ML25078A002
| ML25078A002 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/19/2025 |
| From: | Dan Doyle NRC/NMSS/DREFS/RRPB |
| To: | |
| References | |
| RIN 3150-AI66, NRC-2009-0196 | |
| Download: ML25078A002 (6) | |
Text
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Public Meeting Summary March 19, 2025
Title:
Public Meeting to Discuss Options for Regulatory Flexibility in 10 CFR Part 52 during Construction and Operational Phases Meeting Identifier: 20250010 Date of Meeting: January 15, 2025 Location: Virtual Meeting - Webinar (via Microsoft Teams)
Type of Meeting: Information Meeting with a Question and Answer Session Purpose of Meeting:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff held a public meeting on January 15, 2025, to outline the NRC staffs development of preliminary options to provide regulatory flexibility in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants, during construction and operational phases including a change process for Tier 1 and Tier 2* information and the adjustment of tier designations. This activity was directed by the Commission in a staff requirements memorandum dated November 20, 2024 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML24326A003).
General Details:
The meeting notice and agenda were posted on the NRC public website prior to the meeting.
The meeting was scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; however, the meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m. after the conclusion of the discussion and question-and-answer period.
Seven members of the public participated in the meeting remotely using Microsoft Teams. A list of the attendees is provided as an attachment to this meeting summary.
Summary of NRC Presentation:
Dan Doyle, Rulemaking Project Manager in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), opened the meeting and provided an overview of the meeting agenda and logistics. Michele Sampson, Director of the Division of New and Renewed Licenses in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), provided opening remarks on the options that the staff is considering in response to the Commissions request. Joe Colaccino, NRC, provided background information about standardization, tiers of design information, and the change control process for design certifications (DCs) under Part 52. Mr. Doyle provided an overview of the Commissions direction in the staff requirements memorandum.
Mr. Colaccino provided an overview of the concepts that the staff is considering to address the Commissions direction:
o Potential changes that would allow licensees to make editorial changes to Tier 1 and Tier 2* information without submitting an exemption or license amendment request.
o Potential changes related to Tier 1 information after construction.
o Potential changes related to Tier 2* information after construction.
o Potential changes that would allow Tier 1 changes without prior approval, but would require licensees to obtain all required exemptions (or exemptions and amendments) before placing a changed structure, system, or component in service or declaring it operable.
Mr. Colaccino also provided an overview of other ideas considered by the staff in response to the Commissions request. Mr. Doyle then described the next steps in the development of the options paper. At the conclusion of the presentation, the staff opened the meeting to general discussion and questions. Following the general discussion, Ms. Sampson provided closing remarks.
Public Participation Comments and Questions:
Potential changes that would allow licensees to make editorial changes to Tier 1 and Tier 2*
information without submitting an exemption or license amendment request Eric Oesterle, NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc., expressed support for the proposal.
Samuel Lee, NRC, asked if this flexibility would be allowed for both the post-start stage and the construction phase.
o Mr. Colaccino responded that this would apply to both construction and operation.
Potential changes related to Tier 1 information after construction Mr. Oesterle stated that this sounds like a positive change for flexibility. Once the licensee achieves first full power, all changes associated with that license are controlled by a specific change process. Inspections, Tests, Analyses, and Acceptance Criteria (ITAAC) goes away once those are all completed, and what remains is certified design material.
Spencer Klein, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), stated that he agreed with Mr. Oesterle.
He asked if this would require amending all Part 52 DC appendices.
o Mr. Colaccino confirmed that this is what the staff would recommend.
Martin ONeill, NEI, asked if changes to appendices would be done as one comprehensive rulemaking and if future DCs would have the same flexibility.
o Mr. Colaccino confirmed that changes would be made with one rulemaking and future DCs would have the same flexibility.
Potential changes related to Tier 2* information after construction Mr. Oesterle stated that this is a move toward providing flexibility and is consistent with the previous proposed changes.
Mr. ONeill asked if the staff could elaborate on the statement that this would be more challenging to implement from a technical standpoint.
o Mr. Colaccino responded that information designated Tier 2* would have to be reviewed to understand the reason it was designated as Tier 2*. For example, it might have otherwise been a condition on the license, but, instead, it was designated as Tier 2*.
