§ 52.103 Operation under a combined license.
(a) The licensee shall notify the NRC
of its scheduled date for initial loading
of fuel no later than 270 days before the
scheduled date and shall notify the NRC
of updates to its schedule every 30 days
thereafter. Not less than 180 days before
the date scheduled for initial loading of
fuel into a plant by a licensee that has
been issued a combined license under
this part, the Commission shall publish
notice of intended operation in the Federal Register. The notice must
provide that any person whose interest
may be affected by operation of the
plant may, within 60 days, request that
the Commission hold a hearing on
whether the facility as constructed
complies, or on completion will comply, with the acceptance criteria in
the combined license, except that a
hearing shall not be granted for those
ITAAC which the Commission found
were met under § 52.97(a)(2).
(b) A request for hearing under paragraph (a) of this section must show, prima facie, that—
(1) One or more of the acceptance criteria of the ITAAC in the combined license have not been, or will not be, met; and
(2) The specific operational consequences of nonconformance that would be contrary to providing reasonable assurance of adequate protection of the public health and safety.
(c) The Commission, acting as the
presiding officer, shall determine
whether to grant or deny the request for
hearing in accordance with the
applicable requirements of 10 CFR
2.309. If the Commission grants the
request, the Commission, acting as the
presiding officer, shall determine
whether during a period of interim
operation there will be reasonable
assurance of adequate protection to the
public health and safety. The
Commission's determination must
consider the petitioner's prima facie showing and any answers thereto. If the
Commission determines there is such
reasonable assurance, it shall allow
operation during an interim period
under the combined license.
(d) The Commission, in its discretion,
shall determine appropriate hearing
procedures, whether informal or formal
adjudicatory, for any hearing under
paragraph (a) of this section, and shall
state its reasons therefore.
(e) The Commission shall, to the maximum possible extent, render a decision on issues raised by the hearing request within 180 days of the publication of the notice provided by paragraph (a) of this section or by the anticipated date for initial loading of fuel into the reactor, whichever is later.
(f) A petition to modify the terms and
conditions of the combined license will
be processed as a request for action in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.206. The
petitioner shall file the petition with the
Secretary of the Commission. Before the
licensed activity allegedly affected by
the petition (fuel loading, low power
testing, etc.) commences, the
Commission shall determine whether
any immediate action is required. If the
petition is granted, then an appropriate
order will be issued. Fuel loading and
operation under the combined license
will not be affected by the granting of
the petition unless the order is made
immediately effective.
(g) The licensee shall not operate the
facility until the Commission makes a
finding that the acceptance criteria in
the combined license are met, except for
those acceptance criteria that the
Commission found were met under
§ 52.97(a)(2). If the combined license is
for a modular design, each reactor
module may require a separate finding
as construction proceeds.
(h) After the Commission has made the finding in paragraph (g) of this section, the ITAAC do not, by virtue of their inclusion in the combined license, constitute regulatory requirements either for licensees or for renewal of the license; except for the specific ITAAC for which the Commission has granted a hearing under paragraph (a) of this section, all ITAAC expire upon final Commission action in the proceeding. However, subsequent changes to the facility or procedures described in the final safety analysis report (as updated) must comply with the requirements in §§ 52.98(e) or (f), as applicable.
[57 FR 60978, Dec. 23, 1992; 72 FR 49536, Aug. 28, 2007]