[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25054-25056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09004]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-143; NRC-2022-0097]


Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment application; opportunity to request a hearing 
and to petition for leave to intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has 
received an application from Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS or the 
licensee) to amend special nuclear materials (SNM) license number SNM-
124. The amended license would authorize the licensee to perform 
uranium purification and conversion services at the NFS site pursuant 
to a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear 
Security Administration (NNSA).

DATES: A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed by June 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0097 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this action. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this action using 
any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0097. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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 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 ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Downs, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-7744, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received, by 
letter dated November 18, 2021 (ADAMS under Accession No. ML21327A099), 
an application from

[[Page 25055]]

Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS or licensee) to amend special nuclear 
material (SNM) license number SNM-124. The NRC also received, by 
letters dated February 24, 2022, a supplement to this application 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML22066B006 and ML22069A315). The amended license 
would authorize the licensee to perform uranium purification and 
conversion services at the NFS site pursuant to a contract with the 
Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). 
According to NFS this contract would bridge the gap between shutting-
down NNSA legacy uranium processing equipment and starting-up a new 
NNSA process utilizing electrorefining technology. Under section 70.72 
of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), this work 
requires a license amendment because NFS determined that the uranium 
purification and conversion services: (1) Have the potential to 
introduce new accident scenarios to the existing NRC-licensed 
activities that, unless mitigated or prevented, would exceed the 
performance requirements of 10 CFR 70.61 and have not previously been 
described in the integrated safety analysis summary; and (2) use new 
processes, technologies, or control systems for which the licensee has 
no prior experience.
    An NRC administrative completeness review, dated March 25, 2022 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML22080A238), found the application, as 
supplemented, acceptable for a technical review. During the technical 
review, the NRC will review the application, as supplemented, in areas 
that include, but are not limited to, radiation safety, chemical 
safety, fire safety, security, environmental protection, and material 
control/accountability. Prior to reaching a decision on the request to 
amend SNM license number SNM-124, the NRC will need to make the 
findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the 
Act), and the NRC's regulations. The NRC's findings will be documented 
in a safety evaluation report.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to this. Petitions shall be filed in accordance 
with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure'' in 10 
CFR part 2. If a petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on 
the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions 
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document. 
Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that 
are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a 
determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates 
good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) 
through (iii).
    A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian 
Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the 
Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. 
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized 
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10 
CFR 2.315(c).
    For information about filing a petition and about participation by 
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.

III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including 
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body, 
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that 
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires 
participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the 
internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media, 
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as 
discussed below, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic 
submissions is located in the Guidance for Electronic Submissions to 
the NRC (ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC website at 
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the 
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a digital ID certificate is 
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory 
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system timestamps the document and sends the 
submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing 
system also distributes an email that provides access to the document 
to the NRC's 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, applicants and other participants 
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a 
digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to 
obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an

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exemption request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their 
initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing 
electronically and requesting authorization to continue to submit 
documents in paper format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in 
this manner are responsible for serving their documents on all other 
participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 
2.302(g)(2) must still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 
CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the participant also seeks and is granted an 
exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available, unless 
excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not 
have an NRC-issued digital ID certificate as described above, click 
``cancel'' when the link requests certificates and you will be 
automatically directed to the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where 
you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a 
particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include 
personal privacy information such as social security numbers, home 
addresses, or personal phone numbers in their filings unless an NRC 
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. 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 should not include copyrighted materials in 
their submission.

    Dated: April 22, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jacob I. Zimmerman,
Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Management, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-09004 Filed 4-26-22; 8:45 am]
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