ML18220B215

Progress on Licensing Applications - June 2018 (Enclosure 1)

ML18220B215
Person / Time
Issue date:	08/09/2018
From:	Kristine Svinicki NRC/Chairman
To:	Frelinghuysen R, Shelby R US HR, Comm on Appropriations, US SEN, Comm on Appropriations
Tamara Bloomer , EDO (301) 415-1785
Shared Package
ML18220B209	List: ML18207A683 ML18220B215 ML18220B216
References
CORR-18-0070, SRM-OGC1705083
Download: ML18220B215 (14)

Text

Enclosure 1 Progress on Licensing Applications - June 2018

1. Progress to Eliminate the Backlog of Pending Licensing Actions The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has taken specific actions to ensure greater discipline and management oversight in the request for additional information (RAI) process.

Operating Reactors The Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) reduced the backlog of licensing actions by reducing the inventory of licensing actions greater than 1-year-old from 139 in September 2014, to 4 in March 2018. Through the use of strict management controls and metrics, this inventory remains below 15 at any given time. This improvement is due in large part to the office specific RAl-related improvements implemented over the last several years.

NRR launched several initiatives to focus on leveraging or revising existing licensing processes to enhance agency efficiency, effectiveness, and predictability, while maintaining a continued strong safety focus. These initiatives have analyzed the issues that caused the previous licensing action backlog, including in the RAI process, and recommended enhancements to the licensing review process. NRR management issued interim guidance to the staff in January 2015, and updated interim guidance in April 2016, providing expectations to help enhance consistency of the licensing review process, sound decision-making, and discipline of schedule. In January 2017, this interim guidance was incorporated into NRR procedures. Some of the key items that have added discipline and management oversight to the RAI process include the following:

NRR staff review of an application will be limited to the scope of the licensing action and RAls should only request information that is required to make a safety determination.

At the point when RAls are transmitted from the technical staff to the NRR project manager, the technical staff is expected to have developed a draft safety evaluation (SE) to the extent possible based on information already provided in the application. In addition to ensuring that the RAls contain a sound technical and regulatory basis, the technical staff should be able to correlate each RAI to a hole in the draft SE that the licensee response is expected to fill.

Prior to sending a second (and any subsequent) round of RAls in a specific technical area, NRR division-level management will apply additional oversight to discuss the need for the RAls and whether alternative methods, such as a public meeting or audit, may be more effective and efficient for obtaining the necessary information.

NRR project managers track licensee timeliness and adherence to RAI response schedules. Any significant delays in licensee responses will be brought to NRR management attention.

Training sessions were held with the technical and project management staff on RAI quality and the RAI process. Following the issuance of the finalized NRR guidance in this area in January 2017, online training was developed and provided to the NRR guidance in this area in January 2017, online training was developed and provided to NRR staff. This training covered expectations regarding added discipline and management oversight of the RAI process. Approximately 98 percent of the staff has received the training.

Other actions that provide a stable and sustainable improvement in the RAI process and add accountability to the process include the following:

In November 2014, NRR management began holding periodic meetings to discuss open licensing actions, develop alignment on the best approaches for completing those actions, and monitor licensing performance.

In October 2016, NRR replaced the existing software used to manage and monitor licensing reviews with a newly developed software package called the Reactor Program SystemLicensing/Workload Management software. This system has the capability to better track RAI issuance and status.

NRR performed an internal audit of a sample of RAls issued between April and December 2016 and found that the overall adherence to quality, timeliness, and process expectations was satisfactory. The audit team identified areas for continued improvement and recommended increased staff training on the RAI guidance, development of staff job aids, and consideration of modifications to staff guidance to better reflect the reactor license renewal and non-power utilization facilities licensing processes.

