Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exemption in response to a December 7, 2023, request from Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (Constellation), regarding the submittal of a subsequent license renewal application for James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant. Pursuant to this exemption, if the licensee submits a subsequent license renewal application at least 3 years prior to the expiration of the existing operating license, and if the NRC staff finds it acceptable for docketing, the existing operating license will be in timely renewal under NRC regulations until the NRC has made a final determination on whether to approve the subsequent license renewal application.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft report entitled, NUREG-1307, Revision 20, "Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial Facilities." This report, which is revised periodically, explains the formula acceptable to the NRC for determining the minimum decommissioning fund requirements for nuclear power reactor licensees, as required by NRC regulations. Specifically, this report provides the adjustment factor and updates the values for the labor, energy, and waste burial escalation factors of the minimum formula.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, "Standards for Protection Against Radiation."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF- 21, issued on May 22, 2012, held by Energy Northwest for the operation of Columbia Generating Station (Columbia) located in Benton County, Washington, on land leased from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The proposed amendment would revise the Columbia Emergency Plan by changing the emergency response organization (ERO) staffing plan. The NRC staff evaluated the potential environmental effects of the proposed action (license amendment request) and is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is considering approval of a request to amend four licenses. The request is for Braidwood Station, Units 1 and 2, and Byron Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2. For each license amendment, the NRC proposes to determine that it involves no significant hazards consideration (NSHC). Because the request contains sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI), an order imposes procedures to obtain access to SUNSI for contention preparation by persons who file a hearing request or petition for leave to intervene.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to revise the NRC's regulations by adding a risk-informed, performance- based, and technology-inclusive regulatory framework for commercial nuclear plants in response to the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA). The NRC plans to hold a public meeting to promote full understanding of the proposed rule and facilitate public comments.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) in support of the NRC's consideration of a request from Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) to continue to possess certain transuranic waste, which originated from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), without an NRC license under the terms of a 2023 Order. The 2023 Order exempted WCS from the NRC's regulations concerning special nuclear material (SNM). The current action is in response to a request by WCS dated May 24, 2024, to extend the possession time of certain waste at specific locations at the facility in Andrews County, Texas (WCS Site) until December 31, 2026.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, "General Domestic Licenses for Byproduct Material."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts for the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, and DPR-68 for Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 (Browns Ferry).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an exemption to Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), for the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (SQN) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), in accordance with NRC regulations. Specifically, the exemption permits SQN's ISFSI to deviate from conditions of the NRC Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032, which was issued to Holtec International (Holtec or the CoC holder) amendment No. 3, appendix B, section 3.3, "Codes and Standards."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of November 19, 2024, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on September 5, 2024. The direct final rule amended its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 Cask System listing within the "List of approved spent fuel storage casks," to include Renewed Amendment No. 18 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1014.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled, "Tribal Participation in the Advance Notification Program."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and accompanying environmental assessment (EA) regarding the NRC's consideration of a license amendment request from General Electric Hitachi (GEH or the licensee) seeking approval of a license termination plan (LTP) for the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR) Developmental Power Reactor (DPR)-1. If approved, the amendment would add a license condition to the license reflecting the NRC's approval of its LTP. Based on the EA, the NRC staff has concluded that there will be no significant impacts to environmental resources from the requested license amendment, and therefore, a FONSI is appropriate.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for an exemption request submitted by Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) that would permit Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (Hatch) Units 1 and 2, to maintain and load 68M multi-purpose canisters (MPC) with continuous basket shims (CBS) in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at its Hatch Units 1 and 2 independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) in a storage condition where the terms, conditions, and specifications in the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014, Amendment No. 11 are not met.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff accepted and docketed an application for the amendment of Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2010, submitted by Louisiana Energy Services, LLC, dba Urenco USA dated November 30, 2023. The amended license would authorize the applicant to modify the National Enrichment Facility, located in Eunice, New Mexico, to increase enrichment from 5.5 weight percent Uranium-235 (U-235) to less than 10 weight percent U-235. Because this amendment request contains Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI), an order imposes procedures to obtain access to SUNSI and Safeguards Information (SGI) for contention preparation.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend the regulations that govern the NRC's environmental reviews of new nuclear reactor applications under the National Environmental Policy Act. The rulemaking would codify the generic findings of the NRC's draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors. The draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors uses a technology-neutral framework and a set of plant and site parameters to determine which potential environmental impacts would be common to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors, and thus appropriate for a generic analysis, and which potential environmental impacts would be unique, and thus require a project-specific analysis. The NRC expects that both the proposed rule and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors would streamline the environmental reviews for future nuclear reactor applicants. The NRC is also issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), "Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations," and "Environmental Considerations Associated with New Nuclear Reactor Applications that Reference the Generic Environmental Impact Statement."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) received and is considering approval of an application filed by STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC, the licensee), acting on behalf of the City of San Antonio, Texas, acting by and through the City Public Service Board of San Antonio (CPS Energy), and Constellation South Texas, LLC (Constellation South Texas) (collectively, the applicants), on July 31, 2024. The application seeks NRC approval of the direct transfer of a two percent ownership interest of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80 for South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 and 2, and the associated independent spent fuel storage installation facility (ISFSI) from Constellation South Texas to CPS Energy.