Regulatory Update

NRC Releases Updated Draft Part 53, Rule Text for Advanced Reactors

May/June 2022

The development of the Part 53 rule is directed by Congress through 2018’s Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) and forms one important part of the overall regulatory framework for advanced reactors. The rule is intended to promote regulatory stability, predictability, and clarity for those technologies, reducing the need for requests for exemptions from the current light-water based requirements, while recognizing their technological advancements in reactor design. In response to industry feedback, the NRC is developing two pathways (frameworks) within the rule that would provide various options for license applicants, as noted below:

1) “Framework A” to the rule is intended for applicants implementing a risk-informed and performance-based approach to design and licensing. Updated Draft Part 53 Framework A Preliminary Proposed Rule Language was distributed by NRC on May 11, 2022

Updated Draft Part 53 Framework A Preliminary Proposed Rule Language – ADAMS Accession No. ML22125A000​

2)  “Framework B” to the rule is intended for applicants pursuing a more traditional design and licensing approach, utilizing risk insights to support or complement deterministic analyses.  NRC publicly released the first draft of the Part 53 Framework B Preliminary Proposed Rule Language on June 10, 2022

ADAMSAccession No. ML22145A000

NRC summarized the content of Framework B in a public meeting held with industry stakeholders on June 17, 2022.