2024-08509: List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC International, Inc., NAC-UMS Universal Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1015, Renewal of Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 Through 9

Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024) [Federal Register Volume 89, Number 83 (Monday, April 29, 2024)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 33291-33294] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2024-08509] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 72 [NRC-2024-0034] RIN 3150-AL07 List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC International, Inc., NAC-UMS Universal Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1015, Renewal of Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 Through 9

Agency

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Action

Proposed rule. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the NAC International, Inc., NAC-UMS Universal Storage System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 9 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1015. The renewal of the initial certificate of compliance and Amendment Nos. 1 through 9 for 40 years changes the certificate's conditions and technical specifications to address aging management activities related to the structures, systems, and components important to safety of the dry storage system to ensure that these will maintain their intended functions during the period of extended storage operations.

Dates

Submit comments by May 29, 2024. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

Addresses

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2024-0034, at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions. You can read a plain language description of this proposed rule at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2024-0034. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

For Further Information Contact

Christopher Markley, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-6293, email: [email protected] and Greg Trussell, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-6244, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Supplementary Information

Table of Contents I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments II. Rulemaking Procedure III. Background IV. Plain Writing V. Availability of Documents

II. Rulemaking Procedure

Because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial, the NRC is publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register. The direct final rule will become effective on July 15, 2024. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by May 29, 2024, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments in a subsequent final rule. In general, absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn. A significant adverse comment is a comment where the commenter explains why the rule would be inappropriate, including challenges to the rule's underlying premise or approach, or would be ineffective or unacceptable without a change. A comment is adverse and significant if: (1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For example, a substantive response is required when: (a) The comment causes the NRC to reevaluate (or reconsider) its position or conduct additional analysis; (b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a substantive response to clarify or complete the record; or (c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously addressed or considered by the NRC. (2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable without incorporation of the change or addition. (3) The comment causes the NRC to make a change (other than editorial) to the rule. For a more detailed discussion of the proposed rule changes and associated analyses, see the direct final rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.

III. Background

Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, requires that ``[t]he Secretary [of the Department of Energy] shall establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with the private sector, for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian nuclear power reactor sites, with the objective of establishing one or more technologies that the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission may, by rule, approve for use at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional site-specific approvals by the Commission.'' Section 133 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act states, in part, that ``[t]he Commission shall, by rule, establish procedures for the licensing of any technology approved by the Commission under Section 219(a) [sic: 218(a)] for use at the site of any civilian nuclear power reactor.'' To implement this mandate, the Commission approved dry storage of spent nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license by publishing a final rule that added a new subpart K in part 72 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) entitled ``General License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites'' (55 FR 29181; July 18, 1990). This rule also established a new subpart L in 10 CFR part 72 entitled ``Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,'' which contains procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent fuel storage cask designs. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on October 19, 2000 (65 FR 62581), that approved the NAC-UMS Universal Storage System design and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214 as Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1015. On August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49352), the NRC amended the scope of the general licenses issued under 10 CFR 72.210 to include the storage of spent fuel in an independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) at power reactor sites to persons authorized to possess or operate nuclear power reactors under 10 CFR part 52. On February 16, 2011 (76 FR 8872), the NRC amended subparts K and L in 10 CFR part 72, to extend and clarify the term limits for certificates of compliance and to revise the conditions for spent fuel storage cask renewals, including adding requirements for the safety analysis report to include time- limited aging analyses and a description of aging management programs. The NRC also clarified the terminology used in the regulations to use ``renewal'' rather than ``reapproval'' to better reflect that extending the term of a currently approved cask design is based on the cask design standards in effect at the time the CoC was approved rather than current standards.

IV. Plain Writing

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31885). The NRC requests comment on the proposed rule with respect to clarity and effectiveness of the language used.

V. Availability of Documents

The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons as indicated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ADAMS accession No./Web Document link/Federal Register citation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proposed Certificate of Compliance ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A151. No. 1015, Renewed Initial Certificate. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A152. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 1. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A153. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 2. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A154. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 3. [[Page 33293]] Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A155. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 4. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A156. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 5. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A157. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 6. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A158. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 7. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A159. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 8. Proposed Renewed Certificate of Compliance ML23213A160. No. 1015, Renewed Amendment 9. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for ML23213A161. Renewed Certificate of Compliance No. 1015, Amendments Nos. 1 through 9. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and Technical Specifications ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A164. Technical Specifications, Renewed Initial Certificate. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A166. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 1. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A168. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 2. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A171. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 3, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A178. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 3, Appendix B. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A172. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 4, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A179. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 4, Appendix B. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A173. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 5, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A180. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 5, Appendix B. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A174. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 6, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A181. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 6, Appendix B. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A175. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 7, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A182. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 7, Appendix B. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A176. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 8, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A183. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 8, Appendix B. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A177. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 9, Appendix A. Proposed Conditions for Cask Use and ML23213A184. Technical Specifications, Renewed Amendment 9, Appendix B. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Environmental Documents ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ``Environmental Assessment for Proposed ML051230231. Rule Entitled, ``Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in NRC-Approved Storage Casks at Nuclear Power Reactor Sites.'' (1989). ``Environmental Assessment and Findings of ML100710441. No Significant Impact for the Final Rule Amending 10 CFR Part 72 License and Certificate of Compliance Terms.'' (2010). Generic Environmental Impact Statement for ML14198A440 (package). Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel: Final Report (NUREG-2157, Volumes 1 and 2). (2014). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NAC International, Inc., NAC-UMS Universal Storage System Renewal Application Documents ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NAC International, Inc., NAC-UMS Universal ML20293A102. Storage System, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application, October 13, 2020. NAC International, Inc., Request for ML22062A764. Additional Information Responses NAC-UMS Cask System, Revision 22A, March 3, 2022. Replacement Page for Responses to the ML22077A076. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Request for Additional Information for the Request to Renew the NAC-UMS Cask System Certificate of Compliance No. 1015, March 18, 2022. NAC, Supplement to the NRC's Request for ML22209A078 (package). Additional Information for the Request to Renew the NAC-UMS Cask System Certificate of Compliance No. 1015, July 28, 2022. Request to Withdraw Administrative Controls ML22355A120. for Adverse Weather Events During Operations from NAC-MPC CoC Renewal Application, December 21, 2022. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Documents ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ``General License for Storage of Spent Fuel 55 FR 29181. at Power Reactor Sites.'' (July 18, 1990). ``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 72 FR 49352. for Nuclear Power Plants.'' (August 28, 2007). ``License and Certificate of Compliance 76 FR 8872. Terms.'' (February 16, 2011). ``Agreement State Program Policy Statement; 82 FR 48535. Correction.'' (October 18, 2017). Nuclear Energy Institute NEI 14-03, ML16356A210. Revision 2, ``Format, Content and Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask Storage Operations-Based Aging Management.'' (December 21, 2016). Regulatory Guide 3.76, Revision 0, ML21098A022. ``Implementation of Aging Management Requirements for Spent Fuel Storage Renewals.'' (July 31, 2021). ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage 65 FR 62581. Casks: NAC-UMS Addition.'' (October 19, 2000). Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language 63 FR 31885. in Government Writing.'' (June 10, 1998). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The NRC may post materials related to this document, including public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2024-0034. In addition, the Federal rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: [[Page 33294]] (1) navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2024-0034); (2) click the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the ``Subscribe'' link. Dated: April 9, 2024. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Raymond Furstenau, Acting Executive Director for Operations. [FR Doc. 2024-08509 Filed 4-26-24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P