United States Department of the Interior; United States Geological Survey TRIGA Research Reactor

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

License renewal; issuance.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-113, held by the United States Geological Survey (USGS or the licensee), for the continued operation of its USGS Training, Research, Isotope Production, General Atomics (TRIGA) research reactor (GSTR or the reactor) at a steady-state power level of 1.0 megawatt (MW) and a pulse power level as provided in the licensee's Technical Specifications, for an additional 20 years. The GSTR facility is located on the property of the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado.

DATES:

The operating license renewal No. R-113 is effective on October 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0284 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0284. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select “ADAMS Public Documents” and then 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. In addition, for the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in a table in the “Availability of Documents” section of this document.
• NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Geoffrey A. Wertz, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0893; email: Geoffrey.Wertz@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

The NRC has issued renewed Facility Operating License No. R-113, held by the USGS, which authorizes continued operation of the USGS GSTR, located in the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado. The GSTR is heterogeneous pool-type, natural convection, light-water cooled, and shielded TRIGA reactor. The GSTR is licensed to operate at a steady-state power level of 1,000 kilowatts thermal power and to pulse the reactor with a maximum reactivity insertion of $3.00. The renewed Facility Operating License No. R-113 will expire 20 years from its date of issuance.

The renewed facility operating license complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission's regulations in chapter I of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and sets forth those findings in the renewed facility operating license. The NRC afforded an opportunity for hearing in the Notice of Opportunity for Hearing published in the Federal Register on February 5, 2016 (81 FR 6302). The NRC received no request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene following the notice.

The NRC staff prepared a safety evaluation report for the renewal of Facility Operating License No. R-113 and concluded, based on that evaluation, that the licensee can continue to operate the facility without endangering the health and safety of the public. The NRC staff also prepared an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the renewal of the facility operating license, noticed in the Federal Register on June 14, 2016 (81 FR 38739), and concluded that renewal of the facility operating license will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.

II. Availability of Documents

The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons as indicated.