[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 28, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16299-16302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7431]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 60 / Tuesday, March 28, 2000 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 16299]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150-AG19


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks; Revision, NUHOMS 24-P 
and NUHOMS 52-B

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its 
regulations containing the list of approved spent fuel storage cask 
designs by adding an amended version of Certificate of Compliance 
Number (CoC No.) 1004 to this list. The amended version reflects a 
change of ownership of this certificate from VECTRA Technologies, Inc. 
to Transnuclear West, Inc., (TN West) as well as an amendment to the 
certificate.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule is effective on April 27, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan Turel, telephone (301) 415-6234, 
e-mail [email protected] of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

Background

    Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended 
(NWPA), requires that ``[t]he Secretary (of Energy) shall establish a 
demonstration program, in cooperation with the private sector, for the 
dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian nuclear reactor power 
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 NWPA states, in part, ``[t]he 
Commission shall, by rule, establish procedures for the licensing of 
any technology approved by the Commission under Section 218(a) for use 
at the site of any civilian nuclear power reactor.''
    To implement this mandate, the NRC approved dry storage of spent 
nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license, publishing 
a final rule in 10 CFR part 72 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 within 10 CFR part 72 
entitled ``Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,'' containing 
procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of dry storage cask 
designs.

Discussion

    The NRC is revising information contained in Sec. 72.214 under CoC 
No. 1004 to reflect Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004 and to address four 
administrative issues in the current language in Sec. 72.214. These 
four administrative issues include (1) correcting the expiration date 
of CoC No. 1004 from the present ``(20 years after the final rule 
effective date)'' to ``January 23, 2015;'' (2) correcting the title and 
revision number of the standardized NUHOMS SAR to be consistent with 
the approach the NRC adopted for CoC SARs in a new Sec. 72.248 (see 
final rule in 64 FR 53582; October 4, 1999); (3) revising the CoC to 
reflect the transfer of the CoC from VECTRA Technologies, Inc. to 
Transnuclear West, Inc., (TN West); and (4) specifying the 
applicability of Amendment No. 0 and Amendment No. 1 to this CoC.
    Change 1 keeps the certificate expiration date consistent with the 
NRC's policy for part 72 CoCs, which is to use 20 years from the date 
the final rule is effective. The final rule adding CoC No. 1004 to 
Sec. 72.214 was effective on January 23, 1995; consequently, the 
expiration date for this CoC is January 23, 2015.
    Change 2 keeps CoC No. 1004 consistent with other recent changes to 
10 CFR 72.248. The SAR title will be changed from ``Safety Analysis 
Report for the Standardized NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage System 
for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Revision 2'' to ``Final Safety Analysis 
Report for the Standardized NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage System 
for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel.'' In the new Sec. 72.248, a final SAR is 
to be submitted to the Commission within 90 days after approval of the 
cask design and then will be updated periodically. Replacement pages 
will be provided to the Commission in accordance with Sec. 72.248.
    Change 3 recognizes the transfer of the CoC from VECTRA to TN West. 
NRC received letters dated December 18, 1997, from both VECTRA and TN 
West describing the purchase of VECTRA's intellectual properties and 
assets associated with NUHOMS technology by TN West. In its December 
18, 1997, letter, TN West described that it planned to conduct 
fabrication activities in accordance with the quality assurance program 
described in Section 11 of the NUHOMS SAR. TN West further described 
that it had acquired the composite records of casks manufactured under 
CoC No. 1004 and that it had records associated with changes to the 
NUHOMS design implemented after issuance of the CoC.
    Change 4 describes how general licensees would continue to use 
spent fuel storage casks manufactured under the original CoC No. 1004, 
if the cask being used was fabricated before April 27, 2000. After 
April 27, 2000, casks must be manufactured in accordance with CoC No. 
1004, Amendment No. 1. This final rule issues Amendment No. 1 to CoC 
No. 1004. Amendment No. 1 revises and reformats the CoC to be 
consistent with the NRC's current format and layout for part 72 
certificates. Proposed condition No. 4 in CoC No. 1004 is removed in 
response to comments as discussed below. Conditions No. 1 through 8 are 
renumbered.
    Based on the October 1995 and January 1999 safety evaluations, the 
newly established fabrication inspection procedures, and the Amendment 
No. 1 to CoC No. 1004, the NRC staff has concluded that the NUHOMS-24P 
and -52B cask design, when used in accordance with the conditions 
specified in the CoC as amended, and NRC regulations, will meet the 
part 72 requirements and thus ensure adequate protection of the public 
health and safety.

