National Institute of Standards and Technology; National Bureau of Standards Test Reactor, 8918-8921 [2023-02840]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2023 / Notices
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–184; NRC–2023–0039]
National Institute of Standards and
Technology; National Bureau of
Standards Test Reactor
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
AGENCY:
License amendment application;
opportunity to comment, request a
hearing, and petition for leave to
intervene.
ACTION:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC, the Commission) is
considering issuance of an amendment
to Renewed Facility Operating License
No. TR–5, issued to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST, the licensee), for operation of the
National Bureau of Standards Test
Reactor (NBSR). The proposed
amendment would authorize the use of
a specific method to perform core
loading analyses of the NBSR.
SUMMARY:
Submit comments by February
24, 2023. Requests for a hearing or
petition for leave to intervene must be
filed by April 11, 2023.
DATES:
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–2023–0039. 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.
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ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Boyle, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001; telephone: 301–415–3936; email:
Patrick.Boyle@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2023–
0039 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–2023–0039.
• 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 license
amendment request is available in
ADAMS under Package Accession No.
ML23033A114.
• 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 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–2023–0039 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
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submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an
amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. TR–5, issued to
NIST, for operation of the NBSR, located
in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The proposed amendment would
revise the NBSR safety analysis report
allowing a change to the method used
to analyze the core loading pattern. The
licensee was developing its core loading
pattern and only recently determined
that a license amendment would be
required prior to any startup with the
proposed core. NIST is otherwise
prepared to resume operations upon any
approval by the NRC of its separate
restart request; therefore, a delay in the
NRC’s acting on the license amendment
request could delay the ability of the
NBSR to resume operations.
Accordingly, consistent with paragraph
50.91(a)(6) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC
finds that exigent circumstances exist,
in that the licensee and the NRC must
act quickly and that time does not
permit the NRC to publish a Federal
Register notice allowing 30 days for
prior public comment.
Before any issuance of the proposed
license amendment, the NRC will need
to make the findings required by the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
and NRC’s regulations.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for
amendments to be granted under
exigent circumstances, the NRC has
made a proposed determination that the
license amendment request involves no
significant hazards consideration. Under
the NRC’s regulations in 10 CFR 50.92,
this means that operation of the facility
in accordance with the proposed
amendment would not (1) involve a
significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously
evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of
a new or different kind of accident from
any accident previously evaluated; or
(3) involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR
50.91(a), the licensee has provided its
analysis of the issue of no significant
hazards consideration, which is
presented as follows:
1. Does the proposed change involve
a significant increase in the probability
or consequences of an accident
previously evaluated?
Response: No.
AFMS [alternative fuel management
scheme] loadings deviate from the core
loading scheme as described in the
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2023 / Notices
FSAR [Final Safety Analysis Report]
4.5.1.1.2 ‘‘Fuel Management Scheme’’.
This amendment introduces a new
section to the updated FSAR, ‘‘4.5.1.1.3
Alternative Fuel Management Schemes
(AFMS)’’, which describes bounding
conditions and analysis requirements
for any AFMS. The amendment also
introduces an engineering procedure,
namely ‘‘NBSR–0018–DOC–00 NBSR
Alternative Core Loading Schemes
Analysis Procedure’’ which describes
the OFMS [original fuel management
scheme] and AFMS, a basis for the
analysis, providing limitations to
evaluate potential AFMS, detailed safety
review for a demonstration AFMS, along
with a discussion of results and
conclusions to be included in
subsequent ECNs [engineering change
notice] dealing with similar AFMS core
loadings. The procedure provides a
basis to analyze core loading so that
none of the Technical Specifications
(TS) are exceeded.
Several accident scenarios and
therefore consequences may be affected
by AFMS core loading deviations.