On January 2, 2018, in response to the recommendations from the internal audit, NRR management issued a tasking memorandum to the staff with four specific actions to address the audit findings: (1) provide mandatory RAI refresher training for applicable NRR, the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR),

and the Office of New Reactors (NRO) staff and branch chiefs, (2) evaluate existing RAI job aid for applications to other divisions, (3) formalize use of NRR guidance, as applicable, for reactor license renewal and non-power utilization facilities, and (4) conduct subsequent RAI quality reviews. The staff and branch chiefs completed the RAI refresher training in early April 2018. On May 18, 2018, the staff completed the RAI refresher training. The staff is evaluating the applicability of the RAI job aid and has developed a draft process for conducting subsequent RAI audits. The staff is considering updating existing license renewal guidance and developing new guidance for non-power utilization facilities.

New Reactors NRO has taken several steps to ensure that its RAls are consistently high quality and are necessary to a safety finding. In 2016, senior managers in NRO undertook initiatives to examine licensing activities with the goal of promoting a continued strong safety focus, consistency, efficiency, and clarity in our reviews. These initiatives included revising the RAI process to promote the consistent generation of high quality RAls.

In October 2016, the NRO RAI process was revised (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML16280A389) to include a new quality check audit process where, in addition to the technical branch supervisor, the division management of both the technical and project management organizations review an RAI before it is issued to the applicant or licensee. In addition, the NRO Office Director reviews a sample of RAls to keep abreast of high-priority issues identified in reviews.

On October 7, 2016, the NRO Office Director issued a memorandum titled "Effective Use of Request for Additional Information, Audit, and Confirmatory Analysis in New Reactor Licensing Review," which emphasized the goals of the RAI process. The memorandum described the revised process and included a job aid that contains best practices for preparing RAls.

The staff has incorporated many lessons-learned into its review of the active design certifications (DC) and early site permit (ESP) applications. The 2016 initiative to improve the focus of RAls has improved the quality and safety focus of these requests. The staff is also using the regulatory audit tool earlier in the process to better inform the staff about the bases supporting the applications and, therefore, better focus the staff's RAls on information that directly relates to the staff reaching safety findings.

The staff conducted an audit to assess the effectiveness of the revised NRO RAI process.

The audit evaluated whether the revised RAI process has yielded tangible improvements to NROs licensing process. The RAI audit team found the quality of the RAIs that have gone through the revised process was generally high.

Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste The Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) has established internal guidance for uranium recovery and waste program reviews that includes the expectation that RAls will be developed in conjunction with the draft safety evaluation report (SER) to ensure that each RAI is necessary to reach a safety finding. In addition, the guidance requires inclusion of a reference in the RAI to the specific relevant requirement and encourages staff to conduct telephone conferences with licensees and applicants to resolve technical issues on RAls efficiently. The NRC staff recently finalized an internal self-assessment that identifies possible efficiency improvements within the Uranium Recovery Program. The self-assessment includes recommendations for improving the efficiency of the RAI process, such as issuing RAls as they are written rather than as a group, and reemphasizing the expectation that staff develop the draft safety evaluation and RAls in concert.

NMSS is also in the process of studying RAI approaches used by other NRC offices and developing office procedures, revising guidance, and evaluating the development of job aids to incorporate applicable RAI approaches from elsewhere in the agency. Following completion of this effort, NMSS will develop a training plan, as needed, to implement the resulting RAI process products.

In addition, NMSS is revising NUREG-1556, Volume 20, and Guidance about Administrative Licensing Procedures." Information in this guidance regarding RAls for materials licensing actions is being updated to improve consistency and management oversight between NRC headquarters and regional materials licensing staff.

In August 2016, NMSS also issued expectations and guidance to employees in its spent fuel management division that specifically stated a goal of one round of RAls for a typical review and a maximum of two rounds of RAls in any review. RAls and the applicant's responses need to converge on the information needed for making a regulatory finding. As part of the management oversight process, the staff has been seeking concurrence by the division-level management, in addition to branch-level, when a second round of RAls is being considered during the review of a licensing action. In addition, the staff has developed further guidance on preparing RAls that are clear, complete, and specific to the requested information, the justification for the request, and the associated regulatory basis.

This guidance has been discussed with all the reviewers as part of continuous staff training, supplemented by a desk guide and a quick reference card. This division also will conduct a self-assessment on spent fuel storage and transportation licensing RAls during FY 2018.

