80 FR 38239 - Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During Preoperational and Startup Testing

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 127 (July 2, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1323, ``Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During Preoperational and Startup Testing.'' This guide describes methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable when a developing a comprehensive vibration assessment program (CVAP) for power reactor internals during preoperational and startup testing.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 127 (Thursday, July 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38239-38241]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16284]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0161]


Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals 
During Preoperational and Startup Testing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1323, ``Comprehensive 
Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals During 
Preoperational and Startup Testing.'' This guide describes methods and 
procedures that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable when a 
developing a comprehensive vibration assessment program (CVAP) for 
power reactor internals during preoperational and startup testing.

DATES: Submit comments by August 31, 2015. 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. Although a time limit is given, comments and suggestions in 
connection with items for inclusion in guides currently being developed 
or improvements in all published guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specified subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0161. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop:

[[Page 38240]]

OWFN-12H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.
    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: Thomas Scarbrough, Office of New 
Reactors, telephone: 301-415-2794, email: [email protected] or 
Yuken Wong, Office of New Reactors, telephone: 301-415-0500, email: 
[email protected]; and Stephen Burton, Office of Nuclear Regulatory 
Research, telephone: 301-415-7000, 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-2015-0161 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publically-available information related to this document, by 
any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0161. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://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 [email protected]. The 
DG is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML15083A390.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2015-0161 in your comment submission 
in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment submission 
available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC posts all comment 
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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 in their comment submissions 
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 
submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG 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 
NRC'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 DG, entitled, ``Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for 
Reactor Internals During Preoperational and Startup Testing'' is a 
proposed revision temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1323. 
This DG-1323 is proposed Revision 4 of Regulatory Guide 1.20, 
``Comprehensive Vibration Assessment Program for Reactor Internals 
During Preoperational and Startup Testing.'' This regulatory guide 
describes methods and procedures that the staff of the NRC considers 
acceptable when developing a comprehensive vibration assessment program 
(CVAP) for power reactor internals during preoperational and startup 
testing. The DG describes methodology the NRC staff considers 
acceptable to support its review of applications for (1) nuclear 
reactor construction permits or operating licenses under part 50 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR); (2) design 
certifications and combined licenses under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, 
Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants;'' and (3) 
license amendment requests for extended power uprates at operating 
reactors. The DG also describes methodology the staff considers 
acceptable for use by licensees of operating plants planning 
significant plant modifications that might induce potential adverse 
flow effects on structures, systems, and components within the scope of 
the DG.
    This proposed regulatory guide has been revised to expand the 
guidance related to flow-induced vibration, acoustic resonance, 
acoustic-induced vibration, and mechanical-induced vibration for 
boiling water reactors, pressurized water reactors, and small modular 
reactors. For small modular reactors, this includes guidance for the 
control rod drive system and mechanisms which might be contained in an 
integral reactor vessel. The additional guidance in this proposed 
revision 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, the proposed revision re-defines and 
clarifies the prototype, limited prototype, and non-prototype 
classifications of reactor internal configurations. Also, the proposed 
revision aligns the format and content of the guide with the current 
program guidance for regulatory guides since Revision 3 of RG 1.20 was 
issued.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuance of this regulatory guide, if finalized, does not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) 
and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 
10 CFR part 52. This regulatory guide would 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 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

[[Page 38241]]

which the guidance in the regulatory guide would be relevant, absent 
voluntary action by the licensees to use the guidance to demonstrate 
compliance with the underlying NRC regulations.
    The regulatory guide, if finalized, 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 final regulatory guide. If finalized, 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 final 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 part 52. This is 
because neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality provisions 
under 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, if finalized, 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, if finalized, 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 26th day of June, 2015.

    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. 2015-16284 Filed 7-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P