Nuclear Regulatory Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 1 to NUREG/CR-7002, ``Criteria for Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies.'' This revised NUREG provides guidance to meet NRC requirements for development of evacuation time estimates (ETEs) to support emergency planning. This revision reflects the importance of various ETE model parameters based on the results of an applied research study on ETEs. The format and criteria provided in this document will support consistent application of the ETE methodology and will facilitate consistent NRC review of ETE studies.

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, ``NRC Form 354, Data Report on Spouse.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is considering approval of an application filed by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI), on behalf of itself, Entergy Nuclear Palisades, LLC (ENP), Holtec International (Holtec), and Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI) (collectively, the applicants), on December 23, 2020. The application seeks NRC approval of the transfer of control of Provisional Operating License No. DPR-6 and Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-20 for Big Rock Point Plant (Big Rock Point) and Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades), respectively, as well as the general license for the Big Rock Point Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) and the Palisades ISFSI (collectively, the licenses). Specifically, the application requests that the NRC consent to (1) the transfer of control of the licenses to Holtec and (2) the transfer of ENOI's operating authority to HDI. The NRC is also considering amending the licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the proposed transfer. The application contains sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing NUREG- 1307, Revision 18, ``Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial Facilities.'' This report, which is revised periodically, explains the formula acceptable to the NRC for determining the minimum decommissioning fund requirements for nuclear power reactor licensees, as required by NRC regulations. Specifically, this report provides the adjustment factor and updates the values for the labor, energy, and waste burial escalation factors of the minimum formula.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting nominations for the Health Care Administrator position on the Advisory Committee of the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI). Health Care Administrator nominees should have professional experience with and/or extensive knowledge about health care administration. Involvement and leadership in professional societies or organizations is preferred.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to incorporate by reference proposed revisions of three regulatory guides, which would approve new, revised, and reaffirmed Code Cases published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The NRC is also incorporating by reference one NRC NUREG associated with a proposed condition on one of the regulatory guides. 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 regulatory guides as voluntary alternatives to engineering standards for the construction, inservice inspection, and inservice testing of nuclear power plant components. The NRC is requesting comments on this proposed rule and on the draft versions of the three regulatory guides proposed to be incorporated by reference. The NRC is also making available a related draft regulatory guide that lists Code Cases that the NRC has not approved for use. This draft regulatory guide will not be incorporated by reference into the NRC's regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a scoping process to gather information necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts for the subsequent license renewal of the operating licenses for Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Point Beach). The NRC is seeking public comment on this action and has scheduled a public scoping meeting that will take place as an online webinar.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed a consolidation effort to streamline the review process pertaining to staff guidance for spent fuel storage and radioactive material transportation packages. NUREG-1536, and NUREG-1567 have been consolidated into NUREG-2215 (NRC-2017-0211), and similarly, NUREG-1609 and NUREG-1617 have been consolidated into in NUREG-2216 (NRC-2019- 0132), as well as all associated supplements and Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Interim Staff Guidance (ISG). A notice of this consolidation has been posted on each of the affected web pages and redirects to NUREG-2215 and NUREG-2216 have been provided. Note that the retired standard review plans (SRPs) and ISG still remain available for reference as legacy documents, with links provided on each web page.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) requests to extend the latest construction completion dates for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant (BLN), Units 1 and 2, to October 1, 2021. TVA is the current construction permit (CP) holder for BLN, Units 1 and 2. The initial CPs for BLN were issued on December 24, 1974, authorizing TVA to construct BLN, Units 1 and 2, in Jackson County, AL.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an application for the subsequent renewal of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-24 and DPR-27, which authorize NextEra Energy Point Beach, LLC (NextEra, the applicant) to operate Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (Point Beach), respectively. The subsequent renewed operating licenses would authorize the applicant to operate Point Beach for an additional 20 years beyond the period specified in each of the current renewed operating licenses. The current renewed operating licenses for Point Beach expire as follows: Unit 1 on October 5, 2030, and Unit 2 on March 8, 2033.

On December 8, 2020, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a draft report for comment, NUREG-1757, Volume 2, Revision 2, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance, Characterization, Survey, and Determination of Radiological Criteria.'' The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on February 8, 2021. 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. Additionally, the NRC staff would like to announce that it will hold a public meeting on Monday, March 15, 2021, to discuss updates to the guidance document and provide members of the public an opportunity to comment on the draft guidance document. Details regarding the public meeting and agenda will be forthcoming on the NRC's public website https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg.