The division that focuses on fuel cycle facilities and environmental reviews conducted a review of its RAI process during the second quarter of FY 2017. Staff reviewed audit reports from the NRC's Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) "Statement of Facts" (GAO Job Code 100910). The NRC staff assessment report is in ADAMS (ADAMS Accession Number ML17102A783). The NRC staff also reviewed the internal policies and interviewed subject matter experts throughout the agency. The results of this assessment, including staff's recommendations and proposed actions for implementing recommended improvements, were documented in a report to management on May 25, 2017. The report proposed revisions to the division's licensing review handbook, including:

Periodically reinforcing expectations of key aspects in the RAI process during licensing seminars or division meetings; Promoting a more consistent and uniform use and application of the guidance, particularly following the instructions on interactions with the applicant or licensee, drafting the SER as a tool to identify any RAls, having a sound regulatory basis for the RAls, and maintaining licensing reviews aligned with its scope; The addition of clear instructions specifying that RAls should not request information available elsewhere; and Continuing with current management oversight practices, such as elevating any challenges encountered during the RAI process to division management for their awareness and involvement.

Based on recommendations, this division has conducted two licensing seminars on RAls for Project Managers and Technical Reviewers, as well as a team meeting for those involved in the license renewal application review for Honeywell International. Tasks for updates to the guidance are scheduled for completion by the end of September 2018.

No adverse findings were identified in the Final GAO Report GAO 344, "U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Efforts Intended to Improve Procedures for Requesting Additional Information for Licensing Action are Under Way, dated May 25, 2017.

Summary Efforts to establish consistent procedures throughout the agency are being initiated through a working group to align, where appropriate, licensing strategies across the agency including the RAI process. The working group will include representatives from NMSS, NRR, NRO, NSIR, and Office of the General Counsel.

2. Status of License Renewal Reviews Operating Reactors Applicant Application Accepted for Review Review Status for Long-Term Application Reviews Indian Point 2&3 08/01/2007 The NRC staff has addressed the public comments received on its draft second supplement to the final supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS), which was issued for comment in December 2015. The staff's response to the public comments will be documented in the second FSEIS supplement, which is currently under final review. The initial SER was issued in November 2009, with supplements issued in August 2011 and July 2015. A third SER supplement will be issued in the fourth quarter of FY 2018 to address new information received by the staff concerning safety issues. In January 2017, the parties to the legal proceedings reached an agreement that resulted in the withdrawal of all contentions on the license renewal application. Under the agreement, Units 2 & 3 will cease operations in April 2020 and 2021, respectively, with possible extensions to operate until April 2024 and 2025, respectively. On February 8, 2017, the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) and Riverkeeper filed an unopposed motion to withdraw their contentions and terminate the adjudicatory proceeding. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) granted that motion and terminated the adjudicatory proceeding on March 13, 2017. Recently, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated critical habitat in the Hudson River for Atlantic Sturgeon. Interactions between the NRC staff, NMFS, NYDEC, and Entergy regarding this new designation and Entergy's monitoring plan for sturgeon are complete. Resolution of this issue will be documented in the Record of Decision issued in conjunction with the renewed operating licenses for the units. A decision on the renewed operating licenses for both units is expected to be issued in the fourth quarter of FY 2018.

Applicant Application Accepted for Review Review Status for Long-Term Application Reviews Seabrook 1 07/21/2010 The NRC staff continues discussions with NextEra to ensure that technical issues related to the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) open item in the SER are properly addressed. In August 2016, NextEra submitted a license amendment request (LAR) to the current license to adopt a methodology for the analysis of seismic Category I structures with concrete affected by ASR. This methodology is the basis for the aging management program being evaluated under the license renewal application review. An audit of the methodology and its implementation was performed onsite by NRC staff during March 19-21, 2017, which resulted in some follow-up questions. On October 6, 2017, the ASLB admitted a contention on the ASR LAR. The review of this amendment has a direct impact on the schedule for the license renewal review. A decision on the license renewal is currently projected to be made by April 2019.

