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###### Nuclear Regulatory Commission

          - 10 CFR Parts 50 and 52
          - [NRC-2024-0203]

# AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

# ACTION:

Draft guide; request for comment.

# SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft Regulatory Guide (DG), DG-1436, “Acceptability of ASME Code, Section III, Division 5, “High Temperature Reactors.' ” This DG is proposed Revision 3 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.87, “Acceptability of ASME Code, Section III, Division 5, 'High Temperature Reactors,' ” and describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to assure the mechanical/structural integrity of components that operate in elevated temperature environments and that are subject to time-dependent material properties and failure modes. It endorses, with conditions, the 2023 Edition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) Code (ASME Code) Section III, “Rules for Construction of Nuclear Facility Components,” Division 5, “High Temperature Reactors,” and several related code cases.

# DATES:

Submit comments by January 27, 2025. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

# ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods; however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website.
      -  Federal rulemaking website:                          Go to                          https://www.regulations.gov                          and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0203. Address questions about Docket IDs in                          Regulations.gov                          to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email:                          Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov.                          For technical questions, contact the individuals listed in the                          For Further Information Contact                          section of this document.                    
      -  Mail comments to:                          Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.                    

                        For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the                         **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION**                         section of this document.                    

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

                        Joseph Bass, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-0770; email:                         *Joseph.Bass@nrc.gov;*                         Margaret Audrain, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-2133; email:                         *Margaret.Audrain@nrc.gov;*                         and Ramón L. Gascot, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2004; email:                         *Ramon.Gascot@nrc.gov.*                         All are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.                    

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

## I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

### A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0203 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of the following methods:
    -  Federal Rulemaking Website:                      Go to                      https://www.regulations.gov                      and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0203.                
    -  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 problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to                      PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. 
    -  NRC's PDR:                      The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to                      PDR.Resource@nrc.gov                      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.                

### B. Submitting Comments

                    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website (                    *https://www.regulations.gov*). Please include Docket ID NRC-2024-0203 in your comment submission.                

                    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                     *https://www.regulations.gov*                     as well as enter 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 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 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.

The DG, entitled “Acceptability of ASME Code, Section III, Division 5, “High Temperature Reactors”,” is temporarily identified by its task number, DG-1436, ADAMS Accession No. ML24275A266).

                    The proposed revision (Revision 3) updates the guidance to endorse, with conditions, the 2023 Edition of ASME                           ( print page 100922)                        Code Section III, Division 5, as a method acceptable to the staff for the materials, mechanical/structural design, construction, testing, and quality assurance of mechanical systems and components and their supports of high temperature reactors. Proposed Revision 3 also endorses, with conditions, the Code Cases N-861-2, N-862-2, N-872, N-898-1, N-812-1, and N-924 as well as the Code Case in Record 23-15.                

The staff is also issuing for public comment a draft regulatory analysis (ADAMS Accession No. ML24275A267). The staff developed a regulatory analysis to assess the value of issuing or revising a regulatory guide as well as alternative courses of action.

                    As noted in the                     **Federal Register**                     on December 9, 2022 (87 FR 75671), this document is being published in the “Proposed Rules” section of the                     **Federal Register**                     to comply with publication requirements under chapter I of title 1 of the                     *Code of Federal Regulations*                     (CFR).                

## III. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

                    If finalized, the NRC staff may use this RG as a reference in its regulatory processes, such as licensing, inspection, or enforcement. However, the NRC staff does not intend to use the guidance in this RG to support NRC staff actions in a manner that would constitute backfitting as that term is defined in § 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”; nor does the NRC staff intend to use the guidance to affect the issue finality of an approval under 10 CFR part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.” The staff also does not intend to use the guidance to support NRC staff actions in a manner that constitutes forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4. If a licensee believes that the NRC is using this RG in a manner inconsistent with the discussion in this Implementation section, then the licensee may file a backfitting or forward fitting appeal with the NRC in accordance with the process in MD 8.4.                

## IV. 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: December 10, 2024.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Harriet Karagiannis,

Acting Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.

[FR Doc. 2024-29418 Filed 12-12-24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P