[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 174 (Tuesday, September 9, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53352-53355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21419]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2014-0120]
RIN 3150-AJ42


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International 
HI-STORM Underground Maximum Capacity Canister Storage System, 
Certificate of Compliance No. 1040

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 53353]]

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to 
amend its spent fuel storage regulations by adding the Holtec 
International HI-STORM Underground Maximum Capacity (UMAX) Canister 
Storage System, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1040, to the ``List 
of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' Holtec International intends to 
provide an underground storage option compatible with the Holtec 
International HI-STORM FLOOD/WIND System (CoC No. 1032). The Holtec 
International HI-STORM UMAX Canister Storage System stores a 
hermetically sealed canister containing spent nuclear fuel in an in-
ground vertical ventilated module. The Holtec International HI-STORM 
UMAX Canister Storage System is designed to provide long-term 
underground storage of loaded multi-purpose canisters previously 
certified for storage in CoC No. 1032.

DATES: Submit comments by October 9, 2014. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC staff 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0120. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher, telephone: 301-287-
3422, email: [email protected]. For technical questions, please 
contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do 
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact 
us at 301-415-1677.
     Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission at 301-415-1101.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
     Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal 
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory R. Trussell, Office of Federal 
and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-
6445, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0120 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0120.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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]. For 
the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials 
referenced in this document are provided in the ``Availability of 
Documents'' section.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2014-0120 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly 
disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment 
submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment 
submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely edit comment 
submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Procedural Background

    This proposed rule is limited to the addition of CoC No. 1040 to 
the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' Because the NRC 
considers this action noncontroversial and routine, the NRC is 
publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final rule in 
the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal 
Register. Adequate protection of public health and safety continues to 
be ensured. The direct final rule will become effective on November 24, 
2014 However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on this 
proposed rule by October 9, 2014, then the NRC will publish a document 
that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is 
withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments received in response to 
these proposed revisions in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant 
modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the 
NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action in the 
event the direct final rule is withdrawn.
    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, a substantive response is required when:
    (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.
    (3) The comment causes the NRC staff to make a change (other than 
editorial)

[[Page 53354]]

to the rule, CoC, or Technical Specifications.
    For additional procedural information, including the regulatory 
analysis and the environmental assessment and finding of no significant 
impact, see the direct final rule published in the Rules and 
Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.

III. Background

    Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982, as 
amended, requires that ``the Secretary [of the Department of Energy] 
shall establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with the 
private sector, for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian 
nuclear power reactor sites, with the objective of establishing one or 
more technologies that the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission may, by 
rule, approve for use at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors 
without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional 
site-specific approvals by the Commission.'' Section 133 of the NWPA 
states, in part, that ``[the Commission] shall, by rule, establish 
procedures for the licensing of any technology approved by the 
Commission under Section 219(a) [sic: 218(a)] for use at the site of 
any civilian nuclear power reactor.''
    To implement this mandate, the Commission approved dry storage of 
spent nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license by 
publishing a final rule which added a new subpart K in part 72 of Title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) entitled, ``General 
License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites'' (55 FR 
29181; July 18, 1990). This rule also established a new subpart L in 10 
CFR part 72 entitled, ``Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,'' which 
contains procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent 
fuel storage cask designs.

IV. Plain Writing

    The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal 
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner 
that also follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or 
field and the intended audience. The NRC has written this document to 
be consistent with the Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential 
Memorandum, ``Plain Language in Government Writing,'' published June 
10, 1998 (63 FR 31883). The NRC requests comment on the proposed rule 
with respect to clarity and effectiveness of the language used.

V. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Document                        ADAMS Accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CoC No. 1040......................  ML14122A443
Safety Evaluation Report..........  ML14122A441
Technical Specifications, Appendix  ML14122A444
 A.
Technical Specifications, Appendix  ML14122A442
 B.
Application.......................  ML12363A282
Application supplemental July 16,   ML12205A134
 2012.
Application Supplemental November   ML12348A483
 20, 2012.
Application supplemental January    ML13032A008
 30, 2013.
Application supplemental April 2,   ML13107B249
 2013.
Application supplemental April 19,  ML13114A191
 2013.
Application supplemental June 21,   ML13175A363
 2013.
Application supplemental August     ML13261A062
 28, 2013.
Application Supplemental December   ML13343A169
 6, 2013.
Application supplemental December   ML14002A402
 31, 2013.
Application supplemental January    ML14015A145
 13, 2014.
Application supplemental January    ML14030A055
 28, 2014.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The NRC may post materials related to this document, including 
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking Web site at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2014-0120. The Federal 
rulemaking Web site allows you to receive alerts when changes or 
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-2014-0120); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email 
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how 
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or 
monthly).

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; the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as 
amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553; the NRC is proposing to adopt the 
following amendments to 10 CFR part 72.

PART 72--LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF 
SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, AND REACTOR-
RELATED GREATER THAN CLASS C WASTE

0
1. The authority citation for part 72 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  Atomic Energy Act secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69, 
81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 223, 234, 274 (42 U.S.C. 
2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233, 
2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2273, 2282, 2021); Energy Reorganization Act 
sec. 201, 202, 206, 211 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846, 5851); National 
Environmental Protection Act sec. 102 (42 U.S.C. 4332); Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act secs. 131, 132, 133, 135, 137, 141, 148 (42 U.S.C. 
10151, 10152, 10153, 10155, 10157, 10161, 10168); sec. 1704 (112 
Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. 
No. 109-58, 119 Stat. 549 (2005).

    Section 72.44(g) also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act 
secs. 142(b) and 148(c)-(d) (42 U.S.C. 10162(b), 10168(c)-(d)).
    Section 72.46 also issued under Atomic Energy Act sec. 189 (42 
U.S.C. 2239); Nuclear Waste Policy Act sec. 134 (42 U.S.C. 10154).
    Section 72.96(d) also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act sec. 
145(g) (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)).
    Subpart J also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act secs. 
117(a), 141(h) (42 U.S.C. 10137(a), 10161(h)).
    Subpart K also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act sec. 218(a) 
(42 U.S.C. 10198).


[[Page 53355]]


0
2. In Sec.  72.214, Certificate of Compliance No. 1040 is added to read 
as follows:


Sec.  72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
    Certificate Number: 1040.
    Initial Certificate Effective Date: November 24, 2014.
    SAR Submitted by: Holtec International, Inc.
    SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the Holtec 
International HI-STORM UMAX Canister Storage System.
    Docket Number: 72-1040.
    Certificate Expiration Date: September 9, 2034.
    Model Number: MPC-37, MPC-89.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of August, 2014.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Darren B. Ash,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2014-21419 Filed 9-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P