[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 236 (Thursday, December 7, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76896-76898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31097]



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Part IX





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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10 CFR Part 72



List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-UMS Revision; Final Rule 
and Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 236 / Thursday, December 7, 2000 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 76896]]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150-AG57


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-UMS Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its 
regulations revising the NAC International (NAC) Universal Storage 
System (NAC-UMS) listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel 
storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 1 to the Certificate of 
Compliance (CoC). This amendment will allow holders of power reactor 
operating licenses as general licensees to store PWR design basis fuel 
assemblies in accordance with revised technical specifications and 
Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuel in the NAC-UMS. The changes for 
Amendment No. 1 to the NAC-UMS CoC include: changes to authorized 
contents to allow Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuels within the PWR 
basket, including damaged or consolidated fuel in a Maine Yankee fuel 
can and burnups up to 50,000 MWd/MTU; changes to allow longer times for 
PWR spent fuel cask loading operations based on reduced heat loads; 
authorization to store, without canning, intact PWR assemblies with 
missing grid spacers (up to an unsupported length of 60 inches); 
editorial clarifications to the technical specifications (TS); and 
deletion of a certificate reference to the NS-4-FR trade name of the 
solid neutron shielding material in the VCC shield plug.

DATES: The final rule is effective February 20, 2001, unless 
significant adverse comments are received by January 8, 2001. If the 
rule is withdrawn timely notice will be published in the Federal 
Register.

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.
    All publicly available documents related to this rulemaking, as 
well as all public comments received on this rulemaking, may be viewed 
and downloaded electronically via the NRC's rulemaking website at 
http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. You may also provide comments via this 
website by uploading 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 
by the NRC, may also be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. For more information, contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737 
or by e-mail to [email protected].
    Documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999 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 Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. An electronic copy of the proposed CoC 
and preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) can be found under ADAMS 
Accession No. ML003754655.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith McDaniel, telephone (301) 415-
5252, 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 by 
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 spent fuel 
storage cask designs. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on 
October 19, 2000 (65 FR 62581) that approved the NAC-UMS cask design 
and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214 as 
Certificate of Compliance Number (1015).

Discussion

    On July 16, 1999, the certificate holder (NAC) submitted an 
application to the NRC to amend CoC No. 1015 to allow holders of power 
reactor operating licenses to store spent fuel in the cask under 
revised conditions. Amendment No. 1 includes: (1) changes to authorized 
contents to allow Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuels within the PWR 
basket, including damaged or consolidated fuel in a Maine Yankee fuel 
can and burnups up to 50,000 MWd/MTU; (2) changes to allow longer times 
for PWR spent fuel cask loading operations based on reduced heat loads; 
(3) authorization to store, without canning, intact PWR assemblies with 
missing grid spacers (up to an unsupported length of 60 inches); (4) 
editorial clarifications to the technical specifications; and (5) 
deletion of a certificate reference to the NS-4-FR trade name of the 
solid neutron shielding material in the VCC shield plug. No other 
changes to the NAC-UMS cask system design were requested in this 
application. The NRC staff performed a detailed safety evaluation of 
the proposed CoC amendment request which is summarized in the paragraph 
below.
    The NAC-UMS cask was evaluated against the regulatory standards in 
10 CFR Part 72. NAC demonstrated the structural adequacy of the Maine 
Yankee site-specific fuels (MYSSF) that are intact (with and without 
damaged assembly hardware), consolidated, damaged, and high-burnup. The 
thermal evaluation verified that the cladding (including high-burnup) 
and cask component temperatures were acceptable for all authorized 
spent fuel contents and configurations under normal, off-normal and 
accident conditions. The shielding evaluation determined that the site-
specific spent fuels and various configurations, including fuel 
assembly hardware, are either bounded by the design basis fuel or were 
acceptable for meeting the

