00-10293. Draft Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued for public comment a draft of a new guide in 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 NRC'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-1095 (which should be mentioned in all correspondence concerning this draft guide), is titled “Guidance for Implementation of 10 CFR 50.59, ‘Changes, Tests and Experiments.’ ” This guide is being developed to describe methods acceptable to the NRC staff for complying with the NRC's regulations with regard to the process for evaluating changes, tests, and experiements that a licensee wishes to make without prior NRC approval. A letter has been issued as part of the guide to request public comments on specific questions related to the guidance. This guide proposes to endorse, with some clarifications, a Nuclear Energy Institute document, Revision 1 of NEI 96-07, “Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Evaluations.”

This draft guide has not received complete staff approval and does not represent an official NRC staff position.

Comments may be accompanied by 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 June 9, 2000.

You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking website through the NRC home page (http://www.nrc.gov). 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, [phone]; e-mail [e-mail]. Electronic copies of this draft guide, under Accession Number ML003698165, are available in NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room, which can also be accessed through NRC's web site, <WWW.NRC.GOV>. For information about the draft guide and the related documents, contact Ms. E. McKenna at [phone]; e-mail [e-mail].

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 Commission'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 [phone], or by email to <[e-mail]>. 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 12th day of April 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Charles E. Ader,

Director, Program Management, Policy Development & Analysis Staff, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.