[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78798-78799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24804]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-0398; NRC-2023-0184]


U.S. Department of Commerce; National Institute of Standards and 
Technology

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License renewal 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) has received an 
application from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST or the applicant), to renew Special 
Nuclear Material (SNM) License Number 362 (SNM-362). The renewed 
license would authorize the applicant to continue to use SNM and other 
radiation sources for research and development, calibration and 
testing, and training activities at its campus in Gaithersburg, 
Maryland. If the license renewal application is approved, the license 
would authorize NIST to continue to possess and use SNM under NRC 
regulations for 10 years beyond its current license.

DATES: A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed by January 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0184 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0184. 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, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Osiris Siurano-P[eacute]rez, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7827, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC received, by letter dated August 8, 2023 (ADAMS Package 
Accession No. ML23221A162), an application from NIST to renew its 
license, SNM-362. NIST is authorized to use SNM under part 70 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of 
Special Nuclear Material,'' at its campus in Gaithersburg for research 
and development, calibration and testing, and training activities. More 
specifically, NIST uses SNM for activities associated with the 
development and maintenance of radiation measurement standards, 
radioactivity assessment, the provision of radiation measurement 
services, and the study of radiation interactions and processes in 
materials.
    The renewed license would allow NIST to continue licensed 
activities for 10 years. NIST's current license would have expired on 
September 9, 2023; however, NIST timely filed a license renewal 
application. In accordance with 10 CFR 70.38(a), when a licensee files 
an application for renewal not less than 30 days before the expiration 
date of the existing license, the license will not expire until the 
Commission makes a final determination regarding the license renewal 
application. As such, NIST's current license is still in effect.
    An NRC acceptance review of the revised application, dated October 
6, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23271A220), found the application 
acceptable for a technical review. During the technical review, the NRC 
will evaluate the application for radiation safety, nuclear criticality 
safety, chemical safety, fire safety, security, decommissioning, 
decommissioning financial assurance, and material control/
accountability. The NRC will document its findings 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 the renewal of the special nuclear materials 
license. Petitions shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's 
``Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested 
persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed within 60 
days, the presiding officer will rule on the

[[Page 78799]]

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, except Federal holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an 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 at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, 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: November 6, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samantha C. Lav,
Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Management, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-24804 Filed 11-15-23; 8:45 am]
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