Waterford 05/31/2016 The NRC staff continues its safety and environmental reviews, including the resolution of specific questions regarding the Waterford neutron fluence time-limited aging analysis. The applicant submitted an LAR in November 2017 that requested approval of a plant-specific neutron fluence methodology, which is applied to the reactor vessel neutron fluence embrittlement analysis referred to in the license renewal application. The acceptance review of this LAR has been completed and the NRC staff safety review is currently underway.

The review of the LAR is estimated to take approximately 1 year. The LAR included a supplement to the license renewal application (LRA). The NRC staff determined that additional information is required in order to complete its review of the LRA supplement and has issued an RAI. A response to the RAI has been provided to the NRC staff. The license renewal application fluence methodology review is dependent on the approval of the LAR and an acceptable response to the RAI. Based on the better than anticipated progress with the LAR and the license renewal review, the staff is re-evaluating the remaining schedule leading up to and including the decision regarding the renewal of the operating license expected to be issued in 3rd quarter of FY 2019.

Applicant Application Accepted for Review Review Status for Long-Term Application Reviews River Bend 08/07/2017 The staff continues the safety and environmental reviews, which are expected to take approximately 18 months. The staff has completed issuance of RAls and all RAI responses have been received and determined to be acceptable by the NRC staff. The draft SER has been developed and is going through internal review and concurrence and is on schedule.

The draft supplemental environmental impact statement was issued on May 25, 2018.

Research and Test Reactors License Renewal Applications Currently Under Review Facility Name Application Date Status Texas A&M University (TAMU) Aerojet-General Nucleonics (AGN) Reactor 07/22/1997 The review of the TAMU AGN reactor LRA is on hold. The licensee disassembled and relocated the reactor into storage at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, where the licensee intends to build a new facility to house the AGN.

The NRC will resume its review of the LRA once the licensee submits a revised safety analysis report describing the new location of the reactor.

Aerotest Radiography and Research Reactor 02/28/2005 The licensee updated and resubmitted the license renewal application in December 2017 following the resolution of foreign ownership, control, or domination issues by the indirect license transfer to Nuclear Labyrinth, LLC. The NRC staff has resumed its review of the license renewal application and determined that the licensee has not provided the facility-specific neutronic, thermal-hydraulic, and accident analyses needed to support its renewal application. The NRC staff requested that the licensee supplement its application with this information and the licensee committed to providing a response in September 2018. A review schedule will be established once this information has been provided.

3. Status of Power Uprate Application Reviews The NRC staff currently has no power uprate applications under review.

Facility Name Application Date Status University of Texas at Austin (UTA) 12/12/2011 The review is in progress. The NRC staff is currently evaluating the licensee's neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analyses submitted in response to RAls on March 8, 2018.

Delays in the staff's receipt and review of this information resulted from the licensee requesting eight extensions to respond to these RAls dating back to March 2017. The NRC staff plans to discuss the information needs with UTA during a site visit scheduled for August 14 and 15, 2018.

Additionally, the NRC has coordinated with staff from the Department of Energy to support the licensees neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analyses, if requested by UTA. A review schedule will be established once the adequacy of the RAI responses is determined.

University of Massachusetts At Lowell 10/20/2015 The review is in progress and on schedule for completion by 2019. The NRC staff is drafting the safety evaluation report, and is also preparing RAls to address the digital instrumentation and control upgrades that the licensee has proposed in conjunction with license renewal and the technical specifications for the renewed license.

North Carolina State University 02/24/2017 The review is in progress and on schedule for completion in 2019. A site familiarization visit was completed May 3, 2018, to discuss the status of the review. The NRC staff is drafting the safety evaluation report and preparing safety, financial, environmental, and operator requalification RAls for discussion with the licensee. Staff is reviewing the NCSU responses for security RAIs submitted July 12, 2018.

University of California at Davis 06/11/2018 The review is getting started and is scheduled for completion in July 2020.

