Dear Chairman Wright and Commissioners Caputo, Hanson, Crowell, and Marzano,
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Non-power Production or Utilization Facility (NPUF) License Renewal rulemaking (RIN 3150-AI96; NRC-2011-0087) has the potential to accelerate the deployment of new nuclear reactors that pose a low risk to public health and safety. The rulemaking demonstrates the NRC’s commitment to improve its regulatory framework and aligns with Congressional mandates in the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act and the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA).
While the NPUF rulemaking primarily focused on the NPUF license renewal process, by clarifying and revising the following definitions — “non-power reactor,” “research reactor,” and “testing facility” — the rulemaking clarified that certain non-power reactors can be used for commercial and industrial purposes. This change opens the aperture of what reactors could be classified as non-power reactors and therefore be subject to different regulatory requirements commensurate with a reduced risk profile. This rulemaking enables more appropriate and proportional performance-based requirements based on the safety profiles of “commercial non-power reactors” with reduced radioactive inventories, robust fuel forms, inherent safety features, or other risk-reducing design, siting, or operational features.
In particular, this rulemaking allows reactors that can demonstrate compliance with a performance-based 1 rem total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) accident criterion to use a more flexible regulatory framework and be licensed under Section 103, “Commercial Licenses,” of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA) and Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50.22, “Class 103 licenses; for commercial and industrial facilities.” In practice, these reactors can use the NRC’s current NPUF requirements even if the reactor is not “useful in the conduct of research and development activities” and exceeds the financial criteria in Section 104 of the AEA and 10 CFR 50.22.
This change could be the most timely and effective way to establish a more efficient regulatory framework for new and advanced reactors because it does not require additional statutory changes by Congress, or near-term rulemaking or guidance development by the NRC. The NRC already has extensive experience licensing non-power reactors, and there is an existing body of regulatory guidance for the non-power reactor licensing framework. The NRC also has broad authority to risk-inform its regulatory requirements within the Section 103 licensing framework, and the NPUF rule demonstrates that the non-power reactor rules can be utilized by Section 103 licensees
The NRC should take the NPUF framework forward and apply the same regulatory requirements to commercial (e.g., power-producing) reactors of the same risk profile, regardless of their end use. This change would create requirements that are performance-based instead of using the prescriptive historical regulatory construct tied solely to the production of power. Figure 1 illustrates the options for how power reactors and non-power reactors can be licensed as commercial and industrial facilities or for research and development activities using the new performance-based criteria.
The following enclosure describes the impact of the rulemaking, recommends that the NRC initiate multiple, rapid pilots to determine how the NRC can issue a Class 103 license for a commercial non-power reactor under its current regulatory framework, and recommends the NRC potentially clarify the interaction of the license classes and reactor definitions. The pilots should be initiated and completed as soon as possible to demonstrate the viability of this new licensing pathway.
The undersigned organizations commend the NRC and acknowledge the potential to benefit both the industry and the NRC. These changes will spur the deployment of new nuclear energy projects while maintaining predictability under the NRC’s current regulatory framework. Please do not hesitate to reach out for additional information or to discuss this letter.
View the full letter here.