Particularly, all accidents shown in
Table 1 are required to be reevaluated
for any AFMS core loading. Other
accident scenarios given in the FSAR,
including ‘‘Loss of Primary Coolant’’ (a
major rupture in the cold leg of the
primary system is assumed, which leads
to draining the reactor core), ‘‘Maximum
Hypothetical Accident (MHA)’’,
‘‘Experiment Malfunction’’ and
‘‘External Event’’ are independent of
core loading changes and therefore
remain unchanged. Additionally,
Natural Circulation Cooling at Low
Power Operation must be analyzed for
each AFMS to show compliance with
Technical Specification 2.2. Natural
Circulation Cooling at Low Power
Operation is not an accident scenario
but an analysis to show natural
circulation at low power operations.
Note that all of the accident scenarios
and Natural Circulation Cooling at Low
Power Operation conditions are
analyzed using the RELAP5 [Reactor
Excursion and Leak Analysis Program]
model as described in the ‘‘NBSR–0018–
DOC–00 NBSR Alternative Core Loading
Schemes Analysis Procedure’’. The
misloading accident is the only one that
will require unique power distributions
from corresponding MCNP [Monte Carlo
N-Particle] simulations with the
misloaded fuel configuration. Some
scenario conditions are updated based
on facility changes and available new
information. ‘‘NBSR–0018–DOC–00
Appendix C’’ provides descriptions and
modifications for accident scenarios.
TABLE 1—THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCES TO BE RE-ANALYZED, AND THEIR REFERENCES IN THE SAR
Section in the
SAR
Accident sequence
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#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
.................
.................
.................
.................
.................
.................
.................
.................
Startup Accident ........................................................................................................................................................
Maximum Reactivity Insertion Accident ....................................................................................................................
Loss of Offsite Power ................................................................................................................................................
Loss of Offsite Power with Shutdown Pump failure .................................................................................................
Seizure of One Primary Pump ..................................................................................................................................
Throttling of Coolant Flow to the Outer Plenum .......................................................................................................
Throttling of Coolant Flow to the Inner Plenum ........................................................................................................
Misloading of Fuel .....................................................................................................................................................
Based on detailed analysis provided
in the technical report, and because
these AFMS accident scenarios are
specifically analyzed for probability and
consequences, there are, by definition,
no changes in the probability of
occurrences or the consequences of
previously analyzed accidents.
Therefore, the proposed FSAR
amendment allowing analysis of AFMS
does not involve a significant increase
in the probability or consequences of an
accident previously evaluated.
2. Does the proposed change create
the possibility of a new or different kind
of accident from any accident
previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The requested amendment to the
facility license involves a SAR change to
describe engineering analysis
procedures for any [AFMS] wherein
which the NBSR core is loaded with a
different core loading pattern than as
described in the updated FSAR. An
AFMS is any core loading pattern that
deviates from the [OFMS] in a manner
such that the number of the specific
type of fuel elements, such as fresh, or
used is different than usual and/or their
locations in the core are modified. As
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there are no other changes besides that
of fuel loading, changes in the core
loading pattern do not initiate a
different kind of accident.
Therefore, the proposed amendment
will not create the possibility of a new
or different kind of accident from any
accident previously evaluated.
3. Does the proposed change involve
a significant reduction in a margin of
safety?
Response: No.
The requested amendment to the
facility license involves a SAR change to
describe engineering analysis
procedures for any Alternative Fuel
Management. The requested amendment
to the facility license involves a SAR
change to describe engineering analysis
procedures for any [AFMS] wherein
which the NBSR core is loaded with a
different core loading pattern than as
described in the updated FSAR. An
AFMS is any core loading pattern that
deviates from the [OFMS] in a manner
such that the number of the specific
type of fuel elements, such as fresh, or
used is different than usual and/or their
locations in the core are modified. The
AFMS can be deemed acceptable as long
as the proposed AFMS is analyzed
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13.1.2.2.2.1
13.2.2
13.1.4.1
13.1.4.5
13.1.4.2
13.1.4.4
13.1.4.3
13.1.5
according to the ‘‘NBSR–0018–DOC–00’’
and found to be within the updated
FSAR, Technical Specifications
limitations and boundary conditions
listed therein. The boundary conditions
are based on the Technical
Specifications and updated FSAR
requirements. Because these alternate
fuel management schemes are
specifically analyzed for a reduction in
margin of safety, there is, by definition,
no significant reduction in margin of
safety. The proposed amendment
contains no changes in the Technical
Specification or other safety limitations
as described in the updated FSAR.
