[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 121 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38715-38718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15542]



 ========================================================================
 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
 
 The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 
 Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each 
 week.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 121 / Thursday, June 22, 2000 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 38715]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150-AG34


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Standardized 
NUHOMS-24P and NUHOMS-52B Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its 
regulations revising the Transnuclear West (TN West), Inc., 
Standardized NUHOMS-24P and NUHOMS-52B cask system 
(NUHOMS storage system) listing within the ``List of approved 
spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of 
Compliance (CoC) No. 1004. Amendment No. 2 makes two main changes: it 
updates the Technical Specifications' fuel qualification tables to 
reflect additional fuel parameters; and it allows storage of burnable 
poison rod assemblies (BPRAs) in model 24P of the NUHOMS 
storage system, along with spent fuel. Amendment No. 2 also revises and 
renumbers several of the conditions in the CoC to reflect the NRC's new 
standard format for CoCs. However, no technical changes to the CoC's 
conditions are made by this amendment. This amendment will allow 
holders of power reactor operating licenses to store spent fuel in the 
TN West NUHOMS storage system, as amended, under a general 
license.

DATES: The final rule is effective September 5, 2000, unless 
significant adverse comments are received by July 24, 2000. If 
significant adverse comments are received, a timely withdrawal will be 
published in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. If this direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC 
will address the comments received as comments on the proposed rule 
published in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register and 
will subsequently issue a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff. Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.
    You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking 
website (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). This site provides the capability 
to upload comments as files (any format) if your web browser supports 
that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site, 
contact Ms. Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail [email protected].
    Certain documents related to this rule, including comments 
received, may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L 
Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC. These same documents may also 
be viewed and downloaded electronically via the rulemaking website.
    Documents created or received at the NRC after April 1, 2000 are 
also available electronically at the NRC 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 Agency wide Document 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. For more information, contact the 
NRC's Public Document Room reference staff at (202) 634-3273 or toll 
free at 1-800-397-4209, or by e-mail at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie P. Bush-Goddard, Ph.D., 
telephone (301) 415-6257, 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 the Department of Energy 
(DOE)] 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 NWPA 
states, in part, that ``[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.
    The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on December 22, 1994 (59 
FR 65898) that approved the Standardized NUHOMS storage 
system and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in 
Sec. 72.214, as CoC No. 1004. Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004 was 
issued on March 28, 2000 (65 FR 16299).

Discussion

    The certificate holder (Transnuclear West, Inc.) submitted an 
application to the NRC on February 16, 1996, supplemented on November 
15, 1996, October 9, 1998, and February 10, 1999, to amend CoC No. 1004 
to include a new fuel specification and on July 26, 1999, to amend CoC 
No. 1004 to permit a part 72 licensee to store BPRAs.
    The first change permits a part 72 licensee to store spent fuel in 
the NUHOMS storage system using the new fuel qualification 
tables. The particular changes are incorporated into section 1.2.1 of 
the Technical Specifications for CoC No. 1004. The changes will 
incorporate new fuel qualification tables for both pressurized water 
reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel. The tables present 
the minimum required cooling time for fuel as a function of the initial 
fuel

[[Page 38716]]

enrichment and fuel burnup. The use of the tables provides a simplified 
approach for users of the NUHOMS storage system to select 
fuel for storage without calculating specific fuel assembly decay heat 
and radiation source terms.
    The NRC agrees that this direct final rule provides a more 
simplified, accurate, and straightforward method for qualifying fuel to 
be stored in the NUHOMS storage system and has documented its 
review and evaluation in a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) regarding use 
of new fuel qualification tables.
    The second change permits a part 72 licensee to store BPRAs with 
Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) 15 x 15 spent fuel assemblies in the 
NUHOMS storage system model 24P. A BPRA is a reactor core 
component that is inserted inside a fuel assembly. BPRAs provide a 
means of controlling reactor power distribution and do not contain 
fissile material. No other changes to the TN-West system design were 
requested in this application. The NRC staff performed a safety 
evaluation of this proposed CoC amendment request and found that the 
addition of the BPRAs to the B&W 15 x 15 fuel does not reduce the TN-
West safety margin. In addition, the NRC staff has determined that the 
storage of BPRAs in the TN-West does not pose any increased risk to 
public health and safety. This is documented in a SER concerning the 
BPRA change.
    The amended TN-West cask system, when used in accordance with the 
conditions specified in the CoC, the Technical Specifications, and NRC 
regulations, will meet the requirements of part 72; thus, adequate 
protection of public health and safety will continue to be ensured. 
Currently, the CoC is approved only for storage of spent fuel 
assemblies.
    Amendment No. 2 to CoC No. 1004, the revised Technical 
Specifications, the underlying Safety Evaluation Reports (SERs) for the 
amendment and the Environmental Assessment, are available for 
inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower 
Level), Washington, DC. Single copies of the CoC and SERs may be 
obtained from Stephanie P. Bush-Goddard, Ph.D., Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 415-6257, email [email protected].

