[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7211-7213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3123]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-26; NRC-2011-0110]


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 license amendment.

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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.

[[Page 7212]]

Telephone: 301-492-3325; email: [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 (DC) Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), located at the DC 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 DC 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 DC ISFSI 
license in the Federal Register on October 30, 2003 (68 FR 61838) in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and in 
conformance with the applicable requirements of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (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, 449 F.3d 
1016 (9th Cir. 2006), and a related addendum on November 15, 2007 (72 
FR 64252).
    By letter dated January 31, 2011, as supplemented June 8, July 28, 
September 15, and November 22, 2011, PG&E submitted license amendment 
request (LAR) 11-001 to the NRC to amend Materials License No. SNM-2511 
for the DC ISFSI in accordance with 10 CFR part 72. PG&E's application 
requested that the ISFSI Technical Specifications (TS) be revised as 
follows:
    1. TS 1.1, ``Definitions,''--revise to reflect the addition of high 
burnup fuel (HBF) selection criteria and the addition of neutron source 
assemblies (NSAs), and instrument tube tie rods (ITTRs).
    2. TS 2.0, ``Approved Contents,''--revise Tables 2.1-1 through 2.1-
7, and 2.1-10 to reflect the addition of HBF selection criteria and the 
addition of NSAs and ITTRs. TS 2.0, ``Approved Contents,'' Table 2.1-
7--revise Fuel Assembly Cooling and Maximum Decay Heat (Uniform Fuel 
loading) for a MPC-32 to limit the decay heat load to 750 W per 
assembly for a canister containing HBF.
    3. TS 2.0, ``Approved Contents,''--revise to add new TS 2.3 and 
associated Table 2.3-1 to provide alternative calculations for burnup 
limits for fuel assemblies in a MPC-32 to allow the storage of HBF.
    4. TS 3.1.1, ``Multi-Purpose Canister (MPC),''--revise to eliminate 
the vacuum drying option which is not allowed for HBF and to add a 
reference temperature of 70 [deg]F for the MPC Helium backfill pressure 
range.
    5. TS 3.1.2, ``Spent Fuel Storage Cask (SFSC) Heat Removal 
System,''--revise to allow the HI-STORM Shortened Anchored (100SA) 
overpack to be considered operable with up to 50 percent vent blockage 
(although removal of any blockage is still required on discovery).
    6. TS 3.1.4, ``Supplemental Cooling System,''--added to provide the 
conditions and criteria for the SCS.
    7. TS 4.1.2b, ``Design Features Important to Criticality 
Control,''--revise to change the B4C content in METAMIC to <= 33.0 wt%.
    8. TS 5.1.3b, ``MPC and SFSC Loading, Unloading, and Preparation 
Program,''--revise to delete the requirement for maintaining the 
annulus full during vacuum drying and to restore the requirement for 
maintaining the annulus full during reflood (unloading).
    LAR 11-001 also proposes to revise the licensing basis from that 
documented in the DC ISFSI Final Safety Analysis Report Update (FSARU) 
to:
    9. Upgrade the thermal analysis methodology to a three dimensional 
(3D) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model,
    10. Remove the assumption of 100% fuel failure coincident with 100% 
vent blockage,
    11. Change of some allowed component temperatures in the thermal 
evaluation (peak cladding, concrete, overpack metal, transfer cask lid 
neutron shielding),
    12. Reduce the required torque criteria for the MPC lift cleats, 
and
    13. Add a new accident for loss of SCS to the design criteria for 
the SCS.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 72.16, a Notice of Docketing and 
opportunity to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register 
on May 20, 2011 (76 FR 29280). On January 19, 2012, the NRC approved 
and issued Amendment No. 2 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. 2 was effective as of the 
date of issuance. Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.46(d), the NRC is providing 
notice of the action taken.
    Amendment No. 2 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. 2 Safety Evaluation Report (SER). 
Also as described in the SER, the NRC determined that issuance of 
Amendment No. 2 meets 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. 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 
Library 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................  January 31, 2011.....................  ML110400377
Supplement to License Amendment Request..  June 8, 2011.........................  ML11173A228
Supplement No. 2 to License Amendment      July 28, 2011........................  ML11216A208
 Request.
Response to First Request for Additional   September 15, 2011...................  ML11262A270
 Information.
Response to Second Request for Additional  November 22, 2011....................  ML11333A061
 Information.
License Amendment No. 2 Issuance Package.  January 19, 2012.....................  ML120260361

[[Page 7213]]

 
Safety Evaluation Report.................  January 19, 2012.....................  ML120260386
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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 email 
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 19th day of January, 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael D. Waters,
Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and 
Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2012-3123 Filed 2-9-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P