10 CFR 40 - DOMESTIC LICENSING OF SOURCE MATERIAL

On November 8, 2011, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) published in the Federal Register a final rule (76 FR 69120) that amended the NRC's regulations to implement the 2010 “Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.” The present NRC action is necessary to relocate a new section added by the final rule, and to make a related conforming change to the final rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG) DG-4014, “Decommissioning Planning During Operations.” This guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous administrative changes, including updating the street address for its Region IV office and correcting an authority citation and typographical and spelling errors, and other edits and conforming changes. This document is necessary to inform the public of these changes to the NRC's regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to implement the 2010 “Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” (the Agreement). The Agreement prohibits the United States from using Australian-obligated nuclear material to produce tritium for use in a nuclear explosive device, or for any other “military purpose” as defined in the Agreement. The Agreement's definition of military purpose states that it includes “depleted uranium munitions, and other direct military non-nuclear applications, as mutually determined by the Parties.” The amendments in this final rule help enable the U.S. Government to meet its Agreement obligations with the Government of Australia.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations by revising the provisions applicable to the licensing and approval processes for byproduct, source and special nuclear materials licenses, and irradiators. The changes will clarify the definitions of “construction” and “commencement of construction” with respect to materials licensing actions conducted under the NRC's regulations. The NRC is adopting these changes to further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the licensing and approval processes for future materials license applications, as well as to eliminate certain inconsistencies that currently exist within the NRC's regulations with respect to the use and definition of the terms “construction” or “commencement of construction” for certain materials licensees for purposes of its environmental reviews.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a notice appearing in the Federal Register on July 27, 2011 (76 FR 44865), that extended the public comment period and provided a date for a public meeting for the proposed rule, “Domestic Licensing of Source Material—Amendments/Integrated Safety Analysis.” This action is necessary to correct the date of the public meeting in the DATES section, and to correct the Docket ID information for accessing publicly available documents related to the proposed rule and draft guidance document in the ADDRESSES section.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 40 regulations by adding additional requirements for source material licensees who possess significant quantities of uranium hexafluoride (UF6). The proposed rule and proposed guidance document were published in the Federal Register on May 17, 2011 (76 FR 28336), for public comment and an administrative correction to 76 FR 28336 was published in the Federal Register on June 1, 2011 (76 FR 31507). The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), in a letter dated June 21, 2011, requested the NRC to hold a public meeting on the proposed rule and draft guidance document and to extend the public comment period. Based on NEI's request, the NRC will conduct a public meeting on August 17, 2011, to seek public input on the proposed rule and its associated draft guidance document. In addition, the NRC is extending the public comment period for the proposed rule and associated draft guidance document from 75 days to 115 days to allow the public ample opportunity to submit written comments.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its regulations to improve decommissioning planning and thereby reduce the likelihood that any current operating facility will become a legacy site. The amended regulations require licensees to conduct their operations to minimize the introduction of residual radioactivity into the site, which includes the site's subsurface soil and groundwater. Licensees also may be required to perform site surveys to determine whether residual radioactivity is present in subsurface areas and to keep records of these surveys with records important for decommissioning. The amended regulations require licensees to report additional details in their decommissioning cost estimate (DCE), eliminate the escrow account and line of credit as approved financial assurance mechanisms, and modify other financial assurance requirements. The amended regulations require decommissioning power reactor licensees to report additional information on the costs of decommissioning and spent fuel management.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is correcting a proposed rule that was published in the Federal Register (FR) on May 17, 2011 (76 FR 28336). The proposed rule announced the availability of a draft regulatory analysis for public comment. This document corrects the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession number that appeared in Section XI, “Regulatory Analysis.” The correct ADAMS accession number is ML102380243.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is proposing to amend its regulations by adding additional requirements for source material licensees who possess significant quantities of uranium hexafluoride (UF6). The proposed amendments would require such licensees to conduct integrated safety analyses (ISAs) similar to the ISAs performed by 10 CFR part 70 licensees; set possession limits for UF6 for determining licensing authority (NRC or Agreement States); add defined terms; add an additional evaluation criterion for applicants who submit an evaluation in lieu of an emergency plan; require the NRC to perform a backfit analysis under specified circumstances; and make administrative changes to the structure of the regulations. The proposed ISA requirements would not apply to facilities that are currently undergoing decommissioning under the current regulations. This rulemaking pertains to 10 CFR part 40 licensees and applicants who possess, or plan to possess, significant quantities of UF6. The current regulations do not contain ISA requirements for evaluating the consequences of facility accidents. The proposed amendment would require applicants and licensees who possess or plan to possess significant amounts of UF6 to conduct an ISA and submit an ISA summary to the NRC. The ISA, which evaluates and categorizes the consequences of accidents at NRC licensed facilities, would address both the radiological and chemical hazards from licensed material and hazardous chemicals produced in the processing of licensed material. Similar hazards that exist at other fuel cycle facilities are addressed by ISA requirements elsewhere in the regulations. The NRC is also proposing new guidance on the implementation of the additional regulatory requirements for licensees that would be authorized under this rulemaking.

This document corrects a notice appearing in the Federal Register on January 7, 2011, that announces the availability of draft implementation guidance for public comment. This action is necessary to correct the ADAMS Accession Number for the draft Part 40 implementation guidance.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to require that the initial distribution of source material to exempt persons or general licensees be explicitly authorized by a specific license. The proposed rule would also modify the existing possession and use requirements of the general license for small quantities of source material and revise, clarify, or delete certain source material exemptions from licensing. The NRC has prepared draft guidance to address implementation of the proposed regulations. This notice is announcing the availability of the draft implementation guidance document for public comment.