[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 49 (Monday, March 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12315-12317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5563]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-26; NRC-2009-0569]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Diablo Canyon Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Materials 
License No. SNM-2511

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Materials License No. SNM-
2511.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by May 14, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Goshen, Project Manager, Division 
of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, Mail Stop EBB-3D-02M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001. Telephone: (301) 492-3325; e-
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    On March 22, 2004, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
issued NRC Materials License No. SNM-2511 to the Pacific Gas and 
Electric Company (PG&E) for the Diablo Canyon Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (ISFSI), located at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear 
Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 site in San Luis Obispo County, 
California. The license authorizes PG&E to receive, possess, store, and 
transfer spent nuclear fuel and associated radioactive materials 
resulting from the operation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, 
Unit Nos. 1 and 2 in an ISFSI at the power plant site for a term of 20 
years. The NRC staff published a Notice of Issuance of Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI) for the 
approval of the Diablo Canyon ISFSI license in the Federal Register on 
October 30, 2003 (68 FR 61838), in

[[Page 12316]]

accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and in 
conformance with the applicable requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. 
Additionally, the NRC published a supplement to this EA/FONSI on 
September 10, 2007 (72 FR 51687), in response to the decision of the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Luis Obispo 
Mothers for Peace v. NRC, 493 F.3d 1016 (9th Cir. 2006), and a related 
addendum to this supplement on November 15, 2007 (72 FR 64252).
    By application dated April 7, 2008, as supplemented September 1, 
November 23, December 31, 2009, and January 22, 2010, PG&E submitted an 
application to NRC, in accordance with 10 CFR Part 72, requesting an 
amendment to NRC Materials License No. SNM-2511. PG&E's application 
requested that the ISFSI Technical Specifications (TS) be revised as 
follows:
    1. Revise TS 3.1.1, ``Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC),'' to clarify 
the required Helium leak rate condition and the leak rate testing 
requirements;
    2. Delete TS 3.1.4, ``Spent Fuel Storage Cask (SFSC) Time 
Limitation in Cask Transfer Facility (CTF),'' based on analysis of the 
thermal performance of the Holtec HI-STORM 100 system which shows there 
is no need for a required time limitation in the CTF;
    3. Revise TS 3.2.1, ``Dissolved Boron Concentration,'' to modify 
the dissolved boron concentrations required for MPC-32 canisters and, 
to allow linear interpolation for some enrichments consistent with the 
Holtec International (Holtec) Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No.1014, 
Amendment 3, for the HI-STORM 100 system;
    4. Add a note to both surveillance requirements of TS 3.2.1 to 
limit the monitoring requirement consistent with the Holtec CoC 
No.1014, Amendment 1, for the HI-STORM 100 system;
    5. Revise TS 4.1.1.a, b, and c, ``Design Features Significant to 
Safety,'' to allow use of Metamic Boron-10 as a neutron absorber for 
each of the specified MPC consistent with Holtec CoC No.1014, Amendment 
2, for the HI-STORM 100 system, and add TS 4.1.2, ``Design Features 
Important to Criticality Control,'' to define the material and testing 
requirements for the use of Metamic;
    6. Change the title of TS 4.3.4.a, ``Permanent Load Handling 
Equipment,'' to ``Weldment and Reinforced Concrete,'' which more 
correctly reflect the subject of the TS subparagraphs;
    7. Revise TS 4.3.4.b, ``Mobile Load Handling Equipment,'' to 
replace the term ``permanent load handling equipment'' with the term 
``the cask transporter,'' as the transporter is not considered a mobile 
load handling equipment within the context of TS 4.3.4.b; and
    8. Revise item b of TS 5.1.3, ``MPC and SFSC Loading, Unloading, 
and Preparation Program,'' to clarify the maintenance of the required 
conditions in the annular gap between the MPC and the transfer cask 
depending on which drying process is used and fuel heat load during MPC 
loading or unloading operations.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 72.16, a Notice of Docketing was 
published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2009 (74 FR 68638). 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2), on February 10, 2010, the NRC approved 
and issued Amendment No. 1 to Materials License No. SNM-2511, held by 
PG&E for the receipt, possession, transfer, and storage of spent fuel 
at the Diablo Canyon ISFSI. Amendment No. 1 was effective as of the 
date of issuance.
    Amendment No. 1 complies with the standards and requirements of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the NRC's rules 
and regulations. As required by the Act and the NRC's rules and 
regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, the NRC has made appropriate findings, 
which are set forth in Amendment No. 1 Safety Evaluation Report (SER). 
The issuance of Amendment No. 1 satisfied the criteria specified in 10 
CFR 51.22(c)(11) for a categorical exclusion. Thus, the preparation of 
an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement is not 
required.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    In accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2), the staff determined that 
this license amendment did not present a genuine issue as to whether 
public health and safety would be significantly affected. Therefore, 
the publication of a notice of proposed action and an opportunity for 
hearing or a notice of hearing was not warranted. Notice is hereby 
given of the right of interested persons to request a hearing on 
whether the action should be rescinded or modified.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, 
August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit 
and serve all adjudicatory documents over the Internet, or in some 
cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not 
submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should 
contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by telephone at (301) 415-1677, to request 
(1) a digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its 
counsel or representative) to digitally sign documents and access the 
E-Submittal server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and 
(2) advise the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a 
request or petition for hearing (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. System requirements for accessing 
the E-Submittal server are detailed in NRC's ``Guidance for Electronic 
Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants may 
attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but should 
note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted software, 
and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer assistance 
in using unlisted software.
    If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC 
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the 
document using the NRC's online, Web-based submission form. In order to 
serve documents through EIE, users will be required to install a Web 
browser plug-in from the NRC Web site. Further information on the Web-
based submission form, including the installation of the Web browser 
plug-in, is available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant can then submit a request for 
hearing or petition

