[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15547-15548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8204]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Draft Regulatory Guides and Standard Review Plan Sections; 
Issuance, Availability

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued four guides in its 
Regulatory Guide Series along with three sections of NUREG-0800, 
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for 
Nuclear Power Plants.'' The Regulatory Guide 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.
    These regulatory guides and standard review plan sections are in 
support of amendments to 10 CFR Parts 21, 50, 52, 54, and 100 (61 FR 
65157) that update the criteria used in decisions regarding power 
reactor siting, including geologic, seismic, and earthquake engineering 
considerations for future nuclear power plants.
    Regulatory Guide 1.165, ``Identification and Characterization of 
Seismic Sources and Determination of Safe Shutdown Earthquake Ground 
Motion,'' provides general guidance on procedures acceptable to the NRC 
staff on conducting geological, geophysical, seismological, and 
geotechnical investigations; identifying and characterizing seismic 
sources; conducting probabilistic seismic hazard analyses; and 
determining the safe shutdown earthquake ground motion for a nuclear 
power plant.
    Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide 1.12, ``Nuclear Power Plant 
Instrumentation for Earthquakes,'' describes seismic instrumentation 
type, location, operability, and characteristics that are acceptable to 
the NRC staff for satisfying the requirements of the Commission's 
regulations.
    Regulatory Guide 1.166, ``Pre-Earthquake Planning and Immediate 
Nuclear Power Plant Operator Postearthquake Actions,'' provides 
guidance acceptable to the NRC staff for a timely evaluation after an 
earthquake of the recorded seismic instrumentation data and for 
determining whether plant shutdown is required.
    Regulatory Guide 1.167, ``Restart of a Nuclear Power Plant Shut 
Down by a Seismic Event,'' provides guidance acceptable to the NRC 
staff for performing inspections and tests of nuclear power plant 
equipment and structures prior to restart of a plant that has been shut 
down by a seismic event.
    Revision 3 of Standard Review Plan Section 2.5.1, ``Basic Geologic 
and Seismic Information,'' describes the kinds of basic geological, 
seismological, and geophysical information and review procedures 
necessary to evaluate a nuclear power station site.
    Revision 3 of Standard Review Plan Section 2.5.2, ``Vibratory 
Ground Motion,'' describes procedures to assess the ground motion 
potential of seismic sources at the site and to assess the safety 
shutdown earthquake.
    Revision 3 of Standard Review Plan Section 2.5.3, ``Surface 
Faulting,'' describes the geosciences information and review procedures 
needed to asses the significance of faults to the suitability of the 
site.
    A document entitled ``Resolution of Public Comments on Draft 
Regulatory Guides and Standard Review Plan Sections Pertaining to the 
Proposed Seismic and Earthquake Engineering Criteria for Nuclear Power 
Plants'' explains the NRC's disposition of the comments received on the 
draft regulatory guides and standard review plan sections. A copy of 
this document has been placed in the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L 
Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC. Single copies are available 
from Dr. Andrew J. Murphy, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone 
(301) 415-6010.
    The Office of Management and Budget has verified the determination 
that these regulatory guides and Standard Review Plan sections do not 
constitute a major rule.
    Regulatory guides and the Standard Review Plan are available for 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW., 
Washington, DC. Requests for single copies of draft documents (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: Distribution and Mail Services 
Section. Telephone requests cannot be accommodated. Regulatory guides 
and standard review plans are not copyrighted, and Commission approval 
is not required to reproduce them.

(5. U.S.C. 552(a))

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March 1997.


[[Page 15548]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David L. Morrison,
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 97-8204 Filed 3-31-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M