Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for an exemption request submitted by Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) that would permit Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant (Hatch) Units 1 and 2, to maintain and load 68M multi-purpose canisters (MPC) with continuous basket shims (CBS) in the HI-STORM 100 Cask System at its Hatch Units 1 and 2 independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) in a storage condition where the terms, conditions, and specifications in the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014, Amendment No. 11 are not met.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff accepted and docketed an application for the amendment of Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2010, submitted by Louisiana Energy Services, LLC, dba Urenco USA dated November 30, 2023. The amended license would authorize the applicant to modify the National Enrichment Facility, located in Eunice, New Mexico, to increase enrichment from 5.5 weight percent Uranium-235 (U-235) to less than 10 weight percent U-235. Because this amendment request contains Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI), an order imposes procedures to obtain access to SUNSI and Safeguards Information (SGI) for contention preparation.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend the regulations that govern the NRC's environmental reviews of new nuclear reactor applications under the National Environmental Policy Act. The rulemaking would codify the generic findings of the NRC's draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors. The draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors uses a technology-neutral framework and a set of plant and site parameters to determine which potential environmental impacts would be common to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors, and thus appropriate for a generic analysis, and which potential environmental impacts would be unique, and thus require a project-specific analysis. The NRC expects that both the proposed rule and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors would streamline the environmental reviews for future nuclear reactor applicants. The NRC is also issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), "Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations," and "Environmental Considerations Associated with New Nuclear Reactor Applications that Reference the Generic Environmental Impact Statement."

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) received and is considering approval of an application filed by STP Nuclear Operating Company (STPNOC, the licensee), acting on behalf of the City of San Antonio, Texas, acting by and through the City Public Service Board of San Antonio (CPS Energy), and Constellation South Texas, LLC (Constellation South Texas) (collectively, the applicants), on July 31, 2024. The application seeks NRC approval of the direct transfer of a two percent ownership interest of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-76 and NPF-80 for South Texas Project (STP), Units 1 and 2, and the associated independent spent fuel storage installation facility (ISFSI) from Constellation South Texas to CPS Energy.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will prepare a supplement to the 2021 draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts for the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-24 and DPR-27 for Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Point Beach). The NRC staff will address new information following the issuance of the 2021 draft SEIS. The draft SEIS supplement will be issued for public comment.

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 monthly 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 (NSHC), notwithstanding the pendency before the Commission of a request for a hearing from any person.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts for the subsequent license renewal (SLR) of Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-12 for Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1 (V.C. Summer).

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.