4. Status of Design Certification Applications The NRC employs a six phase schedule to monitor progress towards completion of the safety review. These phases are:

Phase 1 - Preliminary SER with RAls issued to applicant Phase 2 - SER with Open Items issued Phase 3 - Response to the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) regarding SER with Open Items issued Phase 4 - Advanced SER with no Open Items issued Phase 5 - Response to ACRS regarding SER with no Open Items issued Phase 6 - Final SER issued US-Advanced Pressurized-Water Reactor (US-APWR)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) submitted its US-APWR DC application on December 31, 2007. The staff is continuing with Phase 2 of the review (issuing the SER with open items). By letter dated November 5, 2013, MHI initiated a coordinated slowdown of NRC licensing activities in order to focus its resources towards supporting the restart of the Mitsubishi-designed reactors in Japan following the Fukushima event. The NRC staff has been performing the review of this application at a very reduced pace and will continue at this reduced pace until further notice from the applicant. As of June 30, 2018, the staff has issued 5,682 RAIs and the applicant has responded to 5,534 of them.

Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR 1400)

On December 23, 2014, Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.,

Ltd. (KHNP), submitted to the NRC its application for the certification of the APR 1400 standard plant design for use in the U.S. domestic energy market. The NRC completed the Phase 2 review (issuing the SER with open items) for all chapters of the application in May 2017 and completed the Phase 3 review (ACRS review of the SER with open items) in June 2017.

On February 2, 2018, the staff issued an updated schedule letter to KHNP explaining that, although the NRC staff has made substantial progress toward completing both the remaining Phase 4 and Phase 5 reviews, issues related to the technical quality, completeness, or timeliness of the applicant's submittals have resulted in delays that affected the milestone dates for completion of Phase 4 and Phase 5. Therefore, the staff revised the Phase 4 public milestone date from March 2018 to May 2018 and moved the Phase 5 public milestone date from June 2018 to July 2018. While no change was made to the Phase 6 milestone date, this delay may also impact the completion of the review within the original estimated schedule of 42 months.

On May 31, 2018, NRC staff completed Phase 4 (Advanced SER with no Open Items), meeting the public milestone. The staff is currently in Phases 5 (Response to ACRS regarding SER with no Open Items issued) and 6 (Final SER issued) of its review. Phase 5 and Phase 6 are scheduled to be completed in July 2018 and September 2018, respectively. As of June 30, 2018, the staff had issued 2,225 RAI questions and the applicant has responded to all of them.

(Note that of the final 11 RAI responses received in June 2018, none are considered new responses. All 11 were revised responses and thus already included in the total.) All RAIs are now closed or are considered confirmatory actions that the staff will verify, upon receipt of the updated final safety analysis report, that the applicant has incorporated all changes in accordance with the response approved by the staff.

NuScale On January 6, 2017, NuScale submitted the first small modular reactor DC application for review by the NRC. On March 15, 2017, the NRC completed its acceptance review, concluded that the application was acceptable for review, and docketed the application.

The staff issued the acceptance review letter to NuScale on March 23, 2017, and developed a full review schedule with public milestones that was transmitted to NuScale on May 22, 2017. On April 11, 2018, the staff completed Phase 1 (Preliminary SER with RAls issued to applicant) of the review. The staffs review is currently in Phase 2 (SER with Open Items issued) and Phase 3 (Response to the ACRS regarding SER with Open Items issued).

To date the NRC has identified 27 significantly challenging issues requiring resolution and that have the potential to adversely affect the review schedule. Of these 27 issues, 8 are now considered resolved. As of June 30, 2018, the staff has issued 494 RAIs, which included 1277 questions and the applicant has responded to 971 of these questions. Of the 494 RAIs issued, 144 RAIs (29%) are now closed. As of June 2018, NuScale has responded to approximately 79% of RAI questions within the 60 days agreed to in the staffs May 22, 2017, schedule letter for the design certification review.

