Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing this notice regarding the issuance of a final Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for its review and approval of the initial and updated decommissioning funding plans submitted by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas, LLC, for the Morris Operation Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to update the access authorization fees charged to NRC licensees for work performed under the Material Access Authorization Program and the Information Access Authority Program. The change in fees is due to an increase in the review time for each application for access authorization. This amendment is prompted by a recent audit of fees performed by an external certified public accounting and financial management services firm and ensures that the NRC continues to recover the full costs of processing access authorization requests from NRC licensees. The proposed rule also would make two administrative changes to revise definitions to include new naming conventions for background investigation case types and to specify the electronic process for completing security forms.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) is issuing an exemption from the Commission's regulations in response to a November 5, 2021, request, as supplemented by letter dated November 12, 2021, from Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC), as applicable to Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 4. Specifically, SNC requested a schedular exemption from NRC requirements, which require, in part, a holder of a combined license (COL) after the Commission finds that the acceptance criteria in the COL are met for the unit to implement all fitness for duty (FFD) requirements, except for certain FFD requirements for construction, before the receipt of special nuclear material in the form of fuel assemblies. Approval of this exemption would allow VEGP Units 3 and 4 to delay implementation of the requirements of an FFD program that meets all FFD requirements, except for certain FFD requirements for construction, until a point before each unit's initial fuel load into the reactor.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 2 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 1.78, ``Evaluating the Habitability of a Nuclear Power Plant Control Room during a Postulated Hazardous Chemical Release.'' The revision of RG 1.78 describes an approach that is acceptable to the NRC staff to meet regulatory requirements for evaluating the habitability of a nuclear power plant control room during a postulated hazardous chemical release. Releases of hazardous chemicals, onsite and off-site, can result in the nearby control room becoming uninhabitable.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an exemption in response to an October 6, 2021, request from Exelon Generation Company, LLC, as supplemented by letter dated November 15, 2021, which requested a one-time exemption from the NRC regulations, to postpone the conduct of the offsite portions of the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant biennial emergency preparedness (EP) exercise until a date prior to July 20, 2022.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an order approving the transfer of Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-20 for the Palisades Nuclear Plant (Palisades), the general license for the Palisades Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), Facility Operating License No. DPR-6 for Big Rock Point Plant (Big Rock Point), and the general license for the Big Rock Point ISFSI (referred to collectively as the Sites and the licenses) to a Holtec International (Holtec) subsidiary to be known as Holtec Palisades, LLC (Holtec Palisades). The order also approves the transfer of operating authority from the currently licensed operator, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENOI), to Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI). The NRC is also issuing draft conforming amendments to the facility operating licenses for administrative purposes to reflect the transfer of the licenses from ENOI to HDI and the planned name change for Entergy Nuclear Palisades, LLC to Holtec Palisades.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of January 19, 2022, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021. This direct final rule amended the TN Americas LLC, TN-32 Dry Storage Cask listing in the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40 years, the initial certificate and Amendment No. 1 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1021.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing notice of the termination of Facility Operating License No. R-38 and Facility Operating License No. R-67 for the General Atomics (GA; the licensee) TRIGA Reactor Facility in San Diego, California, where the Mark I and Mark F non power research reactors are located. The NRC has terminated the licenses for the decommissioned GA TRIGA Reactor Facility and has released the site for unrestricted use.

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 7, ``Application for NRC Export/Import License Amendment, Renewal, or Consent Request(s).''

On November 8, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reopened the comment period on the preliminary proposed rule language for a risk-informed, technology-inclusive framework for reactor licensing. The public comment period was scheduled to close on January 31, 2022. 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.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the TN Americas LLC, TN-68 Dry Storage Cask listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40 years, the initial certificate and Amendment No. 1 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1027. The renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment No. 1 revises the certificate of compliance's conditions and technical specifications to address aging management activities related to the structures, systems, and components (SSCs) of the dry storage system to ensure that the SSCs will maintain their intended functions during the period of extended storage operations.

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 Insider Threat Program for Licensees and Others Requiring Access to Classified Information.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued one exemption in October 2021 in response to a request from one licensee for relief due to the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE). The exemption affords the licensee temporary relief from certain requirements under NRC regulations.

On November 9, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published in the Federal Register a notice of availability of the draft plant-specific Supplement 23, Second Renewal, to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, NUREG-1437, regarding the proposed subsequent renewal of Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-24 and DPR-27 for an additional 20 years of operation for Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Point Beach). The NRC is announcing two public comment webinars to receive comments on this document. The meetings will allow interested members of the public to submit their comments.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on December 15, 2021 to discuss the NRC staff's draft Alpha Tau Alpha DartTM Manual Brachytherapy Licensing Guidance and the ACMUI Subcommittee on Alpha Dart draft report on the proposed draft licensing guidance; the NRC staff's draft additional licensing considerations memo for CivaTech Oncology Inc.'s CivaDermTM and the ACMUI Subcommittee ACMUI Subcommittee on Civaderm draft report on the proposed draft memo; the NRC staff's draft revision of Regulatory Guide 8.39, ``Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material and the ACMUI Subcommittee on Regulatory Guide 8.39, ``Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material'' draft report on the proposed draft revision of the regulatory guide. The meeting agenda is subject to change. The current agenda and any updates will be available on the ACMUI's Meetings and Related Documents web page at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acmui/meetings / 2021.html or by emailing Mr. Don Lowman at the contact information below.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) is issuing an exemption in response to a request from Duke Energy Progress, LLC (Duke Energy, the facility licensee), on behalf of an individual named in the request, dated July 29, 2021, as supplemented by letters dated August 26, 2021 and October 25, 2021. The exemption permits a waiver of examination and test requirements for that individual to be supported by extensive actual operating experience at a comparable facility that occurred greater than 2 years before the date of application, as opposed to the regulatory requirement that this experience be within 2 years. The exemption is effective upon issuance, but only applies to the specifically named individual.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include correcting a grammatical error, punctuation, a reference, formatting, a mathematical formula, and spelling; clarifying language; revising contact information; and updating an authority citation and internal procedures. This document is necessary to inform the public of these non-substantive amendments to the NRC's regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) is issuing an exemption from the Commission's regulations in response to a November 1, 2021, request from Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC), as applicable to Vogtle Electric Generating Plant (VEGP) Units 3 and 4. Specifically, SNC requested a scheduler exemption from NRC regulations that require a holder of a combined license (COL) to implement certain physical protection and personnel access authorization requirements for a power reactor before fuel is allowed onsite (in the protected area). This exemption allows SNC to implement these requirements for each unit after the Commission finds that the acceptance criteria in the COL are met for the unit and prior to that unit's initial fuel load into the reactor.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to hold a public meeting to discuss a rulemaking activity related to reporting requirements for nonemergency events at nuclear power plants. The purpose of the meeting is to provide background and status information on the rulemaking and to obtain stakeholder input to enhance the NRC's understanding of the associated issues.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the termination of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3 (HBPP, Unit 3) Facility Operating License, No. DPR- 7, located near Eureka, California.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG)1.91, ``Evaluations of Explosions Postulated to Occur at Nearby Facilities and on Transportation Routes Near Nuclear Power Plants.'' The revision of RG 1.91 describes methods that the NRC finds acceptable for applicants and licensees of nuclear power reactors to use in evaluating postulated accidental explosions at nearby facilities and transportation routes.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of December 15, 2021, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2021. This direct final rule amended the Holtec International HI-STAR 100 Cask System listing in the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40 years, the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1008.