[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 56 (Friday, March 24, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15007-15009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05897]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 56 / Friday, March 24, 2017 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 15007]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2016-0254]
RIN 3150-AJ88


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, 
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate of 
Compliance No. 1042

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to 
amend its spent fuel storage regulations by adding the TN Americas LLC 
(TN Americas), NUHOMS[supreg] Extended Optimized Storage (EOS) Dry 
Spent Fuel Storage System to the ``List of approved spent fuel storage 
casks'' as Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1042. The NUHOMS[supreg] 
EOS System provides horizontal storage of high burnup spent pressurized 
water reactor and boiling water reactor fuel assemblies in dry shielded 
canisters.

DATES: Submit comments by April 24, 2017. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before 
this date.

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-2016-0254. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions 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: Edward Lohr, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0253; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0254 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-2016-0254.
     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-2016-0254 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 will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 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. Rulemaking Procedure

    This proposed rule is limited to the addition of CoC No. 1042 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 June 7, 
2017. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on this 
proposed rule by April 24, 2017, 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 
this proposed addition in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant 
modifications to the proposed addition 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

[[Page 15008]]

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) to the rule, CoC, or technical specifications.
    For additional procedural information and the regulatory analysis, 
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 as indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Document                       ADAMS Accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent  ML15005A477 (Package).
 Fuel Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg]
 EOS System, Docket 72-1042, letter dated.
 December, 19, 2014 (original application).
Withdrawal of December 19, 2014 AREVA        ML15114A444.
 Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
 Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
 System, Docket 72-1042, letter dated April
 24, 2015.
Re-submittal of AREVA Application for        ML15173A379 (Package).
 Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for
 the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No.
 1042, letter dated. June 16, 2015 *.
Safety Evaluation Report for AREVA           ML070160089.
 NUHOMS[supreg] HD Horizontal Modular
 Storage System, CoC No. 1030.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information    ML15223A204.
 Related to Application for Approval of the
 Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
 letter dated July 30, 2015 *.
NRC Request for Additional Information       ML15287A255 (Package).
 Related to AREVA Application for Approval
 of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
 letter dated October 16, 2015 *.
AREVA Response to NRC Request for            ML15364A490 (Package).
 Additional Information Related to
 Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
 Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
 System, CoC. No. 1042, letter dated
 December 18, 2015 *.
NRC Request for Additional Information       ML16063A454 (Package).
 Related to AREVA Application for Approval
 of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
 letter dated March 3, 2016 *.
AREVA Response to NRC Request for            ML16111A670 (Package).
 Additional Information Related to
 Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
 Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
 System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated April
 7, 2016 *.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information    ML16169A044 (Package).
 Related to Application for Approval of the
 Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
 letter dated June 13, 2016 *.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information    ML16215A026 (Package).
 Related to Application for Approval of the
 Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
 letter dated July 28, 2016 *.
Name Change from AREVA to TN Americas,       ML16327A011.
 letter dated November 18, 2016 *.
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for TN  ML16242A023.
 Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC
 No. 1042 *.
Technical Specifications for TN Americas     ML16242A022.
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042 *.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The term ``Amendment 0'' used in the supporting documents for this
  proposed rule and the term ``Initial Certificate'' used in 10 CFR
  72.214 describes the same document. Initial Certificate is the correct
  term and will be used henceforth when discussion involves this
  document.

    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-2016-0254. 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-2016-0254); (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, 
Hazardous waste, Indians, Intergovernmental relations, Manpower 
training programs, Nuclear energy, Nuclear materials, Occupational 
safety and health, Penalties, Radiation

[[Page 15009]]

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 adopting the following 
amendment 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 of 1954, 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, 2210e, 
2232, 2233, 2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2273, 2282, 2021); Energy 
Reorganization Act of 1974, secs. 201, 202, 206, 211 (42 U.S.C. 
5841, 5842, 5846, 5851); National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4332); Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, secs. 117(a), 
132, 133, 134, 135, 137, 141, 145(g), 148, 218(a) (42 U.S.C. 
10137(a), 10152, 10153, 10154, 10155, 10157, 10161, 10165(g), 10168, 
10198(a)); 44 U.S.C. 3504 note.

0
2. In Sec.  72.214, Certificate of Compliance 1042 is added to read as 
follows:


Sec.  72.214   List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
    Certificate Number: 1042.
    Initial Certificate Effective Date: June 7, 2017.
    SAR Submitted by: TN Americas LLC.
    SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS 
Dry Spent Fuel Storage System.
    Docket Number: 72-1042.
    Certificate Expiration Date: [DATE 20 YEARS AFTER PUBLICATION IN 
THE Federal Register].
    Model Number: EOS-37PTH, EOS-89BTH.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of March 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor M. McCree,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2017-05897 Filed 3-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P