Therefore, the proposed amendment
of the SAR in allowing this operation
does not involve a significant reduction
in a margin of safety.
The NRC staff has reviewed the
licensee’s analysis and, based on this
review, it appears that the three
standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff
proposes to determine that the license
amendment request involves a no
significant hazards consideration.
The NRC is seeking public comments
on this proposed determination that the
license amendment request involves no
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significant hazards consideration. Any
comments received within 14 days after
the date of publication of this notice
will be considered in making any final
determination.
Normally, the Commission will not
issue the amendment until the
expiration of the 14-day notice period.
However, if circumstances change
during the notice period, such that
failure to act in a timely way would
result, for example, in prevention of
resumption of operation the
Commission may issue the license
amendment before the expiration of the
14-day notice period, provided that its
final determination is that the
amendment involves no significant
hazards consideration. The final
determination will consider all public
and State comments received. If the
Commission takes this action, it will
publish in the Federal Register a notice
of issuance. The Commission expects
that the need to take this action will
occur very infrequently.
III. Opportunity To Request a Hearing
and Petition for Leave To Intervene
Within 60 days after the date of
publication of this notice, any person
(petitioner) whose interest may be
affected by this action may file a request
for a hearing and petition for leave to
intervene (petition) with respect to the
action. Petitions shall be filed in
accordance with the Commission’s
‘‘Agency Rules of Practice and
Procedure’’ in 10 CFR part 2. Interested
persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If
a petition is filed, the presiding officer
will rule on the petition and, if
appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be
issued.
Petitions must be filed no later than
60 days from the date of publication of
this notice in accordance with the filing
instructions in the ‘‘Electronic
Submissions (E-Filing)’’ section of this
document. Petitions and motions for
leave to file new or amended
contentions that are filed after the
deadline will not be entertained absent
a determination by the presiding officer
that the filing demonstrates good cause
by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR
2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii).
If a hearing is requested and the
Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration, the
Commission will make a final
determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration, which
will serve to establish when the hearing
is held. If the final determination is that
the amendment request involves no
significant hazards consideration, the
Commission may issue the amendment
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and make it immediately effective,
notwithstanding the request for a
hearing. Any hearing would take place
after issuance of the amendment. If the
final determination is that the
amendment request involves a
significant hazards consideration, then
any hearing held would take place
before the issuance of the amendment
unless the Commission finds an
imminent danger to the health or safety
of the public, in which case it will issue
an appropriate order or rule under 10
CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body,
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or
designated agency thereof, may submit
a petition to the Commission to
participate as a party under 10 CFR
2.309(h) no later than 60 days from the
date of publication of this notice.
Alternatively, a State, local
governmental body, Federally
recognized Indian Tribe, or agency
thereof may participate as a non-party
under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
For information about filing a petition
and about participation by a person not
a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS
Accession No. ML20340A053 (https://
adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/
main.jsp?AccessionNumber=
ML20340A053) and on the NRC’s public
website at https://www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing
.html#participate.
IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC
adjudicatory proceedings including
documents filed by an interested State,
local governmental body, Federally
recognized Indian Tribe, or designated
agency thereof that requests to
participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must
be filed in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302. The E-Filing process requires
participants to submit and serve all
adjudicatory documents over the
internet, or in some cases, to mail copies
on electronic storage media, unless an
exemption permitting an alternative
filing method, as further discussed, is
granted. Detailed guidance on electronic
submissions is located in the ‘‘Guidance
for Electronic Submissions to the NRC’’
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056)
and on the NRC’s public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html.
To comply with the procedural
requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the
participant should contact the Office of
the Secretary by email at
Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by
telephone at 301–415–1677, to (1)
request a digital identification (ID)
certificate, which allows the participant
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(or its counsel or representative) to
digitally sign submissions and access
the E-Filing system for any proceeding
in which it is participating; and (2)
advise the Secretary that the participant
will be submitting a petition or other
adjudicatory document (even in
instances in which the participant, or its
counsel or representative, already holds
an NRC-issued digital ID certificate).
Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic
docket for the proceeding if the
Secretary has not already established an
electronic docket.
Information about applying for a
digital ID certificate is available on the
NRC’s public website at https://
www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/
getting-started.html. After a digital ID
certificate is obtained and a docket
created, the participant must submit
adjudicatory documents in Portable
Document Format. Guidance on
submissions is available on the NRC’s
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/
site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A
filing is considered complete at the time
the document is submitted through the
NRC’s E-Filing system. To be timely, an
electronic filing must be submitted to
the E-Filing system no later than 11:59
p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt
of a transmission, the E-Filing system
time-stamps the document and sends
the submitter an email confirming
receipt of the document. The E-Filing
system also distributes an email that
provides access to the document to the
NRC’s Office of the General Counsel and
any others who have advised the Office
of the Secretary that they wish to
participate in the proceeding, so that the
filer need not serve the document on
those participants separately. Therefore,
applicants and other participants (or
their counsel or representative) must
apply for and receive a digital ID
certificate before adjudicatory
documents are filed to obtain access to
the documents via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using
the NRC’s adjudicatory E-Filing system
may seek assistance by contacting the
NRC’s Electronic Filing Help Desk
through the ‘‘Contact Us’’ link located
on the NRC’s public website at https://
www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html, by email to
MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a tollfree call at 1–866–672–7640. The NRC
Electronic Filing Help Desk is available
between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they
have good cause for not submitting
documents electronically must file an
exemption request, in accordance with
10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper
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filing stating why there is good cause for
not filing electronically and requesting
authorization to continue to submit
documents in paper format. Such filings
must be submitted in accordance with
10 CFR 2.302(b)–(d). Participants filing
adjudicatory documents in this manner
are responsible for serving their
documents on all other participants.
Participants granted an exemption
under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still meet
the electronic formatting requirement in
10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the
participant also seeks and is granted an
exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory
proceedings will appear in the NRC’s
electronic hearing docket, which is
publicly available at https://
adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded
pursuant to an order of the presiding
officer. If you do not have an NRCissued digital ID certificate as
previously described, click ‘‘cancel’’
when the link requests certificates and
you will be automatically directed to the
NRC’s electronic hearing dockets where
you will be able to access any publicly
available documents in a particular
hearing docket. Participants are
requested not to include personal
privacy information such as social
security numbers, home addresses, or
personal phone numbers in their filings
unless an NRC regulation or other law
requires submission of such
information. With respect to
copyrighted works, except for limited
excerpts that serve the purpose of the
adjudicatory filings and would
constitute a Fair Use application,
participants should not include
copyrighted materials in their
submission.
For further details with respect to this
action, see the application for license
amendment dated February 1, 2023.
Attorney for licensee: Henry N.
Wixon, Chief of Counsel, National
Institute of Standards and Technology,
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1052,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899–1052.
NRC Branch Chief: Joshua Borromeo.
Dated: February 7, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick G. Boyle,
Project Manager, Non-Power Production and
Utilization Facility Licensing Branch, Division
of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power
Production and Utilization Facilities, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2023–02840 Filed 2–9–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended;
Notice of Computer Matching Program
(Railroad Retirement Board and Social
Security Administration, Match
Number 1007)
AGENCY:
Railroad Retirement Board
(RRB).
Notice of a modified matching
program.
ACTION:
As required by the Privacy
Act of 1974, as amended, the RRB is
issuing public notice of its renewal of an
ongoing computer-matching program
with the Social Security Administration
(SSA). The purpose of this notice is to
advise individuals applying for or
receiving benefits under the Railroad
Retirement Act of the use made by RRB
of this information obtained from SSA
by means of a computer match. The RRB
is also issuing public notice, on behalf
of the SSA, of their intent to conduct a
computer-matching program based on
information provided to them by the
RRB.
