10 C.F.R. § 51.22 Criterion for categorical exclusion; identification of licensing and regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring environmental review.
Title 10 - Energy
(a) Licensing and regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion shall meet the following criterion: The proposed action belongs to a category of actions which the Commission, by rule or regulation, has declared to be a categorical exclusion, after first finding that the category of actions does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. (b) Except in special circumstances, as determined by the Commission upon its own initiative or upon request of any interested person, an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement is not required for any action within a category of actions included in the list of categorical exclusions set out in paragraph (c) of this section. Special circumstances include the circumstance where the proposed action involves unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources within the meaning of section 102(2)(E) of NEPA. (c) The following categories of actions are categorical exclusions: (1) Amendments to Parts 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 21, 25, 55, 75, 95, 110, 140, 150, 170, or 171 of this chapter, and actions on petitions for rulemaking relating to Parts 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 21, 25, 55, 75, 95, 110, 140, 150, 170, or 171. (2) Amendments to the regulations in this chapter which are corrective or of a minor or nonpolicy nature and do not substantially modify existing regulations, and actions on petitions for rulemaking relating to these amendments. (3) Amendments to parts 20, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 50, 51, 54, 60, 61, 63, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 81, and 100 of this chapter which relate to— (i) Procedures for filing and reviewing applications for licenses or construction permits or other forms of permission or for amendments to or renewals of licenses or construction permits or other forms of permission; (ii) Recordkeeping requirements; or (iii) Reporting requirements; and (iv) Actions on petitions for rulemaking relating to these amendments. (4) Entrance into or amendment, suspension, or termination of all or part of an agreement with a State pursuant to section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, providing for assumption by the State and discontinuance by the Commission of certain regulatory authority of the Commission. (5) Procurement of general equipment and supplies. (6) Procurement of technical assistance, confirmatory research provided that the confirmatory research does not involve any significant construction impacts, and personal services relating to the safe operation and protection of commercial reactors, other facilities, and materials subject to NRC licensing and regulation. (7) Personnel actions. (8) Issuance, amendment, or renewal of operators' licenses pursuant to part 55 of this chapter. (9) Issuance of an amendment to a permit or license for a reactor pursuant to part 50 of this chapter which changes a requirement with respect to installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area, as defined in part 20 of this chapter, or which changes an inspection or a surveillance requirement, provided that (i) the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, (ii) there is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, and (iii) there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. (10) Issuance of an amendment to a permit or license under parts 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40, 50, 60, 61, 63, 70, or part 72 of this chapter which— (i) Changes surety, insurance and/or indemnity requirements; or (ii) Changes recordkeeping, reporting, or administrative procedures or requirements. (11) Issuance of amendments to licenses for fuel cycle plants and radioactive waste disposal sites and amendments to materials licenses identified in §51.60(b)(1) which are administrative, organizational, or procedural in nature, or which result in a change in process operations or equipment, provided that (i) there is no significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, (ii) there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure, (iii) there is no significant construction impact, and (iv) there is no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents. (12) Issuance of an amendment to a license implementing any requirement of this chapter relating solely to safeguards matters (i.e., protection against sabotage or loss or diversion of special nuclear material), or issuance of an approval of a safeguards plan (or a revision of a safeguards plan) submitted pursuant to a requirement of any part of this chapter, provided that the amendment or approval does not involve any significant construction impacts. These amendments and approvals are confined to: (i) Organizational and procedural matters; (ii) Modifications to systems used for security and/or materials