[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94431-94433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30896]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2016-0268]


Spent Fuel Heat Generation in an Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft regulatory guide; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-3050, ``Spent Fuel Heat 
Generation in an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.'' This 
proposed revision (Revision 2) to RG 3.54 provides methods acceptable 
to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff for calculating spent 
nuclear fuel heat generation rates for use for an independent spent 
fuel storage installation (ISFSI).

DATES: Submit comments by February 21, 2017. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date. Although a time limit is given,

[[Page 94432]]

comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in 
guides currently being developed or improvements in all published 
guides are encouraged at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0268. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: OWFN-12H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
    For additional direction on accessing information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis Sotomayor-Rivera, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-7265; email: 
[email protected] and Harriet Karagiannis, Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 301-415-2493 or email: 
[email protected], U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0268 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publically-available information related to this document, by 
any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0268.
     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]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The DG 
is electronically available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML16139A215.
     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-2016-0268 in your comment submission. 
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information 
that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment 
submission. The NRC posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering the comment submissions into 
ADAMS. 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 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC is issuing for public comment a DG in the NRC's 
``Regulatory Guide'' series. This series was developed to describe and 
make available to the public information regarding methods that are 
acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific parts of the 
NRC's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating 
specific issues or postulated events, and data that the staff needs in 
its review of applications for permits and licenses.
    The DG, entitled, ``Spent Fuel Heat Generation in an Independent 
Spent Fuel Storage Installation,'' is temporarily identified by its 
task number, DG-3050. Draft Guide-3050 is proposed Revision 2 to 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.54, dated January 1999.
    This revision (Revision 2) presents an up-to-date methodology for 
determining heat generation rates for both PWR and BWR fuel and 
provides greater flexibility (less restrictions) than the previous 
revision. It allows loading of higher burnup fuel by using more 
accurate methods for decay heat calculations by covering a wider range 
of fuel characteristics, including operating history.

III. Backfitting and Issue Finality

    This draft regulatory guide, if finalized, would provide guidance 
to general and specific NRC part 72 licensees with respect to 
determining heat generation rates for spent fuel. Issuance of this 
draft regulatory guide, if finalized, would not constitute backfitting 
as defined in in section 72.62(a) of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), which is applicable to ISFSIs. Issuance of the 
draft regulatory guide, if finalized, would also not constitute 
backfitting under 10 CFR 50.109, or otherwise be inconsistent with the 
issue finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52. The staff's position is 
based upon the following considerations.
    1. The draft regulatory guide positions, if finalized, describe a 
methodology acceptable to the NRC staff, and expressly states that 
current licensees may continue to use guidance the NRC found acceptable 
for complying with the identified regulations as long as the licensee 
does not initiate, as a voluntary matter, a change to its current 
licensing basis. Therefore, the guidance, if finalized, would not 
constitute backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 72.62(a).
    2. The NRC has no intention of imposing the positions in the draft 
regulatory guide on existing ISFSI or nuclear power plant licenses 
either now or in the future (absent a voluntary request for change from 
the licensee).
    3. The matters addressed in the regulatory guide apply equally to 
both specific licensees under part 72 as well as general licensees 
under who hold ISFSI licensees by virtue of their status as holders of 
part 50 operating licenses or as holders of part 52 combined licenses.
    4. Backfitting and issue finality do not--with limited exceptions 
not applicable here--protect current or future applicants. Applicants 
and potential applicants are not, with certain exceptions, protected by 
the backfitting provisions in 10 CFR 72.62. This is because the 
backfitting provisions in Part 72 were not intended to apply to every 
NRC action which substantially changes the expectations of current and 
future applicants.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of December, 2016.


[[Page 94433]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2016-30896 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P