2022-17944. Information Collection: Scheduling Information for the Licensing of Accident Tolerant, Higher Burnup, and Increased Enrichment Fuels

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Proposed information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on this proposed information collection. The information collection is entitled, “Scheduling Information for the Licensing of Accident Tolerant, Higher Burnup, and Increased Enrichment Fuels.”

DATES:

Submit comments by October 21, 2022. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 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-2022-0124. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.

• Mail comments to: David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Mail Stop: T-6 A10M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

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:

David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0124 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-2022-0124. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2022-0124 on this website.

• 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 [e-mail]. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing ADAMS Accession No. ML22109A108. The draft supporting statement and burden table are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML22157A431 and ML22227A117 respectively.

• NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to [e-mail] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting the NRC's Clearance Officer, David C. Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

B. Submitting Comments

The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website ( https://www.regulations.gov). Please include Docket ID NRC-2022-0124, in your comment submission.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. All comment submissions are posted at https://www.regulations.gov and entered into ADAMS. Comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the OMB, 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 comment submissions are not routinely edited to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the NRC is requesting public comment on its intention to request the OMB's approval for the information collection summarized below.

1. The title of the information collection: Scheduling Information for the Licensing of Accident Tolerant, Higher Burnup, and Increased Enrichment Fuels.

2. OMB approval number: An OMB control number has not yet been assigned to this proposed information collection.

3. Type of submission: New.

4. The form number, if applicable: Not applicable.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: Once with the addition of voluntary updates, as available.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors under the provisions of part 50 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), “Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,” or holders of a combined license under 10 CFR part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,” except those that have permanently ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel. All holders of licenses and potential applicants for a fuel cycle facility under the provisions of 10 CFR part 70, “Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material,” and holders of licenses and Certificates of Compliance (CoC) and potential applicants for transportation and storage systems under the provisions of 10 CFR part 71, “Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material,” and 10 CFR part 72, “Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater than Class C Waste.”

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 43.

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 43.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 780.

10. Abstract: The accident tolerant fuel (ATF) program is a joint effort between the U.S. nuclear industry and the U.S. Department of Energy to design and pursue approval of various fuel types with enhanced accident tolerance. The ATF program includes development of technologies that would extend fuel burnup and enrichment limits beyond currently authorized levels. In order to deploy these new technologies, the industry will need to seek authorization for various activities throughout the fuel cycle, from fuel fabrication, transportation, and storage to installation and utilization in a reactor. In order to support the timely processing of licensing activities needed to support the deployment of these new technologies, the NRC is seeking scheduling information for licensing submittals from all respondents. This information will allow the NRC to better allocate its resources to support the activities associated with licensing these technologies while being better able to meet the industry's desired timeline.

III. Specific Requests for Comments

The NRC is seeking comments that address the following questions:

1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility? Please explain your response.

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate? Please explain your response.

3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?

4. How can the burden of the information collection on respondents be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?

Dated: August 16, 2022.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David C. Cullison,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.