Draft Letter to the Nuclear Energy Institute Regarding the Clarification of Regulatory Paths for Lead Test Assemblies, 26503-26505 [2018-12276]

Download as PDF 26503 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2018 / Notices Date Document December 17, 2012 ........ December 17, 2015 ........ February 1, 2009 ............ May 15, 2017 .................. April 25, 2016 ................. April 25, 2016 ................. Submission of PGEC DFP ..................................................................................................... Submission of PGEC Triennial DFP ...................................................................................... Environmental Assessment for Final Rule—Decommissioning Planning ............................. Note to File Re: Section 7 Consultations for ISFSI DFPs ..................................................... Consultation Letter (ML16120A553–RLSO) .......................................................................... Letter to M. Fris, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Re: NRC Preliminary Determination of No Effects Regarding the Diablo Canyon ISFSI DFP. Final EA for the Approval of the DFP .................................................................................... May 11, 2018 .................. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of June, 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. John McKirgan, Branch Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 2018–12249 Filed 6–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting Notice Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of meeting. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will convene a teleconference meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on July 16, 2018, to discuss the draft report of the ACMUI Subcommittee on Training and Experience Requirements for All Modalities. This report will include the subcommittee’s comments on the NRC staff’s evaluation of the training and experience requirements for different categories of radiopharmaceuticals in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 35, ‘‘Medical Use of Byproduct Material,’’ Subpart E, ‘‘Unsealed Byproduct Material—Written Directive Required.’’ Meeting information, including a copy of the agenda and handouts, will be available at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/acmui/meetings/2018.html. The agenda and handouts may also be obtained by contacting Ms. Maryann Ayoade using the information below. DATES: The teleconference meeting will be held on Monday, July 16, 2018, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Public Participation: Any member of the public who wishes to participate in the teleconference should contact Ms. Ayoade using the contact information below or may register for the GoToWebinar at https:// attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/ 2201638285137455618. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Jun 06, 2018 Jkt 244001 ADAMS Accession No. Contact Information: Maryann Ayoade, email: Maryann.Ayoade@ nrc.gov, telephone: (301) 415–0862. Conduct of the Meeting Dr. Christopher Palestro, ACMUI Chairman, will preside over the meeting. Dr. Palestro will conduct the meeting in a manner that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. The following procedures apply to public participation in the meeting: 1. Persons who wish to provide a written statement should submit an electronic copy to Ms. Ayoade at the contact information listed above. All submittals must be received by July 11, 2018, three business days prior to the meeting, and must pertain to the topic on the agenda for the meeting. 2. Questions and comments from members of the public will be permitted during the meetings, at the discretion of the Chairman. 3. The draft transcript and meeting summary will be available on the ACMUI’s website https://www.nrc.gov/ reading-rm/doc-collections/acmui/ meetings/2018.html on or about August 27, 2018. This meeting will be held in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (primarily Section 161a); the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App); and the Commission’s regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 7, ‘‘Advisory Committees.’’ Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of June, 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Russell E. Chazell, Federal Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 2018–12269 Filed 6–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 ML12353A315 ML15351A502 ML090500648 ML17135A062 ML17107A273 ML16120A606 ML18131A047 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2018–0109] Draft Letter to the Nuclear Energy Institute Regarding the Clarification of Regulatory Paths for Lead Test Assemblies Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of availability; opportunity for comment. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting public comments on a draft letter to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) clarifying the regulatory paths for the use of lead test assemblies (LTAs). This draft letter would finalize the NRC staff’s views on the preliminary positions regarding LTAs provided in a letter to NEI dated June 29, 2017. The NRC does not currently have consolidated regulatory guidance regarding the use of LTAs. Therefore, the NRC has drafted this letter to clarify its positions regarding the use of LTAs. These positions would affect light-water reactor licensees who wish to irradiate LTAs. DATES: Submit comments by June 27, 2018. