[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21774-21775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08963]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2015-0099]


Sizing of Large Lead-Acid Storage Batteries

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing draft 
regulatory guide (DG), DG-1311, ``Sizing of Large Lead-Acid Batteries'' 
for public comment. This guidance is proposed revision 1 of regulatory 
guide (RG), RG 1.212, ``Sizing of Large Lead-Acid Storage Batteries.'' 
This DG endorses, with certain clarifications, the Institute of 
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Standard 485-2010, ``IEEE 
Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary 
Applications.'' This DG describes methods acceptable to the NRC staff 
for complying with the design requirements for stationary battery 
applications in full float operation for nuclear power plants.

DATES: Submit comments by June 19, 2015. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if practical to do so, but the NRC is able to 
ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. 
Although a time limit is given, 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.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comment by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0099. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: O12-H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liliana Ramadan, telephone: 301-415-
7000, email: [email protected] or Mark Orr, telephone: 301-415-
7000, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 21775]]

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0099 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0099.
     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 available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The DG 
is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML14031A265.
     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

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2015-0099 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public such information as methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific problems or postulated accidents, and data that the staff 
needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The DG, entitled, ``Sizing of Large Lead Acid Storage Batteries'' 
is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1311. This DG-1311 is 
proposed revision 1 of RG 1.212. This DG endorses, with certain 
clarifications, IEEE Standard 485-2010, ``IEEE Recommended Practice for 
Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications.'' This DG 
describes methods acceptable to the staff for complying with the design 
requirements for stationary battery applications in full float 
operation for nuclear power plants.
    Copies of IEEE standards may be purchased from the Institute of 
Electrical and Electronics Engineers Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, 
P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855, or through the IEEE's public Web 
site at http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/index.html.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    Issuing of this DG, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting 
as defined in Sec.  50.109 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), (the Backfit Rule), and would not otherwise be 
inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As 
discussed in the ``Implementation'' section of this DG, the NRC has no 
current intention to impose this DG on current holders of Part 50 
operating licenses or Part 52 combined licenses.
    This DG, if finalized, could be applied to applications for 
operating licenses and combined licenses docketed by the NRC as of the 
date of issuance of the final RG, as well as future applications for 
operating licenses and combined licenses submitted after the issuance 
of the RG. Such action would not constitute backfitting as defined in 
10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) or be otherwise inconsistent with the applicable 
issue finality provision in 10 CFR part 52, inasmuch as such applicants 
or potential applicants, with exceptions not applicable here, 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 14th day of April, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Harriet Karagiannis,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division 
of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-08963 Filed 4-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P