accountability; (iii) Administrative changes; and (iv) Review and approval of transportation routes pursuant to 10 CFR 73.37. (13) Approval of package designs for packages to be used for the transportation of licensed materials. (14) Issuance, amendment, or renewal of materials licenses issued pursuant to 10 CFR parts 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40 or part 70 authorizing the following types of activities: (i) Distribution of radioactive material and devices or products containing radioactive material to general licensees and to persons exempt from licensing. (ii) Distribution of radiopharmaceuticals, generators, reagent kits and/or sealed sources to persons licensed pursuant to 10 CFR 35.18. (iii) Nuclear pharmacies. (iv) Medical and veterinary. (v) Use of radioactive materials for research and development and for educational purposes. (vi) Industrial radiography. (vii) Irradiators. (viii) Use of sealed sources and use of gauging devices, analytical instruments and other devices containing sealed sources. (ix) Use of uranium as shielding material in containers or devices. (x) Possession of radioactive material incident to performing services such as installation, maintenance, leak tests and calibration. (xi) Use of sealed sources and/or radioactive tracers in well-logging procedures. (xii) Acceptance of packaged radioactive wastes from others for transfer to licensed land burial facilities provided the interim storage period for any package does not exceed 180 days and the total possession limit for all packages held in interim storage at the same time does not exceed 50 curies. (xiii) Manufacturing or processing of source, byproduct, or special nuclear materials for distribution to other licensees, except processing of source material for extraction of rare earth and other metals. (xiv) Nuclear laundries. (xv) Possession, manufacturing, processing, shipment, testing, or other use of depleted uranium military munitions. (xvi) Any use of source, byproduct, or special nuclear material not listed above which involves quantities and forms of source, byproduct, or special nuclear material similar to those listed in paragraphs (c)(14) (i) through (xv) of this section (Category 14). (15) Issuance, amendment or renewal of licenses for import of nuclear facilities and materials pursuant to part 110 of this chapter, except for import of spent power reactor fuel. (16) Issuance or amendment of guides for the implementation of regulations in this chapter, and issuance or amendment of other informational and procedural documents that do not impose any legal requirements. (17) Issuance of an amendment to a permit or license pursuant to parts 30, 40, 50 or part 70 of this chapter which deletes any limiting condition of operation or monitoring requirement based on or applicable to any matter subject to the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. (18) Issuance of amendments or orders authorizing licensees of production or utilization facilities to resume operation, provided the basis for the authorization rests solely on a determination or redetermination by the Commission that applicable emergency planning requirements are met. (19) Issuance, amendment, modification, or renewal of a certificate of compliance of gaseous diffusion enrichment facilities pursuant to 10 CFR part 76. (20) Decommissioning of sites where licensed operations have been limited to the use of— (i) Small quantities of short-lived radioactive materials; or (ii) Radioactive materials in sealed sources, provided there is no evidence of leakage of radioactive material from these sealed sources. (21) Approvals of direct or indirect transfers of any license issued by NRC and any associated amendments of license required to reflect the approval of a direct or indirect transfer of an NRC license. (d) In accordance with section 121 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10141), the promulgation of technical requirements and criteria that the Commission will apply in approving or disapproving applications under part 60 or 63 of this chapter shall not require an environmental impact statement, an environmental assessment, or any environmental review under subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 102(2) of NEPA. [49 FR 9381, Mar. 12, 1984, as amended at 51 FR 9766, Mar. 21, 1986; 51 FR 33231, Sept. 18, 1986; 52 FR 8241, Mar. 17, 1987; 54 FR 27870, July 3, 1989; 58 FR 7737, Feb. 9, 1993; 59 FR 48959, Sept. 23, 1994; 60 FR 22491, May 8, 1995; 61 FR 9902, Mar. 12, 1996; 62 FR 39091, July 21, 1997; 63 FR 66735, Dec. 3, 1998; 65 FR 54950, Sept. 12, 2000; 66 FR 55790, Nov. 2, 2001; 67 FR 78141, Dec. 23, 2002]
Title 10: Energy
PART 51—ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING AND RELATED REGULATORY FUNCTIONS
Subpart A—National Environmental Policy Act—Regulations Implementing Section 102(2)
classification of licensing and regulatory actions
§ 51.22 Criterion for categorical exclusion; identification of licensing and regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring environmental review.