[[Page 16300]]

    The Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004, the VECTRA safety analyses, 
and the NRC staff safety evaluations are available for inspection at 
the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW (Lower Level), 
Washington, DC 20003-1527. Documents created or received at the NRC 
after November 1, 1999 are also available electronically at the NRC's 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into 
the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), 
which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. For more 
information, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff 
at 1-800-397-4209, 202-634-3273 or by email to [email protected]. Single 
copies of the Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004 may be obtained from Stan 
Turel, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-
6234, email [email protected].

Public Comments on the Proposed Rule

Summary of Public Comments on Proposed Rule

    The NRC received two comment letters on the proposed rule. One 
comment was from a user of the NUHOMS spent fuel storage system and the 
other was from the vendor of the NUHOMS spent fuel storage system. Both 
commenters supported the overall approach taken in the proposed 
amendment. However, both commenters also disagreed with the proposed 
change to Condition No. 4 in the CoC and proposed alternate wording. 
Condition No. 4 was added, in part, in response to a February 5, 1997, 
NMSS Director's Decision, to ensure future compliance with Sec. 72.150, 
with respect to dry shielded canister (DSC) shell-weld thickness, by 
requiring inspection of DSC shell welds. Both commenters believe that 
the concerns identified in the Director's Decision have been overtaken 
by other events, specifically the numerous corrective actions taken by 
Vectra and later by TN West--Vectra was subsequently acquired by TN 
West. These actions corrected the petitioner's and NRC's concerns 
regarding this issue.
    At the time of the Director's Decision, Vectra had already begun an 
exhaustive review of its design, licensing, fabrication, and quality 
assurance program and implemented numerous improvements to its 
fabrication specifications, drawings, and procedures. The remaining 
concerns were addressed by TN West and resulted in NRC authorizing 
resumption of fabrication of NUHOMS components in 1998. Both commenters 
indicated that TN West has translated and implemented the proposed 
Condition No. 4 into the fabrication drawings and specifications. 
Furthermore, these corrective actions provide adequate assurance that 
the NUHOMS storage system will perform its intended safety function. 
Therefore, including such detailed fabrication and inspection 
requirements in the CoC is redundant, inconsistent with the NRC's 
initiative in this rule to be uniform in the format and layout for part 
72 CoCs, and is unnecessary.
    Response: The NRC agrees with the comments, in part. The 1997 
Director's Decision established a process to provide other interested 
members of the public an opportunity to comment on any aspect of the 
NRC safety evaluation associated with this issue. One purpose of the 
rulemaking was to consider whether the wall thinning issue justified a 
unique fabrication inspection requirement in the CoC No. 1004. The 
Director's Decision was based, in part, on Vectra's performance history 
with this issue and concluded that changes to the CoC merited 
consideration. After the 1997 Director's Decision, requirements for 
wall thickness have been included and implemented in the NUHOMS storage 
system fabrication specifications, procedures, and inspection 
requirements. In the revised CoC, Condition No. 3 specifies that the 
system drawings for the NUHOMS are contained in Appendix E of the 
Safety Analysis Report. The NRC also notes that Vectra's performance 
history with this issue is no longer a relevant factor in establishing 
the CoC conditions, because VECTRA is no longer involved in the 
fabrication of the NUHOMS storage system.
    Additionally, the NRC has recently published a separate final rule 
to expand the applicability of the quality assurance provisions of part 
72, subpart G, to certificate holders and applicants for a CoC (64 FR 
56114; October 15, 1999). Three of the sections in the revised subpart 
G are relevant to this response (see Secs. 72.146, ``Design Control'; 
72.150, ``Instructions, Procedures, and Drawings''; and 72.160, 
``Licensee and Certificate Holder Inspection''). The revised 
Sec. 72.146(a) states, in part:

    The * * * certificate holder * * * shall establish measures to 
ensure that applicable regulatory requirements and the design basis, 
as specified in the * * * CoC application for those structures, 
systems, and components to which this section applies, are correctly 
translated into specifications, drawings, procedures, and 
instructions. These measures must include provisions to ensure that 
appropriate quality standards are included in design documents * * *

The revised Sec. 72.150 states, in part:

    The * * * certificate holder * * * shall prescribe activities 
affecting quality by documented instructions, procedures, or 
drawings of a type appropriate to the circumstances and shall 
require that these instructions, procedures, and drawings be 
followed.

The revised Sec. 72.160 states, in part:

    The * * * certificate holder * * * shall establish and execute a 
program for inspection of activities affecting quality by or for the 
organization performing the activity to verify conformance with 
documented instructions, procedures, and drawings for the 
accomplishment of the activity.

