[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 26812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10925]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-326; NRC-2010-0217]


University of California, Irvine; License Renewal for University 
of California, Irvine Nuclear Reactor Facility; Supplemental 
Information

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; supplemental information.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a notice in 
the Federal Register on February 13, 2012 (77 FR 7610-7613), ``Notice 
of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for the License Renewal for University of 
California, Irvine Nuclear Reactor Facility,'' to inform the public 
that the NRC is considering issuance of a renewed Facility License No. 
R-116 for the Regents of the University of California (the licensee) 
which would authorize continued operation of the University of 
California, Irvine Nuclear Reactor Facility. The notice provided the 
NRC staff's review of the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for the University of California, Irvine Nuclear 
Reactor Facility. This action is necessary to provide the public with 
supplemental information regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals Waste 
Confidence Ruling and NRC staff review of the ruling showing the non-
applicability to research and test reactor licensing.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2010-0217 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and is publicly available, using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0217. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected].
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason A. Lising, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone 301-415-3841, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 8, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the District of Columbia Circuit found that some aspects of the 
2010 Waste Confidence Rulemaking did not satisfy the NRC's National 
Environmental Policy Act obligations and vacated the rulemaking. On 
August 7, 2012, the Commission directed the NRC staff not to issue any 
licenses dependent on the Waste Confidence Rule until the court's 
remand has been appropriately addressed. NRC staff analyzed the Waste 
Confidence Rule (part 51.23 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Temporary Storage of Spent Fuel after Cessation 
of Reactor Operation-Generic Determination of No Significant 
Environmental Impact,'') as well as supplemental information, and 
concluded that 10 CFR 51.23 does not specifically refer to research and 
test reactors (RTRs), only to power reactors and independent spent fuel 
storage installations. As such, RTR licensing does not rely or depend 
on the Waste Confidence Rule. The NRC staff's memo documenting this 
review can be found in the NRC Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System under Accession No. ML13071A642.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of May, 2013.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Alexander Adams, Jr.,
Chief, Research and Test Reactors Licensing Branch, Division of Policy 
and Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013-10925 Filed 5-7-13; 8:45 am]
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