Supplemental Guidance Regarding the Chromium-Coated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident Tolerant Fuel Concept, 1184-1185 [2020-00124]

Download as PDF 1184 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 6 / Thursday, January 9, 2020 / Notices lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with NOTICES 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (‘‘the Act’’), Pistoia Alliance, Inc. has filed written notifications simultaneously with the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission disclosing changes in its membership. The notifications were filed for the purpose of extending the Act’s provisions limiting the recovery of antitrust plaintiffs to actual damages under specified circumstances. Specifically, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; Richard Norman (individual member), Gjoik, NORWAY; The Cure Parkinson’s Trust, London, UNITED KINGDOM; Zofia Jordan (individual member), Welwyn Garden City, UNITED KINGDOM; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA; Arctoris Ltd., Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM; Statice GmbH, Berlin, GERMANY; Valtari Bio Inc., Austin, TX; LabVoice, Durham, NC; and Nick Juty (individual member), Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM, have been added as parties to this venture. Also, Clarity Genomics BVBA, Berse, BELGIUM; uFraction8 Ltd., Falkirk, UNITED KINGDOM; Genialis Inc., Houston, TX; Devendra Deshmukh (individual member), Shrewsbury, MA; Envision Biotechnology Inc., Grandsville, MI; MediSapiens Ltd., Helsinki, FINLAND; and Pharmacelera, Sant Cugat del Valles, SPAIN, have withdrawn as parties to this venture. No other changes have been made in either the membership or planned activity of the group research project. Membership in this group research project remains open, and Pistoia Alliance, Inc. intends to file additional written notifications disclosing all changes in membership. On May 28, 2009, Pistoia Alliance, Inc. filed its original notification pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Act. The Department of Justice published a notice in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Act on July 15, 2009 (74 FR 34364). The last notification was filed with the Department on September 10, 2019. A notice was published in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Act on October 17, 2019 (84 FR 55586). Suzanne Morris, Chief, Premerger and Division Statistics Unit, Antitrust Division. [FR Doc. 2020–00154 Filed 1–8–20; 8:45 am] 20:20 Jan 08, 2020 Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993—ASTM International Standards Notice is hereby given that on December 11, 2019 pursuant to Section 6(a) of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (‘‘the Act’’), ASTM International (‘‘ASTM’’) has filed written notifications simultaneously with the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission disclosing additions or changes to its standards development activities. The notifications were filed for the purpose of extending the Act’s provisions limiting the recovery of antitrust plaintiffs to actual damages under specified circumstances. Specifically, ASTM has provided an updated list of current, ongoing ASTM activities originating between September 11, 2019 and December 5, 2019, designated as Work Items. A complete listing of ASTM Work Items, along with a brief description of each, is available at https://www.astm.org. On September 15, 2004, ASTM filed its original notification pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Act. The Department of Justice published a notice in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Act on November 10, 2004 (69 FR 65226). The last notification with the Department was filed on September 17, 2019. A notice was filed in the Federal Register on November 18, 2019 (84 FR 63678). Suzanne Morris, Chief, Premerger and Division Statistics Unit, Antitrust Division. [FR Doc. 2020–00155 Filed 1–8–20; 8:45 am] Jkt 250001 Cooperative Research Group on Mechanical Stratigraphy and Natural Deformation in the Permian Strata of Texas and New Mexico: Implications for Exploitation of the Permian Basin— Phase 2 (‘‘Permian Basin—Phase 2’’) has filed written notifications simultaneously with the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission disclosing changes in its membership. The notifications were filed for the purpose of extending the Act’s provisions limiting the recovery of antitrust plaintiffs to actual damages under specified circumstances. Specifically, Diamondback E&P LLC, Midland, TX, has been added as a party to this venture. No other changes have been made in either the membership or planned activity of the group research project. Membership in this group research project remains open, and Permian Basin—Phase 2 intends to file additional written notifications disclosing all changes in membership. On August 15, 2019, Permian Basin— Phase 2 filed its original notification pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Act. The Department of Justice published a notice in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Act on September 13, 2019 (84 FR 48377). The last notification was filed with the Department on October 29, 2019. A notice was published in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Act on November 25, 2019 (84 FR 64923). Suzanne Morris, Chief, Premerger and Division Statistics Unit, Antitrust Division. [FR Doc. 2020–00157 Filed 1–8–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–11–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BILLING CODE 4410–11–P [NRC–2019–0208] DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993—Cooperative Research Group on Mechanical Stratigraphy and Natural Deformation in the Permian Strata of Texas and New Mexico: Implications for Exploitation of the Permian Basin—Phase 2 Notice is hereby given that, on December 4, 2019, pursuant to Section 6(a) of the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (‘‘the Act’’), BILLING CODE 4410–11–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Supplemental Guidance Regarding the Chromium-Coated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident Tolerant Fuel Concept Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) ATF–ISG–2020–01, ‘‘Supplemental Guidance Regarding the Chromium-Coated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident Tolerant Fuel Concept.’’ This ISG is intended to facilitate the NRC staff’s understanding of the in-reactor phenomena important SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\09JAN1.SGM 09JAN1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 6 / Thursday, January 9, 2020 / Notices to safety for the chromium-coated zirconium alloy fuel cladding concepts, as well as to provide guidance for NRC staff reviewing vendor applications. Chromium-coated zirconium alloy fuel cladding concepts are being pursued by several U.S. fuel vendors as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s accident tolerant fuel program. DATES: This guidance is effective on February 10, 2020. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2019–0208 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–2019–0208. Address questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • 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 ‘‘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. The ISG, ‘‘Supplemental Guidance Regarding the ChromiumCoated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident Tolerant Fuel Concept,’’ is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML19343A121. • 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. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tekia Govan, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301–415–6197 email: Tekia.Govan@nrc.gov and Michael Orenak, Office of Nuclear Reactor, telephone: 301–415–3229, email: Michael.Orenak@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background On October 24, 2019, (84 FR 57058) the NRC requested public comments on draft ATF ISG–2019–01 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19276G621). The NRC VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:20 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 250001 received comments from the Nuclear Energy Institute by letter dated November 25, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19344C125). No other comments were submitted. The NRC staff considered those comments in developing the final ATF–ISG 2019–01. Detailed responses to the comments can be found in Appendix E of the final ATF–ISG 2019–01. This ISG is intended to provide guidance for NRC staff reviewing applications involving fuel products with chromium-coated zirconium alloy cladding. For coated claddings of this type, a phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) was generated for the NRC by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; the guidance provided in this ISG extensively references the PIRT report, ‘‘Degradation and Failure Phenomena of Accident Tolerant Fuel Concepts: Chromium Coated Zirconium Alloy Cladding,’’ issued June 2019. The suggested cladding properties specified acceptable fuel design limits and new failure mechanisms sections from the PIRT are replicated in Appendices B and C. These appendices supersede Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of the PIRT report. This ISG is not intended as standalone review guidance, but instead supplements NUREG–0800, ‘‘Standard Review Plan,’’ Section 4.2, ‘‘Fuel System Design,’’ and discusses the potential impact of coated claddings on reviews performed under Standard Review Plan (SRP), Section 4.3, ‘‘Nuclear Design,’’ Section 4.4, ‘‘Thermal and Hydraulic Design,’’ and Chapter 15, ‘‘Transient and Accident Analysis.’’ In addition to the guidance provided in this ISG, reviewers of coated cladding applications should familiarize themselves with the PIRT report and with the relevant sections of the SRP. The PIRT report and this ISG focus primarily on metallic chromium coatings applied to a zirconium alloy base metal, with some additional discussion that is applicable to chromium-based ceramic coatings. Reviewers of submittals on ceramic chromium-coated zirconium alloy claddings should carefully read the PIRT to determine the applicability to the review. This ISG does not apply to reviews of fuel products other than metallic or ceramic chromium-based coatings on a zirconium alloy substrate. II. Backfit Discussion This ISG intends to provide guidance for the NRC staff reviewing applications involving fuel products with chromiumcoated zirconium alloy cladding. Issuance of this ISG does not constitute PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 1185 a backfit as defined in section 50.109(a)(1) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As discussed in the ‘‘Backfitting’’ section of the final ATF–ISG–2020–01, the ISG positions do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the ISG is guidance directed to the NRC staff with respect to its regulatory responsibilities. Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, the subject of either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the ISG positions on existing nuclear power plant licensees either now or in the future (absent a voluntary request for a change from the licensee). III. Congressional Review Act This ISG 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. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of January 2020. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Tekia V. Govan, Project Manager, Oversight and Support Branch, Division of Reactor Oversight, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2020–00124 Filed 1–8–20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–87886; File No. SR–LCH SA–2019–012] Self-Regulatory Organizations; LCH SA; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Amendments of the CDSClear Fee Grid January 3, 2020. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on December 27, 2019, Banque Centrale de Compensation, which conducts business under the name LCH SA (‘‘LCH SA’’), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change described in Items I, II and III below, which Items have been prepared primarily by LCH SA. LCH SA filed the proposal pursuant 1 15 2 17 E:\FR\FM\09JAN1.SGM U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). CFR 240.19b–4. 09JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 6 (Thursday, January 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1184-1185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00124]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2019-0208]


