRC staff responses to the public comments are available in ADAMS under
Accession No. ML16056A341.
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 and Issue Finality
Issuance of this regulatory guide does not constitute backfitting
as defined in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) (the Backfit Rule), and is not otherwise
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. This
regulatory guide does not apply to any nuclear reactor construction
permits or operating licenses under 10 CFR part 50, design
certifications and combined licenses under 10 CFR part 52, or license
amendment requests for extended power uprates at operating reactors
already issued by the NRC prior to issuance of the regulatory guide.
The NRC has already completed its review of the comprehensive vibration
assessment programs (CVAPs) for power reactor internals for these
construction permits, operating licenses, design certifications,
combined operating licenses, and license amendments for extended power
uprates. Therefore, no further NRC regulatory action with respect to
CVAPs will occur for those licenses, permits, certifications, and
authorizations for which the guidance in the regulatory guide is
relevant, absent voluntary action by the licensees to use the guidance
to demonstrate compliance with the underlying NRC regulations. The
regulatory guide may be applied to applications for construction
permits, operating licenses, design certifications, combined licenses,
and license amendments for extended power uprates, any of which are
docketed and under review by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the
regulatory guide. The regulatory guide may also be applied to
applications for construction permits, operating licenses, design
certifications, combined licenses, and license amendments for extended
power uprates, any of which are submitted after the issuance of the
regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute backfitting as
defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) and is not otherwise inconsistent with
the applicable issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52 because such
applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions,
protected by either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions
under 10 CFR part 52. This is because neither the Backfit Rule nor the
issue finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with certain exclusions
discussed below--was intended to apply to every NRC action that
substantially changes the expectations of current and future
applicants. The exceptions to the general principle are applicable
whenever an applicant references a 10 CFR part 52 license (e.g., an
early site permit), NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design
certification rule), or both, with specified issue finality provisions.
The NRC does not, at this time, intend to impose the positions
represented in the regulatory guide in a manner that is inconsistent
with any issue finality provisions. If, in the future, the staff seeks
to impose a position in the regulatory guide in a manner that does not
provide issue finality as described in the applicable issue finality
provision, then the staff must address the criteria for avoiding issue
finality as described in the applicable issue finality provision.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of February, 2017.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2017-02864 Filed 2-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P