Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued four exemptions in response to requests from two licensees. The exemptions afford these licensees temporary relief from certain requirements under NRC regulations. The exemptions are in response to the licensees' 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) is considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Provisional Operating License No. CSF-1 for provisional operation of the Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Processing Plant located at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), in Cattaraugus and Erie Counties, New York. The proposed amendment would amend the Radiation Protection Plan for the ``retained premises of the licensed area'' for modernization. In addition, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the licensee, requested that the license be amended to clarify NYSERDA's health and safety and other responsibilities under the license. NYSERDA defines the ``retained premises of the licensed area'' as the area consisting of the WNYNSC, not including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) premises and the State Licensed Disposal Area (SDA).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a new Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.240, ``Fresh and Spent Fuel Pool Criticality Analyses.'' This regulatory guide (RG) describes an approach that the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) considers acceptable to demonstrate that NRC regulatory requirements are met for subcriticality of fuel assemblies stored in fresh fuel vaults and spent fuel pools at light-water reactor (LWR) power plants. It endorses, with clarifications and exceptions, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) guidance document NEI 12 16, ``Guidance for Performing Criticality Analyses of Fuel Storage at Light Water Reactor Power Plants,'' Revision 4.

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, ``US NRC Acquisition Regulation.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a Design Review Guide (DRG) entitled ``Instrumentation and Controls for Non-Light-Water Reactor (non-LWR) Reviews.'' This DRG provides guidance for the NRC staff to use in reviewing the Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) portions of applications for advanced non-LWRs within the bounds of existing regulations. The guidance supports NRC's Non-LWR Vision and Strategy, Implementation Action Plan Strategy 3, which involves developing: (1) Guidance for flexible regulatory review processes for non-LWRs within the bounds of existing regulations; and (2) a new non- LWR regulatory framework that is risk-informed and performance-based, and that features NRC staff's review efforts commensurate with the demonstrated safety performance of non-LWR technologies.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing three Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) documents that update aging management criteria for mechanical, structural, and electrical structures and components in the NRC's subsequent license renewal (SLR) guidance documents. Specifically, the ISGs revise guidance contained in NUREG- 2191, ``Generic Aging Lessons Learned for Subsequent License Renewal (GALL-SLR) Report,'' and NUREG-2192, ``Standard Review Plan for Review of Subsequent License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants.'' These ISGs are intended to facilitate preparation of SLR applications by clarifying existing guidance for aging management and adding new guidance, which also will facilitate the NRC staff's review of SLR applications.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is notifying the public of the upcoming availability of an online portal for licensees to submit a request for relief in the form of alternatives to the regulatory requirements.

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, ``Notices, Instructions and Reports to Workers: Inspection and Investigations.''

Pursuant to section 189.a.(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. This monthly notice includes all amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, from January 8, 2021, to February 4, 2021. The last monthly notice was published on January 26, 2021.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 4 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.105, ``Setpoints for Safety- Related Instrumentation.'' This RG describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the NRC to meet regulatory requirements ensuring that setpoints for safety-related instrumentation are established and maintained within the technical specification limits. RG 1.105 has been revised to incorporate additional information regarding American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Society of Automation (ISA) Standard 67.04.01-2018, ``Setpoints for Nuclear Safety Related Instrumentation.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a notice that was published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2021, regarding the final revision to Branch Technical Position (BTP) 7-19, ``Guidance for Evaluation of Defense in Depth and Diversity to Address Common-Cause Failure Due to Latent Design Defects in Digital Safety Systems.'' This action is necessary to correct the Agency Document Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession number for the staff responses to public comments on the draft version of BTP 7-19.

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 ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR- 66, issued to Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp., for operation of the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit 1. The proposed amendment would revise Technical Specification (TS) 5.5.5.1, ``Unit 1 SG [Steam Generator] Program,'' paragraph d.2 to defer the spring of 2021 refueling outage (1R27) steam generator inspections to the fall of 2022 refueling outage (1R28).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1304, ``Safety-Related Steel Structures and Steel-Plate Composite Walls for other than Reactor Vessels and Containments.'' DG-1304 is a new guide that proposes guidance to meet regulatory requirements for safety-related steel structures and steel-plate composite walls for other than reactor vessels. DG-1304 endorses, with exceptions and clarifications, the 2018 edition of American National Standards Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/AISC) N690, ``Specification for Safety-Related Steel Structures for Nuclear Facilities.''

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.