ML25022A070
| ML25022A070 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/13/2025 |
| From: | William Kennedy NRC/NRR/DANU/UARP |
| To: | Michael Wentzel NRC/NRR/DANU/UARP |
| Jackie Harvey, NRR/DANU | |
| References | |
| Download: ML25022A070 (6) | |
Text
January 13, 2025 MEMORANDUM TO:
Michael Wentzel, Chief Advanced Reactor Policy Branch Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation FROM:
William B. Kennedy, Senior Project Manager /RA/
Advanced Reactor Policy Branch Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF NOVEMBER 6, 2024, PUBLIC MEETING TO INFORM STAKEHOLDERS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE DRAFT WHITE PAPER ON NTH-OF-A-KIND MICRO-REACTOR LICENSING AND DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS On November 6, 2024, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff held a public information meeting on the NRC staffs draft white paper, Nth-of-a-Kind Micro-Reactor Licensing and Deployment Considerations (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24268A310), and its enclosures (ML24268A314, ML24302A292, and ML24268A317). The purpose of the meeting was for the NRC staff to inform stakeholders about the regulatory and technical issues within the scope of the paper. The NRC staff also clarified the scope of the white paper topics with respect to the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024 (ADVANCE Act). The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) also provided a formal presentation on preliminary perspectives on the draft white paper. Attendees had an opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff and make comments about the draft white paper; however, the NRC staff did not solicit written comments. The meeting notice is available at ML24310A038. The NRC staff slides are available at ML24309A274 and the NEI slides are available at ML24310A226. The enclosure to this summary provides a list of the meeting attendees.
Meeting Highlights The NRC staff provided a presentation on the draft white paper and its enclosures.
During the presentation the NRC staff discussed in detail options for review and approval of operational programs with a design certification (DC) or manufacturing license (ML) and alternatives for environmental reviews. Staff also provided an overview of several additional licensing and deployment considerations including, maximal design standardization in an ML or DC, grading the level of site characterization, deployment site emergency preparedness, deployment site security, streamlined licensing process, and construction inspection.
CONTACT: William Kennedy, NRR/DANU 301-415-2313
The NEI provided a presentation on preliminary perspectives on the draft white paper, which also included considerations from the NEI proposal paper, Regulations of Rapid High-Volume Deployable Reactors in Remote Applications (RHDRA) and Other Advanced Reactors (ML24213A337).
Staff received generally positive feedback and support from meeting participants for the regulatory approaches and considerations on the topics presented in the draft white paper. Stakeholders provided comments throughout the meeting and actively participated in the question-and-answer session at the end of the meeting. Stakeholder questions and the NRC staffs responses are summarized below.
Stakeholder Questions/Comments and NRC Staff Responses With respect to the environmental review for licensing a microreactor, one stakeholder asked if a categorical exclusion (CATX) could be considered without extensive operating experience. The NRC staff responded that staff would need a basis, reflecting experience over time, to move forward with developing and recommending a CATX. Staff noted that the technology could be designed to minimize environmental impacts, which could provide for less operating experience needed for staff to consider a CATX.
One stakeholder asked if SRM SECY 23-0055, Options for Licensing Emergency Technologies used for Remediation of Mine Waste (ML24269A245), directing the use of a service provided license was considered for this white paper. The NRC staff stated that it had not considered the specific SRM in the development of the white paper due to the timing of its release, but will consider it, as appropriate, in the final Commission paper.
Several stakeholders requested clarity on the distinction between transportable microreactors and mobile microreactors. The NRC staff clarified that the microreactors considered in this paper include transportable microreactors, meaning that the reactor (or a substantial portion of the reactor) could be fabricated in a factory and transported to the deployment site where it would be operated at a fixed location. The paper does not explicitly consider deployment of a mobile microreactor, which would be a microreactor that is intended to be operated at more than one fixed location on an as-needed, where-needed basis.
Stakeholders noted that several topics described in the enclosure to SECY-24-0008, Micro-Reactor Licensing and Deployment Considerations: Fuel Loading and Operational Testing at a Factory, dated January 24, 2024 (ML23207A252), such as transportation of fueled reactors, licensing of replacement reactor modules, and decommissioning, are priorities for further engagement with the NRC staff as they continue to develop their deployment models.
One stakeholder stated they saw synergies between the environmental enclosure and the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the ADVANCE Act.
One stakeholder provided a comment that NRC staff should review the white paper to ensure that it consistently refers to the various licensing pathways described in the paper.
One stakeholder requested additional information on what rulemaking is expected for review and approval of operational programs. Staff clarified that reviewing operational programs with a design certification could be done through the DC rulemaking process and would not
need a separate rulemaking, and that staff would explore rulemaking for a manufacturing license, as appropriate.
One stakeholder asked whether online and digital technologies for applications can be applied to other NRC licensing actions. The NRC staff replied that could be a consideration and would have to be evaluated to determine if this can be applied to a specific licensing action.
