Nuclear Regulatory Commission October 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing public notice of receipt and availability of an application for a construction permit from Kairos Power, LLC. The application for the construction permit was received on September 29, 2021.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption in response to a request dated September 17, 2021, as supplemented by a letter dated October 7, 2021, from the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI). The exemption allows specific applicants for an operator or senior operator license for the AFRRI Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactor to manipulate the controls at a similar TRIGA reactor to satisfy certain training and testing requirements.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued one exemption in September 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.

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 (SLR) of the operating licenses for St. Lucie Plant, Units 1 and 2 (SLP). The NRC is seeking public comment on this action and has scheduled public scoping meetings that will take place as online webinars.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption and associated license amendment related to a request from Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) from NRC regulations with respect to a request for alternate disposal and exemptions for specified low-activity radioactive waste from the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in Hopkins, South Carolina for waste containing byproduct material and special nuclear material (SNM) under License Number SNM-1107. Additionally, the NRC is taking the related action of approving exemptions to US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) from the applicable licensing requirements to allow USEI to receive and dispose of the material from CFFF without an NRC license. The USEI disposal facility, located near Grand View, Idaho, is a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho to receive low-level radioactive waste and is not licensed by the NRC. Approval of the alternate disposal request from WEC and the exemptions and license amendment requested by WEC and associated exemptions for USEI would allow WEC to transfer the specific waste from CFFF for disposal at USEI.

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, ``Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of October 26, 2021, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on August 12, 2021. The direct final rule amended the TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System listing in the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1042. Amendment No. 2 revises the certificate of compliance to add a dry shielded canister for storage, add new heat load zone configurations, and make other changes to the storage system. Amendment No. 2 also changes the certificate of compliance and technical specifications, and updates the final safety analysis report for consistency and clarity.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of October 27, 2021, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on August 13, 2021. The direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the TN Americas, LLC, Standardized Advanced NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40 years, the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1, 3, and 4 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1029.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received and is considering approval of two amendment requests. The amendment requests are for Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, Unit 2, and Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant. For each amendment request, the NRC proposes to determine that they involve no significant hazards consideration (NSHC). Because each amendment request contains sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information (SUNSI), an order imposes procedures to obtain access to SUNSI for contention preparation by persons who file a hearing request or petition for leave to intervene.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the request of Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee) to withdraw its application dated September 24, 2020, for proposed amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-37 and NPF-66 for Byron Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Byron), respectively. The proposed amendments would have made changes to technical specifications (TSs) definitions and administrative controls for the permanently defueled condition.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the request of Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee) to withdraw its application dated November 2, 2020, for proposed amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-37 and NPF-66 for Byron Station, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 (Byron), respectively, and the general license for the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The proposed amendments would have revised the Byron emergency plan following the permanent cessation of power operations to reflect the post-shutdown and permanently defueled condition of the units.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI- STAR 100 Cask System listing within 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. The renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1, 2, and 3 revises the certificate of compliance's conditions and technical specifications to address aging management activities related to the structures, systems, and components of the dry storage system to ensure that these will maintain their intended functions during the period of extended storage operations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted the request of Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon, the licensee) to withdraw its application dated September 24, 2020, for proposed amendments to Amended Facility Operating License No. DPR-2 and Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-19 and DPR-25 for Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 1, 2, and 3 (Dresden), respectively. The proposed amendments would have made changes to technical specifications (TSs) definitions and administrative controls for the permanently defueled condition.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has received an application from Oregon State University (OSU or the licensee) to renew special nuclear materials (SNM) license number SNM- 2013. The renewed license would authorize the applicant to continue research on used research and test reactor fuel rods that contain greater than critical mass amounts of special nuclear material. The license renewal would allow OSU to continue licensed activities for 10 years beyond its current license.