[Federal Register: March 22, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 54)] [Notices] [Page 13833] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22mr99-108] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Draft Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued for public comment a draft of a guide planned for its Regulatory Guide Series. This series has been developed to describe and make available to the public such information as methods acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the Commission's regulations, techniques used by the staff in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, and data needed by the staff in its review of applications for permits and licenses. The draft guide, temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1083 (which should be mentioned in all correspondence concerning this draft guide), is ``Content of the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.71(e).'' The guide will be in Division 1, ``Power Reactors,'' of the Regulatory Guide Series. This regulatory guide is being developed to provide guidance to licensees to ensure that Updated Final Safety Analysis Reports are updated to reflect changes to the design bases and to reflect the effects of other analyses performed since the original licensing. During its review of NEI 98-03, ``Guidelines for Updating Final Safety Analysis Reports'' (October 1998), the staff noticed that the voluntary guidance in Appendix A to NEI 98-03 could be interpreted to allow the removal of all information that is not required to be incorporated into an updated FSAR (UFSAR), regardless of whether that information is associated with risk-significant structures, systems, and components (SSCs). This could occur for SSCs that are not (1) addressed by technical specifications, (2) necessary for the facility to meet its design basis or safety analyses, (3) part of the UFSAR description, as defined in Section 3.7 of NEI 98-03, or (4) otherwise required to be incorporated into the UFSAR in accordance with 10 CFR 50.34(b), 10 CFR 50.71(e), or other NRC requirements including license conditions and orders. The staff's concern is that the removal of this information was intended by neither the proposed generic letter nor NEI 98-03. The staff is proposing that a statement such as the following be incorporated into Appendix A of NEI 98-03, most likely as a fourth bullet in Section A2, ``Controlling Modifications to the Updated FSAR.'' It is the intent of this guideline to help licensees remove unimportant information from UFSARs such as excessive detail, obsolete information, or redundant information. This guideline is not intended to be used to remove information from UFSARs regarding SSCs that insights from operating experience or probabilistic risk assessments would indicate are risk significant. It should be understood that this limitation is voluntary; i.e., licensees who choose to take out information regarding risk-significant SSCs would be free to do so, absent an order or other legally binding requirement (e.g., a rule) directing the licensee not to remove the information. The staff is specifically requesting comments on the above language and on the appropriateness of retaining information associated with risk-significant SSCs in UFSARs, even when a specific requirement to do so does not exist. The draft guide has not received complete staff review or approval and does not represent an official NRC staff position. Public comments are being solicited on Draft Regulatory Guide DG- 1083. Comments may be accompanied by additional relevant information or supporting data. Written comments may be submitted to the Rules and Directives Branch, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Copies of comments received may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC. Comments will be most helpful if received by April 30, 1999. You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking website through the NRC home page (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov/cgi-bin/ library?source = *&library = rg__lib&file = *). This site provides the availability to upload comments as files (any format), if your web browser supports that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking website, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher, (301) 415-5905; e-mail CAG@nrc.gov. For information about the draft guide and the related documents, contact Mr. T.A. Bergman, (301) 415-1021, e-mail TAB@nrc.gov. Although a time limit is given for comments on this draft guide, 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. Regulatory guides are available for inspection at the NRC's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC. Requests for single copies of draft or final guides (which may be reproduced) or for placement on an automatic distribution list for single copies of future draft guides in specific divisions should be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Reproduction and Distribution Services Section; or by fax to (301)415- 2289; or by email to . Telephone requests cannot be accommodated. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is not required to reproduce them. (5 U.S.C. 552(a)) Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of March 1999. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. John W. Craig, Director, Division of Regulatory Applications, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. 99-6907 Filed 3-19-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P