The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for May 8 to discuss means of relief that could be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic to licensees for independent spent fuel storage Installations (ISFSI).
“The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how NRC ISFSI licensees can request temporary regulatory relief during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) through submission of certain exemption requests,” the agency said in a notice Monday. “The NRC staff would like to hear from ISFSI licensees regarding the types of exemptions they may need during the ongoing public health emergency.”
No relief requests had been submitted as of Friday by ISFSI licensees, according to an NRC spokesman.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered operators of nuclear power plants and other licensees a series of regulatory exemptions to ensure they can sustain operations and don’t run afoul of untenable demands during the COVID-19 crisis. For example: Power plant operators can request a break on work-hour limits for their employees – the regulator had signed off on seven requests as of Friday. The agency has also deferred by 90 days the submission of invoices for fees to licensees.
Just on Monday, the NRC laid out its approach to the nuclear industry to granting expedited, temporary exemptions for the regulatory schedule for licensee medical evaluations and fit-testing of personnel.
“The type of relief being considered is similar to what we are seeing in other parts of our industry and include temporary relief from security staff requalification requirements such as medical physical exams, and training,” the Nuclear Energy Institute, the trade association for the nuclear industry, said in a statement Thursday. “The industry will only request and NRC will only approve changes provided safety is ensured. This approach ensures that the overall level of security at the plants will remain high.”
As of August 2019, there were 65 generally licensed ISFSIs and 15 site-specific licensees, in 35 states. Most are on the property of the nuclear power plant that generated the used fuel.
The regulatory relief meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET. It will be webcast. Participants will include officials from the NRC’s Offices of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards and Nuclear Security and Incident Response, along with representatives of NEI and the Decommissioning Plant Coalition.
