[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 4, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68506-68507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21988]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 20, 30, and 51
[NRC-2023-0071]
RIN 3150-AL00
Regulatory Framework for Fusion Systems
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Availability of preliminary proposed rule language; public
meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
amending its byproduct material regulations to establish a regulatory
framework for fusion systems. The NRC is making available preliminary
proposed rule language for a limited-scope, technology-inclusive
framework that will be added to NRC's regulations in the Code of
Federal Regulations. The NRC plans to hold public meetings in October
and November 2023, to promote understanding of the preliminary proposed
rule and facilitate transparency in its public rulemaking process.
DATES: The NRC plans to hold a series of public meetings on October 11,
2023, November 1, 2023, and November 9, 2023. See Section II,
``Preliminary Proposed Rule Language and Public Meetings,'' of this
document for more information on the meetings.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID Docket ID NRC-2023-0071 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-2023-0071. Address
questions about NRC Docket IDs to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
individuals listed in the For Further Information Contact section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly
[[Page 68507]]
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 the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
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, Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Andrukat, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-3561, email:
[email protected], and Duncan White, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-2598, email:
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On January 14, 2019, the President signed into law the Nuclear
Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), Public Law 115-439,
132 Stat. 5565. Among other things, NEIMA directs the NRC to develop
and establish, by December 31, 2027, a regulatory framework for fusion
reactors.
In response to NEIMA and the continued development of fusion
technologies, the Commission directed the NRC staff to proceed with a
limited scope rulemaking in a staff requirements memorandum (SRM) dated
April 13, 2023, SRM-SECY-23-0001 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23103A449),
associated with SECY-23-0001, ``Options for Licensing and Regulating
Fusion Energy Systems,'' dated January 3, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML22273A163). The NRC is proposing to amend its regulations at part 30,
``Rules of General Applicability to Domestic Licensing of Byproduct
Material,'' in title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) to
implement a regulatory framework for fusion systems. The NRC also is
proposing similar changes to its regulations at 10 CFR part 20,
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' and part 51,
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions.''
II. Preliminary Proposed Rule Language and Public Meetings
The NRC is developing preliminary proposed rule language to provide
for the licensing and oversight of the broad array of fusion systems
currently under development. The proposed rule would amend 10 CFR parts
20, 30, and 51. The scope of this rulemaking is to augment NRC's
byproduct material framework to address licensing requirements for
fusion systems that may be deployed in the near-term. The NRC will
propose appropriate fusion-related definitions, requirements for the
content of a licensing application, and other appropriate requirements.
The current preliminary proposed rule language is available on the
Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket
ID NRC-2023-0071. The ADAMS accession number for the current
preliminary proposed rule text is ML23258A145. This preliminary
proposed rule language is draft and may be incomplete in one or more
respects; however, the NRC welcomes discussion with stakeholders at the
public meetings to inform the NRC's rulemaking activity. The NRC may
release additional preliminary proposed rule language throughout the
development of the proposed rule.
The NRC plans to hold public meetings on October 11, 2023, November
1, 2023, and November 9, 2023. The meetings are noticed in the NRC's
Public Meeting Notice System. The NRC is providing preliminary proposed
rule language to increase transparency and to facilitate discussions
with stakeholders on the regulatory framework for fusion systems.
Please monitor the NRC's Public Meeting Notice System website at
https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg as the NRC may post materials for the
public meetings at any time before to the start of each public meeting.
The NRC will post materials related to this rulemaking on the
Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket
ID NRC-2023-0071. Please monitor the docket on https://www.regulations.gov and use the following information to sign up for
docket alerts. The Federal rulemaking website allows you to receive
alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To
subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2023-0071); (2) click
the ``Sign up for Email Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address
and select how frequently you would like to receive emails (daily,
weekly, or monthly).
Dated: September 29, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dafna E. Silberfeld,
Acting Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial
Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-21988 Filed 10-3-23; 8:45 am]
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