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applicable regulatory requirements. The criticality evaluation 
demonstrated that, for all proposed MYSSF configurations, the 
criticality requirements of 10 CFR Part 72 are met. The original NAC-
UMS confinement evaluation remains valid since the design is ``leak-
tight.'' The TS were revised and identify the necessary specifications 
to provide reasonable assurance that the NAC-UMS cask will allow safe 
storage of all authorized contents.
    The staff found that the changes stated above do not reduce the 
safety margin. In addition, the NRC staff has determined that changes 
do not pose any increased risk to public health and safety. A full 
discussion of the staff's evaluation is set out in its SER which can be 
found under ADAMS Accession No. ML003754655.
    This direct final rule revises the NAC-UMS cask design listing in 
Sec. 72.214 by adding Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1015. The amendment 
consists of changes to the TS identified in the NRC staff's SER for 
Amendment No. 1.
    The amended NAC-UMS cask system, when used under the conditions 
specified in the CoC, the TSs, and NRC regulations, will meet the 
requirements of Part 72; thus, adequate protection of public health and 
safety will continue to be ensured.
    CoC No. 1015, the revised Technical Specifications, and the 
underlying SER for Amendment No. 1, and the Environmental Assessment 
are available for inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Single copies of the CoC may be obtained 
from Keith McDaniel, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone 
(301) 415-5252, email [email protected].

Discussion of Amendments by Section

Section 72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

    Certificate No. 1015 is revised by adding the effective date of the 
initial certificate and the effective date of Amendment Number 1.

Procedural Background

    This rule is limited to the changes contained in Amendment No. 1 to 
CoC No. 1015 and does not include other aspects of the NAC-UMS cask 
system design. The NRC is using the ``direct final rule procedure'' to 
promulgate this amendment because it represents a limited and routine 
change to an existing CoC that is expected to be noncontroversial; 
adequate protection of public health and safety continues to be 
ensured. This amendment is not considered to be a significant amendment 
by the NRC staff. The amendment to the rules will become effective on 
February 20, 2001. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse 
comments by January 8, 2001, then the NRC will publish a document that 
withdraws this action and will address the comments received in 
response to the proposed amendments published elsewhere in this issue 
of the Federal Register. These comments will be addressed in a 
subsequent final rule. 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 by 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, if adopted, would not be 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 NAC-UMS cask 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. Amendment 
No. 1 includes: (1) changes to authorized contents to allow Maine 
Yankee site-specific spent fuels within the PWR basket, including 
damaged or consolidated fuel in a Maine Yankee fuel can and burnups up 
to 50,000 MWd/MTU; (2) changes to allow longer times for PWR spent fuel 
cask loading operations based on reduced heat loads; (3) authorization 
to store, without canning, intact PWR assemblies with missing grid 
spacers (up to an unsupported length of 60 inches); (4) editorial 
clarifications to the technical specifications; and (5) deletion of a 
certificate reference to the NS-4-FR trade name of the solid neutron 
shielding material in the VCC shield plug. 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, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Electronic copies of the 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact can be 
found in the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at 
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. Single copies are available 
from Keith McDaniel, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone 
(301) 415-5252, 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 final rule, the NRC will revise the NAC-UMS 
cask system design list in Sec. 72.214

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(List of NRC-approved spent fuel storage cask designs). 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-approved cask designs 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 October 19, 2000, (65 FR 62581), the NRC 
issued an amendment to Part 72 that approved the NAC-UMS design by 
adding it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214. On 
July 16, 1999, the certificate holder (NAC), submitted an application 
to the NRC to amend CoC No. 1015. Amendment No. 1 includes: (1) changes 
to authorized contents to allow Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuels 
within the PWR basket, including damaged or consolidated fuel in a 
Maine Yankee fuel can and burnups up to 50,000 MWd/MTU; (2) changes to 
allow longer times for PWR spent fuel cask loading operations based on 
reduced heat loads; (3) authorization to store, without canning, intact 
PWR assemblies with missing grid spacers (up to an unsupported length 
of 60 inches); (4) editorial clarifications to the technical 
specifications; and (5) deletion of a certificate reference to the NS-
4-FR trade name of the solid neutron shielding material in the VCC 
shield plug.
    The alternative to this action is to withhold approval of this 
amended cask system design and issue an exemption to each general 
license. This alternative would cost both the NRC and the utilities 
more time and money because each utility would have to pursue an 
exemption.
    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 NAC. 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) 1015 is revised 
to read as follows:


Sec. 72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
    Certificate Number: 1015.
    Initial Certificate Effective Date: November 20, 2000.
    Amendment No. 1 Effective Date: February 20, 2001.
    SAR Submitted by: NAC International, Inc.
    SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the NAC-UMS Universal 
Storage System.
    Docket Number: 72-1015.
    Certificate Expiration Date: November 20, 2020.
    Model Number: NAC-UMS.
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of November 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 00-31097 Filed 12-6-00; 8:45 am]
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