The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday provided a large swath of its licensees with an overview of options for relief from federal nuclear safety rules as they strive to sustain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency addressed a letter to licensees authorized to hold byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials, excluding operating commercial nuclear power and research test reactors. The covered group encompasses nuclear materials users, uranium recovery, decommissioning, fuel cycle, and spent fuel storage facilities.
“The NRC recognizes that during the current COVID-19 [public health emergency] licensees may experience challenges in meeting certain regulatory requirements,” wrote John Lubinski, director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. “The NRC has multiple methods of providing relief from regulatory requirements while continuing to maintain safety and security. These methods fall broadly into different categories, which include exemptions from regulatory requirements, amendments to license conditions or technical specifications, and enforcement discretion.”
Lubinski cited three specific approaches to regulatory relief:
- The NRC can authorize exemptions from its regulations, as well as amendments to conditions and technical specifications set in licenses. Requests from licensees will be considered individually, with the agency potentially offering approval for a limited time. In the event of similar requests from one class of licensees, staff could establish a system for expedited processing of multiple filings. An exemption could be extended, as necessary, if the COVID-19 public health emergency persists.
- The agency is empowered to direct its inspectors to use discretion during a public health emergency against citing licensees for certain regulatory violations under “specific criteria.” Staff would receive an “enforcement guidance memorandum” laying out the parameters for applying this discretion, including how long it would last and what conditions licensees would have to meet to be considered.
- Licensees are generally advised to file a request by email with the NRC project manager for a site or another appropriate point of contact. In the event of a situation that must be addressed immediately, NRC contacts include the project manager, a licensing point of contact, or an appropriate branch head, as well as the Emergency Operations Center at agency headquarters.