5. Status of Design Certification Renewal Applications Advanced Boiling-Water Reactor (ABWR) Renewal (General Electric-Hitachi (GEH))

On December 7, 2010, GEH submitted an application for renewal of the ABWR DC. The review is currently in Phase 2 (issuing SER with open items). The NRC staff issued a letter to GEH on July 20, 2012, describing 28 design changes that GEH needed to include in the application. By letter dated September 17, 2012, GEH stated it planned to address the 28 items in Revision 6 of the ABWR design control document (DCD). By letter dated February 19, 2016, GEH submitted its revised application incorporating the changes to the DCD. On August 30, 2016, the staff issued a schedule letter to GEH based on resolving all open items by January 2017.

However, some open items associated with the review of the application remain unresolved. On August 3, 2017, the staff issued a letter to GEH stating that the NRC will not be able to meet the original schedule outlined in the August 30, 2016, letter due to unresolved issues with the application. The letter also stated that the NRC will issue a revised schedule letter to GEH after additional interactions with the applicant are held to resolve these issues and the staff receives complete responses to the NRC's RAls. As of June 30, 2018, the staff has issued 37 RAIs and the applicant has responded to all of them.

6. Status of Combined License Applications The NRC staff currently has no combined license applications under review.

7. Status of Early Site Permit Applications Clinch River On May 12, 2016, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted an ESP application for the Clinch River Nuclear Site located in Oak Ridge, TN. By letter dated August 11, 2016, TVA identified certain aspects of the application that it intended to supplement. The NRC responded to TVA in a letter dated August 19, 2016, and informed TVA that its application would remain in a tendered but not docketed status until all of the supplemental information was provided to NRC. By December 15, 2016, TVA provided the supplemental information in support of its application, and by letter dated January 5, 2017, the NRC staff informed TVA that its application, as supplemented, was acceptable for docketing and detailed technical review.

NRC staff began its detailed technical review of the ESP application in January 2017 and developed a full review schedule with public milestones that was transmitted to TVA on March 17, 2017. The Phase A - safety review for all chapters of the application was completed by the staff on August 4, 2017 (consistent with the established schedule).

The staff is currently in Phase B of its review, which is scheduled to conclude on October 29, 2018. As of March 31, 2018, the staff has issued 50 safety-related RAls and the applicant has responded to all of them. Of the RAls issued, 66 percent are closed or are considered confirmatory items for verification toward the end of the review process.

The final SER is projected to be issued in August 2019. In April 2018, the staff published its draft EIS 2 months ahead of the public milestone.

On June 12, 2017, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), Tennessee Environmental Coalition (TEC), and Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League filed petitions requesting a hearing. On September 12, 2017, the ASLB held oral argument on these petitions. On October 10, 2017, the ASLB issued a decision that denied the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League's petition to intervene and granted the SACE and TEC's joint petition to intervene and admitted two contentions. SACE/TEC filed a motion for reconsideration of the Board's dismissal of the third contention and the motion was dismissed. Separately, TVA appealed the admission of the two contentions to the Commission. On May 3, 2018, the Commission issued its decision (CLl-18-5), affirming the ASLBs admission of one contention and reversing the ASLBs admission of the other. On May 21, 2018, SACE/TEC submitted two new contentions on the draft EIS. The NRC staff responded to the new contentions on June 11, 2018, and the intervenors replied to those staff and TVA responses (opposing) on June 22, 2018. On July 31, 2018, the Board in the contested proceeding dismissed the one admitted contention and declined to admit two new contentions, thereby terminating the contested proceeding. Appeals are due in August 2018.

The milestone schedules for DCs, combined licenses, and ESPs that are currently under review are publicly available on the NRC website.

8. Status of Uranium Recovery Licensing Application Review Uranium Recovery Applicant Application Accepted for Review Review Status Cameco North Trend Expansion(*)

08/28/2007 On December 16, 2015, the licensee requested the NRC staff to stop its review of the North Trend application and to instead focus its efforts on the review of the Marsland expansion. The SER for the North Trend expansion was completed in July 2013. The NRC staff has suspended its work related to the development of the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and conduct of Section 106 consultations pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act. In addition, the hearing to address contentions related to groundwater is on hold, pending completion of the NRC staff's environmental review. By letter dated April 4, 2018, Cameco reiterated its request that the staff suspend any review of the application.

