Nuclear Regulatory Commission May 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact regarding the request for temporary exemption from specific requirements of acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems and evaluation models for Facility Operating License Nos. DPR- 32 and DPR-37, issued to Virginia Electric and Power Company (the licensee) for the Surry Power Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Surry).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide on Foreign Ownership, Control, or Domination of Nuclear Power, and Non-Power Production or Utilization Facility. The NRC is issuing this guidance to provide NRC staff's regulatory position to applicants for, and licensees of, nuclear power reactors and non-power production or utilization facilities (NPUFs), regarding methods acceptable to the staff of the NRC for complying with foreign ownership, control, or domination (FOCD) requirements, including guidance on the subject of foreign financing. This draft regulatory guide may be used in connection with license applications for new facilities, renewal of existing licenses, or applications for approval of direct or indirect transfers of facility licenses.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a Confirmatory Order to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy), confirming agreements reached in an Alternative Dispute Resolution Session held on March 25, 2016. As part of the agreement, Entergy will take a number of actions, including: (1) Developing a case study pertaining to the leakage of the Safety Injection Refueling Water Tank at the Palisades Nuclear Plant and training site personnel with an emphasis on lessons learned from the event; (2) sharing facts and lessons learned with the Entergy Fleet and other reactor licensees; (3) reviewing and revising the Entergy corrective action and operability determination procedures to ensure indeterminate and/or changing conditions are addressed, and (4) modifying the current outreach program at Palisades to include wide audience and discussions of the event, plant safety, and current operations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its licensing, inspection, and annual fee regulations to establish a variable annual fee structure for light-water small modular reactors (SMR). Under the variable annual fee structure, an SMR's annual fee would be calculated as a function of its licensed thermal power rating. This fee methodology complies with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended (OBRA-90).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2016-07, ``Containment Shell or Liner Moisture Barrier Inspection.'' This RIS reiterates the NRC staff's position regarding American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code inservice inspection requirements for moisture barriers. The NRC's regulations require, in part, that licensees implement the inservice inspection program for pressure retaining components and their integral attachments of metal containments and metallic liners of concrete containments in accordance with the ASME Code. If a material prevents moisture from contacting inaccessible areas of the containment shell or liner, especially if the material is being relied upon in lieu of augmented examinations of a susceptible location, the material must be inspected as a moisture barrier. The applicable ASME Code sections require licensees to inspect 100 percent of accessible moisture barriers during each inspection period.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a regulatory issues summary (RIS) NRC-2016-06, ``NRC Regulation of Radium-226 Under Military Control and for Coordination on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Response Actions at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Sites with Radioactive Materials,'' and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NRC and the DoD for coordination on CERCLA response actions at DoD sites with unlicensed radioactive materials.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is giving notice once each week for four consecutive weeks of the North Anna Unit 3 combined license (COL) application from Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking public comment on a draft regulatory issue summary (RIS) to inform nuclear power reactor licensees of existing requirements related to dispositioning information pertaining to the capability of safety- related structures, systems, and components (SSCs) to perform their safety-related functions in nuclear power plants. The draft RIS addresses instances where a licensee becomes aware of credible information pertaining to the time period that a safety-related structure, system, or component is installed that may negatively impact its ability to perform its safety-related function or functions. Licensees must address this information consistent with their licensing basis and applicable NRC requirements.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM or the petition), PRM-50-108, submitted by Mr. Mark Edward Leyse (the petitioner). The petitioner requested that the NRC require power reactor licensees to perform evaluations to determine the potential consequences of various postulated spent fuel pool (SFP) accident scenarios. The evaluations would be required to be submitted to the NRC for informational purposes. The NRC is denying the petition because the NRC does not believe the information is needed for effective NRC regulatory decisionmaking with respect to SFPs or for public safety, environmental protection, or common defense and security.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact regarding a partial site release for license Nos. DPR-1 (Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor), R-33 (GE-Hitachi Nuclear Test Reactor), and DR-10 (Empire State Atomic Development Agency Vallecitos Experimental Superheat Reactor), issued to GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Sunol, California.

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 April 12 to April 25, 2016. The last biweekly notice was published on April 26, 2016 (81 FR 24659).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2016-05, ``Embedded Digital Devices In Safety-Related Systems.'' This RIS clarifies the NRC staff's position on existing regulatory requirements for the quality and reliability of safety-related equipment with embedded digital devices. Furthermore, the purpose of this RIS is to raise awareness that there may be potential safety issues from a postulated common cause failure (CCF) if an undetected software error should occur in embedded digital devices located in multiple trains of redundant safety equipment in nuclear facilities.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is giving notice once each week for four consecutive weeks of the North Anna Unit 3 combined license (COL) application from Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for a license amendment request submitted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E or licensee) related to its shutdown Humboldt Bay Power Plant (HBPP) Unit 3 License Termination Plan (LTP).