[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19265-19267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7589]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-243; EA-08-099]


In the Matter of Oregon State University (Oregon State University 
TRIGA Reactor); Order Modifying Amended Facility Operating License No. 
R-106

I

    Oregon State University (the licensee) is the holder of Amended 
Facility Operating License No. R-106 (the license), originally issued 
on March 7, 1967, by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The license 
authorizes operation of the Oregon State University TRIGA Reactor (the 
facility) at a power level up to 1100 kilowatts thermal and in the 
pulse mode, with reactivity insertions not to exceed 2.55$, and to 
receive, possess, and use special nuclear material associated with 
facility operation. The facility is a research reactor located on the 
campus of Oregon State University, in the city of Corvallis, Benton 
County, Oregon. The mailing address is Radiation Center, Oregon State 
University, 100 Radiation Center, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5903.

II

    Title 10, Section 50.64, ``Limitations on the Use of Highly 
Enriched Uranium (HEU) in Domestic Non-Power Reactors,'' of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50.64), limits the use of high-enriched 
uranium (HEU) fuel in domestic non-power reactors (research and test 
reactors) (see 51 FR 6514). The regulation, which became effective on 
March 27, 1986, requires that if Federal Government funding for 
conversion-related costs is available, each licensee of a non-power 
reactor authorized to use HEU fuel shall replace it with low-enriched 
uranium (LEU) fuel acceptable to the Commission unless the Commission 
has determined that the reactor has a unique purpose. The Commission's 
stated purpose for these requirements was to reduce, to the maximum 
extent possible, the use of HEU fuel in order to reduce the risk of 
theft and diversion of HEU fuel used in non-power reactors.
    Paragraphs 50.64(b)(2)(i) and (ii) require that a licensee of a 
non-power reactor (1) not acquire more HEU fuel if LEU fuel that is 
acceptable to the Commission for that reactor is available when the 
licensee proposes to acquire HEU fuel and (2) replace all HEU fuel in 
its possession with available LEU fuel acceptable to the Commission for 
that reactor in accordance with a schedule determined pursuant to 10 
CFR 50.64(c)(2).
    Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(i) requires, among other things, that each 
licensee of a non-power reactor authorized to possess and use HEU fuel 
develop and submit to the Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation (the Director) by March 27, 1987, and at 12-month intervals 
thereafter, a written proposal for meeting the requirements of the 
rule. The licensee shall include in its proposal a certification that 
Federal Government funding for conversion is available through the U.S. 
Department of Energy or other appropriate Federal agency. The proposal 
should also provide a schedule for conversion, based upon the 
availability of replacement fuel acceptable to the Commission for that 
reactor and upon consideration of other factors such as the 
availability of shipping casks, implementation of arrangements for 
available financial support, and reactor usage.
    Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(iii) requires the licensee to include in the 
proposal, to the extent required to effect conversion, all necessary 
changes to the license, the facility, and licensee procedures. This 
paragraph also requires the licensee to submit supporting safety 
analyses in time to meet the conversion schedule.
    Paragraph 50.64(c)(2)(iii) also requires the Director to review the 
licensee proposal, to confirm the status of Federal Government funding, 
and to determine a final schedule, if the licensee has submitted a 
schedule for conversion.
    Paragraph 50.64(c)(3) requires the Director to review the 
supporting safety analyses and to issue an appropriate enforcement 
order directing both the conversion and, to the extent consistent with 
the protection of public health and safety, any necessary changes to 
the license, the facility, and licensee procedures. In the Federal 
Register notice of the final rule (51 FR 6514), the Commission 
explained that in most, if not all, cases, the enforcement order would 
be an order to modify the license under 10 CFR 2.204 (now 10 CFR 2.202, 
``Orders'').
    Any person, other than the licensee, whose interest may be affected 
by this proceeding and who desires to participate as a party must file 
a written request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene 
meeting the requirements of 10 CFR 2.309, ``Hearing Requests, Petitions 
to Intervene, Requirements for Standing, and Contentions.''

