[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 213 (Monday, November 6, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76143-76144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24396]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Parts 50, 51, and 71
[NRC-2020-0034]
RIN 3150-AK79
Increased Enrichment of Conventional and Accident Tolerant Fuel
Designs for Light-Water Reactors; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Regulatory basis; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: On September 8, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) requested comments on the regulatory basis to support a
rulemaking to amend the NRC's regulations related to the use of
conventional and accident tolerant light-water reactor fuel designs.
The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on November
22, 2023. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment period to
allow more time for members of the public to develop and submit their
comments.
DATES: The due date of comments requested in the document published on
September 8, 2023 (88 FR 61986) is extended. Comments should be filed
no later than January 22, 2024. Comments received after this date will
be considered, if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 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:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0034. Address
questions about NRC dockets 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.
Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact
us at 301-415-1677.
Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at 301-415-1101.
Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. eastern time, Federal
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
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: Philip Benavides, Office of Nuclear
Materials Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-3246, email:
[[Page 76144]]
[email protected] and Carla Roque-Cruz, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301-415-1455, 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-2020-0034 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-2020-0034.
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 regulatory basis, ``Increased
Enrichment of Conventional and Accident Tolerant Fuel Designs for
Light-Water Reactors, is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML23032A504.
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.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal Rulemaking Website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2020-0034 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
On September 8, 2023, the NRC requested comments on a regulatory
basis titled ``Increased Enrichment of Conventional and Accident
Tolerant Fuel Designs for Light-Water Reactors'' to support a
rulemaking that would amend the NRC's regulations to facilitate the use
of light-water reactor fuel containing uranium enriched to greater than
5.0 weight percent uranium-235 (U-235) in part 50 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of
Production and Utilization Facilities,'' 10 CFR part 51,
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions,'' and 10 CFR part 71, ``Packaging and
Transportation of Radioactive Material.'' This rulemaking would allow
the NRC to prepare for the effective and efficient licensing of
applications using fuels enriched to greater than 5.0 and less than
20.0 weight percent U-235 without compromising reasonable assurance of
adequate protection of public health and safety, reduce the need for
exemptions from existing regulations and license amendment requests,
provide licensees operational flexibility and certainty in licensing of
accident tolerant fuel, and support the principles of good regulation.
The rule changes would apply to any light-water power reactor
application submitted to the NRC under 10 CFR part 50 and part 52,
``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.''
The public comment period was originally scheduled to close on
November 22, 2023. The NRC has decided to extend the public comment
period on this document until January 22, 2024, to allow more time for
members of the public to submit their comments.
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2020-0034. In addition, the
Federal rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive
alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To
subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2020-0034); (2) click
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the
``Subscribe'' link.
Dated: October 31, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Catherine E. Kanatas,
Acting Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and
Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-24396 Filed 11-3-23; 8:45 am]
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