Mr. Oesterle stated that one consideration for categorizing Tier 2* information was that it was thought of as Tier 1 information that had a good likelihood of changing over time.
o Mr. Colaccino responded that this is correct and highlighted policy papers where staff had requested information be designated as Tier 2* for additional flexibility.
If the Commission did not approve this approach, then it would be categorized as Tier 1.
Potential changes that would allow Tier 1 changes without prior approval, but would require licensees to obtain all required exemptions (or exemptions and amendments) before placing a changed structure, system, or component in service or declaring it operable Mr. Oesterle stated that he believes the proposed change is a positive step toward flexibility. He added that this change reflects that licensees should be in compliance with the approved licensing basis; however, the licensing basis reflects the plant in its as-built state and not the interim configurations experienced during construction.
o Mr. Colaccino indicated that he did not completely agree with Mr. Oesterles statement. When you deviate from what was licensed, then that is not what was originally thought of. Part 52 never requires the licensee to have a complete design. Instead, the staff was to approve the design with appropriate scope and level of detail to resolve all safety issues.
Mr. ONeill asked if this change reflected the concept of at-risk, meaning licensees can proceed with changes, but the NRC would eventually need to approve them.
o Mr. Colaccino confirmed that this is the NRCs intention and is similar to the existing preliminary amendment request/license amendment request processes.
Mr. Lee added that the preliminary amendment request process was instituted because of the license amendment request process at the time, and this is envisioned to be a more efficient process going forward.
General discussion and questions Mr. ONeill asked if revisions to regulatory guides will be done in parallel with the rulemaking.
o Mr. Doyle confirmed that the NRCs practice is to issue draft implementation guidance as part of the rulemaking process. There are sometimes situations where guidance cannot be updated as part of the rulemaking, but that is not the norm.
Mr. ONeill asked if the staff looked retrospectively at how these changes would have impacted Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Units 3 and 4.
o Mr. Colaccino responded that the staff have not done that. However, there was engagement with the staff who were involved in the licensing or construction inspection of Vogtle Units 3 and 4, and the purpose of that engagement was to confirm that the information in this paper regarding that experience was captured correctly.
Mr. Klein expressed NEIs appreciation for the staffs efforts and encouraged the staff to consider stakeholder comments prior to finalizing the options paper. He added that, overall, the staffs proposals seem reasonable. He also suggested the staff review NEIs white paper from June 2017, First Principles for Use in Developing Design Certification Tier 1 and Information and Inspections, Tests, Analyses and Acceptance Criteria (ML17235A591), as it clarifies what NEI believes is appropriate for Tier 1 and ITAAC applications.
Mr. Oesterle suggested making the options paper more easily understandable by including a comparison between the existing process and the proposed new process.
Joy Jiang, The Breakthrough Institute, asked if there is a timeline for the Part 52 lessons learned proposed rule.
o Mr. Doyle responded that the rulemaking is paused until the Commission provides direction on the options paper. He noted that the NRCs public website shows the current schedule for all ongoing rulemaking activities.
Action Items/Next Steps:
The NRC staff expects to submit the options paper to the Commission by March 2025.
Attachment:
List of attendees
References:
Meeting notice and agenda (ADAMS Accession No. ML25003A015)
NRC presentation slides (ADAMS Accession No. ML24358A001)
Meeting transcript (ADAMS Accession No. ML25078A003)
Attachment LIST OF ATTENDEES FOR 1/15/2025 PUBLIC MEETING Name Affiliation (if available)
Jason Casey Department of Energy Krupskaya Castellon NRC Sheldon Clark NRC Joseph Colaccino NRC Daniel Doyle NRC Bill Gleaves NRC Joy Jiang The Breakthrough Institute Stacy Joseph NRC Spencer Klein Nuclear Energy Institute John Lamb NRC Carolyn Lauron NRC Samuel Lee NRC Michael Markley NRC William McGlinn ICF Christine Mellen ICF Eric Oesterle NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc.
Martin ONeill Nuclear Energy Institute Trace Orf April Rice Isella Rivera Neal R. Gross & Co., Inc.
Michele Sampson NRC James Shea NRC Alexandra Terres NRC Zachary Turner NRC Christopher Tyree NRC Robert Weisman NRC
- via email OFFICE NMSS/REFS/RRPB/PM*
NMSS/REFS/RRPB/BC*
NAME DDoyle KCastellon DATE 3/19/2025 3/19/2025