Nuclear Regulatory Commission September 13, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is issuing for use of, and to solicit public comment on, draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) ESP/COL-ISG-026, ``Interim Staff Guidance on Environmental Issues Associated with New Reactors.'' The purpose of this ISG is to clarify the NRC guidance and application of NUREG 1555, ``Standard Review Plans for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants,'' (NRC 2000) regarding the assessment of construction impacts, greenhouse gas and climate change, socioeconomics, environmental justice, need for power, alternatives, cumulative impact, and cultural/historical resources as part of the preparation of Environmental Impact Statements for early site permit (ESP) and combined license (COL) applications.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) seeks public comment on the proposed revisions to five sections in NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition.'' The five sections which would be revised are located in Chapter 2, ``Site Characteristics and Site Parameters'' of the Standard Review Plan (SRP), Section 2.5.1, ``Geologic Characterization Information,'' (currently titled as ``Basic Geologic and Seismic Information''); Section 2.5.2, ``Vibratory Ground Motion''; Section 2.5.3, ``Surface Deformation'' (currently titled as ``Surface Faulting''); Section 2.5.4, ``Stability of Subsurface Materials and Foundations''; and Section 2.5.5, ``Stability of Slopes.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes revising its generic determination on the environmental impacts of the continued storage of spent nuclear fuel beyond a reactor's licensed life for operation and prior to ultimate disposal. The NRC has prepared a draft generic environmental impact statement to support this proposed rule. The Commission proposes to conclude that the analysis generically addresses the environmental impacts of continued storage of spent nuclear fuel beyond the licensed life for operation of a reactor and supports the determinations that it is feasible to safely store spent nuclear fuel beyond the licensed life for operation of a reactor and to have a mined geologic repository within 60 years following the licensed life for operation of a reactor. The proposed rule also would clarify that the generic determination applies to a license renewal for an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). In addition, the proposed rule would make conforming amendments to the Commission's 2013 findings on the environmental effects of renewing the operating license of a nuclear power plant to address issues related to the storage of spent nuclear fuel after a reactor's licensed life for operation and the offsite radiological impacts of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste disposal.