[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51369-51370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21512]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NUREG--1718]
Standard Review Plan for the Review of an Application for a Mixed
Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility; Notice of Availability
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued NUREG-1718
entitled Standard Review Plan for the Review of an Application for a
Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility in final.
ADDRESSES: NUREG-1718 is available for inspection and copying for a fee
at the Commission's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L
Street, N.W., Washington, DC, and electronically from the ADAMS Public
Library component on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Public
Electronic Reading Room).
A free single copy of NUREG-1718, to the extent of supply, may be
requested by writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Distribution Services, Washington, DC 20555-0001 or submitting an e-
mail to [email protected]. NUREG-1718 is available on the World Wide
Web at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NUREGS/indexnum.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding
NUREG-1718 contact Andrew Persinko, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555, telephone (301) 415-6522.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The NRC expects to receive a license application from Duke Cogema
Stone and Webster, commonly referred to as DCS, to license a Mixed
Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility under 10 CFR Part 70. Under Part
70, the MOX facility is classified as a plutonium processing and fuel
fabrication plant. As an applicant for a license to possess and use
special nuclear material (SNM) at a plutonium processing and fuel
fabrication plant, DCS must obtain the NRC's approval prior to starting
to construct the facility. DCS has indicated its intent to submit the
license application in two parts, information for a construction permit
and information for a possession and use license for SNM. The NRC will
first determine if it can grant DCS construction approval. The NRC
makes this determination based on contents of the license application
that are specifically required by Part 70 for construction approval.
The required material is described in detail in 10 CFR 70.22(f).
Following the applicant's second submittal, the NRC will determine
if it can grant DCS a possession and use license for SNM. The NRC makes
this determination based on the full content of the license application
as described in 10 CFR 70.22 and Subpart H to the revised 10 CFR Part
70.
The NRC developed NUREG-1718 to provide guidance to the NRC staff
reviewers in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards who
will perform safety, safeguards, and environmental reviews of the
anticipated application for a license to
[[Page 51370]]
possess and use special nuclear material for the MOX facility
(including the construction approval review). The NRC developed NUREG-
1718 in parallel with NUREG-1520, Standard Review Plan for the Review
of a License Application for a Fuel Cycle Facility, which the NRC staff
developed to support uranium fuel fabrication facilities licensed under
10 CFR Part 70. The NRC indicated its intent to issue a revision to 10
CFR Part 70. The NRC staff has ensured that NUREG-1718 remained
consistent with the requirements of the new rule as proposed and has
also attempted to ensure that, where applicable for a MOX facility,
NUREG-1718 is consistent with NUREG-1520. However, reviewers and other
readers should be aware that NUREG-1718 contains specific guidance for
a license application from DCS for a MOX facility. The NRC does not
intend to apply this guidance to any other facility under its
regulatory authority.
NUREG-1718 is intended to ensure the quality, uniformity,
stability, and predictability of the staff reviews. It presents a
defined basis from which to evaluate proposed changes in the scope and
requirements of the staff reviews. NUREG-1718 makes information about
NRC acceptance criteria widely available to interested members of the
public and the regulated industry. Each section of NUREG-1718 addresses
the responsibilities of persons performing the review, the review
areas, the Commission's regulations pertinent to specific technical
matters, the acceptance criteria used by the staff, the method used to
accomplish the review, and the conclusions that are appropriate for the
Safety Evaluation Report (SER) for both the construction approval
review and the license review.
Analysis of Public Comments
On February 1, 2000, the NRC issued a Notice of Availability that
it was accepting public comments on the first draft of NUREG-1718 (65
FRN 4856). The public comment period closed on March 27, 2000,
including a two-week extension at the request of the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE-65 FRN 13063).
The NRC received about 311 written comments from 12 commenters. On
May 9, 2000, the NRC conducted a public meeting to discuss the public
comments. In addition to NRC staff and other meeting participants, 6 of
the commenters were represented. The NRC did not receive any
significantly new comments at the public meeting. The NRC was able to
consider all the comments it received in making revisions to NUREG-
1718. A summary of the public comments and staff responses is available
on the World Wide Web at http://www.nrc.gov/NMSS/FCSS/fcssindex.html.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of August 2000.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert C. Pierson,
Deputy Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-21512 Filed 8-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P