III

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) maintains the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. On 
November 6, 2007, the licensee submitted its conversion proposal (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML080420546), which was supplemented on February 11, 2008 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML080730057). The NRC staff is in the process of 
reviewing the conversion proposal. The licensee indicated that an 
order, separate from the order for converting the reactor to LEU fuel, 
is needed that increases the uranium-235 possession limit because of a 
constraint on the timing of the shipment of replacement LEU fuel. The 
certification of the shipping containers used to transfer the LEU fuel 
from the manufacturer in France to the licensee will expire in June 
2008, before the NRC can issue the order for reactor conversion. 
Therefore, the licensee requires the receipt and possession, but not 
use in the reactor, of the LEU fuel at this time to allow the fuel to 
be received before the shipping container loses its certification. The 
LEU fuel contains the uranium-235 isotope at an enrichment of less than 
20 percent. The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's proposal and the

[[Page 19266]]

requirements of 10 CFR 50.64 and has determined that public health and 
safety and the common defense and security require the licensee to 
receive and possess the LEU fuel before conversion. This is necessary 
so that the manufacturer can ship the LEU fuel to the licensee before 
the shipping container certification expires, to support conversion in 
accordance with the schedules planned by the U.S. Department of Energy 
to support U.S. nonproliferation policies and by the licensee to 
support its academic mission.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 51, 53, 57, 101, 104, 161b, 161i, 
and 161o of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and to 
Commission regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 50.64, It is hereby 
ordered that:
    Amended Facility Operating License No. R-106 is modified by adding 
the following license condition:

    2.B.(5) Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, ``Domestic 
Licensing of Special Nuclear Material,'' to receive and possess but 
not use up to 16.30 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at enrichment 
less than 20 percent in the form of non-power reactor fuel.

    This Order will be effective 20 days after the date of publication 
of this Order in the Federal Register.

V

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.309, any person(s) whose interest may be 
affected by this proceeding, other than the licensee, and who wishes to 
participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written request 
within 20 days after the date of publication of this Order, setting 
forth with particularity the manner in which this Order adversely 
affects his or her interest and addressing the criteria set forth in 10 
CFR 2.309. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such 
hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.
    A request for a hearing must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-
Filing rule, which became effective on October 15, 2007. The NRC issued 
the E-Filing final rule on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139) and codified 
it in pertinent part at 10 CFR Part 2, ``Rules of Practice for Domestic 
Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders,'' Subpart B. The E-Filing 
process requires participants to submit and serve documents over the 
Internet or, in some cases, to mail copies on electronic optical 
storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of their 
filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with the procedures 
described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements associated with E-
Filing, at least 5 days before the filing deadline, the requestor must 
contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at [email protected], 
or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a digital identification 
(ID) certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any NRC proceeding in which it is participating, and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an 
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to 
download the Workplace Forms ViewerTM to access the 
Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing 
system. The Workplace Forms ViewerTM is free and is 
available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate 
also is available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a 
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, he or she can then 
submit a request for a hearing through EIE. Submissions should be in 
portable document format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance 
available on the NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the filer 
submits the document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings must 
be submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern time on 
the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-
stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming 
receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail 
notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the 
General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the 
Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the 
filer need not serve the document on those participants separately. 
Therefore, any others who wish to participate in the proceeding (or 
their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital 
ID certificate before a hearing request is filed so that they may 
obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., eastern time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or, 
locally, (301) 415-4737.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting 
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such 
filings must be submitted by (1) first-class mail addressed to the 
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited 
delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a 
document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all 
other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail 
as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket at http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the Commission, an 
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or a Presiding Officer. Participants 
are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as 
social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers, in 
their filings. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited 
excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would 
constitute a fair use application, participants are requested not to 
include copyrighted materials in their works.
    If a hearing is requested, the NRC will issue an order designating 
the time and place of any hearing.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, the provisions as 
specified in Section IV shall be final 20 days after the date of 
publication of this Order in the Federal Register.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.10(d), this Order is not subject to 
Section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended. 
The NRC staff notes, however, that with respect to the environmental 
impacts associated with the changes imposed by this Order as described 
in the safety evaluation, the

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changes would, if imposed by other than an order, meet the definition 
of a categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Thus, 
pursuant to either 10 CFR 51.10(d) or 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9), no 
environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required.
    Detailed guidance that the NRC uses to review applications from 
research reactor licensees appears in NUREG-1537, ``Guidelines for 
Preparing and Reviewing Applications for the Licensing of Non-Power 
Reactors,'' February 1996, which can be obtained from the Commission's 
Public Document Room (PDR). The public may also access NUREG-1537 
through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML042430055 for part 1 and ML042430048 for part 2.
    For further information, see the application from the licensee 
dated November 6, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML080420546), as 
supplemented on February 11, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML080730057); 
the NRC staff's request for additional information (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML080090308); and the cover letter to the licensee and the staff's 
safety evaluation dated April 4, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML080730395), available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the Public Electronic 
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who 
do not have access to ADAMS or who have problems accessing the 
documents in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference staff by 
telephone at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737 or by e-mail to 
[email protected].

    Dated this 4th day of April, 2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James T. Wiggins,
Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8-7589 Filed 4-8-08; 8:45 am]
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