    TN West's [VECTRA's] revision of the design drawings, instructions, 
and procedures to specify a weld thickness of greater than 0.500 inch 
and a weld inspection requirement and its responsibility as the 
certificate holder to comply with the new quality assurance 
requirements contained in Secs. 72.146, 72.150, and 72.164, taken 
together, provide reasonable assurance that public health and safety 
will not be adversely affected by the continued manufacture and use of 
the NUHOMS storage system. Consequently, the NRC agrees with the 
commenters that the proposed Condition No. 4 is unnecessary and would 
be inconsistent with a purpose of the proposed rule related to the 
NRC's initiative to establish a standard format and content for all 
Part 72 CoCs. However, the NRC disagrees with the alternative solution 
proposed by the commenters to retain a modified version of Condition 
No. 4, because this action would not be fully consistent with the 
intent of the commenter's standardization issue; nor would it be fully 
consistent with the NRC's initiative in the proposed rule to establish 
a standard format and content for Part 72 CoCs.
    Therefore, inclusion of the proposed detailed fabrication 
requirements (i.e., proposed Condition No. 4) in CoC No. 1004 is 
unnecessary and is removed in this final rule. All other changes to the 
CoC stand as proposed. The NRC considers that this action is consistent 
with the actions delineated in the February 5, 1997, Director's 
Decision and the subsequent rulemaking to expand the applicability of 
the Part 72 quality assurance regulations in Subpart G to certificate 
holders.

Summary of Final Revisions

    The NRC staff modified the listing for the Transnuclear West, Inc. 
NUHOMS

[[Page 16301]]

24-P and NUHOMS 52-B cask system within 10 CFR 72.214, ``List of 
approved spent fuel storage casks,'' with respect to the expiration 
date of CoC, the title and revision number of the standardized NUHOMS 
SAR, and the applicability of Amendment No. 0 and Amendment No. 1 to 
the CoC. The NRC staff also revised the CoC.

Agreement State Compatibility

    Under the ``Policy Statement on Adequacy and Compatibility of 
Agreement State Programs'' approved by the Commission on June 30, 1997, 
and published in the Federal Register on September 3, 1997 (62 FR 
46517), this rule is classified as compatibility Category ``NRC.'' 
Compatibility is not required for Category ``NRC'' regulations. The NRC 
program elements in this category are those that relate directly to 
areas of regulation reserved to the NRC by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (AEA), or the provisions of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations. Although an Agreement State may not adopt program 
elements reserved to NRC, it may wish to inform its licensees of 
certain requirements via a mechanism that is consistent with the 
particular State's administrative procedure laws, but does not confer 
regulatory authority on the State.

Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact: Availability

    Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 
and the Commission's regulations in subpart A of 10 CFR part 51, the 
NRC has determined that this rule is not a major Federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment and 
therefore, an environmental impact statement is not required. This 
final rule adds an amended version of Certificate of Compliance Number 
(CoC No.) 1004 to the list of approved spent fuel storage casks that 
power-reactor licensees can use to store spent fuel at reactor sites 
without additional site-specific approvals from the Commission. The 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact on which 
this determination is based are available for inspection at the NRC 
Public Document Room, 2120 L Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC. 
Single copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact are available from Stan Turel, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 415-6234, e-mail [email protected].

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This final rule does not contain a new or amended information 
collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0132.

Public Protection Notification

    If a means used to impose an information collection does not 
display a currently valid OMB control number, the NRC may not conduct 
or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, the information 
collection.

Voluntary Consensus Standards

    The National Technology Transfer Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113) 
requires that Federal agencies use technical standards that are 
developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies unless the 
use of such a standard is inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise 
impractical. In this final rule, the NRC is adding an amended version 
of CoC No. 1004 to the list of approved spent fuel storage casks that 
power-reactor licensees can use to store spent fuel at reactor sites 
without additional site-specific approvals from the Commission. This 
action does not constitute the establishment of a standard that 
establishes generally-applicable requirements.

