Safety Review of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications, 71101-71102 [2021-27035]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 14, 2021 / Notices I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2021–0162] Safety Review of Light-Water PowerReactor Construction Permit Applications Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting public comment on its draft interim staff guidance (ISG), ‘‘Safety Review of LightWater Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications.’’ The NRC staff is preparing for the review of construction permit applications. The purpose of this ISG is to clarify existing guidance and to assist the NRC staff in determining whether an application to construct a light-water power-reactor facility meets the minimum requirements to issue a construction permit. DATES: Submit comments by January 28, 2022. 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; 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–2021–0162. 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 individual 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: Carolyn Lauron, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001, telephone: 301–415– 2736, email: Carolyn.Lauron@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1 SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:24 Dec 13, 2021 Jkt 256001 A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2021– 0162 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–2021–0162. • 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The draft ISG for the ‘‘Safety Review of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications’’ is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21165A157. • 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415– 4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (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–2021–0162 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 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 71101 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 The NRC anticipates the submission of power-reactor construction permit (CP) applications within the next few years based on preapplication engagement initiated by several prospective applicants. The review of these applications falls within the twostep licensing process under Part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,’’ and involves the issuance of a CP before an operating license (OL). The NRC last issued a power-reactor CP in the 1970s. Most recently, the NRC issued combined construction and operating licenses (combined licenses (COLs)) for power reactors through the one-step licensing process under 10 CFR part 52, ‘‘Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,’’ using the guidance in NUREG–0800, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition’’ (https:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/cover/ index.html); and Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.206, ‘‘Combined License Applications for Nuclear Power Plants (LWR Edition),’’ issued June 2007 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML070720184). The NRC has periodically updated some of the standard review plan (SRP) guidance and issued Revision 1 to RG 1.206, ‘‘Applications for Nuclear Power Plants,’’ in October 2018 (ML18131A181). The licensing process under 10 CFR part 50 allows an applicant to begin construction with preliminary design information instead of the final design required for a COL under 10 CFR part 52. Although the two-step licensing process provides flexibility and allows a more limited safety review before construction, the design has less finality before the applicant commits to construction of the facility. The final safety analysis report (FSAR) submitted with the OL application should describe in detail the final design of the facility as constructed; identify the changes from the criteria, design, and bases in the CP preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR); and discuss the bases for, and safety significance of, the changes from the PSAR. Before issuing an OL, the NRC staff will review the applicant’s final design in the FSAR to determine whether all the Commission’s safety requirements have been met. E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM 14DEN1 71102 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 14, 2021 / Notices The SRP contains the NRC staff review guidance for light-water reactor applications submitted under 10 CFR part 50 or 10 CFR part 52. In addition to the CP review guidance in the SRP, RG 1.70, ‘‘Standard Format and Content of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,’’ Revision 3, issued November 1978 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML011340122), offers some insights on the level of detail that is required for the PSAR in support of the CP application, but these insights may be limited to the degree that the guidance does not account for subsequent requirements, NRC technical positions, or advances in technical knowledge. RG 1.206 provides guidance for 10 CFR part 52 applications, including for early site permits and COLs, and includes insights on the level of detail needed for final design information if the CP applicant chooses to provide such information. The draft ISG discusses the use of these guidance documents and supplements the guidance in the SRP. The NRC recently issued CPs for two nonpower production and utilization facilities—SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc., and Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC. Some of the lessons learned from these reviews are applicable to the review of powerreactor CP applications, as discussed in the draft ISG. The draft ISG also discusses other issues pertinent to the safety review of CP applications for light-water power reactors, including the benefits accruing from preapplication engagement, the relationship between the CP and OL reviews, the NRC’s approach for reviewing applications incorporating prior NRC approvals, the potential effect of ongoing regulatory activities on CP reviews, and licensing requirements for source, byproduct, and special nuclear material. Dated: December 9, 2021. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Brian W. Smith, Director, Division of New and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 2021–27035 Filed 12–13–21; 8:45 am] jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1 BILLING CODE 7590–01–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:24 Dec 13, 2021 Jkt 256001 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket Nos. 50–089 and 50–163; NRC– 2021–0196] Termination of Operating Licenses for the General Atomics TRIGA Reactor Facility Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: License termination; issuance. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing notice of the termination of Facility Operating License No. R–38 and Facility Operating License No. R–67 for the General Atomics (GA; the licensee) TRIGA Reactor Facility in San Diego, California, where the Mark I and Mark F non power research reactors are located. The NRC has terminated the licenses for the decommissioned GA TRIGA Reactor Facility and has released the site for unrestricted use. DATES: Notice of termination of Facility Operating License No. R–38 and Facility Operating License No. R–67 was issued on December 14, 2021. ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2021–0196 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–2021–0196. 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 individual 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. For the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the ‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section of 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, SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 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 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlayna Doell, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–3178; email: Marlayna.Doell@ nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The GA TRIGA Reactor Facility in San Diego, California, is located on the Torrey Pines Mesa within the larger General Atomics campus. The TRIGA Mark I was the initial prototype TRIGA reactor, achieved initial criticality on May 3, 1958, and was in continuous operation until late 1997. On October 29, 1997, the TRIGA Mark I license (Facility Operating License No. R–38) was amended to possession only. The TRIGA Mark F achieved initial criticality on July 2, 1960 and was in continuous operation until March 22, 1995. The TRIGA Mark F license (Facility Operating License No. R–67) was amended to possession only in 1995. In 2010, all irradiated fuel elements from the TRIGA reactors located on the Torrey Pines Mesa were shipped to an authorized off-site storage facility at the Idaho National Laboratory. II. Discussion By letter dated April 18, 1997, as supplemented by letters dated November 20, 1998, January 28 and 29, February 3, April 22, May 3 and 12, and June 15, 16, and 22, 1999, GA submitted a request to the NRC to approve the TRIGA Reactor Facility Decommissioning Plan (DP). The NRC approved the GA DP by Amendment No. 36 to Facility Operating License No. R–38 and Amendment No. 45 to Facility Operating License No. R–67, dated August 12, 1999. In February 2020, GA submitted Revision 2 of the ‘‘TRIGA Reactor Facility Final Status Survey Plan’’, which the NRC staff determined was consistent with the guidance and methodology in NUREG–1575, ‘‘MultiAgency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM),’’ and NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance.’’ The licensee’s decommissioning activities included decontamination, dismantlement, and demolition of E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM 14DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71101-71102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27035]



