82 FR 51879 - Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation for Earthquakes

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 215 (November 8, 2017)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.12, ``Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation for Earthquakes.'' This revision to the guide addresses new reactor plant configurations and the state of practice of seismic instrumentation since Revision 2 of RG 1.12 in 1997. The revision describes the seismic instrumentation criteria, including instrumentation type, locations, characteristics, and maintenance, that the NRC staff considers acceptable for nuclear power plants.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51879-51880]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24333]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0201]


Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation for Earthquakes

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide, issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.12, ``Nuclear Power Plant 
Instrumentation for Earthquakes.'' This revision to the guide addresses 
new reactor plant configurations and the state of practice of seismic 
instrumentation since Revision 2 of RG 1.12 in 1997. The revision 
describes the seismic instrumentation criteria, including 
instrumentation type, locations, characteristics, and maintenance, that 
the NRC staff considers acceptable for nuclear power plants.

DATES: Revision 3 to RG 1.12 is available on November 8, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0201 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 http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0201. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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 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 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned. The RG 1.12 
is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML17094A831.
     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: Sarah Tabatabai, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2982, email: 
[email protected]; Vladimir Graizer, Office of New Reactors, 
telephone 301-415-0675, email: [email protected], and Edward 
O'Donnell, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-
3317, email: [email protected]. All are staff members of the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    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 3 of RG 1.12 was issued with a temporary identification of 
draft Regulatory Guide, DG-1332. The NRC revised the guide to 
incorporate advances in seismic instrumentation and operating 
experience since the issuance of Revision 2 of RG 1.12 in 1997. The 
revision describes the seismic instrumentation criteria, including 
instrumentation type, locations, characteristics, and maintenance, that 
the NRC staff considers acceptable for nuclear power plants.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-1332 in the 
Federal Register on September 21, 2016 (81 FR 64954), for a 60-day 
public comment period. The public comment period closed on November 21, 
2016. Public comments on DG-1332 and the staff responses to the public 
comments are available under ADAMS under Accession No. ML17095A314.

[[Page 51880]]

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 be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This RG describes the seismic instrumentation criteria, including 
instrumentation type, locations, characteristics, and maintenance, that 
the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for nuclear power plants. 
Issuance of this RG does not constitute backfitting as defined in Sec.  
50.109 of title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
(the Backfit Rule) and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue 
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As discussed in the 
``Implementation'' section of this RG, the NRC has no current intention 
to impose this guide on holders of current operating licenses or 
combined licenses.
    This RG may be applied to applications for operating licenses, 
combined licenses, early site permits, and certified design rules 
docketed by the NRC as of the date of issuance of the final regulatory 
guide, as well as future applications submitted after the issuance of 
the regulatory guide. Such action would not constitute backfitting as 
defined in the Backfit Rule or be otherwise inconsistent with the 
applicable issue finality provision in 10 CFR part 52, inasmuch as such 
applicants or potential applicants are not within the scope of entities 
protected by the Backfit Rule or the relevant issue finality provisions 
in part 52.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31th day of October, 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. 2017-24333 Filed 11-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P