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SECY-00-0055

March 2, 2000

• PURPOSE:
• BACKGROUND:
• DISCUSSION:
• RESOURCES:
• COORDINATION:

PURPOSE:

To update the Commission on the status of the development of the comprehensive fire protection regulatory guide for operating reactors as directed in the staff requirements memorandum (SRM) dated June 24, 1999.

BACKGROUND:

In SECY-98-058, "Development of a Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Regulation for Fire Protection at Nuclear Power Plants," dated March 26, 1998, the staff proposed to develop a regulatory guide that would consolidate the existing staff positions, interpretations, and guidance related to fire protection. In addition, as appropriate, the staff would resolve conflicts in the existing guidance and include new guidance where the existing guidance is either weak or nonexistent. This proposed effort was presented to the Commission at the meeting held on March 31, 1998, and approved by the Commission in the SRM dated June 30, 1998. On June 7, 1999, the staff submitted SECY-99-152, "Status of Reactor Fire Protection Projects," which provided the staff's detailed plan and schedule for the development of the regulatory guide and the feedback received from nuclear industry to date. In the SRM dated June 24, 1999, the Commission did not object to the staff's plan or schedule.

DISCUSSION:

On October 29, 1999, a notice was published in the Federal Register that the preliminary draft regulatory guide "Fire Protection Guidance for Operating Reactors," DG-1094, had been issued for public comment. The draft guide was also made available on the NRC's Technical Conference Web site. The notice requested that public comments be submitted by January 7, 2000. To date, comments on the draft have been received from the Nuclear Energy Institute, Winston & Strawn, and the Carolina Power & Light Company. On January 14, 2000, the staff made available for public use and information a searchable database on CDROM that contained the draft guide and all the supporting guidance documents used in its development. The staff held a public meeting on February 23, 2000, with the interested stakeholders to discuss the public comments received thus far and to explain the path forward for the continued development of the comprehensive guide.

The staff plans to revise the current draft guide following a resolution of comments received and to issue a second draft for final public comment in April 2000. Following resolution of those public comments, the staff plans to submit the final version of the guide to the EDO for approval. After the final version is issued, the staff will revise the CDROM database accordingly and make it publicly available.

RESOURCES:

NRR currently has .3 FTE budgeted for FY 2000 for the development of the comprehensive regulatory guide. Program funds of $50K are also budgeted to support the development of the guide for FY 2000.

COORDINATION:

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this Commission paper for resource implications and has no objections.

The staff has sent a copy of this paper to the ACRS for information.