ML26086A186
| ML26086A186 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | National Bureau of Standards Reactor |
| Issue date: | 03/26/2026 |
| From: | Hudson J NRC/NRR/DANU/UNPL |
| To: | Adams J US Dept of Commerce, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) |
| References | |
| Download: ML26086A186 (0) | |
Text
From:
Justin Hudson To:
ext_James_Adams Cc:
Zeinab Farahmandfar; Jeff Rady; ext_Thomas_Newton; randolph.strader@nist.gov; Tony Brown
Subject:
Acceptance of 10 CFR Part 55 Exemption Request for 5 Operators Date:
Thursday, March 26, 2026 4:49:00 PM
Dear Dr. Adams:
By letter dated March 19, 2026 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML26082A119), the National Institute of Standards and Technology submitted an exemption request from specific requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 55, Operators Licenses, Section 55.53, Conditions of licenses. The purpose of this letter is to provide the results of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staffs acceptance review of this exemption request. The acceptance review was performed to determine if there is sufficient technical information in scope and depth to allow the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review. The acceptance review is also intended to identify whether the application has any readily apparent information insufficiencies in its characterization of the regulatory requirements or the licensing basis of the facility.
Pursuant to Section 55.11, Specific exemptions, of 10 CFR, the Commission may grant exemptions from the requirements of the regulations in this part as it determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property and are otherwise in the public interest. The NRC staff has reviewed your request and concluded that it does provide technical information in sufficient detail to enable the NRC staff to complete its detailed technical review and make an independent assessment regarding the acceptability of the proposed exemption in terms of regulatory requirements and the protection of public health and safety and the environment. Given the lesser scope and depth of the acceptance review as compared to the detailed technical review, there may be instances in which issues that impact the NRC staffs ability to complete the detailed technical review are identified despite completion of an adequate acceptance review.
Based on the information provided in your submittal, the NRC staff has estimated that this licensing request will take approximately 20 hours2.314815e-4 days <br />0.00556 hours <br />3.306878e-5 weeks <br />7.61e-6 months <br /> to complete. Given the compressed timeframe for this request, the NRC staff will make every effort to meet the requested date of March 31, 2026. However, the NRC staff will promptly inform you if there are any unforeseen delays that impact this schedule, and in all cases will provide a response no later than April 3, 2026. If there are emergent complexities or challenges in our review that would cause changes to the initial forecasted completion date or significant changes in the forecasted hours, the reasons for the changes, along with the new estimates, will be communicated during the routine interactions with the assigned project manager.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (301)287-0538 or by email at Justin.Hudson@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
Justin Hudson
Project Manager, Non-Power Production and Utilization Facility Licensing Branch (UNPL)
NRR/DANU U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (301)287-0538