Regulatory Analysis

    On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the Commission issued an amendment 
to 10 CFR part 72. The amendment provided for the storage of spent 
nuclear fuel in cask systems with designs approved by the NRC under a 
general license. Any nuclear power reactor licensee can use cask 
systems with designs approved by the NRC to store spent nuclear fuel if 
it notifies the NRC in advance, the spent fuel is stored under the 
conditions specified in the cask's CoC, and the conditions of the 
general license are met. In that rule, four spent fuel storage casks 
were approved for use at reactor sites and were listed in 10 CFR 
72.214. That rule envisioned that storage casks certified in the future 
could be routinely added to the listing in 10 CFR 72.214 through the 
rulemaking process. Procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval 
of new spent fuel storage cask designs were provided in 10 CFR part 72, 
subpart L.
    The alternative to this action is to withhold approval of this new 
design and issue a site-specific license to each utility that proposes 
to use the casks. This alternative would cost both the NRC and 
utilities more time and money for each site-specific license. 
Conducting site-specific reviews would ignore the procedures and 
criteria currently in place for the addition of new cask designs that 
can be used under a general license, and would be in conflict with NWPA 
direction to the Commission to approve technologies for the use of 
spent fuel storage at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors 
without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional 
site reviews. This alternative also would tend to exclude new vendors 
from the business market without cause and would arbitrarily limit the 
choice of cask designs available to power reactor licensees. This final 
rule will eliminate the above problems and is consistent with previous 
Commission actions. Further, the rule will have no adverse effect on 
public health and safety.
    The benefit of this rule to nuclear power reactor licensees is to 
make available a greater choice of spent fuel storage cask designs that 
can be used under a general license. The new cask vendors with casks to 
be listed in 10 CFR 72.214 benefit by having to obtain NRC certificates 
only once for a design that can then be used by more than one power 
reactor licensee. The NRC also benefits because it will need to certify 
a cask design only once for use by multiple licensees. Casks approved 
through rulemaking are to be suitable for use under a range of 
environmental conditions sufficiently broad to encompass multiple 
nuclear power plants in the United States without the need for further 
site-specific approval by NRC. Vendors with cask designs already listed 
may be adversely impacted because power reactor licensees may choose a 
newly listed design over an existing one. However, the NRC is required 
by its regulations and NWPA direction to certify and list approved 
casks. This rule has no significant identifiable impact or benefit on 
other Government agencies.
    Based on the above discussion of the benefits and impacts of the 
alternatives, the NRC concludes that the requirements of the final rule 
are commensurate with the Commission's responsibilities for public 
health and safety and the common defense and security. No other 
available alternative is believed to be as satisfactory, and thus, this 
action is recommended.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC has determined that this action is not a 
major rule and has verified this

[[Page 16302]]

determination with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget.

Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 
605(b)), the Commission certifies that this rule will not, if 
promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities. This rule affects only the licensing and operation 
of nuclear power plants, independent spent fuel storage facilities, and 
Transnuclear West, Inc. The companies that own these plants do not fall 
within the scope of the definition of ``small entities'' set forth in 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the Small Business Size Standards set 
out in regulations issued by the Small Business Administration at 13 
CFR part 121.

Backfit Analysis

    The NRC has determined that the backfit rule (10 CFR 50.109 or 10 
CFR 72.62) does not apply to this rule because this amendment does not 
involve any provisions that would impose backfits as defined in the 
backfit rule. Therefore, a backfit analysis is not required.

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 72

    Criminal penalties, Manpower training programs, Nuclear materials, 
Occupational safety and health, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Security measures, Spent fuel.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 553; the NRC is proposing to 
adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR part 72.

PART 72--LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF 
SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

    1. The authority citation for Part 72 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69, 81, 161, 182, 183, 
184, 186, 187, 189, 68 Stat. 929, 930, 932, 933, 934, 935, 948, 953, 
954, 955, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233, 
2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2282); sec. 274, Pub. L. 86-373, 73 Stat. 
688, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2021); sec. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 
Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); 
Pub. L. 95-601, sec. 10, 92 Stat. 2951 as amended by Pub. L. 10d-
48b, sec. 7902, 10b Stat. 31b3 (42 U.S.C. 5851); sec. 102, Pub. L. 
91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332); secs. 131, 132, 133, 135, 
137, 141, Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2229, 2230, 2232, 2241, sec. 148, 
Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-235 (42 U.S.C. 10151, 10152, 10153, 
10155, 10157, 10161, 10168).
    Section 72.44(g) also issued under secs. 142(b) and 148 (c), 
(d), Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-232, 1330-236 (42 U.S.C. 
10162(b), 10168 (c), (d)). Section 72.46 also issued under sec. 189, 
68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2239); sec. 134, Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 
2230 (42 U.S.C. 10154). Section 72.96(d) also issued under sec. 
145(g), Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-235 (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)). 
Subpart J also issued under secs. 2(2), 2(15), 2(19), 117(a), 
141(h), Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2202, 2203, 2204, 2222, 2244, (42 
U.S.C. 10101, 10137(a), 10161(h)). Subparts K and L are also issued 
under sec. 133, 98 Stat. 2230 (42 U.S.C. 10153) and sec. 218(a), 96 
Stat. 2252 (42 U.S.C. 10198).

    2. In Section 72.214, Certificate of Compliance 1004 is revised to 
read as follows:


Sec. 72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
Certificate Number: 1004
Amendment Number: 0 and 1
Amendment Applicability:
Amendment No. 0 is applicable for casks manufactured before [insert 
effective date of final rule].
Amendment No. 1 is applicable for casks manufactured after [insert 
effective date of final rule].
SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear West, Inc.
SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the Standardized NUHOMS 
Horizontal Modular Storage System for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel
Docket Number: 72-1004
Certificate Expiration Date: January 23, 2015
Model Numbers: Standardized NUHOMS-24P and NUHOMS-52B
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of March, 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 00-7431 Filed 3-27-00; 8:45 am]
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