[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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