Nuclear Regulatory Commission January 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a final revision to Section 18.0, ``Human Factors Engineering,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan (SRP) for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants: LWR Edition.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to OMB for review. The information collection is entitled, NRC Form 212, ``Qualifications Investigation Professional, Technical, and Administrative Positions.''

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 December 31, 2016, to January 17, 2017. The last biweekly notice was published on January 17, 2017.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of January 9, 2017, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on October 25, 2016. The direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1040 for the Holtec International HI-STORM UMAX Canister Storage System.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its licensing guidance for a specific license for receipt, possession, use, and transfer of special nuclear material in quantities that are not sufficient to form a ``critical mass.'' The NRC is requesting public comment on draft NUREG-1556, Volume 17, Revision 1, ``Consolidated Guidance About Materials Licenses: Program-Specific Guidance About Special Nuclear Material of Less Than Critical Mass Licenses.'' The document has been updated from the original version to include information on safety culture, security of radioactive materials, protection of sensitive information, and changes in regulatory policies and practices. This document is intended for use by applicants, licensees, and the NRC staff.

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. 62 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-91 and NPF- 92. The COLs were issued to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., and Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, MEAG Power SPVM, LLC, MEAG Power SPVJ, LLC, MEAG Power SPVP, LLC, Authority of Georgia, and the City of Dalton, Georgia (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 asked for 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.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the AREVA Inc. (AREVA), Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Cask System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to add Amendment No. 14, and Revision 1 to the Initial Certificate, Amendment Nos. 1 through 11, and Amendment No. 13 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004. Amendment No. 14 will revise multiple items in the technical specifications (TSs) for dry shielded canister (DSC) models listed under CoC No. 1004; most of these revisions involve changes to the authorized contents. The revisions to the Initial Certificate, Amendment Nos. 1 through 11, and Amendment No. 13 will remove language in the TSs that requires a transfer cask (TC) containing a DSC to be returned to the spent fuel pool following a drop of over 15 inches.

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. 55 to Combined Licenses (COLs), NPF-93 and NPF- 94. The COLs were issued to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, (the licensee); for construction and operation of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station (VCSNS) Units 2 and 3, located in Fairfield County, South Carolina. The granting of the exemption allows the changes to Tier 1 information asked for 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.

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 issuing License Amendment No. 42 to Combined Licenses (COL), 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 licensees''), for construction and operation of 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.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to adjust the maximum civil monetary penalties (CMPs) it can assess under statutes enforced by the agency. These changes are mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (FCPIAA), as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Improvements Act). The NRC is amending its regulations to adjust the maximum CMP for a violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), or any regulation or order issued under the AEA from $280,469 to $285,057 per violation, per day. Additionally, the NRC is amending provisions concerning program fraud civil penalties by adjusting the maximum CMP under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act from $10,781 to $10,957 for each false claim or statement.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to an October 13, 2016, letter from Duke Energy Progress (DEP), which requested an exemption from certain regulatory requirements that requires DEP to submit an update to the final safety analysis report (FSAR) included in their combined license (COL) application for Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant (Harris) Units 2 and 3 by December 31, 2016. The NRC staff reviewed this request and determined that it is appropriate to grant the exemption, but stipulated that the update to the FSAR must be submitted prior to, or coincident with the resumption of the COL application review or by December 31, 2019, whichever comes first.

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 December 20, 2016 to December 30, 2016. The last biweekly notice was published on January 3, 2016.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a notice that was published in the Federal Register (FR) on January 9, 2017, regarding Category 3 source security and accountability. This action is necessary to delete erroneous text in the paragraph under the heading ``IV. Public Comments Process.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to an October 13, 2016, 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 October 13, 2016, DEP requested an exemption from certain regulatory requirements which, if granted, would allow them to revise their COL application for Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant (Harris) Units 2 and 3 in order to address enhancements to the Emergency Preparedness (EP) rules by December 31, 2019, rather than by December 31, 2016, 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, 2019, but stipulated that the updates to the Final Safety Analysis Report must be submitted prior to requesting the NRC resume its review of the COL application, or by December 31, 2019, whichever comes first.

On May 12, 2016, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an early site permit (ESP) for the Clinch River Nuclear Site located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A notice of receipt and availability of this application was published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2016. The TVA also provided supplemental information in support of the application to the NRC.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance to license amendment of SUB-348, issued on July 13, 1961 and held by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDEC), Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC or the licensee), for its facilities located at the Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County, New Jersey.

The Licensing Support System Advisory Review Panel was established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a Federal Advisory Committee in 1989. Its purpose was to provide advice on the fundamental issues of design and development of an electronic information management system to be used to store and retrieve documents relating to the licensing of a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, and on the operation and maintenance of the system. This electronic information management system was known as the Licensing Support System (LSS). In November 1998, the Commission approved amendments to title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 2 that renamed the Licensing Support System Advisory Review Panel as the Licensing Support Network Advisory Review Panel. The Licensing Support Network (LSN) was shut down in 2011 and the document collection was submitted to the Office of the Secretary. The document collection was made publically available in the NRC's ADAMS system in August 2016 and contains over 3.69 million documents associated the proposed high-level waste facility at Yucca Mountain. Membership on the Panel will continue to be drawn from those whose interests that could be affected by the use of the LSN document collection, including the Department of Energy, the NRC, the State of Nevada, the National Congress of American Indians, affected units of local governments in Nevada, the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, and nuclear industry groups. Federal agencies with expertise and experience in electronic information management systems may also participate on the Panel. The NRC has determined that renewal of the charter for the LSNARP until January 5, 2019, is in the public interest in connection with duties imposed on the Commission by law. This action is being taken in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act after consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration.

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, ``NRC Form 327, Special Nuclear Material (SNM) and Source Material (SM) Physical Inventory Summary Report, and NUREG/ BR-0096, Instructions and Guidance for Completing Physical Inventory.''

On October 18, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) for COMJMB-16-0001 and directed NRC staff to take specific actions to evaluate whether it is necessary to revise NRC regulations or processes governing source protection and accountability. Specifically, the Commission asked the staff to conduct an evaluation of, among other things, the pros and cons of different methods of requiring transferors of Category 3 quantities of radioactive material to verify the validity of a transferee's license prior to transfer, the pros and cons of including Category 3 sources in the National Source Tracking System (NSTS), and the risks posed by aggregation of Category 3 sources into Category 2 quantities. As part of this evaluation, the NRC is seeking input from licensees, Agreement States, and the public to inform the staff's assessment of potential revisions to regulations or processes requiring Category 3 source protection and accountability.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the request of Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee), to withdraw its application dated July 28, 2016, for a proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. NPF-62. The proposed amendment request would have changed the organization, staffing, and training requirements contained in Section 5.0 of the Technical Specifications after the license no longer authorizes operation of the reactor or placement or retention of fuel in the reactor pressure vessel.