Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to an August 12, 2015, letter from Duke Energy Progress (DEP). On May 2, 2013, DEP requested that the NRC suspend review of its combined license (COL) application until further notice. On August 12, 2015, DEP requested an exemption from certain regulatory requirements which, if granted, would allow them to revise their COL application in order to address enhancements to the Emergency Preparedness (EP) rules by December 31, 2016, rather than by December 31, 2013, as the regulations currently require. The NRC staff reviewed this request and determined that it is appropriate to grant the exemption to the EP update requirements until December 31, 2016, but stipulated that the updates to the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) must be submitted prior to requesting the NRC resume its review of the COL application, or by December 31, 2016, whichever comes first.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an exemption to allow a departure from the certification information of Tier 1 of the generic design control document (DCD) and is issuing License Amendment No. 43 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 and NPF- 92. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., (SNC), Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG Power SPVM, LLC., MEAG Power SPVJ, LLC., MEAG Power SPVP, LLC., and the City of Dalton, Georgia (together ``the licensee''); for construction and operation of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 4, located in Burke County, Georgia. The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 information requested in the amendment. Because the acceptability of the exemption was determined in part by the acceptability of the amendment, the exemption and amendment are being issued concurrently.

On February 5, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) solicited comments on draft NUREG, NUREG-1021, Revision 11, ``Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors.'' The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on March 21, 2016. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment period to allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their comments.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to incorporate by reference proposed revisions of three regulatory guides (RGs) which would approve new, revised, and reaffirmed Code Cases published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). This proposed action would allow nuclear power plant licensees, and applicants for construction permits, operating licenses, combined licenses, standard design certifications, standard design approvals and manufacturing licenses, to use the Code Cases listed in these draft RGs as alternatives to engineering standards for the construction, inservice inspection, and inservice testing of nuclear power plant components. These engineering standards are set forth in ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes and ASME Operations and Maintenance Codes, which are currently incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations. The NRC is requesting comments on this proposed rule and on the draft versions of the three RGs proposed to be incorporated by reference. The NRC is also making available a related draft RG that lists Code Cases that the NRC has not approved for use. This draft RG will not be incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations.

Pursuant to Section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing this regular biweekly notice. The Act requires the Commission to publish notice of any amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, and grants the Commission the authority to issue and make immediately effective any amendment to an operating license or combined license, as applicable, upon a determination by the Commission that such amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, notwithstanding the pendency before the Commission of a request for a hearing from any person. This biweekly notice includes all notices of amendments issued, or proposed to be issued from February 2, 2016, to February 12, 2016. The last biweekly notice was published on February 16, 2016.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the final Japan Lessons-Learned Division Interim Staff Guidance (JLD-ISG), JLD-ISG-2012-01, Revision 1, ``Compliance with Order EA-12-049, Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events.'' This JLD-ISG provides guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactor licensees with the identification of measures needed to comply with requirements to mitigate challenges to key safety functions. These requirements are contained in Order EA-12-049, ``Order Modifying Licenses with Regard to Requirements for Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) DSS-ISG-2016-01, ``Clarification of Licensee Actions in Receipt of Enforcement Discretion Per Enforcement Guidance Memorandum EGM 15-002, `Enforcement Discretion for Tornado- Generated Missile Protection Noncompliance.' '' This ISG provides clarifying guidance for staff understanding of expectations for consistent oversight associated with implementing enforcement discretion for tornado missile protection noncompliance per EGM 15-002 and allows consistent enforcement and regulation of licensees that implement corrective actions outlined in EGM 15-002.

On August 10, 2015, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) solicited comments on the draft NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition,'' Section 18.0, ``Human Factors Engineering.'' The public comment period closed on October 9, 2015. The NRC has decided to reopen the public comment period to allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their comments and to hold a public meeting concerning the Standard Review Plan (SRP), Section 18.0.

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, ``Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering a license amendment request for the Special Nuclear Materials License SNM-2504 for the Fort St. Vrain (FSV) independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) located in Weld County, Colorado. The NRC staff is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed action.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to hold a public meeting to discuss proposed amendments to its regulations to incorporate by reference seven recent editions and addenda to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) codes for nuclear power plants, an ASME standard for quality assurance, and four ASME code cases. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss public comments on the proposed rule, in order to enhance the NRC's understanding of the comments.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to a September 1, 2015, request from Yankee Atomic Electric Company, (YAEC or licensee) from the requirement to comply with the terms, conditions, and specifications regarding the method of compliance defined in Amendment No. 5 of the NAC International, Inc. (NAC),MPC Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1025, Appendix A ``Technical Specifications for NAC-MPC System,'' Technical Specifications (TS) A.5.3 ``Surveillance After an Off-Normal, Accident, or Natural Phenomena Event'' at the Yankee Nuclear Power Station (YNPS) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The exemption request seeks a modification of TS A 5.3 inspection requirements for the inlet and outlet vents following off-normal, accident and natural phenomena events.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing public notice of the termination of Source Materials License No. STB- 401. The NRC has terminated the license of the decommissioned Mallinckrodt facility in St. Louis, Missouri and has approved the site for unrestricted release.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 2 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.127, ``Criteria and Design Features for Inspection of Water-Control Structures Associated with Nuclear Power Plants.'' This RG describes a method that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for designing water-control structures (e.g., dams, slopes, canals, reservoirs, and associated conveyance facilities) such that periodic inspections may be performed. In addition, this guide describes an acceptable inspection and monitoring program for water-control structures. Water-control structures include those used in the emergency cooling water system and those relied upon for flood protection.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a petition for rulemaking (PRM) requesting that the NRC amend its rules of practice and procedure to establish procedures for responding to adverse court decisions and to annually report to the public each instance where the NRC does not receive ``sufficient funds reasonably necessary to implement in good faith its statutory mandates.'' The petition, dated October 22, 2015, was submitted by Mr. Jeffrey M. Skov (the petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC on November 10, 2015, and was assigned Docket Number PRM-2-15. The NRC is examining the issues raised in this petition to determine whether they should be considered in rulemaking. The NRC is not requesting public comment on PRM-2-15 at this time.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a final revision to several sections in Chapter 11, ``Radioactive Waste Management,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition.'' On September 17, 2014, the NRC published for public comment the proposed revisions to Chapter 11 of the SRP. The NRC made changes to the proposed revisions after the consideration of comments received. Among other changes, the revisions include (1) revision of the title of SRP Section 11.1 to ``Coolant Source Terms,'' (2) implementation of Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), COL/DC-ISG-013, and (3) the revision also harmonizes SRP Section 11.2 with Branch Technical Position (BTP) 11.6 regarding the guidance of COL/DC-ISG-013 for calculating doses to members of the public and identifying acceptable criteria in assessing the radiological consequences of accidental releases due to tank failures.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an application for the renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-113, which authorizes the United States Geological Survey (USGS or the licensee) to operate the USGS Training, Research, Isotope Production, General Atomics (TRIGA) Research Reactor (GSTR) at a maximum steady- state thermal power of 1.0 megawatts (MW). The GSTR is a TRIGA-fueled research reactor located at the Denver Federal Center, in Lakewood, Colorado. If approved, the renewed license would authorize the licensee to operate the GSTR up to a steady-state thermal power of 1.0 MW for an additional 20 years from the date of issuance of the renewed license.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering amending the NRC's Source Materials License No. STB-401 to allow the option to perform direct dose assessment of residual radioactivity in addition to using derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) to demonstrate compliance with the license termination criteria at the Mallinckrodt site in St. Louis, Missouri. The NRC staff is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed action.