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###### Nuclear Regulatory Commission

          - [Docket No. 70-0398; NRC-2023-0184]

# AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

# ACTION:

License renewal application; opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene.

# SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received an application from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST or the applicant), to renew Special Nuclear Material (SNM) License Number 362 (SNM-362). The renewed license would authorize the applicant to continue to use SNM and other radiation sources for research and development, calibration and testing, and training activities at its campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. If the license renewal application is approved, the license would authorize NIST to continue to possess and use SNM under NRC regulations for 10 years beyond its current license.

# DATES:

A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must be filed by January 16, 2024.

# ADDRESSES:

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0184 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
      -  Federal Rulemaking Website:                          Go to                          https://www.regulations.gov                          and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0184. Address questions about Docket IDs in                          Regulations.gov                          to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email:                          Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov.                          For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the                          For Further Information Contact                          section of this document.                    
      -  NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):                          You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at                          https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html.                          To begin the search, select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to                          PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.                          The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this document.                    
      -  NRC's PDR:                          The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to                          PDR.Resource@nrc.gov                          or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.                    

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

                        Osiris Siurano-Pérez, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7827, email:                         *Osiris.Siurano-Perez@nrc.gov.*

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

## I. Introduction

                    The NRC received, by letter dated August 8, 2023 (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML23221A162), an application from NIST to renew its license, SNM-362. NIST is authorized to use SNM under part 70 of title 10 of the                     *Code of Federal Regulations*                     (10 CFR), “Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material,” at its campus in Gaithersburg for research and development, calibration and testing, and training activities. More specifically, NIST uses SNM for activities associated with the development and maintenance of radiation measurement standards, radioactivity assessment, the provision of radiation measurement services, and the study of radiation interactions and processes in materials.                

The renewed license would allow NIST to continue licensed activities for 10 years. NIST's current license would have expired on September 9, 2023; however, NIST timely filed a license renewal application. In accordance with 10 CFR 70.38(a), when a licensee files an application for renewal not less than 30 days before the expiration date of the existing license, the license will not expire until the Commission makes a final determination regarding the license renewal application. As such, NIST's current license is still in effect.

An NRC acceptance review of the revised application, dated October 6, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. ML23271A220), found the application acceptable for a technical review. During the technical review, the NRC will evaluate the application for radiation safety, nuclear criticality safety, chemical safety, fire safety, security, decommissioning, decommissioning financial assurance, and material control/accountability. The NRC will document its findings in a safety evaluation report.

## II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To Intervene

                    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition) with respect to the renewal of the special nuclear materials license. Petitions shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's “Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure” in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed within 60 days, the presiding officer will rule on the                           ( print page 78799)                        petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.                

Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions in the “Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)” section of this document. Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii).

A State, local governmental body, federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h), no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, federally recognized Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).

                    For information about filing a petition and about participation by a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. ML20340A053 (                    *https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/​webSearch2/​main.jsp?​AccessionNumber=​ML20340A053*) and on the NRC website at                     *https://www.nrc.gov/​about-nrc/​regulatory/​adjudicatory/​hearing.html#participate.*

## III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

                    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as discussed below, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is located in the Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC (ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC website at                     *https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html.*

                    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at                     *Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov,*                     or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.                

                    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on the NRC's public website at                     *https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals/​getting-started.html.*                     After a digital ID certificate is obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is available on the NRC's public website at                     *https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​electronic-sub-ref-mat.html.*                     A filing is considered complete at the time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system timestamps the document and sends the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email that provides access to the document to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.                

                    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic Filing Help Desk through the “Contact Us” link located on the NRC's public website at                     *https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html,*                     by email to                     *MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov,*                     or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.                

Participants who believe that they have good cause for not submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).

                    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at                     *https://adams.nrc.gov/​ehd,*                     unless excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID certificate as described above, click “cancel” when the link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.                

Dated: November 6, 2023.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samantha C. Lav,

Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 2023-24804 Filed 11-15-23; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590-01-P