ML21223A238
| ML21223A238 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/25/2021 |
| From: | Clay Johnson NRC/OCFO |
| To: | Anton S Holtec |
| cyl2 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML21223A236 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML21223A238 (3) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Dr. Stefan Anton Vice President of Engineering Holtec International Holtec Technology Campus One Holtec Blvd Camden, NJ 08104
Dear Dr. Anton:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter dated July 9, 2021, as supplemented on July 15, 2021, (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21193A005 and ML21196A490) requesting a fee exemption under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 170.11(a)(1)(ii) and 170.11(a)(13) for NRC review and approval of Topical Report on Methodology for Fuel Qualification.
The NRC has established regulations for the granting of fee exemptions under 10 CFR 170.11, Exemptions. An interested person may apply for an exemption under 10 CFR 170.11 in accordance with 10 CFR 170.5, Communications. The NRC staff reviewed your request based on the following regulations, 10 CFR 170.11(a)(1)(ii) and 10 CFR 170.11(a)(13):
10 CFR 170.11(a) No application fees, license fees, renewal fees, inspection fees, or special project fees shall be required for: (1) A special project that is a request/report submitted to the NRC... (ii) When the NRC, at the time the request/report is submitted, plans to use the information in response to an NRC request from the Office Director level or above to resolve an identified safety, safeguards, or environmental issue, or to assist the NRC in generic regulatory improvements or efforts (e.g., rules, regulatory guides, regulations, policy statements, generic letters, or bulletins).
10 CFR 170.11(a)(13) All fee exemption requests must be submitted in writing to the Chief Financial Officer in accordance with § 170.5,1 and the Chief Financial Officer will grant or deny such requests in writing.
In your letter you state that exemption from fees is warranted per the requirements of 10 CFR 170.11(a)(1)(ii) since this action relates to assisting the NRC in generic regulatory improvements or efforts.
1 10 CFR 170.5 provides that All communications concerning the regulations in this part should be addressed to the NRC's Chief Financial Officer, either by mail to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by hand delivery to the NRC's offices at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; or, where practicable, by electronic submission, for example, via Electronic Information Exchange, or CD-ROM.
August 25, 2021
S. Anton Regarding the criteria in 10 CFR 170.11(a)(1)(ii) for the fee exemption, the NRC staff considered the historical background of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) white paper initiatives outlining proposed risk informed enhancements to the regulatory framework for spent nuclear fuel storage and transportation systems (ADAMS Accession No. ML19318D971). The Topical Report for which this fee exemption is based on is being used to assist the NRC in a generic regulatory effort, which is supported by the initiatives outlined in the NEI white paper. This effort stems from the submittal of a draft Topical Report (ADAMS Accession No. ML21032A347) that was submitted by Holtec International (Holtec) to form the basis of the final version of this report (ADAMS Accession No. ML21152A259) to the NRC for review and approval. The NRC staff determined that the criteria in 10 CFR 170.11(a)(1)(ii) for the fee exemption were met, because this Topical Report, if approved, would streamline the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) approval process resulting in a reduction of future amendments required to be submitted.
Additionally, the fee exemption request for NRC review and approval of Topical Report on Methodology for Fuel Qualification was submitted in writing by Holtec; therefore, the Holtec request meets the requirements of 10 CFR 170.11(a)(13).
The NRC staff reviewed the fee exemption request and concluded that the review and approval of Topical Report on Methodology for Fuel Qualification fulfills the criteria required by 10 CFR 170.11(a)(1)(ii), and 10 CFR 170.11(a)(13); therefore, the fee exemption request is approved for the pre-application activities and application submittal activities associated with this review.
However, as the review progresses, staff will continue to assess the generic applicability of the submittal. The fee exemption granted in this letter for pre-submittal activities and application submittal activities is limited to a time period not to exceed the milestone date for the staff to review future responses to a Request for Additional Information (RAI), which is currently scheduled to be completed by staff in January 2022. After complete RAI responses (one round) are provided by Holtec, no later than December 2021, the staff will re-evaluate this effort to determine if the Topical Report review activities should continue with a fee exemption. The staff will make the determination to continue with a fee exemption based on the generic applicability of the approach to a broad segment of the industry.
If you have any technical questions regarding this matter, please contact Christian Jacobs at (301) 415-6825. Please contact William Blaney of my staff, at (301) 415-5092 for any fee-related questions.
Sincerely, re:
Cherish K. Johnson Chief Financial Officer Signed by Johnson,Cherish on 08/25/21
SUBJECT:
LETTER TO DR. STEFAN ANTON RESPONSE TO FEE EXEMPTION FOR TOPICAL REPORT ON METHODOLOGY FOR FUEL QUALIFICATION, DATED: August 25, 2021 DISTRIBUTION:
KRiner, OCFO RidsNMSSOd Resource ADAMS: Yes No Initials: JJ SUNSI Review: JJ Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Sensitive Non-Sensitive ADAMS Accession No: ML21223A236 (pkg); ML21193A005 and ML21196A490 (incoming);
ML21223A238 (letter) *via e-mail CFO-21-00141 OFFICE OCFO/DOB/LFPT NMSS/DFM/STLB NMSS/DFM/NARAB NMSS/DFM/STLB NAME WBlaney CJacobs JMarcano JMcKirgan DATE 08/11/2021 08/11/2021 08/12/2021 08/12/2021 OFFICE NMSS/DFM OCFO/DOC/LAFBB OGC OCFO/DOC/LAFBB NAME SHelton JGibbs-Nicholson GKim*NLO MBlair DATE 08/12/2021 08/13/2021 08/16/2021 08/13/2021 OFFICE OCFO/DOB/LFPT OCFO/DOB OCFO/DOB DCFO NAME ARossi RAllwein JShay BFicks DATE 08/16/2021 08/17/2021 08/24/2021 08/24/21 OFFICE CFO NAME CKJohnson DATE 08/25/21 OFFICIAL RECORD ONLY