One stakeholder asked why would a design-specific microreactor GEIS be more beneficial than the new reactor GEIS. The NRC staff answered that such a specific GEIS could determine that a Category 2 issue in the new reactor GEIS would be a Category 1 issue for the microreactor. Also, the plant parameter and site parameter envelop values would be specific for that microreactor design and could assist in site selections where the microreactor could be a better fit than by just using the new reactor GEIS values.
One stakeholder commented on the importance of meshing this effort with other ongoing efforts, such as the Part 53, Risk Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors, rulemaking and ADVANCE Act direction.
Another meeting participant suggested that the concept of a core standard design should be used instead of maximal design standardization. The NRC staff noted that the degree of standardization is a decision that will be made by an applicant.
Several meeting participants requested that the NRC staff engage stakeholders in the development of any guidance needed to implement Commission direction related to NOAK microreactor licensing (and Commission direction on the options in SECY-24-0008) and to implement the strategies described in enclosure 3. The staff plans to consider appropriate opportunities for stakeholder interaction on specific implementation guidance.
Several meeting participants requested clarity on the role of the Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) in the review of NOAK microreactor applications. NRC staff provided a discussion on the statutory requirement for ACRS reviews for reactor safety matters.
One stakeholder commented that the NRC should be open to alternative approaches for an applicant or licensee to be performance based and provided an example of continuous and real-time monitoring of a system to demonstrate performance.
An NRC staff member requested clarification on a slide in the NEIs presentation regarding radiation protection, including the use of design acceptance criteria and the standards referred to on the slide. NEI requested to follow-up at a later date.
Enclosure:
Attendance List
ML25022A070 NRC-001 OFFICE NRR/DANU/UARP/PM NRR/DANU/UARP/BC NRR/DANU/UARP/PM NAME WKennedy MWentzel WKennedy DATE 12/20/2024 1/08/2025 1/13/2025 Enclosure November 6, 2024, Public Information Meeting on the Draft White Paper on Nth-of-a-Kind Micro-Reactor Licensing and Deployment Considerations Attendance List Name Aaron McCraw AJ Scheuermann Alec Neller Amanda Spalding Amir Afzali Andrew Bowman Angelica Gheen Anthony Torres Torres Arlon Costa Atomica Barbara Hayes Ben Ben Adams Ben Chen Beth Reed Bob Beall Bradley A Werling Bradley N Brown Brian M. Swiger Brittany Lutz Bruce Foreman Bryson Roberson Alice Caponiti Carol Dye Chris Bajwa Chris Carroll Christopher Paul Chwasz Christopher Regan Cindy Rosales-Cooper Curtis Smith Cyril Draffin Daneira Meléndez Colón Daniel Barnhurst David Garmon Derick Botha Devonte' Hinton Donald Palmrose Edward Harvey Name Edward Robinson Edward Stutzcage Elijah Dickson Emma Duncan Emma Redfoot Eric Schrader Erwin T Prater Ethan Tievy Ewa Muzikova Farshid Shahrokhi George Frederick Joslin Gerardo Martinez-Guridi Grace Pennington Heather Harpell Hilary Lane Howard Benowitz Ian Jung Ingrid Nordby Ismael Garcia Jackie Harvey Jackson Barth Jackson Keppen Jakub Toman Jana Bergman Jared Nadel Jason Albert Christensen Jason White Jeff Gromatzky Jeffery Wood Jenise Thompson Jesse Seymour Jessie Quintero Jim C. Kinsey John-Chau Nguyen Jon Facemire Jon Greives
Jonathan Fiske Jordan Rader Joseph D Rivers Joy Jiang JP Kate Gresh Kenneth Mott Kenneth Thomas Kim Lawson-Jenkins Kylar Coleman-Foley Laura Willingham Laurel Bauer Lauren S Rodman Leah Parks Leigh Ford Liz McAndrew-Benavides Loza, Paul Luis Betancourt Maddie Blalock Marcus Nichol Mark Pérs Martin O'Neill Marty Stutzke Mary Richmond Matthew Humberstone Meg Audrain Mehdi Reisi Fard Michael Brown Michael E Lanier Michelle Sutherland Michelle T Bensi Mike King Mike Mazaika Mike Montecalvo Mory Diané Naeem Iqbal Nanette Valliere Narasimha Prasad Kadambi Niko McMurray Nikolas Shay Nishka Devaser Norma Garcia Santos Dominic Norman Omar Fares Al Ali Paul Michalak Pete Okrasa Peyton Doub Phil OBryan Rachel Qian Rani Franovich Rebecca Ober Robert Elliott Robert Weisman Ronald L James Ronke Ayo-Imoru Ross Moore Russell S Light Ryan Alexander Ryan Kinney Ryan Mott Sam Cohen Samuel Gibson Sarah Lopas Sari Alkhatib Scott Tonsfeldt Shawn Campbell Shyrl Coker Spencer Klein Spencer Toohill Stacey Imboden Steven Lynch Steven Pope Susan Gallier Tammie Rivera Tanvir Siddiky Ted Smith Terry Herrman Theresa Buchanan Timothy G Williamson Travis Chapman Vladimir Graizer Weijun Wang William Kennedy William Reckley William T Jessup Andrew Zach