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2018–0109. Address questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7– A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM 07JNN1 26504 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2018 / Notices Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Whitman, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301– 415–3253, email: Jennifer.Whitman@ nrc.gov, or Kimberly Green, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301–415–1627, email: Kimberly.Green@ nrc.gov. Both 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–2018– 0109 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publiclyavailable 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–2018–0109. • NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. For the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in the ‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section. • 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 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Please include Docket ID NRC–2018– 0109 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. Background This draft letter clarifies the NRC staff’s interpretation of Standard Technical Specification (STS) 4.2.1, ‘‘Fuel Assemblies.’’ The first part of STS 4.2.1 places limitations on the number of fuel assemblies in the reactor core, the type of fuel that can be used, the cladding material that can be used (e.g., zircaloy or ZIRLO), and requires the use of NRC-approved codes and methods for the fuel assemblies. The last sentence of STS 4.2.1 allows for the irradiation of a limited number of LTAs that have not completed representative testing if placed in nonlimiting regions of the reactor core. In the past, licensees have taken different approaches when conducting LTA campaigns. Some licensees obtained prior NRC approval by license amendments approving changes to Technical Specification (TS) 4.2.1 or exemptions from § 50.46, ‘‘Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power reactors,’’ of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), or both, for their LTA campaigns. Other licensees conducted LTA campaigns under 10 CFR 50.59, ‘‘Changes, tests, and experiments,’’ without prior NRC approval. This draft letter to NEI clarifies the NRC’s current interpretation of when prior NRC approval is needed for LTA campaigns. This draft letter responds to concerns from stakeholders, including NEI, that there is a lack of clarity in the regulatory requirements associated with the use of LTAs. For example, concerns were raised on the preliminary positions regarding LTAs provided in a letter to NEI dated June 29, 2017, as comments, in response to the NRC’s publication of the document, ‘‘Draft Project Plan to Prepare the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to License and Regulate Accident Tolerant Fuel’’ (82 FR 60633; December 21, 2017), and in a license amendment request for Byron Station, Unit 2, dated March 8, 2018. The draft letter provides clarification on the LTA provision in STS 4.2.1; clarification on the use of approved methods for LTA campaigns; two regulatory paths for LTA campaigns; guidance on the use of NEI 96–07, Revision 1, ‘‘Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation,’’ with regard to LTAs; and a position that an exemption to the requirements in 10 CFR 50.46 is not needed solely for the insertion of LTAs. III. Non-Concurrence An NRC staff member did not agree with some content of the draft letter to the NEI and submitted a nonconcurrence on the draft letter. In accordance with the NRC’s nonconcurrence process, NRC management and staff worked to address the staff member’s concerns, and documentation of the non-concurrence is available in ADAMS. IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality If finalized, the letter would provide additional clarification on previous staff preliminary statements and positions regarding the use of LTAs made in a letter to NEI dated June 29, 2017. Issuance of the letter, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and would not otherwise be inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC has no current intention to impose the positions described in the draft letter on holders of current operating licenses or combined licenses. V. Availability of Documents The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as indicated. ADAMS Accession No. Document Draft letter from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Nuclear Energy Institute, Re: Clarification of Regulatory Paths for Lead Test Assemblies, dated May 31, 2008. Letter from Dr. Mirela Gavrilas, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to Mr. Andrew Mauer, Nuclear Energy Institute, Re: Response to Nuclear Energy Institute Letter Concerning the Regulatory Path for Lead Test Assemblies, dated June 29, 2017. NUREG-1430, Standard Technical Specifications, Babcock and Wilcox Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0 ..................................... VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Jun 06, 2018 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM 07JNN1 ML18100A045 ML17150A443 ML12100A177 26505 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 110 / Thursday, June 7, 2018 / Notices ADAMS Accession No. Document NUREG-1431, Standard Technical