SUMMARY:
8921
Records are matched with other Federal,
State, or local government records. It
requires Federal agencies involved in
computer matching programs to:
(1) Negotiate written agreements with
the other agency or agencies
participating in the matching programs;
(2) Obtain the approval of the
matching agreement by the Data
Integrity Boards (DIB) of the
participating Federal agencies;
(3) Publish notice of the computer
matching program in the Federal
Register;
(4) Furnish detailed reports about
matching programs to Congress and
OMB;
(5) Notify applicants and beneficiaries
that their records are subject to
matching; and
(6) Verify match findings before
reducing, suspending, terminating, or
denying a person’s benefits or
payments. The last notice for this
matching program was published at 85
FR 83632 (December 22, 2020).
B. RRB Computer Matches Subject to
the Privacy Act
This matching program becomes
effective as proposed without further
notice on March 13, 2023. We will file
a report of this computer-matching
program with the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate; the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform of
the House of Representatives; and the
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB).
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may
comment on this publication by writing
to Ms. Stephanie Hillyard, Secretary to
the Board, Railroad Retirement Board,
844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois
60611–1275.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Chad Peek, Chief Privacy Officer,
Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North
Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611–
1275, telephone 312–751–3389 or email
at chad.peek@rrb.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
We have taken appropriate action to
ensure that all of our computer
matching programs comply with the
requirements of the Privacy Act, as
amended.
A. General
Purpose(s)
The Computer Matching and Privacy
Protection Act of 1988, (Pub. L. 100–
503), amended by the Privacy Act of
1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a) as amended,
requires a Federal agency participating
in a computer matching program to
publish a notice in the Federal Register
for all matching programs.
The Privacy Act, as amended,
regulates the use of computer matching
by Federal agencies when records
contained in a Privacy Act System of
The RRB will, on a daily basis, obtain
from SSA a record of the wages reported
to SSA for persons who have applied for
benefits under the Railroad Retirement
Act and a record of the amount of
benefits paid by that agency to persons
who are receiving or have applied for
benefits under the Railroad Retirement
Act. The wage information is needed to
compute the amount of the tier I annuity
component provided by sections 3(a),
4(a) and 4(f) of the Railroad Retirement
DATES:
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Participating Agencies
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) and
the Social Security Administration
(SSA), Match #1007.
Authority for Conducting the Matching
Program
Section 7(b)(7) of the Railroad
Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(7))
provides that the Social Security
Administration shall supply
information necessary to administer the
Railroad Retirement Act. Sections 202,
205(o) and 215(f) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 402, 405(o) and 415(f))
relate to benefit provisions, inclusion of
railroad compensation together with
wages for payment of benefits under
certain circumstances, and the recomputation of benefits.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8918-8921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02840]
[[Page 8918]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-184; NRC-2023-0039]
National Institute of Standards and Technology; National Bureau
of Standards Test Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License amendment application; opportunity to comment, request
a hearing, and petition for leave to intervene.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission)
is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating
License No. TR-5, issued to the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST, the licensee), for operation of the National Bureau
of Standards Test Reactor (NBSR). The proposed amendment would
authorize the use of a specific method to perform core loading analyses
of the NBSR.
DATES: Submit comments by February 24, 2023. Requests for a hearing or
petition for leave to intervene must be filed by April 11, 2023.
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-2023-0039. 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: Patrick Boyle, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3936; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0039 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-2023-0039.
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 license amendment request is
available in ADAMS under Package Accession No. ML23033A114.
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
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-2023-0039 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. Introduction
The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility
Operating License No. TR-5, issued to NIST, for operation of the NBSR,
located in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The proposed amendment would revise the NBSR safety analysis report
allowing a change to the method used to analyze the core loading
pattern. The licensee was developing its core loading pattern and only
recently determined that a license amendment would be required prior to
any startup with the proposed core. NIST is otherwise prepared to
resume operations upon any approval by the NRC of its separate restart
request; therefore, a delay in the NRC's acting on the license
amendment request could delay the ability of the NBSR to resume
operations. Accordingly, consistent with paragraph 50.91(a)(6) of title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC finds that
exigent circumstances exist, in that the licensee and the NRC must act
quickly and that time does not permit the NRC to publish a Federal
Register notice allowing 30 days for prior public comment.
