[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10068-10069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2792]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-22]

Private Fuel Storage, Limited Liability Company


Notice of Issuance of Materials License Snm-2513 for the Private 
Fuel Storage Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Materials License; Termination of NHPA 
Consultation.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stewart W. Brown, Senior Project 
Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555. Telephone: (301) 415-8531; fax number: (301) 415-8555; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC 
or the Commission) has issued Materials License No. SNM-2513 to Private 
Fuel Storage, Limited Liability Company (PFS) for the receipt, 
possession, storage, and transfer of spent fuel at the Private Fuel 
Storage Facility (PFSF), to be located on the Reservation of the Skull 
Valley Band of Goshute Indians, in Tooele County, Utah.
    In connection with its review of the PFS license application, the 
NRC, in coordination with three cooperating Federal agencies, developed 
a final environmental impact statement pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which was published in 
December 2001. In addition, the NRC participated in consultations with 
the three cooperating agencies and other parties concerning the 
protection of historic and cultural properties which may be impacted by 
the agencies' proposed actions, in accordance with the National 
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and regulations promulgated by the 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). By letter dated 
November 22, 2005, the NRC notified the ACHP that it was terminating 
the NHPA consultation process for reasons described in the letter, 
pursuant to 36 CFR 800.7(a); notice of such termination was also 
provided to all parties involved in the consultation process. By letter 
dated January 9, 2006, the ACHP provided its comments in response to 
the NRC's letter of November 22, 2005. In accordance with 36 CFR 
800.7(c)(4), the NRC has considered the ACHP's comments, as set forth 
in a letter to the ACHP dated February 10, 2006, and has determined 
that final action on the PFS license application is appropriate.
    Accordingly, notice is hereby provided that the NRC has determined 
to grant the PFS license application, and to issue Materials License 
No. SNM-2513 to PFS for the PFSF. This Materials License is issued 
under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 72, and is effective as of the date 
of issuance. In accordance with 10 CFR Part 72, the PFSF license is 
issued for a term of 20 years, but the licensee may seek to renew the 
license prior to its expiration. The license authorizes PFS to provide 
interim storage in a dry cask storage system for up to 40,000 metric 
tons of uranium contained in intact spent fuel, damaged fuel 
assemblies, and fuel debris. The dry cask storage system authorized for 
use is a site-specific version of the HI-STORM 100 system designed by 
Holtec International, Inc., as more fully described in Materials 
License No. SNM-2513.

Background

    Following receipt of PFS's application dated June 20, 1997, the NRC 
staff published a ``Notice of Docketing, Notice of Proposed Action, and 
Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing for a Materials License for the 
PFSF in the Federal Register on July 31, 1997 (62 FR 41099). In 
conjunction with the issuance of this license, the staff and three 
cooperating Federal agencies (Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, and Surface Transportation Board) published the ``Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction and Operation of an 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation on the Reservation of the 
Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians and the Related Transportation 
Facility in Tooele County, Utah,'' NUREG-1714 (December 2001) (FEIS). 
The FEIS considered the impacts of the construction, operation and 
decommissioning of the proposed ISFSI at the Skull Valley site and the 
impacts of certain transportation facilities which had been proposed by 
PFS. The FEIS indicated that the NRC staff and the three Cooperating 
Agencies had concluded, in part, that the overall benefits of the 
proposed PFSF outweigh the disadvantages and cost, and that the 
measures required by other permitting authorities and the mitigation 
measures proposed in the FEIS would eliminate or ameliorate any 
potential adverse environmental impacts associated with the PFS license 
application.
    The safety and security of the proposed PFSF were addressed in a 
Safety Evaluation Report (SER) issued in December 2000 and two 
amendments thereto, as reissued in a consolidated SER in March 2002. 
Evidentiary hearings on the proposed license application were held 
before an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in 2000, 2002 and 2004, and 
final adjudicatory decisions have been issued with respect to all 
contested issues in the proceeding.
    In sum, the NRC has completed its environmental and safety reviews 
of the PFSF license application. Based on its review of the application 
and other pertinent information, the NRC issued Materials License No. 
SNM-2513 for the PFSF on February 21, 2006.
    Further details with respect to this action are provided in the 
application dated June 20, 1997, as amended; the staff's Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, dated December 2001; the staff's 
Consolidated Safety Evaluation Report, dated March 5, 2002; Materials 
License SNM-2513; the NRC's letter to the ACHP dated November 22, 2005; 
the ACHP's letter dated January 9, 2006; the NRC's letter to the ACHP 
dated February 10, 2006; and other related documents, which are 
publicly available in the records component of NRC's Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). 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. These documents 
may also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at 
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O1F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a 
fee.


[[Page 10069]]


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of February, 2006.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stewart W. Brown,
Senior Project Manager, Licensing Section, Spent Fuel Project Office, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
 [FR Doc. E6-2792 Filed 2-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P