Nuclear Regulatory Commission August 3, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the NAC Multi- Purpose Canister (NAC-MPC) System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew, for 40 years, the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 8 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1025. The renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 8 would revise the certificate of compliance's conditions and technical specifications to address aging management activities related to the structures, systems, and components important to safety of the dry storage system to ensure that these will maintain their intended functions during the period of extended storage operations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Source Material License No. SUA-1603 to Rare Element Resources, Inc. (RER, the licensee) for its possession, and storage of source material in a pilot project for the recovery of rare earth elements (REE). The pilot project, partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is being conducted at a location in Upton, Wyoming to demonstrate the effectiveness of the licensee's proprietary process to recover rare earth element such as Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr) and other rare earth oxides at high purity levels. The project is scheduled to operate for approximately one year, processing approximately 1000 tons of material. Waste generated as a result of processing will contain greater than 99 percent of the radioactive components and will be treated and solidified onsite and then shipped offsite to a licensed low level waste facility. The site will be decommissioned at the end of the pilot project.