10 CFR Part 52, Subpart F - Manufacturing Licenses

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include updating the address for the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), updating a footnote, correcting mathematical errors, correcting references, correcting typographical and grammatical errors, and revising language for clarity and consistency. This final rule also makes changes to the time period by which a Federal agency must refer a debt for collection through offset, and makes conforming changes to the regulations to reflect the transfer of Mississippi to NRC Region IV.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include updating the address for the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), updating a footnote, correcting mathematical errors, correcting references, correcting typographical and grammatical errors, and revising language for clarity and consistency. This final rule also makes changes to the time period by which a Federal agency must refer a debt for collection through offset, and makes conforming changes to the regulations to reflect the transfer of Mississippi to NRC Region IV.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is adopting a new rule certifying the Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor (ESBWR) standard plant design. This action is necessary so that applicants or licensees intending to construct and operate an ESBWR design may do so by referencing this design certification rule (DCR). The applicant for certification of the ESBWR design is GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH).

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to certify the Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor (ESBWR) standard plant design. The proposed ESBWR design certification rule was published for public comment on March 24, 2011. The NRC is publishing this supplemental proposed rule to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on two matters. The first is proposed changes related to the analysis methodology supporting the ESBWR steam dryer design that were made after the close of the public comment period for the proposed ESBWR design certification rule. The second is the NRC's proposed clarification of its intent to treat 50 referenced documents within Revision 10 of the ESBWR design control document (DCD) as requirements and matters resolved in subsequent licensing and enforcement actions for plants referencing the ESBWR design certification. In addition, the supplemental proposed rule clarifies that the NRC intends to obtain approval for incorporation by reference from the Director of the Office of the Federal Register for the generic DCD and 20 publicly-available documents that are referenced in the DCD that are intended by the NRC to be requirements. The supplemental proposed rule does not offer an opportunity for public comment on this clarification of the NRC's intent. Finally, the supplemental proposed rule updates the version of the DCD (from Revision 9 to Revision 10) which the NRC proposes to obtain approval for incorporation by reference from the Office of the Federal Register. Revision 10 of the DCD was needed to address the previously described matters. The applicant for certification of the ESBWR design is GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH).

On March 24, 2014, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for public comment a proposed rule revising the acceptance criteria for the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) for light-water nuclear power reactors. The NRC is also seeking public comment on three draft regulatory guides that would support the implementation of the proposed rule. The public comment period for the proposed rule and associated draft guidance was to have ended on June 9, 2014. The public comment period for information collection aspects of this rule was to have ended on April 23, 2014. Due to requests from members of the public, the NRC has extended the comment periods for the proposed rule, the associated draft guidance, and the information collection aspects until August 21, 2014.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations to revise the acceptance criteria for the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) for light-water nuclear power reactors. The proposed ECCS acceptance criteria are performance-based, and reflect recent research findings that identified new embrittlement mechanisms for fuel rods with zirconium alloy cladding under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. The proposed rule also addresses two petitions for rulemaking (PRMs) by establishing requirements applicable to all fuel types and cladding materials, and requiring the consideration of crud, oxide deposits, and hydrogen content in zirconium-based alloy fuel cladding. Further, the proposed rule contains a provision that would allow licensees to use an alternative risk-informed approach to evaluate the effects of debris for long-term cooling. The NRC is also seeking public comment on three draft regulatory guides that would support the implementation of the proposed rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations concerning deliberate misconduct by licensees and other persons otherwise subject to the NRC's jurisdiction (known as the “Deliberate Misconduct Rule”) and its regulations concerning challenges to immediately effective orders issued by the NRC. This proposed rule would incorporate the concept of “deliberate ignorance” as an additional basis on which to take enforcement action against persons who violate any of the NRC's Deliberate Misconduct Rule provisions. The NRC is also proposing to amend its regulations regarding challenges to the immediate effectiveness of NRC enforcement orders to clarify that the NRC staff has the burden of persuasion in showing that adequate evidence supports the grounds for the order and that immediate effectiveness is warranted and to clarify the authority of the NRC's presiding officer to order live testimony in resolving these challenges.