Before any issuance of the proposed license amendment, the NRC will
need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and NRC's regulations.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for amendments to be granted under
exigent circumstances, the NRC has made a proposed determination that
the license amendment request involves no significant hazards
consideration. Under the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means
that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed
amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2)
create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any
accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction
in a margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has
provided its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards
consideration, which is presented as follows:
1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in the
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
AFMS [alternative fuel management scheme] loadings deviate from the
core loading scheme as described in the
[[Page 8919]]
FSAR [Final Safety Analysis Report] 4.5.1.1.2 ``Fuel Management
Scheme''. This amendment introduces a new section to the updated FSAR,
``4.5.1.1.3 Alternative Fuel Management Schemes (AFMS)'', which
describes bounding conditions and analysis requirements for any AFMS.
The amendment also introduces an engineering procedure, namely ``NBSR-
0018-DOC-00 NBSR Alternative Core Loading Schemes Analysis Procedure''
which describes the OFMS [original fuel management scheme] and AFMS, a
basis for the analysis, providing limitations to evaluate potential
AFMS, detailed safety review for a demonstration AFMS, along with a
discussion of results and conclusions to be included in subsequent ECNs
[engineering change notice] dealing with similar AFMS core loadings.
The procedure provides a basis to analyze core loading so that none of
the Technical Specifications (TS) are exceeded.
Several accident scenarios and therefore consequences may be
affected by AFMS core loading deviations. Particularly, all accidents
shown in Table 1 are required to be reevaluated for any AFMS core
loading. Other accident scenarios given in the FSAR, including ``Loss
of Primary Coolant'' (a major rupture in the cold leg of the primary
system is assumed, which leads to draining the reactor core), ``Maximum
Hypothetical Accident (MHA)'', ``Experiment Malfunction'' and
``External Event'' are independent of core loading changes and
therefore remain unchanged. Additionally, Natural Circulation Cooling
at Low Power Operation must be analyzed for each AFMS to show
compliance with Technical Specification 2.2. Natural Circulation
Cooling at Low Power Operation is not an accident scenario but an
analysis to show natural circulation at low power operations.
Note that all of the accident scenarios and Natural Circulation
Cooling at Low Power Operation conditions are analyzed using the RELAP5
[Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Program] model as described in the
``NBSR-0018-DOC-00 NBSR Alternative Core Loading Schemes Analysis
Procedure''. The misloading accident is the only one that will require
unique power distributions from corresponding MCNP [Monte Carlo N-
Particle] simulations with the misloaded fuel configuration. Some
scenario conditions are updated based on facility changes and available
new information. ``NBSR-0018-DOC-00 Appendix C'' provides descriptions
and modifications for accident scenarios.
Table 1--The Accident Sequences To Be Re-analyzed, and Their References
in the SAR
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section in the
Accident sequence SAR
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#1....................... Startup Accident............. 13.1.2.2.2.1
#2....................... Maximum Reactivity Insertion 13.2.2
Accident.
#3....................... Loss of Offsite Power........ 13.1.4.1
#4....................... Loss of Offsite Power with 13.1.4.5
Shutdown Pump failure.
#5....................... Seizure of One Primary Pump.. 13.1.4.2
#6....................... Throttling of Coolant Flow to 13.1.4.4
the Outer Plenum.
#7....................... Throttling of Coolant Flow to 13.1.4.3
the Inner Plenum.
#8....................... Misloading of Fuel........... 13.1.5
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Based on detailed analysis provided in the technical report, and
because these AFMS accident scenarios are specifically analyzed for
probability and consequences, there are, by definition, no changes in
the probability of occurrences or the consequences of previously
analyzed accidents.
Therefore, the proposed FSAR amendment allowing analysis of AFMS
does not involve a significant increase in the probability or
consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or
different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated?
Response: No.
