[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 22, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22456-22457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09159]



[[Page 22456]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Parts 50 and 52

[NRC-2008-0332, NRC-2012-0041, NRC-2012-0042, NRC-2012-0043]
RIN 3150-AH42


Performance-Based Emergency Core Cooling Systems Cladding 
Acceptance Criteria

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: On March 24, 2014, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) published for public comment a proposed rule revising the 
acceptance criteria for the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) for 
light-water nuclear power reactors. The NRC is also seeking public 
comment on three draft regulatory guides that would support the 
implementation of the proposed rule. The public comment period for the 
proposed rule and associated draft guidance was to have ended on June 
9, 2014. The public comment period for information collection aspects 
of this rule was to have ended on April 23, 2014. Due to requests from 
members of the public, the NRC has extended the comment periods for the 
proposed rule, the associated draft guidance, and the information 
collection aspects until August 21, 2014.

DATES: The comment periods for the proposed rule, the associated draft 
guidance, and the information collection aspects (79 FR 16106; March 
24, 2014) have been extended and now end on August 21, 2014.

ADDRESSES:
    Proposed rule. You may submit comments by any of the following 
methods. Please include Docket ID NRC-2008-0332 in the subject line of 
your comment.
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0332. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do 
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact 
us at 301-415-1677.
     Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission at 301-415-1101.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
     Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland, 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal 
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
    Draft Regulatory Guides. There are three draft regulatory guides 
(DGs) related to the proposed rule: (1) DG-1261, ``Conducting Periodic 
Testing for Breakaway Oxidation Behavior;'' (2) DG-1262, ``Testing for 
Post Quench Ductility;'' and (3) DG-1263, ``Establishing Analytical 
Limits for Zirconium Based Alloy Cladding.'' You may submit comments on 
the DGs by any of the following methods:
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket IDs NRC-2012-0041, NRC-2012-
0042, and NRC-2012-0043, respectively.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules, 
Announcements, and Directives Branch, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: 3WFN-06-44M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
    Information Collections. You may submit comments on the information 
collections contained in the proposed rule to the FOIA, Privacy, and 
Information Collections Branch (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, or by email to 
[email protected] and to the Desk Officer, Danielle Jones, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, NEOB-10202, (3150-0011), 
Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can 
also be emailed to [email protected] or submitted by 
telephone at 202-395-1741. Please note that the OMB desk officer 
information has changed from that provided in the March 24, 2014, 
proposed rule.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara Inverso, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-1024, email: [email protected], or 
Paul M. Clifford, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-
4043, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments

A. Accessing Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2008-0332 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for the proposed rule. You may 
access publicly-available information related to the proposed rule by 
any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2008-0332.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly-available documents online in the NRC 
Library 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 numbers 
for the three DGs related to the proposed rule are: (1) ML12284A324 
(DG-1261, ``Conducting Periodic Testing for Breakaway Oxidation 
Behavior''); (2) ML12284A325 (DG-1262, ``Testing for Post Quench 
Ductility''); and (3) ML12284A323 (DG-1263, ``Establishing Analytical 
Limits for Zirconium Based Alloy Cladding'').
     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

    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into 
ADAMS and 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 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 into ADAMS.

[[Page 22457]]

II. Discussion

    On March 24, 2014, the NRC published a proposed rule revising the 
acceptance criteria for the ECCS for light-water nuclear power reactors 
(79 FR 16106). The proposed ECCS acceptance criteria are performance-
based, and reflect recent research findings that identified new 
embrittlement mechanisms for fuel rods with zirconium alloy cladding 
under loss-of-coolant accident conditions. The proposed rule also 
addresses two petitions for rulemaking by establishing requirements 
applicable to all fuel types and cladding materials, and requiring the 
consideration of crud, oxide deposits, and hydrogen content in 
zirconium-based alloy fuel cladding. Further, the proposed rule 
contains a provision that would allow licensees to use an alternative 
risk-informed approach to evaluate the effects of debris for long-term 
cooling. The NRC is also seeking public comment on three draft 
regulatory guides that would support the implementation of the proposed 
rule.
    The public comment period for the proposed rule and associated 
draft guidance was to have ended on June 9, 2014. The public comment 
period for information collection aspects of this rule was to have 
ended on April 23, 2014. Due to requests from members of the public, 
the NRC has extended the comment periods for the proposed rule, the 
associated draft guidance, and the information collection aspects until 
August 21, 2014.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of April 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2014-09159 Filed 4-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P