Specifications, Westinghouse Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0 ............................................... NUREG-1432, Standard Technical Specifications, Combustion Engineering Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0 .............................. NUREG-1433, Standard Technical Specifications, General Electric BWR/4 Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0 ............................... NUREG-1434, Standard Technical Specifications, General Electric BWR/6 Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0 ............................... Letter from Andrew Mauer, Nuclear Energy Institute, to Dr. Mirela Gavrilas, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Re: Regulatory Path for Introduction of Lead Test Assemblies in Commercial Nuclear Reactors, dated May 19, 2017. Letter from David M. Gullott, Exelon Generation Company, LLC, to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Re: License Amendment Request to Utilize Accident Tolerant Fuel Lead Test Assemblies, Byron Station, Unit 2, dated March 8, 2018. NEI 96-07, Revision 1, Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation, dated November 2000 ...................................................... Non-Concurrence Form, dated May 31, 2018 ................................................................................................................................. The NRC may post materials related to this document, including public comments, on the Federal Rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC–2018–0109. The Federal Rulemaking website allows you to receive alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the docket folder (NRC–2018–0109); (2) click the ‘‘Sign up for Email Alerts’’ link; and (3) enter your email address and select how frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly). Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of June, 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Joseph G. Giitter, Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2018–12276 Filed 6–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P POSTAL SERVICE Product Change—Priority Mail Negotiated Service Agreement Postal ServiceTM. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule’s Competitive Products List. DATES: Date of required notice: June 7, 2018. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Reed, 202–268–3179. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service® hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3), on June 4, 2018, it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a USPS Request to Add Priority Mail Contract 438 to Competitive Product List. Documents sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Jun 06, 2018 Jkt 244001 are available at www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2018–161, CP2018–231. Elizabeth Reed, Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law. [FR Doc. 2018–12255 Filed 6–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710–12–P ML12100A222 ML12102A165 ML12104A192 ML12104A195 ML18038B080 ML18067A431 ML003771157 ML18151B016 domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule’s Competitive Products List. DATES: Date of required notice: June 7, 2018. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Reed, 202–268–3179. POSTAL SERVICE The United States Postal Service® hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3), on June 4, 2018, it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a USPS Request to Add Priority Mail Contract 436 to Competitive Product List. Documents are available at www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2018–159, CP2018–229. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Product Change—Priority Mail Express Negotiated Service Agreement Postal ServiceTM. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule’s Competitive Products List. DATES: Date of required notice: June 7, 2018. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Reed, 202–268–3179. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service® hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3), on June 4, 2018, it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a USPS Request to Add Priority Mail Express Contract 62 to Competitive Product List. Documents are available at www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2018–158, CP2018–228. SUMMARY: Elizabeth Reed, Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law. [FR Doc. 2018–12253 Filed 6–6–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710–12–P POSTAL SERVICE Product Change—Priority Mail Negotiated Service Agreement AGENCY: ACTION: Postal ServiceTM. Notice. [FR Doc. 2018–12252 Filed 6–6–18; 8:45 am] The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule’s Competitive Products List. BILLING CODE 7710–12–P DATES: Elizabeth Reed, Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law. SUMMARY: Date of required notice: June 7, 2018. POSTAL SERVICE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Product Change—Priority Mail Negotiated Service Agreement The United States Postal Service® hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3), on June 4, 2018, it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a USPS Request to Add Priority Mail Contract 437 to Competitive Product List. Documents Elizabeth Reed, 202–268–3179. Postal ServiceTM. Notice. AGENCY: ACTION: The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM 07JNN1

