[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51874-51876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16679]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 52-050; NRC-2023-0027]


NuScale Power, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Standard design approval application; acceptance for docketing; 
request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted for 
docketing an application for standard design approval (SDA) of the 
US460 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design submitted by NuScale Power, 
LLC (NuScale). The NRC is requesting comment on the SDA application in 
accordance with NRC regulations.

DATES: Submit comments by October 3, 2023. 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 
on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:

[[Page 51875]]

     Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0027. Address 
questions about Docket IDs 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.
     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: Getachew Tesfaye, Office of New 
Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; telephone: 301-415-8013, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0027 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for 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-2023-0027.
     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, at 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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2023-0027 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. Discussion

    By letter dated November 21, 2022 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML22325A349), NuScale informed the NRC of its intent to submit an SDA 
application in stages, along with supporting technical reports, by 
December 31, 2022. By letter dated November 23, 2022, NuScale submitted 
the first part of its application (non-public, withheld pursuant to 10 
CFR 2.390) for a standard design approval of the NuScale US460 SMR 
design, pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 
amended, and part 52, subpart E, of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for 
Nuclear Power Plants.'' Subsequently, NuScale submitted the remaining 
portions of its application in stages, between November 29, 2022, and 
December 31, 2022. The SDA application is available in ADAMS under 
Package Accession No. ML22339A066.
    The NuScale US460 SMR is a pressurized-water reactor. The design is 
based on the Multi-Application Small Light Water Reactor developed at 
Oregon State University in the early 2000's. The NuScale US460 SMR is a 
natural circulation light-water reactor with the reactor core and 
helical coil steam generator located in a common reactor vessel in a 
cylindrical steel containment. The NuScale power module is partly 
immersed in water in a safety related pool. The reactor pool is located 
below grade and is designed to hold up to six power modules. Each 
NuScale SMR has a rated thermal output of 250 megawatts thermal and an 
electrical output of 77 megawatts electric (MWe); accordingly, a plant 
containing six modules would have a total capacity of 462 MWe.
    As described in the November 21, 2022, letter, the application 
contains the final safety analysis report (FSAR) chapters and parts 
thereof. Supporting technical reports are cited throughout the 
application, some of which are attached to the corresponding FSAR 
chapter; other technical reports cited in the application are available 
as standalone documents in ADAMS, if publicly available. Following 
these submittals, NuScale submitted additional supporting licensing 
topical reports (LTRs), which were required to be submitted before the 
SDA application could be accepted for review. By January 8, 2023, 
NuScale submitted these LTRs to the NRC. A notice of receipt and 
availability of this portion of the application was published in the 
Federal Register on March 17, 2023, (88 FR 16463).
    On March 17, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23058A160), the NRC staff 
notified NuScale that its staged SDA application, the last submittal of 
which was provided on December 31, 2022 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML22339A066), will be considered tendered but not docketed until the 
Request for Supplemental Information (RSI) enclosed in the March 17 
letter is submitted and the SDA application is found to be acceptable 
for detailed technical review by the staff. On July 14, 2023 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML23195A092), NuScale submitted the response to the 
staff's RSI. Additionally, on July 17, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML23198A244), NuScale submitted Licensing Topical Report (LTR) TR-
131981, ``Methodology for the Determination of the Onset of Density 
Wave Oscillations (DWO),'' Revision 1, that incorporated changes 
resulting from NuScale's RSI response.
    The NRC staff has determined that the SDA application, as 
supplemented, is acceptable for docketing under Docket No. 52-050. The 
NRC staff provided NuScale notice of the staff's determination that its 
application was acceptable for docketing by letter dated July 31, 2023 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML23198A163).

[[Page 51876]]

III. Opportunity to Comment

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.110(b), the NRC staff is inviting 
public comments on the SDA application within 60 days of publication of 
this notice, for consideration by the NRC staff and Advisory Committee 
on Reactor Safeguards in their review of the application. Comments 
should be submitted as described in the ADDRESSES section of this 
document. The NRC staff will perform a detailed technical review of the 
SDA application and will document its safety findings in a safety 
evaluation report.
    Docketing of the application does not preclude the NRC from 
requesting additional information from the applicant as the review 
proceeds, nor does it predict whether the Commission will grant or deny 
the application.

    Dated: August 1, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Getachew Tesfaye,
Senior Project Manager, New Reactor Licensing Branch, Division of New 
and Renewed Licenses, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2023-16679 Filed 8-3-23; 8:45 am]
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