Nuclear Regulatory Commission September 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.7, "Monitoring of Combustible Gases and Vapors in Plutonium Processing and Fuel Fabrication Plants," in which there are minor corrections with no substantive changes in the NRC staff's regulatory positions. RG 3.7 provides guidance with regard to protecting against the possibility of the formation of flammable mixtures with combustible gases and vapors. This guidance is needed to protect against the possibility of the formation of flammable mixtures with these gases and vapors when combustible gases and solvents are used within the confinement barriers of a plutonium processing and fuel fabrication plant.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting public comment on its draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), DUWP-ISG-03, "Draft Interim Staff Guidance on Contamination Control, Radiological Survey, and Dose Modeling Considerations to Support License Termination at Sites with Environmental Discrete Radioactive Particle Contamination." The draft ISG addresses contamination control, radiological surveys, and dose modeling regarding discrete radioactive particles (DRPs) that are found in the environment due to an unplanned release or that potentially could be released to the environment during decommissioning. If finalized, this ISG would allow staff to develop consistent guidance regarding contamination control, particularly focused on non-diffuse contamination, during the decommissioning process, as well as provide acceptable survey approaches and dose methods for discrete radioactive particles until the appropriate NRC regulatory guidance can be updated.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is granting an exemption in response to a request dated February 23, 2024, as supplemented on August 15, 2024, seeking an exemption from specific regulations that require periodic updates to the Updated Final Safety Analysis Reports (UFSARs) for the Beaver Valley Power Station (BVPS), Units 1 and 2, Davis-Bess Nuclear Power Station, (DBNPS) Unit 1, and Perry Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP), Unit 1. The initial request was submitted by Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. Effective March 1, 2024, the facility operating licenses for BVPS, Units 1 and 2, DBNPS, Unit 1, and PNPP, Unit 1, were transferred from Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. (operator) to Vistra Operations Company, LLC (operator). The ownership of these units by Energy Harbor Nuclear Generation, LLC was not affected by the transfer. Upon completion of this license transfer, Vistra Operations Company, LLC assumed the responsibility for all licensing actions under NRC review at the time of the transfer and requested that the NRC continue its review of these actions.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exemption in response to a November 15, 2023, request from Florida Power and Light Company from certain requirements of NRC regulations to use AXIOM[supreg] fuel rod cladding at Turkey Point Nuclear Generating, Unit Nos. 3 and 4. Current NRC regulations limit applicability to the use of fuel rod cladding with zircaloy or ZIRLOTM.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an amendment of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) License No. SNM-2011, issued on April 13, 2007, to American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO) for the operation of the American Centrifuge Plant (ACP). This proposed amendment would increase ACO's licensed material possession limits under the high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) demonstration and operations program to support production of approximately 1,400 kilograms (kg) of HALEU in the form of uranium hexafluoride (UF6). For this proposed action, the NRC staff is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a notice to announce the issuance of an exemption in response to a request from Pacific Gas and Electric Company. This exemption was requested as a result of a change to NRC's regulations published in the Federal Register on March 14, 2023.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) will commence an uncontested hearing, in which the Commission will receive written evidence in the form of testimony and exhibits regarding the application from Kairos Power LLC (Kairos) for a construction permit (CP) to construct a non-power test reactor termed Hermes 2 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 5.62, "Physical Security Event Notifications, Reports, and Records." This RG clarifies reporting and recording of security events and conditions adverse to security under NRC's regulations concerning the physical protection of plants and materials.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft Supplement 61, to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, regarding the proposed renewal of Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-58 for an additional 20 years of operation for Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 (Perry Plant). Perry Plant is located in Perry, Ohio, approximately 35 miles northeast of Cleveland, OH. Possible alternatives to the proposed action of license renewal include no action and reasonable replacement power alternatives.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) regarding the NRC's consideration of issuance of a construction permit (CP) to Kairos Power, LLC (Kairos, the applicant) for the proposed Hermes 2 test reactor facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. If approved, the CP would authorize the construction of two fluoride-salt cooled, high- temperature reactors that use solid tri-structural isotropic fuel in pebble form, intermediate liquid-sodium loops, and a common power conversion unit. In addition, the NRC is issuing exemptions from certain NRC requirements which state that the NRC staff shall prepare and issue an environmental impact statement (EIS) to support the issuance of a CP for a testing facility. The NRC is granting the exemptions and issuing the EA and FONSI concurrently to satisfy its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and requirements under NRC regulations, related to the proposed action.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel 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. Renewed Amendment No. 18 would amend the certificate of compliance to incorporate the Holtec Report No. HI- 2200343-A entitled, "Topical Report for Allowance of Heat Load Patterns in HI-STORM 100 and HI-STORM FW Systems."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the request of Accelerated Decommissioning Partners Crystal River Unit 3, LLC (ADP CR3, the licensee) to withdraw its application dated December 12, 2022, for a proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-72. The proposed amendment would have added a license condition to include the License Termination Plan for the Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is giving notice that by petition dated March 4, 2024, as supplemented on June 7, 2024, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Friends of the Earth, and Environmental Working Group (the petitioners) requested that the NRC exercise its supervisory authority to order the immediate closure of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Diablo Canyon) due to "the unacceptable risk of a seismically induced severe accident." The Commission referred the request to the enforcement petition process under NRC regulations. The petitioners' request is included in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.