Discussion of Amendments by Section

Section 72.214  List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks

    Certificate No. 1004 will be revised indicating the addition of 
Amendment No. 2 with an effective date of September 5, 2000.

Procedural Background

    This rule is limited to the changes contained in Amendment No. 2 to 
CoC No. 1004 and does not include other aspects of the Standardized 
NUHOMS-24P and NUHOMS-52B cask system design. 
Because NRC considers this amendment to its rules to be 
noncontroversial and routine, the NRC is using the direct final rule 
procedure for this rule. The amendment to the rules will become 
effective on September 5, 2000. However, if the NRC receives 
significant adverse comments on the associated proposed rule published 
concurrently in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register by 
July 24, 2000, then the NRC will publish a notice that withdraws this 
action and will address the comments received in response to the 
proposed amendments. These comments will be addressed in a subsequent 
final rule. Absent significant modifications to the proposed changes 
requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment 
period on this action.

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.

Plain Language

    The Presidential Memorandum dated June 1, 1998, entitled ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing,'' directed that the Federal 
Government's writing be in plain language. The NRC requests comments on 
this direct final rule specifically with respect to the clarity and 
effectiveness of the language used. Comments should be sent to the 
address listed under the heading ADDRESSES above.

Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact: Availability

    Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, 
and the NRC 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. The rule will amend the 
CoC for the NUHOMS storage system within the list of approved 
spent fuel storage casks that power reactor licensees can use to store 
spent fuel at reactor sites under a general license. The amendment will 
add new fuel qualification tables to the technical specifications and 
add BPRAs to the authorized contents of the NUHOMS system 
model 24P. 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 Stephanie P. 
Bush-Goddard, Ph.D., Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone 
(301) 415-6257, email [email protected].

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This direct 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 direct

[[Page 38717]]

final rule, the NRC would revise the Transnuclear West, Inc., 
Standardized NUHOMS cask system listing within the list of 
NRC approved casks for spent fuel storage in Sec. 72.214. 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 NRC issued an amendment to 10 
CFR part 72 to provide for the storage of spent nuclear fuel under a 
general license in cask system designs approved by the NRC. Any nuclear 
power reactor licensee can use NRC-certified casks to store spent 
nuclear fuel if it notifies the NRC in advance, spent fuel is stored 
under the conditions specified in the cask's CoC, and the conditions of 
the general license are met. A list of NRC-approved cask designs is 
contained in Sec. 72.214. On December 22, 1994 (59 FR 65898), the NRC 
issued an amendment to part 72 that approved the Standardized 
NUHOMS storage system designs by adding them to the list of 
NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214. The NRC subsequently issued 
Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004 on March 28, 2000 (65 FR 16299). The 
certificate holder (Transnuclear West, Inc.) submitted an application 
to the NRC on February 16, 1996, supplemented on November 15, 1996, 
October 9, 1998, February 10, 1999 and July 26, 1999 to amend CoC No. 
1004 to include new fuel specification tables and to add BPRAs to the 
authorized contents of the NUHOMS storage system. The 
proposed new fuel specification tables in Amendment No. 2 provides a 
simplified method for determining acceptable spent fuel to be stored in 
the NUHOMS storage system and will add BPRAs as authorized 
contents of the NUHOMS storage system model 24P that are 
currently only for storage of spent fuel assemblies.
    The alternative to Amendment 2 is to withhold approval of this 
amended cask system design. This alternative would require users of the 
NUHOMS storage system to use a less efficient method for 
selecting fuel for storage and would also require users to bear the 
additional costs of disassembling BPRA's from the spent fuel assemblies 
and of storing them as low-level waste.
    Approval of the direct final rule will eliminate the problems 
described above and is consistent with previous Commission actions. 
Further, the direct final rule will have no adverse effect on public 
health and safety. This direct final 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 direct 
final rule are commensurate with the NRC'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 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 NRC certifies that this rule will not, if promulgated, 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. This direct final rule affects only the operation of nuclear 
power plants, independent spent fuel storage facilities, and TN-West. 
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 direct final rule because this 
amendment does not involve any provisions that would impose backfits as 
defined. 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 adopting 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 Sec. 72.214, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 1004 is revised 
to read as follows:


Sec. 72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
    Certificate Number: 1004.
    Initial Certificate Effective Date: January 23, 1995.
    Amendment No. 1 Effective Date: April 27, 2000.
    Amendment No. 2 Effective Date: September 5, 2000.
    SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear West, Inc.
    SAR Title: Transnuclear West, Inc., ``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 Number: Standardized NUHOMS-24P and 
NUHOMS-52B.
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of May, 2000.


[[Page 38718]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 00-15542 Filed 6-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P