The requested amendment to the facility license involves a SAR
change to describe engineering analysis procedures for any [AFMS]
wherein which the NBSR core is loaded with a different core loading
pattern than as described in the updated FSAR. An AFMS is any core
loading pattern that deviates from the [OFMS] in a manner such that the
number of the specific type of fuel elements, such as fresh, or used is
different than usual and/or their locations in the core are modified.
As there are no other changes besides that of fuel loading, changes in
the core loading pattern do not initiate a different kind of accident.
Therefore, the proposed amendment will not create the possibility
of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously
evaluated.
3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a
margin of safety?
Response: No.
The requested amendment to the facility license involves a SAR
change to describe engineering analysis procedures for any Alternative
Fuel Management. The requested amendment to the facility license
involves a SAR change to describe engineering analysis procedures for
any [AFMS] wherein which the NBSR core is loaded with a different core
loading pattern than as described in the updated FSAR. An AFMS is any
core loading pattern that deviates from the [OFMS] in a manner such
that the number of the specific type of fuel elements, such as fresh,
or used is different than usual and/or their locations in the core are
modified. The AFMS can be deemed acceptable as long as the proposed
AFMS is analyzed according to the ``NBSR-0018-DOC-00'' and found to be
within the updated FSAR, Technical Specifications limitations and
boundary conditions listed therein. The boundary conditions are based
on the Technical Specifications and updated FSAR requirements. Because
these alternate fuel management schemes are specifically analyzed for a
reduction in margin of safety, there is, by definition, no significant
reduction in margin of safety. The proposed amendment contains no
changes in the Technical Specification or other safety limitations as
described in the updated FSAR.
Therefore, the proposed amendment of the SAR in allowing this
operation does not involve a significant reduction in a margin of
safety.
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are
satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the
license amendment request involves a no significant hazards
consideration.
The NRC is seeking public comments on this proposed determination
that the license amendment request involves no
[[Page 8920]]
significant hazards consideration. Any comments received within 14 days
after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in
making any final determination.
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the
expiration of the 14-day notice period. However, if circumstances
change during the notice period, such that failure to act in a timely
way would result, for example, in prevention of resumption of operation
the Commission may issue the license amendment before the expiration of
the 14-day notice period, provided that its final determination is that
the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. The final
determination will consider all public and State comments received. If
the Commission takes this action, it will publish in the Federal
Register a notice of issuance. The Commission expects that the need to
take this action will occur very infrequently.
III. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To
Intervene
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any
person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR
2.309. If a petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on the
petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document.
Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that
are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a
determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates
good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)
through (iii).
If a hearing is requested and the Commission has not made a final
determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration, the
Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no
significant hazards consideration, which will serve to establish when
the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the amendment
request involves no significant hazards consideration, the Commission
may issue the amendment and make it immediately effective,
notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing would take place
after issuance of the amendment. If the final determination is that the
amendment request involves a significant hazards consideration, then
any hearing held would take place before the issuance of the amendment
unless the Commission finds an imminent danger to the health or safety
of the public, in which case it will issue an appropriate order or rule
under 10 CFR part 2.
A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian
Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the
Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice.
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10
CFR 2.315(c).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No.
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website
at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
IV. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings including
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body,
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires
participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the
internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media,
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC''
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID)
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a digital ID certificate is
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system
no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends
the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing
system also distributes an email that provides access to the document
to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any others who have
advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those
participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a
digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to
obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m.
and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper
[[Page 8921]]
filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically
and requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper
format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants.
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1),
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate as previously described, click ``cancel'' when the link
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any
publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket.
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone
numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires
submission of such information. With respect to copyrighted works,
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants
should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for license amendment dated February 1, 2023.
Attorney for licensee: Henry N. Wixon, Chief of Counsel, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1052,
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1052.
NRC Branch Chief: Joshua Borromeo.
Dated: February 7, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick G. Boyle,
Project Manager, Non-Power Production and Utilization Facility
Licensing Branch, Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power
Production and Utilization Facilities, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2023-02840 Filed 2-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