[[Page 71101]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2021-0162]


Safety Review of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit 
Applications

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on its draft interim staff guidance (ISG), ``Safety 
Review of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications.'' 
The NRC staff is preparing for the review of construction permit 
applications. The purpose of this ISG is to clarify existing guidance 
and to assist the NRC staff in determining whether an application to 
construct a light-water power-reactor facility meets the minimum 
requirements to issue a construction permit.

DATES: Submit comments by January 28, 2022. 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; 
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-2021-0162. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual 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: Carolyn Lauron, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-2736, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0162 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-2021-0162.
     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 draft ISG for the ``Safety Review 
of Light-Water Power-Reactor Construction Permit Applications'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21165A157.
     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 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (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-2021-0162 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

    The NRC anticipates the submission of power-reactor construction 
permit (CP) applications within the next few years based on 
preapplication engagement initiated by several prospective applicants. 
The review of these applications falls within the two-step licensing 
process under Part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization 
Facilities,'' and involves the issuance of a CP before an operating 
license (OL). The NRC last issued a power-reactor CP in the 1970s. Most 
recently, the NRC issued combined construction and operating licenses 
(combined licenses (COLs)) for power reactors through the one-step 
licensing process under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and 
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,'' using the guidance in NUREG-0800, 
``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for 
Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition'' (https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0800/cover/); and Regulatory 
Guide (RG) 1.206, ``Combined License Applications for Nuclear Power 
Plants (LWR Edition),'' issued June 2007 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML070720184). The NRC has periodically updated some of the standard 
review plan (SRP) guidance and issued Revision 1 to RG 1.206, 
``Applications for Nuclear Power Plants,'' in October 2018 
(ML18131A181).
    The licensing process under 10 CFR part 50 allows an applicant to 
begin construction with preliminary design information instead of the 
final design required for a COL under 10 CFR part 52. Although the two-
step licensing process provides flexibility and allows a more limited 
safety review before construction, the design has less finality before 
the applicant commits to construction of the facility. The final safety 
analysis report (FSAR) submitted with the OL application should 
describe in detail the final design of the facility as constructed; 
identify the changes from the criteria, design, and bases in the CP 
preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR); and discuss the bases for, 
and safety significance of, the changes from the PSAR. Before issuing 
an OL, the NRC staff will review the applicant's final design in the 
FSAR to determine whether all the Commission's safety requirements have 
been met.

[[Page 71102]]

    The SRP contains the NRC staff review guidance for light-water 
reactor applications submitted under 10 CFR part 50 or 10 CFR part 52. 
In addition to the CP review guidance in the SRP, RG 1.70, ``Standard 
Format and Content of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: 
LWR Edition,'' Revision 3, issued November 1978 (ADAMS Package 
Accession No. ML011340122), offers some insights on the level of detail 
that is required for the PSAR in support of the CP application, but 
these insights may be limited to the degree that the guidance does not 
account for subsequent requirements, NRC technical positions, or 
advances in technical knowledge. RG 1.206 provides guidance for 10 CFR 
part 52 applications, including for early site permits and COLs, and 
includes insights on the level of detail needed for final design 
information if the CP applicant chooses to provide such information. 
The draft ISG discusses the use of these guidance documents and 
supplements the guidance in the SRP.
    The NRC recently issued CPs for two nonpower production and 
utilization facilities--SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc., and Northwest 
Medical Isotopes, LLC. Some of the lessons learned from these reviews 
are applicable to the review of power-reactor CP applications, as 
discussed in the draft ISG. The draft ISG also discusses other issues 
pertinent to the safety review of CP applications for light-water power 
reactors, including the benefits accruing from preapplication 
engagement, the relationship between the CP and OL reviews, the NRC's 
approach for reviewing applications incorporating prior NRC approvals, 
the potential effect of ongoing regulatory activities on CP reviews, 
and licensing requirements for source, byproduct, and special nuclear 
material.

    Dated: December 9, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Smith,
Director, Division of New and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2021-27035 Filed 12-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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