[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11127-11129]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03856]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0051]


Environmental Considerations Associated With Micro-Reactors

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft interim staff guidance; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting 
public comment on its draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), 
``Environmental Considerations Associated with Micro-reactors.'' The 
NRC staff is preparing for the environmental reviews of prospective 
design, license, and permit applications for advanced nuclear power 
reactors (advanced reactors), including micro-reactors. The purpose of 
this ISG is to modify existing guidance and provide supplemental 
guidance to assist the NRC staff in determining the scope and scale of 
environmental reviews of micro-reactor applications.

DATES: Submit comments by May 11, 2020. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this 
date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0051. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Cushing, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1424, email: 
[email protected] and Mallecia Sutton, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation, telephone: 301-415-0673, email: [email protected]. 
Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0051 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0051.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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 documents entitled, ``Micro-
Reactor License Application COL-ISG-029, `Environmental Considerations 
Associated with Micro-reactors,' '' and ``Regulatory Analysis for Draft 
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) 029,'' are available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML20054B832.

[[Page 11128]]

     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2020-0051 in your comment submission. 
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information 
that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment 
submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove 
identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

    The purpose of this ISG is to modify existing guidance and provide 
supplemental guidance to assist the NRC staff in determining the scope 
and scale of environmental reviews of micro-reactor applications. The 
guidance highlights unique considerations for micro-reactors in each 
resource area typically covered in the staff's environmental review. 
The ISG also offers guidance on identifying considerations and 
approaches to simplify and shorten the environmental reviews for micro-
reactors relative to the environmental reviews that the NRC has 
previously performed for other nuclear facilities, such as large light-
water reactors (LWRs). The ISG outlines what the NRC staff considers to 
be an appropriate scope and level of detail for the specific aspects of 
an environmental review needed to document a micro-reactor licensing 
action. A micro-reactor may have some, but not necessarily all, of the 
following characteristics:
     Occupies only a small area of land, disturbs only 
previously disturbed lands, or both.
     Uses zero or only small quantities of resources, such as 
water or fuel.
     Releases zero or only small quantities of emissions to the 
environment.
     Avoids environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands 
and floodplains.
     Avoids areas with cultural, historic, or environmental 
justice significance.
     Avoids habitat for threatened or endangered species.
     Uses mitigation to reduce impacts.
     Involves only low levels of employment for both 
construction and operation.
     Uses simpler designs than those for large LWRs, with 
limited interfaces with the exterior environment.
    While the ISG is designed to aid the NRC staff in developing a 
micro-reactor environmental impact statement, the staff recognizes the 
value of the guidance as a supplemental source of insight into the 
NRC's environmental review process that can inform the development of 
an applicant's environmental report. Applicants should scale their 
level of effort appropriately when preparing Environmental Reports 
(ERs), commensurate with the significance of the impact on the resource 
area being addressed.
    The scope of the ISG is limited to environmental review 
considerations specific to micro-reactors, such as the following:

 Pre-application interactions
 purpose and need for the proposed project
 size of the proposed project and resources used
 land use
 water resources
 terrestrial and aquatic ecology
 socioeconomics and environmental justice
 historic and cultural resources
 need for power and alternatives
 meteorology and air quality
 radiological and nonradiological health
 postulated accidents
 severe accident mitigation alternatives (SAMAs);
 acts of terrorism
 fuel cycle impacts, transportation of fuel and waste, and 
continued storage of spent fuel
 cumulative impact analysis
 consistency with safety licensing documents
 incorporation by reference

    The NRC staff will continue to look for other opportunities to 
effectively streamline environmental reviews and work with prospective 
applicants to identify opportunities to streamline ERs and still meet 
the NRC's regulations.

III. Backfitting, Issue Finality, and Forward Fitting Discussion

    The guidance in this draft ISG-029 clarifies how the NRC will 
approach environmental reviews for a micro-reactor application for 
combined license, early site permit, construction permit, operating 
license and limited work authorization. Issuance of this draft ISG, if 
finalized, would not constitute backfitting as defined in section 
50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) (the 
Backfit Rule) and as described in NRC Management Directive 8.4, 
``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and 
Information Requests;'' would not affect the issue finality of an 
approval under 10 CFR part 52; and would not constitute forward fitting 
as that term is defined and described in Management Directive 8.4. The 
staff's position is based upon the following considerations:
    1. The draft ISG positions, if finalized, would not constitute 
backfitting or forward fitting or affect issue finality, inasmuch as 
the ISG would be internal guidance to NRC staff.
    The ISG provides interim guidance to the staff on how to review an 
application for NRC regulatory approval in the form of licensing. 
Changes in internal staff guidance, without further NRC action, are not 
matters that meet the definition of backfitting or forward fitting or 
affect the issue finality of a part 52 approval.
    2. Current or future applicants are not-with limited exceptions not 
applicable here-within the scope of the backfitting and issue finality 
regulations and forward fitting policy.
    Applicants are not, with certain exceptions, covered by either the 
Backfit Rule or any issue finality provisions under 10 CFR part 52. 
This is because neither the Backfit Rule nor the issue finality 
provisions under 10 CFR part 52--with certain exclusions discussed 
below--were intended to apply to every NRC action which substantially 
changes the expectations of current and future applicants.
    The exceptions to the general principle are applicable whenever an 
applicant references a 10 CFR part 52 license (e.g., an early site 
permit) and/or NRC regulatory approval (e.g., a design certification 
rule) with specified issue finality provisions or a construction permit 
under 10 CFR part 50. The staff does not, at this time, intend to 
impose the positions represented in the draft ISG section (if 
finalized) in a manner that would constitute backfitting or affect the 
issue finality of a part 52 approval. If, in the future, the staff 
seeks to impose a position in the draft ISG (if finalized) in a manner 
that constitutes backfitting or does not provide issue finality as 
described in the applicable issue finality

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provision, then the staff would need to address the Backfit Rule or the 
criteria for avoiding issue finality as described in the applicable 
issue finality provision.
    The Commission's forward fitting policy generally does not apply 
when an applicant files an initial licensing action for a new facility. 
Nevertheless, the staff does not, at this time, intend to impose the 
positions represented in the draft ISG section (if finalized) in a 
manner that would constitute forward fitting. If, in the future, the 
staff seeks to impose a position in the draft ISG (if finalized) in a 
manner that constitutes forward fitting, then the staff would need to 
address the forward fitting criteria in Management Directive 8.4.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of February 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph P. Doub,
Acting Chief, Environmental Review New Reactors Branch, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-03856 Filed 2-25-20; 8:45 am]
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