[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15158-15159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05938]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-10; NRC-2013-0207]


Northern States Power Company: Prairie Island Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment application; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed an 
application by Northern States Power Company (NSPM) for amendment of 
Materials License No. SNM-2506 which authorizes NSPM to receive, 
possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel and associated 
radioactive materials. The amendment sought to lower the allowed 
thermal conductance values for storage basket components utilized at 
the Prairie Island (PI) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation 
(ISFSI).

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0207 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0207. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced. The Prairie Island License Amendment Request No. 8 package 
is available electronically in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13205A141.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Allen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-287-9225; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By application dated July 17, 2013, as 
supplemented December 5, 2013, NSPM submitted to the NRC, in accordance 
with Part 72 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), a 
request to amend Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2506 for its 
PI ISFSI site located in Welch, Minnesota. License No. SNM-2506 
authorizes NSPM to receive, possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear 
fuel and associated radioactive materials resulting from the operation 
of the PI Power Plant in an ISFSI at the power plant site for a term of 
20 years. Specifically, the amendment proposed lowering the allowed 
thermal conductance values for components used to fabricate storage 
baskets utilized at the PI ISFSI.
    The NRC issued a letter dated August 9, 2013, notifying NSPM that 
the application was acceptable for review. In accordance with 10 CFR 
72.16, a Notice of Docketing was published in the Federal Register on 
September 16, 2013 (78 FR 56947). The Notice of Docketing included an 
opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to 
intervene. No requests for a

[[Page 15159]]

hearing or leave to intervene were submitted.
    The NRC prepared a safety evaluation report (SER) to document its 
review and evaluation of the amendment request. In addition, the NRC 
evaluated an assertion by PI that the amendment request satisfied the 
categorical exclusion criteria specified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11). Under 
10 CFR 51.22(c)(11), a categorical exclusion is allowed for amendments 
to materials licenses which involve changes to process operations or 
equipment provided that (i) there is no significant change in the types 
or significant increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be 
released offsite, (ii) there is no significant increase in individual 
or cumulative occupational radiation exposure, (iii) there is no 
significant construction impact, and (iv) there is no significant 
increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological 
accidents. As explained in the SER, the NRC determined that the license 
amendment satisfied the 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11) categorical exclusion 
criteria. Consequently, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact are not required.
    Upon completing its review, the staff determined the request 
complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954, as amended (the Act), as well as the NRC's rules and 
regulations. As required by the Act and the NRC's rules and regulations 
in 10 CFR Chapter I, the staff made the appropriate findings which are 
contained in the SER (ADAMS Accession No. ML14030A361). The NRC 
approved and issued Amendment No. 8 to Special Nuclear Materials 
License No. SNM-2506, held by NSPM for the receipt, possession, 
transfer, and storage of spent fuel and associated radioactive 
materials at the PI ISFSI. Pursuant to 10 CFR 72.46(d), the NRC is 
providing notice of the action taken. Amendment No. 8 was effective as 
of the date of issuance, March 10, 2014.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of March 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michele Sampson,
Chief, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and 
Transportation, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2014-05938 Filed 3-17-14; 8:45 am]
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