Uranium One Ludeman Expansion 05/16/2012 The NRC staff completed the draft EA on February 27, 2018. Work will continue on the final EA, which is expected to be completed by early August 2018. The NRC staff completed its safety review documented in the final SER on March 1, 2018. The NRC staff is on schedule to make a licensing decision by August 31, 2018.

Cameco Smith Ranch License Renewal(*)

07/05/2012 Environmental and safety reviews are in progress. The NRC staff and Cameco met on February 21, 2018, to discuss Cameco's RAI responses. Cameco submitted updated RAI responses related to hydrogeology on March 7, 2018. Staff understands that Cameco is working on resolving the remaining RAI responses. The NRC staff's SER and EA completion dates in September 2018 were based on receipt of Cameco's RAI responses by January 19, 2018. The NRC staff will reassess the schedule for completion of the SER and EA, once all the RAI responses are received.

Cameco Crow Butte Marsland Expansion(*)

10/05/2012 The NRC staff completed its safety review for the final SER on January 29, 2018. The final EA was issued in April 2018.

The Marsland expansion review has an admitted contention that is scheduled to go to hearing in October 2018.

Uranium Recovery Applicant Application Accepted for Review Review Status Hydro Resources, Inc.

(HRI)

License Renewal 06/24/2013 The sites, located very close to Navajo Nation lands, were licensed in 1998. Construction has not yet commenced. The license renewal review was placed in abeyance on November 13, 2014, while HRI continues its work with the Navajo Nation Council. In March 2016, the NRC approved the transfer of control of the license from the HRI parent company, Uranium Resources, Inc.,

to Laramide Resources. The parties finalized the transaction in January 2017. The schedule for remaining milestones associated with the licensing review is to be determined.

Kennecott Sweetwater License Renewal 11/25/2014 The licensee has maintained the facility in stand-by since 1983, waiting on better market conditions to resume operations. The staff completed its SER in February 2018.

The draft EA was completed on March 27, 2018, and the final EA was completed on June 4, 2018. The renewed license was issued on July 5, 2018.

Strata Kendrick Expansion 01/14/2016 On May 27, 2016, and September 14, 2016, the NRC staff issued RAls for the environmental review and for the safety review, respectively. On December 15, 2016, the licensee requested that the NRC cease all activities related to this review. As a result of the licensee's request, the NRC staff is no longer reviewing this licensing action. The staff's safety and environmental reviews, including development of the supplemental EIS, are on hold.

Lost Creek KM Horizon/East Expansion 05/02/2017 By letter dated February 27, 2017, the licensee resubmitted a revised application. The NRC staff has accepted the application for review on May 2, 2017. The NRC staff continues to coordinate with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in its preparation of the EIS in accordance with the BLM/NRC memorandum of understanding and the letter of December 4, 2014, designating BLM as the lead agency and NRC as a cooperating agency. BLM is scheduled to publish the final EIS in December 2018. The NRC staff is submitting its RAls in batches in order to support BLM's schedule for issuing the EIS. The NRC staff issued its initial set of RAls on July 27, 2017, its second set of RAls on August 28, 2017, and its third set of RAls on October 30, 2017. The final SER is scheduled to be completed in August 2018.

Uranium Recovery Applicant Application Accepted for Review Review Status Cameco Three Crow Expansion(*)

Three Crow is an expansion of the operating Crow Butte facility located in Crawford, NE. The NRC staff started its acceptance review on March 3, 2011, and was waiting for the licensee to complete changes in its design prior to acceptance. However, in November 2014, the licensee requested that the NRC staff place the review on hold and instead focus efforts on the review of the Marsland expansion. The acceptance review remains on hold.

(*) On February 9, 2018, Cameco announced that it is ceasing U.S. operations due to an expectation of prolonged poor uranium market conditions. The NRC staff is proceeding with its licensing reviews while seeking further information from Cameco regarding its licensing plans.