Agencies

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26503-26505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12276]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0109]


Draft Letter to the Nuclear Energy Institute Regarding the 
Clarification of Regulatory Paths for Lead Test Assemblies

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability; opportunity for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comments on a draft letter to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) 
clarifying the regulatory paths for the use of lead test assemblies 
(LTAs). This draft letter would finalize the NRC staff's views on the 
preliminary positions regarding LTAs provided in a letter to NEI dated 
June 29, 2017. The NRC does not currently have consolidated regulatory 
guidance regarding the use of LTAs. Therefore, the NRC has drafted this 
letter to clarify its positions regarding the use of LTAs. These 
positions would affect light-water reactor licensees who wish to 
irradiate LTAs.

DATES: Submit comments by June 27, 2018. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this 
date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0109. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and

[[Page 26504]]

Submitting Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Whitman, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-3253, email: 
[email protected], or Kimberly Green, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-1627, email: [email protected]. 
Both 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-2018-0109 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-2018-0109.
     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 ``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]. For 
the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials 
referenced in this document are provided in the ``Availability of 
Documents'' section.
     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-2018-0109 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. Background

    This draft letter clarifies the NRC staff's interpretation of 
Standard Technical Specification (STS) 4.2.1, ``Fuel Assemblies.'' The 
first part of STS 4.2.1 places limitations on the number of fuel 
assemblies in the reactor core, the type of fuel that can be used, the 
cladding material that can be used (e.g., zircaloy or ZIRLO), and 
requires the use of NRC-approved codes and methods for the fuel 
assemblies. The last sentence of STS 4.2.1 allows for the irradiation 
of a limited number of LTAs that have not completed representative 
testing if placed in nonlimiting regions of the reactor core.
    In the past, licensees have taken different approaches when 
conducting LTA campaigns. Some licensees obtained prior NRC approval by 
license amendments approving changes to Technical Specification (TS) 
4.2.1 or exemptions from Sec.  50.46, ``Acceptance criteria for 
emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power 
reactors,'' of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), or 
both, for their LTA campaigns. Other licensees conducted LTA campaigns 
under 10 CFR 50.59, ``Changes, tests, and experiments,'' without prior 
NRC approval. This draft letter to NEI clarifies the NRC's current 
interpretation of when prior NRC approval is needed for LTA campaigns. 
This draft letter responds to concerns from stakeholders, including 
NEI, that there is a lack of clarity in the regulatory requirements 
associated with the use of LTAs. For example, concerns were raised on 
the preliminary positions regarding LTAs provided in a letter to NEI 
dated June 29, 2017, as comments, in response to the NRC's publication 
of the document, ``Draft Project Plan to Prepare the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission to License and Regulate Accident Tolerant Fuel'' 
(82 FR 60633; December 21, 2017), and in a license amendment request 
for Byron Station, Unit 2, dated March 8, 2018.
    The draft letter provides clarification on the LTA provision in STS 
4.2.1; clarification on the use of approved methods for LTA campaigns; 
two regulatory paths for LTA campaigns; guidance on the use of NEI 96-
07, Revision 1, ``Guidelines for 10 CFR 50.59 Implementation,'' with 
regard to LTAs; and a position that an exemption to the requirements in 
10 CFR 50.46 is not needed solely for the insertion of LTAs.

III. Non-Concurrence

    An NRC staff member did not agree with some content of the draft 
letter to the NEI and submitted a non-concurrence on the draft letter. 
In accordance with the NRC's non-concurrence process, NRC management 
and staff worked to address the staff member's concerns, and 
documentation of the non-concurrence is available in ADAMS.

IV. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    If finalized, the letter would provide additional clarification on 
previous staff preliminary statements and positions regarding the use 
of LTAs made in a letter to NEI dated June 29, 2017. Issuance of the 
letter, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in 10 
CFR 50.109 (the Backfit Rule) and would not otherwise be inconsistent 
with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The NRC has no 
current intention to impose the positions described in the draft letter 
on holders of current operating licenses or combined licenses.

V. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Document                       ADAMS Accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Draft letter from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory      ML18100A045
 Commission to Nuclear Energy Institute, Re:
 Clarification of Regulatory Paths for Lead
 Test Assemblies, dated May 31, 2008.
Letter from Dr. Mirela Gavrilas, U.S. Nuclear  ML17150A443
 Regulatory Commission, to Mr. Andrew Mauer,
 Nuclear Energy Institute, Re: Response to
 Nuclear Energy Institute Letter Concerning
 the Regulatory Path for Lead Test
 Assemblies, dated June 29, 2017.
NUREG[dash]1430, Standard Technical            ML12100A177
 Specifications, Babcock and Wilcox Plants,
 Volume 1, Revision 4.0.

[[Page 26505]]

 
NUREG[dash]1431, Standard Technical            ML12100A222
 Specifications, Westinghouse Plants, Volume
 1, Revision 4.0.
NUREG[dash]1432, Standard Technical            ML12102A165
 Specifications, Combustion Engineering
 Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0.
NUREG[dash]1433, Standard Technical            ML12104A192
 Specifications, General Electric BWR/4
 Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0.
NUREG[dash]1434, Standard Technical            ML12104A195
 Specifications, General Electric BWR/6
 Plants, Volume 1, Revision 4.0.
Letter from Andrew Mauer, Nuclear Energy       ML18038B080
 Institute, to Dr. Mirela Gavrilas, U.S.
 Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Re:
 Regulatory Path for Introduction of Lead
 Test Assemblies in Commercial Nuclear
 Reactors, dated May 19, 2017.
Letter from David M. Gullott, Exelon           ML18067A431
 Generation Company, LLC, to U.S. Nuclear
 Regulatory Commission, Re: License Amendment
 Request to Utilize Accident Tolerant Fuel
 Lead Test Assemblies, Byron Station, Unit 2,
 dated March 8, 2018.
NEI 96[dash]07, Revision 1, Guidelines for 10  ML003771157
 CFR 50.59 Implementation, dated November
 2000.
Non-Concurrence Form, dated May 31, 2018.....  ML18151B016
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC may post materials related to this document, including 
public comments, on the Federal Rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2018-0109. The Federal 
Rulemaking website allows you to receive alerts when changes or 
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-2018-0109); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email 
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how 
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or 
monthly).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of June, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph G. Giitter,
Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2018-12276 Filed 6-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

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