[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18005-18006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06285]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 58 / Monday, March 27, 2023 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 18005]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 50
[NRC-2022-0159]
Regulatory Guide: Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented
Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Production and Utilization Facilitiesl
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guide; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Revision 4 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.129, ``Maintenance, Testing, and
Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Production and
Utilization Facilities.'' This revised guidance provides information to
manage vented lead-acid battery degradation such that a battery in
service would retain its readiness for supporting design-basis events.
It endorses, with certain clarifying regulatory positions, Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard (Std.) 450-2020,
which provides the recommended maintenance, test schedules, and testing
procedures intended to optimize the life and performance of permanently
installed vented lead-acid storage batteries used for standby power
applications. It also provides guidance to determine when batteries
should be replaced.
DATES: Revision 4 to RG 1.129 is available on March 27, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0159 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0159. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For questions regarding use of 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 is available in ADAMS) is
provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
Revision 4 to RG 1.129 and the regulatory analysis may be found in
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML22332A409 and ML22026A443, respectively.
Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not
required to reproduce them.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Ray, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3653; email: [email protected]; and
James Steckel, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-
415-1026; email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC is issuing a revision to an existing guide in the NRC's
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe
methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific
parts of the agency's regulations, to explain techniques that the staff
uses in evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and to
describe information that the staff needs in its review of applications
for permits and licenses.
Revision 4 of RG 1.129 was issued with a temporary identification
number of DG-1401 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22026A441).
Revision 4 of RG 1.129 describes an approach that may be used to
determine quality standards acceptable to the NRC staff to meet the
regulatory requirements provides guidance to manage vented lead-acid
battery degradation such that a battery in service would retain its
readiness for supporting design-basis events. Revision 4 of RG 1.129
also endorses, with certain clarifying regulatory positions, IEEE Std.
450-2020, which provides the recommended maintenance, test schedules,
and testing procedures intended to optimize the life and performance of
permanently installed vented lead-acid storage batteries used for
standby power applications. It also provides guidance to determine when
batteries should be replaced.
II. Additional Information
The NRC issued RG 1.129, Revision 3, in September 2013, to endorse
(with certain clarifying regulatory positions) IEEE Std. 450-2010.
Since then, IEEE has revised the standard as IEEE Std. 450-2020 to
provide clarifying guidance on maintenance, testing, and corrective
actions. The revised IEEE standard provides guidance for the condition
monitoring of stationary batteries. The staff determined that, based on
the revised IEEE standard, a revision to this RG is necessary for
guidance to support new license applications, design certifications,
and applications for license amendments.
The NRC published a notice of availability of DG-1401 in the
Federal Register on August 29, 2022 (87 FR 52814) for a 30-day public
comment period. There were no comments from the public submitted for
DG-1401, and no staff responses were needed.
As noted in the Federal Register on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671),
this document is being published in the ``Rules'' section of the
Federal Register to comply with publication requirements under 1 CFR
chapter I.
[[Page 18006]]
III. Congressional Review Act
This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of RG 1.129, Revision 4 does not constitute backfitting as
defined in Sec. 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC Management Directive
(MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality,
and Information Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087);
constitute forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD
8.4; or affect the issue finality of any approval issued under 10 CFR
part 52, ``Licenses, Certificates, and Approvals for Nuclear Power
Plants.'' As explained in RG 1.129, Revision 4, applicants and
licensees are not required to comply with the positions set forth in
this regulatory guide.
V. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides
A member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to the
NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new RGs.
Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html.
Suggestions will be considered in future updates and enhancements to
the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.
Dated: March 22, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2023-06285 Filed 3-24-23; 8:45 am]
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