Supplemental Guidance Regarding the Chromium-Coated Zirconium 
Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident Tolerant Fuel Concept

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) ATF-ISG-2020-01, ``Supplemental Guidance 
Regarding the Chromium-Coated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident 
Tolerant Fuel Concept.'' This ISG is intended to facilitate the NRC 
staff's understanding of the in-reactor phenomena important

[[Page 1185]]

to safety for the chromium-coated zirconium alloy fuel cladding 
concepts, as well as to provide guidance for NRC staff reviewing vendor 
applications. Chromium-coated zirconium alloy fuel cladding concepts 
are being pursued by several U.S. fuel vendors as part of the U.S. 
Department of Energy's accident tolerant fuel program.

DATES: This guidance is effective on February 10, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0208 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-2019-0208. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 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 ISG, ``Supplemental Guidance 
Regarding the Chromium-Coated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Cladding Accident 
Tolerant Fuel Concept,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML19343A121.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tekia Govan, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-6197 email: [email protected] and 
Michael Orenak, Office of Nuclear Reactor, telephone: 301-415-3229, 
email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On October 24, 2019, (84 FR 57058) the NRC requested public 
comments on draft ATF ISG-2019-01 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19276G621). 
The NRC received comments from the Nuclear Energy Institute by letter 
dated November 25, 2019 (ADAMS Accession No. ML19344C125). No other 
comments were submitted. The NRC staff considered those comments in 
developing the final ATF-ISG 2019-01. Detailed responses to the 
comments can be found in Appendix E of the final ATF-ISG 2019-01.
    This ISG is intended to provide guidance for NRC staff reviewing 
applications involving fuel products with chromium-coated zirconium 
alloy cladding. For coated claddings of this type, a phenomena 
identification and ranking table (PIRT) was generated for the NRC by 
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; the guidance provided in this 
ISG extensively references the PIRT report, ``Degradation and Failure 
Phenomena of Accident Tolerant Fuel Concepts: Chromium Coated Zirconium 
Alloy Cladding,'' issued June 2019. The suggested cladding properties 
specified acceptable fuel design limits and new failure mechanisms 
sections from the PIRT are replicated in Appendices B and C. These 
appendices supersede Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of the PIRT report.
    This ISG is not intended as stand-alone review guidance, but 
instead supplements NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan,'' Section 4.2, 
``Fuel System Design,'' and discusses the potential impact of coated 
claddings on reviews performed under Standard Review Plan (SRP), 
Section 4.3, ``Nuclear Design,'' Section 4.4, ``Thermal and Hydraulic 
Design,'' and Chapter 15, ``Transient and Accident Analysis.'' In 
addition to the guidance provided in this ISG, reviewers of coated 
cladding applications should familiarize themselves with the PIRT 
report and with the relevant sections of the SRP.
    The PIRT report and this ISG focus primarily on metallic chromium 
coatings applied to a zirconium alloy base metal, with some additional 
discussion that is applicable to chromium-based ceramic coatings. 
Reviewers of submittals on ceramic chromium-coated zirconium alloy 
claddings should carefully read the PIRT to determine the applicability 
to the review.
    This ISG does not apply to reviews of fuel products other than 
metallic or ceramic chromium-based coatings on a zirconium alloy 
substrate.

II. Backfit Discussion

    This ISG intends to provide guidance for the NRC staff reviewing 
applications involving fuel products with chromium-coated zirconium 
alloy cladding. Issuance of this ISG does not constitute a backfit as 
defined in section 50.109(a)(1) of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) and is not otherwise inconsistent with the issue 
finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. As discussed in the 
``Backfitting'' section of the final ATF-ISG-2020-01, the ISG positions 
do not constitute backfitting, inasmuch as the ISG is guidance directed 
to the NRC staff with respect to its regulatory responsibilities. 
Applicants and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, 
the subject of either the Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions 
under 10 CFR part 52. The NRC staff has no intention to impose the ISG 
positions on existing nuclear power plant licensees either now or in 
the future (absent a voluntary request for a change from the licensee).

III. Congressional Review Act

    This ISG 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.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of January 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Tekia V. Govan,
Project Manager, Oversight and Support Branch, Division of Reactor 
Oversight, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-00124 Filed 1-8-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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