[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 28 (Monday, February 11, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6203-6205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3228]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 28 / Monday, February 11, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 6203]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150-AG74


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Standardized Advanced 
NUHOMS-24PT1 Addition

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
its regulations by adding the Standardized Advanced NUHOMS-
24PT1 Storage System to the list of approved spent fuel storage casks. 
The Standardized Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System design 
has improved shielding and the ability to withstand a higher seismic 
response spectra than the Standardized NUHOMS Storage System; 
otherwise, the cask designs are the same. This amendment will allow the 
holders of power reactor operating licenses to store spent fuel in the 
Standardized Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System under a 
general license.

DATES: The comment period expires April 29, 2002. Comments received 
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
NRC is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or 
before this date.

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 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 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 
website, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected].
    Certain documents related to this rulemaking, including comments 
received, may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, Room O-1F23, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. These same documents may also be 
viewed and downloaded electronically via the rulemaking website.
    The NRC maintains an Agencywide Document Access and Management 
System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public 
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. An electronic copy of the proposed Certificate of Compliance 
(CoC) and preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) can be found under 
ADAMS Accession No. ML012250290. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-
397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayne McCausland, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-6219, e-mail, 
[email protected].

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.

Discussion

    On September 29, 2000, Transnuclear West, Inc. (TN-West), submitted 
an application and associated Safety Analysis Report (SAR) to add the 
Standardized Advanced NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage 
System for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel (Standardized Advanced 
NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System) to the list of approved cask 
designs. The Standardized Advanced NUHOMS -24PT1 Storage 
System design has improved shielding and the ability to withstand a 
higher seismic response spectra than the Standardized NUHOMS-
24P, -52B, -61BT Storage System. In addition, the 24PT1 dry shielded 
canister, which will be stored in the Standardized Advanced 
NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage System for Irradiated 
Nuclear Fuel, is designed to be transportable; otherwise the designs 
are the same. The NRC staff performed a detailed safety evaluation of 
the proposed CoC request and found that adding the Standardized 
Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System to the list of approved 
storage systems continues to provide reasonable assurance that public 
health and safety and the environment will be adequately protected. 
Additionally, on October 4, 2001, Transnuclear, Inc. (TN), the parent 
company of TN-West, requested that the name on the certificate be 
changed from TN-West to TN.
    This proposed rule would add the Standardized Advanced 
NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System to the listing in Sec. 72.214 by 
adding CoC No. 1023.
    The Standardized Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage 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

[[Page 6204]]

public health and safety will continue to be ensured.
    Draft CoC No. 1023, the draft Technical Specifications, and the 
preliminary SER are available for inspection at the NRC Public Document 
Room, Room O-1F23, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Single copies 
of these documents may be obtained from Jayne M. McCausland, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-6219, email 
[email protected].

Discussion of Proposed Amendments by Section


Sec. 72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

    CoC No. 1023 would be added to the list of approved spent fuel 
storage casks.

Plain Language

    The Presidential Memorandum dated June 1, 1998, entitled ``Plain 
Language in Government Writing,'' directed that the Government's 
writing be in plain language. The NRC requests comments on this 
proposed 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.

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 proposed rule, the NRC would add the Standardized 
Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System (CoC No. 1023) to the 
list of approved storage systems in Sec. 72.214. This action does not 
constitute the establishment of a standard that establishes generally 
applicable requirements.

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 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. 
Therefore, the NRC believes that the rule would not have significant 
environmental impacts. The proposed rule would add the Standardized 
Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System to 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 environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, O-1F23, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Single copies of the environmental 
assessment and finding of no significant impact are available from 
Jayne M. McCausland, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone 
(301) 415-6219, e-mail [email protected].

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This proposed 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.

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 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 September 29, 2000, Transnuclear West, 
Inc. (TN-West), submitted an application to the NRC to add the 
Standardized Advanced NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage 
System for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel (Standardized Advanced 
NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System) to the list of approved spent 
fuel storage casks. The Standardized Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 
Storage System design has improved shielding and the ability to 
withstand a higher seismic response spectra than the Standardized 
NUHOMS-24P, -52B, -61BT Storage System. In addition, the 
24PT1 dry shielded canister, which will be stored in the Standardized 
Advanced NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage System for 
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, is designed to be transportable; otherwise the 
designs are the same. Additionally, on October 4, 2001, Transnuclear, 
Inc. (TN), the parent company of TN-West, requested that the name on 
the certificate be changed from TN-West to TN.
    This rule would permit general licensees to use the Standardized 
Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1 Storage System for storage of spent 
fuel. The alternative to this action is not to certify these new 
designs and give a site-specific license to each utility that proposes 
to use the casks. This would cost both the NRC and the utilities more 
time and money because each utility would have to pursue a new site-
specific license. Using site-specific reviews would ignore the 
procedures and criteria currently in place for the addition of new cask 
designs and would be in conflict with the 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. Also, this 
alternative discourages competition because it would exclude new 
vendors without cause and would arbitrarily limit the choice of cask 
designs available to power reactor licensees.
    Approval of the proposed rule would eliminate the above problems 
and is consistent with previous NRC actions. Further, the proposed rule 
will have no adverse effect on public health and safety. This proposed 
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

[[Page 6205]]

concludes that the requirements of the proposed 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.

Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 
605(b)), the NRC certifies that this rule would not, if promulgated, 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. This proposed rule would affect only the licensing and 
operation of nuclear power plants, independent spent fuel storage 
facilities, and Transnuclear, 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 (Sec. 50.109 or 
Sec. 72.62) does not apply to this proposed rule because this amendment 
would 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

    Administrative practice and procedure, Criminal penalties, Manpower 
training programs, Nuclear materials, Occupational safety and health, 
Penalties, Radiation protection, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Security measures, Spent fuel, Whistleblowing.

    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 Sec. 72.214, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 1023 is added to 
read as follows:


Sec. 72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
    Certificate Number: 1023.
    Initial Certificate Effective Date: (effective date of final rule)
    SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear, Inc.
    SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the Standardized 
Advanced NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage System for 
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel.
    Docket Number: 72-1023.
    Certificate Expiration Date: (insert 20 years from the effective 
date of the final rule)
    Model Number: Standardized Advanced NUHOMS-24PT1.
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of January, 2002.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 02-3228 Filed 2-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P