[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 205 (Monday, October 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73153-73154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25646]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-274; NRC-2015-0284]


United States Department of the Interior; United States 
Geological Survey TRIGA Research Reactor

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License renewal; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a renewal 
of Facility Operating License No. R-113, held by the United States 
Geological Survey (USGS or the licensee), for the continued operation 
of its USGS Training, Research, Isotope Production, General Atomics 
(TRIGA) research reactor (GSTR or the reactor) at a steady-state power 
level of 1.0 megawatt (MW) and a pulse power level as provided in the 
licensee's Technical Specifications, for an additional 20 years. The 
GSTR facility is located on the property of the Denver Federal Center 
in Lakewood, Colorado.

DATES: The operating license renewal No. R-113 is effective on October 
14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0284 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0284. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. In 
addition, for the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession 
numbers are provided in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' 
section of this document.
     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: Geoffrey A. Wertz, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0893; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion

    The NRC has issued renewed Facility Operating License No. R-113, 
held by the USGS, which authorizes continued operation of the USGS 
GSTR, located in the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado. The 
GSTR is heterogeneous pool-type, natural convection, light-water 
cooled, and shielded TRIGA reactor. The GSTR is licensed to operate at 
a steady-state power level of 1,000 kilowatts thermal power and to 
pulse the reactor with a maximum reactivity insertion of $3.00. The 
renewed Facility Operating License No. R-113 will expire 20 years from 
its date of issuance.
    The renewed facility operating license complies with the standards 
and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the 
Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission has 
made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission's 
regulations in chapter I of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, and sets forth those findings in the renewed facility 
operating license. The NRC afforded an opportunity for hearing in the 
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing published in the Federal Register on 
February 5, 2016 (81 FR 6302). The NRC received no request for a 
hearing or petition for leave to intervene following the notice.
    The NRC staff prepared a safety evaluation report for the renewal 
of Facility Operating License No. R-113 and concluded, based on that 
evaluation, that the licensee can continue to operate the facility 
without endangering the health and safety of the public. The NRC staff 
also prepared an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant 
Impact for the renewal of the facility operating license, noticed in 
the Federal Register on June 14, 2016 (81 FR 38739), and concluded that 
renewal of the facility operating license will not have a significant 
impact on the quality of the human environment.

II. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons as indicated.

[[Page 73154]]



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                                                        ADAMS Accession
                       Document                               No.
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U.S. Geological Survey--Revised Safety Analysis              ML092120136
 Report, Technical Specifications, and Environmental
 Report to Support License Renewal (redacted
 version), dated January 5, 2009 (redacted version)..
U.S. Geological Survey--TRIGA Reactor Response to the        ML103340090
 RAI Concerning R-113 License Renewal, dated November
 24, 2010............................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Letter of                ML110480046
 February 1, 2011 Concerning R-113 License Renewal,
 dated February 11, 2011.............................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Questions 23.1,          ML110950059
 23.2, and 23.3 of the Referenced RAI, dated March
 28, 2011............................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Questions 22.1,          ML11138A027
 22,2, 25.1, 25.2, 25.3, 25.4, and 25.6 of the
 Referenced RAI, dated May 12, 2011..................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Request for              ML11181A305
 Additional Information for Questions 17.1 and 17.2,
 dated June 29, 2011.................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Question 2 of the        ML11214A091
 Referenced RAI, dated July 27, 2011.................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Question 1 of the        ML112500522
 Referenced RAI, dated August 30, 2011...............
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Request for              ML11277A013
 Additional Information to Question 20, dated
 September 26, 2011..................................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Response to            ML11314A106
 Question 6 of the Referenced RAI, dated October 31,
 2011................................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to NRC Request for          ML113460014
 Additional Information Questions 7 and 8, License
 Renewal, dated November 30, 2011 (redacted version).
U.S. Geological Survey--Licensee Response to NRC             ML120240003
 Request for Additional Information Question 15.3,
 dated January 3, 2012 (redacted version)............
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Response to            ML12068A138
 Question 15.2 of the Request for Additional
 Information from September 29, 2010, letter, dated
 January 27, 2012....................................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR)--Response        ML12039A173
 to Question 18 of a Request for Additional
 Information dated September 29, 2010, letter, dated
 January 27, 2012....................................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Response to            ML12100A097
 Request for Additional Information to Question 14,
 dated March 28, 2012................................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Response to            ML12128A429
 Question 16 of the Referenced RAI, dated April 27,
 2012................................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to Questions 26 and        ML12151A407
 27 of the Referenced RAI, dated May 18, 2012........
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Request for              ML12160A064
 Additional Information (RAI) Question 14, dated May
 31, 2012............................................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Response to            ML12200A055
 Question 3 of the Referenced RAI, dated June 29,
 2012................................................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Response to            ML12220A525
 Question 21 of the Referenced RAI dated September
 29, 2010, letter, dated July 31, 2012...............
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to Questions 9, 10,        ML12251A231
 11, 12, 15.1, 23.4, 24, and 25.5; Along with a
 Corrected Copy of the Proposed Technical
 Specifications (Chapter 14) of the SAR, dated August
 30, 2012............................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Redacted--Response to NRC            ML12334A001
 Request for Additional Information dated October 2,
 2012, letter, dated November 16, 2012...............
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to NRC Request for         ML13052A179
 Additional Information dated October 2, 2012 and
 Telephone Conference, dated December 20, 2012,
 letter, dated February 8, 2013 (redacted version)...
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to RAIs, Follow-up         ML13162A662
 Safety Analysis responses from questions of phone
 conference conducted on March 21, 2013, dated May
 17, 2013 (redacted version).........................
Follow-up Safety Analysis Responses dated July 15,           ML13311A047
 2013, letter, dated October 31, 2013................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR),                 ML14070A040
 Responses to Reactor Operator Requalification
 Questions, dated February 19, 2014..................
Submission of Revised Technical Specifications,              ML14325A646
 Chapter 14, November 3, 2014........................
U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor--Responses to           ML14338A196
 RAI Questions 15.3 and 28, dated November 24, 2014
 (redacted version)..................................
Revision of Proposed Technical Specifications,               ML15261A042
 September 8, 2015...................................
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to RAI Questions           ML16042A575
 1a, 1b, and 1c, dated January 22, 2016..............
U.S. Geological Survey--Response to Request for              ML16110A008
 Additional Information for License Renewal, dated
 April 1, 2016 (redacted version)....................
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to RAI questions,          ML16277A216
 dated September 12, 2016............................
U.S. Geological Survey--Responses to Email Questions         ML16273A304
 from Mr. Wertz date September 10, 2016, dated
 September 22, 2016..................................
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of October, 2016.
    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. 2016-25646 Filed 10-21-16; 8:45 am]
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