[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 7, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57839-57840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25367]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 2003 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 57839]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150-AH27


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Standardized 
NUHOMS[reg]-24P, -52B, -61BT, -32PT, and -24PHB Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
its regulations revising the Transnuclear, Inc., Standardized 
NUHOMS[reg] Horizontal Modular Storage System (Standardized NUHOMS[reg] 
System) listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage 
casks'' to include Amendment No. 6 in Certificate of Compliance Number 
1004. Amendment No. 6 would add the NUHOMS[reg]-24PHB cask design to 
the Standardized NUHOMS[reg] System. The NUHOMS[reg]-24PHB cask design 
would permit a Part 72 licensee to store high burnup Babcock & Wilcox 
15x15 spent fuel assemblies with an average burnup of up to 55,000 
megawatt-days/metric ton of uranium, enrichment equal to 4.5 weight 
percent uranium-235, a maximum decay heat load of 1.3 kilowatt (kW) per 
assembly, and a maximum heat load of 24 kW per cask, under a general 
license.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before 
November 6, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include the following number (RIN 3150-AH27) in the subject line 
of your comments. Comments on rulemakings submitted in writing or in 
electronic form will be made available to the public in their entirety 
on the NRC rulemaking website. Personal information will not be removed 
from your comments.
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us 
directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions 
about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected].
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm Federal workdays [telephone (301) 
415-1966].
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
(301) 415-1101.
    Publicly available documents related to this rulemaking may be 
viewed electronically on public computers located at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), Public File Area O-1F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including 
comments, can be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room 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. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to [email protected]. An electronic copy of the proposed 
Certificate of Compliance (CoC) and preliminary safety evaluation 
report (SER) can be found under ADAMS Accession Nos. ML031980369 and 
ML031980374.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Stambaugh, telephone (301) 
415-5449, e-mail, [email protected] of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For additional information see the direct 
final rule published in the final rules section of this Federal 
Register.

Procedural Background

    This rule is limited to the changes contained in Amendment 6 to CoC 
No. 1004 and does not include other aspects of the Standardized 
NUHOMS[reg] System. The NRC is using the ``direct final rule 
procedure'' to issue 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.
    Because NRC considers this action noncontroversial and routine, the 
proposed rule is being published concurrently as a direct final rule. 
The direct final rule will become effective on December 22, 2003. 
However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments by November 
6, 2003, 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. A significant adverse comment is a comment where the 
commenter explains why the rule would be inappropriate, including 
challenges to the rule's underlying premise or approach, or would be 
ineffective or unacceptable without a change. A comment is adverse and 
significant if:
    (1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient 
to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For 
example, in a substantive response:
    (a) The comment causes the NRC staff to reevaluate (or reconsider) 
its position or conduct additional analysis;
    (b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a 
substantive response to clarify or complete the record; or
    (c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously 
addressed or considered by the NRC staff.
    (2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and 
it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable 
without incorporation of the change or addition.

[[Page 57840]]

    (3) The comment causes the NRC staff to make a change (other than 
editorial) to the CoC or TS.
    These comments will be addressed in a subsequent final rule. The 
NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action.

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 OFSPENT 
NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, AND REACTOR-RELATED 
WASTE GREATER THAN CLASS C 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. 102-
486, sec. 7902, 106 Stat. 3123 (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 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 Number 1 Effective Date: April 27, 2000.
    Amendment Number 2 Effective Date: September 5, 2000.
    Amendment Number 3 Effective Date: September 12, 2001.
    Amendment Number 4 Effective Date: February 12, 2002.
    Amendment Number 5 Effective Date: November 3, 2003.
    Amendment Number 6 Effective Date: December 22, 2003.
    SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear, Inc.
    SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the Standardized 
NUHOMS[reg] Horizontal Modular Storage System for Irradiated Nuclear 
Fuel.
    Docket Number: 72-1004.
    Certificate Expiration Date: January 23, 2015.
    Model Number: Standardized NUHOMS[reg]-24P, NUHOMS[reg]-52B, 
NUHOMS[reg]-61BT, NUHOMS[reg]-32PT, and NUHOMS[reg]-24PHB.
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of September, 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 03-25367 Filed 10-6-03; 8:45 am]
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