[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63447-63448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17236]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2023-0111]
Interim Staff Guidance: Use of the Decommissioning Trust Fund
During Operations for Major Radioactive Component Disposal
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guidance; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) REFS-ISG-2024-01, ``Use of the
Decommissioning Trust Fund During Operations for Major Radioactive
Component Disposal.'' The purpose of this ISG is to provide the NRC
staff's regulatory position to licensees of nuclear power reactors
regarding the use of funds from the decommissioning trust fund (DTF)
dedicated to the radiological decommissioning of a reactor facility for
the disposal of major radioactive components (MRCs) while the facility
is in an operational status. This final ISG may be used in connection
with requests for exemption from NRC regulations related to the
withdrawal of funds from reactor DTFs.
DATES: This guidance is effective on September 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0111 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-2023-0111. 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 ISG, REFS-ISG-2024-01 on the
``Use of the Decommissioning Trust Fund During Operations for Major
Radioactive Component Disposal'' is available in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML24114A263.
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: Shawn Harwell, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1309; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On June 21, 2023, the NRC issued a Federal Register notice (88 FR
40337) soliciting public comment on its draft ISG, ``Use of the
Decommissioning Trust Fund During Operations for Major Radioactive
Component Disposal.'' The NRC received comments from Lili Lamar Shari
Laskowitz, by letter dated August 20, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML23236A525), Paul Saunders, by letter dated June 29, 2023 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML23181A049), Lili Lamar Zucker Ashley Humphries, by
letter dated August 20, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23236A527), John J.
Sipos, by letter dated September 13, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML23262B451), the Appalachian Compact Commission, by letter dated July
28, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23236A522), the Nuclear Energy
Institute, by letter dated August 21, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML23236A529), EnergySolutions, by letter dated August 21, 2023 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML23236A528) and from Constellation Energy Generation,
LLC, by letter dated August 21, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23236A531).
No other comments were submitted. The NRC staff considered those
comments in developing the final version of the ISG. The staff's
responses to the comments are provided in Appendix A, ``Disposition of
Public Comments,'' of the final ISG.
This ISG is intended to provide clarifying guidance to facilitate
stakeholder understanding of the NRC's position on the use of the DTF
during operations for MRC disposal. The NRC's reactor licensing
regulations in part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization
[[Page 63448]]
Facilities,'' establish requirements for providing assurance that
funding will be available to radiologically decommission a reactor
facility and terminate the part 50 license. Specifically, these
requirements address, among other things, the amount of decommissioning
funding to be provided, the methods to be used for assuring sufficient
funding, and provisions restricting the use of the DTF during
operations.
Two separate petitions for rulemaking (PRM) were submitted to the
NRC for consideration in 2008 and 2019 requesting that the NRC revise
the definition of Decommissioning in 10 CFR 50.2 and amend 10 CFR 50.82
to allow access to the DTF to pay for the cost of the disposal of MRCs
prior to permanent cessation of operations at nuclear power plants. The
Commission denied both petitions, noting the subject is adequately
covered by existing regulations, including the exemption process in 10
CFR 50.12, ``Specific exemptions.'' In the analyses recommending denial
of the PRMs, the NRC staff noted that any withdrawal of funds from the
DTF during operations, other than those allowed by NRC regulations,
could undermine the intent of the decommissioning funding regulations.
Therefore, only under extraordinary circumstances would a withdrawal
from the DTF prior to permanent cessation of operations be permissible.
The NRC staff evaluates each exemption request for a DTF withdrawal
to ensure it meets the criteria for special exemptions in 10 CFR 50.12
and considers the totality of facts in determining whether to grant or
deny a request. This ISG discusses the mechanisms which allow the use
of a DTF to cover the cost of MRC disposal during operations.
Information a licensee may provide that assists the NRC staff in
assessing a licensee's exemption request from the regulations related
to the use of a DFT is also presented.
II. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of this ISG will not (i) constitute backfitting as defined
in section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described in Management Directive (MD)
8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and
Information Requests''; (ii) affect issue finality of any approval
issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals
for Nuclear Power Plants''; or (iii) constitute forward fitting as that
term is defined and described in MD 8.4. This ISG states the NRC
staff's position on the use of decommissioning trust funds during
operations for disposal and lists examples of factors that the NRC
staff would consider when evaluating exemption requests under 10 CFR
50.12. Applicants and licensees will not be required to comply with the
positions set forth in this ISG.
III. Congressional Review Act
This ISG is not a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act
(5 U.S.C. 801-808).
Dated: July 30, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Moses,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial
Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-17236 Filed 8-2-24; 8:45 am]
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