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for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in Portable Document 
Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the NRC 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A 
filing is considered complete at the time the documents are submitted 
through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing 
must be submitted to the E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-
Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-
mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system 
also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to the document 
to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others who have 
advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in 
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the documents on those 
participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants 
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a 
digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition to intervene 
is filed so that they can obtain access to the document via the E-
Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System 
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site 
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by a toll-free call at (866) 672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants 
filing a document in this manner are responsible for serving the 
document on all other participants. Filing is considered complete by 
first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, 
express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the 
document with the provider of the service. A presiding officer, having 
granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a 
participant or party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer 
subsequently determines that the reason for granting the exemption from 
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, or the presiding officer. Participants 
are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as 
social security numbers, home addresses, or home phone numbers in their 
filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of 
such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited 
excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would 
constitute a Fair Use application, participants are requested not to 
include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    Petitions for leave to intervene must be filed no later than 60 
days from March 15, 2010. Non-timely filings will not be entertained 
absent a determination by the presiding officer that the petition or 
request should be granted or the contentions should be admitted, based 
on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-
(viii).

III. Further information

    The NRC has prepared a SER that documents the staff's review and 
evaluation of the amendment. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of NRC's 
``Rules of Practice,'' final NRC records and documents related to this 
action, including the application for amendment and supporting 
documentation and the SER, are available electronically at the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room, at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
From this site, you can access NRC's Agencywide Document Access and 
Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's 
public documents. The ADAMS Accession Numbers for the applicable 
documents are:

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           Document                    Date          ADAMS Accession No.
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License Amendment Request.....  April 7, 2008.....  ML081070073
Response to First Request for   September 1, 2009.  ML092530178
 Additional Information.
Response to Second Request for  November 23, 2009.  ML093270488
 Additional Information.
Response to Request for         December 31, 2009.  ML100120650
 Supplemental Information.
Response to Request for         January 22, 2010..  ML100280414
 Supplemental Information.
License Amendment No. 1         February 10, 2010.  ML100360010
 Issuance Package.
Safety Evaluation Report......  February 10, 2010.  ML100360046
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    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact NRC's Public Document 
Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-
mail to [email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at NRC's PDR, O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents, for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of March, 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Goshen,
P. E., Project Manager, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel 
Storage and Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2010-5563 Filed 3-12-10; 8:45 am]
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