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, ``Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering extending the completion dates for Construction Permit Nos. CPPR-122 and CPPR-123, issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (BLN), located on the west shore of the Guntersville Reservoir at Tennessee River Mile (RM) 392 in Jackson County, Alabama. The NRC prepared this environmental assessment (EA) documenting the environmental review and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for this proposed action.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1303, ``Application and Testing of Safety-Related Diesel Generators in Nuclear Power.'' This draft guide is proposed revision 5 of Regularity Guide (RG) 1.9. DG- 1303 provides updated guidance that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable to demonstrate compliance with the NRC regulations for safety-related alternating current (AC) power supplies intended for use as onsite emergency power sources in nuclear power plants. This revision of RG 1.9 would endorse, with supplements and clarifications, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Std 387-2017, ``IEEE Standard for Criteria for Diesel Generator Units Applied as Standby Power Supplies for Nuclear Power Generating Stations'' and IEEE Std 2420-2019, ``IEEE Standard for Combustion Turbine Generator Units Applied as Standby Power Supplies for Nuclear Power Generating Stations.'' This guidance would help ensure that the standby emergency power supplies are qualified, have sufficient capacity, and have the necessary reliability and availability for design-basis events.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of January 25, 2021, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 9, 2020. This direct final rule amended the Holtec International HI-STORM UMAX Canister Storage System listing in the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 4 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1040. Amendment No. 4 revises the certificate of compliance to update the technical specifications for radiation protection regarding the dose rate limit for the vertical ventilated module lid, update the technical specifications for the vent blockage limiting condition for operation, and add a Type 1 version of multi-purpose canister MPC-37.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR- 74, issued to Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), for operation of the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit No. 2 (CNP-2). The proposed amendment would revise the CNP-2 technical specifications (TSs) to allow a one-time change to permit the current integrated leak rate test interval of 15 years to be extended by approximately 18 months to no later than the plant startup after the fall 2022 refueling outage.

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, NRC Form 483, ``Registration CertificateIn Vitro Testing with Byproduct Material Under General License.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued two exemptions in response to requests from Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC. The exemptions afford the licensee temporary relief from a certain requirement under NRC regulations. The exemptions are in response to the licensee's requests for relief due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE). The NRC is issuing a single notice to announce the issuance of the exemptions.

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, ``Public Records.'' NRC updated one form integral to the agency's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process, NRC Form 507, ``Freedom of InformationPrivacy Act Record Request Form.''

On December 29, 2020, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inadvertently issued an information collection titled, ``Voluntary Reporting of Planned New Reactor Applications'' in the Federal Register. The information collection is being withdrawn because it duplicates a document previously published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2020.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a proposed collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, NRC Form 446, ``Request for Approval of Official Foreign Travel by Non-Government Personnel.''

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1377, ``Measuring, Evaluating, and Reporting Radioactive Material in Liquid and Gaseous Effluents and Solid Waste.'' This DG is proposed revision 3 of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.21 of the same name. The proposed revision describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to meet regulatory requirements for; (1) measuring, evaluating, and reporting plant related radioactivity in effluents and solid radioactive waste shipments from NRC licensed facilities, and (2) assessing and reporting the public dose to demonstrate compliance with NRC regulations.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR- 74, issued to Indiana Michigan Power Company, for operation of the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit No. 2. (CNP-2). The proposed amendment would revise the CNP-2 technical specifications (TSs) to allow a one-time deferral of the requirement to inspect each steam generator (SG) from the spring of 2021 to the fall of 2022 refueling outage.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its export and import regulations to maintain the regulatory status quo for nuclear exports to the United Kingdom (U.K.), upon the entry into force of a new civil nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States (U.S.) and the U.K. (the U.S.-U.K. 123 Agreement). The amendment will add the U.K. to the list of countries eligible to receive certain small quantities of special nuclear material under a general license, and to the list of countries whose export license applications do not require Executive Branch or Commission level reviews for certain exports of source material or low-enriched uranium. This amendment is necessary to bring the NRC's regulations into conformity with U.S. Government foreign policy and preserve existing provisions for nuclear exports to the U.K.