[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 100 (Thursday, May 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36270-36271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12992]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket 72-1014]


Holtec International; Issuance of Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact

Introduction

    By letters dated January 17 and April 10, 2002, Holtec 
International (Holtec or applicant) requested an exemption, pursuant to 
10 CFR 72.7, from the requirement of 10 CFR 72.248(c)(6). This 
requirement requires certificate holders to file an updated Final 
Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC 
or the Commission) every 24 months from the date of issuance of a 
Certificate of Compliance (CoC) for a spent fuel storage cask design. 
Holtec, located in Marlton, New Jersey, is the holder of CoC Number 
1014 for the HI-STORM 100 storage cask system, and is seeking NRC 
approval to delay filing of an updated FSAR for the cask design. The 
HI-STORM 100 storage cask system is approved for use under the general 
license provisions of subpart K of 10 CFR part 72, and is designed for 
the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at U.S. nuclear power facilities. 
NRC issued the CoC for the HI-STORM 100 storage cask system on May 31, 
2000, (effective date). Holtec is currently required to file an updated 
FSAR by May 31, 2002, in accordance with 10 CFR 72.248(c)(6).

Environmental Assessment (EA)

Identification of Proposed Action

    The applicant is seeking Commission approval to delay filing of an 
updated FSAR for the HI-STORM 100 storage cask system to the NRC within 
24 months after the HI-STORM 100 CoC

[[Page 36271]]

was issued. The applicant requests an exemption from the requirement of 
10 CFR 72.248(c)(6), which states that ``Updates [of the FSAR] shall be 
filed every 24 months from the date of issuance of the CoC.'' NRC 
issued the CoC for the HI-STORM 100 cask system on May 31, 2000, (CoC 
effective date), which would require filing by May 31, 2002, to satisfy 
10 CFR 72.248(c)(6). The proposed action before the Commission is 
whether to approve a delay in the filing of the updated FSAR, and 
whether to grant this exemption pursuant to 10 CFR 72.7.

Need for the Proposed Action

    Holtec requested the exemption to 10 CFR 72.248(c) to allow 
sufficient time to incorporate the FSAR changes that are associated 
with its license application to amend the CoC for the HI-STORM 100 
storage cask system. This license application and amendment was 
designated as Amendment No. 1 to CoC Number 1014. The Commission issued 
a direct final rule and a proposed rule to amend its regulations to 
include Amendment No. 1 to the CoC for the HI-STORM 100 in its list of 
approved spent fuel storage casks on March 27, 2002, (67 FR 14627 and 
FR 14662). A final effective rule is not expected to be in place prior 
to May 31, 2002. Therefore, Holtec has requested to file an updated 
FSAR within 60 days after Amendment No. 1 is issued (effective date of 
final rule), in lieu of May 31, 2002. Holtec stated that approval of 
this delay will allow the compilation of FSAR changes related to 
Amendment No. 1, with other FSAR changes that are allowed under 10 CFR 
72.48.
    Otherwise, an update to the FSAR by May 31, 2002, would not include 
FSAR changes associated with Amendment No. 1.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The Environmental Assessment for the final rule, ``Storage of Spent 
Nuclear Fuel in NRC-Approved Storage Casks at Nuclear Power Reactor 
Sites'' (55 FR 29181 (1990)), considered the potential environmental 
impacts of storage casks that are used to store spent nuclear fuel 
under a CoC, and concluded that there would be no significant 
environmental impacts. The proposed action now under consideration 
would not affect the use of the HI-STORM 100 cask system to store spent 
nuclear fuel under the approved CoC, and in accordance with the 
regulations of 10 CFR part 72. Filing an updated FSAR to the NRC by a 
certificate holder is an administrative requirement and does not 
involve any radioactive materials or use of natural resources. 
Therefore, there are no radiological impacts or non-radiological 
impacts from a delay in filing an updated FSAR. Based upon this 
information, a delay in filing will have no significant impact on the 
environment.

Alternative to the Proposed Action

    Since there is no environmental impact associated with the proposed 
action, any alternatives with equal or greater environmental impact are 
not evaluated. The alternative to the proposed actions would be to deny 
approval of the exemption and not allow a delay in the filing of the 
updated FSAR. This alternative would have the same environmental 
impact.
    Given that there are no significant differences in environmental 
impact between the proposed action and the alternative considered, and 
that the applicant has a legitimate need to delay the filing of an 
updated FSAR, the Commission concludes that the preferred alternative 
is to grant the exemption to 10 CFR 72.248(c)(6).

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    Ms. Alyse Peterson, Project Manager, New York State Energy Research 
and Development Authority, was contacted about the Environmental 
Assessment for the proposed action and had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed 
in accordance with the requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51. Based 
upon the foregoing Environmental Assessment, the Commission finds that 
the proposed action of granting an exemption from 10 CFR 72.248(c)(6) 
will not significantly impact the quality of the human environment. 
Accordingly, the Commission has determined not to prepare an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed exemption, and has made 
a finding of no significant impact on the environment for the proposed 
exemption.

Conclusion

    The proposed exemption requested by Holtec will not authorize use 
of the HI-STORM 100 storage cask design specified in Amendment No. 1 to 
the CoC . Authorization will only occur if and when Amendment No.1 to 
the CoC, is issued by the NRC (effective date of final rule). In 
addition, NRC approval or denial of this exemption request should not 
be construed as an NRC predisposition to favorably or unfavorably 
consider any comments received on the proposed rule for Amendment No. 1 
to the CoC.
    For further details with respect to the exemption request, see the 
letters dated January 17 and April 10, 2002, which are available for 
public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, One White 
Flint North Building, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, or from the 
publicly available records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession Nos. ML020520212 
and ML021070603. The NRC maintains 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/adams.html. 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].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of May 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
E. William Brach,
Director, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 02-12992 Filed 5-22-02; 8:45 am]
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