[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57819-57821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26508]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2017 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 57819]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2017-0138]
RIN 3150-AK05


 List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, 
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System, 
Certificate of Compliance No. 1004, Renewal of Initial Certificate and 
Amendment Nos. 1 Through 11 and 13, Revision 1, and 14

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of effective date.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the 
effective date of December 11, 2017, for the direct final rule that was 
published in the Federal Register on September 27, 2017. This direct 
final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising 
the Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System 
(NUHOMS[supreg] System) listing within the ``List of approved spent 
fuel storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40-year period, the 
initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 11 and 13, Revision 1, 
and Amendment No. 14 of Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004. These 
changes require, among other things, that all future amendments and 
revisions to this CoC include evaluations of the impacts to aging 
management activities (i.e., time-limited aging analyses (TLAAs) and 
aging management programs (AMPs)) to ensure that they remain adequate 
to timely identify any changes to spent fuel storage cask systems, 
structures, and components (SSCs) within the scope of the renewal.

DATES: Effective date: The effective date of December 11, 2017, for the 
direct final rule published September 27, 2017 (82 FR 44879), is 
confirmed.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0138 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-2017-0138. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     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 it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time it is mentioned in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christian Jacobs, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-6825; email: 
[email protected], or Robert D. MacDougall, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-5175; email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion

    On September 27, 2017 (82 FR 44879), the NRC published a direct 
final rule amending its spent fuel storage regulations in part 72 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) by revising the 
NUHOMS[supreg] System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel 
storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40-year period, the initial 
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 11 and 13, Revision 1, and 
Amendment No. 14 of CoC No. 1004. These changes require, among other 
things, that all future amendments and revisions to this CoC include 
evaluations of impacts on TLAAs and AMPs to ensure that they remain 
adequate to timely identify any changes to spent fuel storage cask SSCs 
within the scope of the renewal.

II. Public Comments on the Companion Proposed Rule

    In the direct final rule, the NRC stated that if no significant 
adverse comments were received, the direct final rule would become 
effective on December 11, 2017. The NRC received one comment submission 
on the companion proposed rule (82 FR 44971). An electronic copy of 
this submission can be obtained from the Federal Rulemaking Web site, 
http://www.regulations.gov, by searching for Docket ID NRC-2017-0138. 
The comment submission also is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML17303A026. For the reasons discussed in more detail in Section III, 
``Public Comment Analysis,'' of this document, none of the comments 
contained in the submission are considered significant adverse 
comments.

III. Public Comment Analysis

    The NRC received one comment submission on the proposed rule from 
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC). The submission contained 
three comments styled as ``comment/questions.'' As explained in the 
September 27, 2017, direct final rule, the NRC would withdraw the 
direct final rule only if it received a ``significant adverse 
comment.'' This is a comment where the commenter explains why the rule 
would be inappropriate, challenges its underlying premise or approach, 
or shows why it 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:

[[Page 57820]]

    (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; or
    (3) The comment causes the NRC staff to make a change (other than 
editorial) to the rule, CoC, or technical specifications (TSs).
    In this instance, the NRC determined that none of the comments 
submitted on the proposed rule are significant adverse comments. The 
comments either were already addressed by the NRC staff's safety 
evaluation report (SER) (ADAMS Accession No. ML17131A121), or did not 
oppose the rule. The NRC has not made any changes to the direct final 
rule as a result of the public comments. However, the NRC is taking 
this opportunity to respond to the comments in an effort to clarify 
information about the direct final rule. The comments and the NRC's 
responses follow.

Comment 1

    The commenter questioned why the proposed renewal of CoC No. 1004 
includes a timeframe of 180 days for each general licensee (GL) to 
establish and implement its AMP procedures, which is shorter than the 
timeframe of 300 days that was granted for the renewal of CoC No. 1007. 
The commenter stated that the 180-day implementation period poses a 
hardship upon GLs with older spent fuel storage systems.

NRC Response

    This comment did not raise an issue that was previously unaddressed 
by the NRC staff. During its review of the renewal application for CoC 
No. 1004, the NRC staff considered the appropriate timeframe for 
implementation of the AMP procedures. As stated in the SER, ``[t]he 
timeframe [of 180 days] in the condition is to ensure operating 
procedures are developed in a timely manner and is consistent with 
conditions placed in specific licenses that have been renewed.'' 
Specifically, the 180-day timeframe was successfully used for the 
renewals of the specific licenses under 10 CFR part 72 for the Prairie 
Island and Calvert Cliffs Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations 
(ISFSIs).
    The 180-day timeframe is also consistent with the guidance in 
NUREG-1927, Rev. 1, ``Standard Review Plan for Renewal of Spent Fuel 
Dry Cask Storage System Licenses and Certificates of Compliance.'' The 
commenter points to a statement in the NUREG that ``the development of 
the infrastructure for AMP implementation generally should be no later 
than one year,'' from the date of renewal; however, this does not 
preclude a shorter timeframe. The cask vendor, TN Americas LLC (TN), is 
preparing the AMP procedures for the GLs as an update to TN's Final 
Safety Analysis Report, and plans to provide these procedures within 90 
days after the effective date of the renewal. This will allow at least 
an additional 90 days for the affected GLs to implement the procedures. 
Accordingly, the comment has not caused the NRC to reevaluate its 
position that a timeframe of 180 days is sufficient for AMP 
implementation.
    The comment questions why the AMP implementation timeframe for the 
renewed NUHOMS[supreg] CoC is shorter than that for the renewal of CoC 
No. 1007 for the EnergySolutions\TM\ Corporation's VSC-24 Ventilated 
Storage Cask System (82 FR 31433). During the NRC's review of the CoC 
No. 1007 renewal application, the cask vendor requested that the NRC 
consider an implementation timeframe of 300 days instead of 180 days 
after the effective date of the renewal. In that case, the NRC 
determined that the additional time for implementation was reasonable 
because CoC No. 1007 was the first CoC to go through the CoC renewal 
process for GLs. During its review of the renewal application for CoC 
No. 1004, the NRC staff was aware that the renewed CoC No. 1007, as the 
first-of-its-kind GL CoC renewal, included more time for AMP 
implementation. The staff determined that the special circumstances 
considered for CoC No. 1007 were not present for CoC No. 1004. 
Accordingly, this comment does not raise a relevant issue that was not 
previously addressed or considered by the NRC staff.
    This comment does not meet the criteria for consideration as a 
significant adverse comment. The comment did not cause the NRC staff to 
reevaluate or reconsider its position or conduct additional analysis. 
Nor did the comment cause the NRC staff to make any change to the rule, 
CoC, or TSs. To the extent that the comment can be interpreted as 
requesting a change to the rule, i.e., a longer timeframe for 
implementation of the AMP procedures, the comment does not show that 
the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable without incorporation of 
the change.

Comment 2

    The commenter questioned whether the words ``implement these 
written procedures within 180 days'' mean that all required AMP 
inspections must be performed and the results reported within 180 days.

NRC Response

    The answer to the commenter's question is no. Implementing the 
written procedures does not mean that an affected GL must perform all 
the SSC inspections required by its AMP and report the results of its 
inspections within the 180-day implementation period.
    This comment does not meet the criteria for consideration as a 
significant adverse comment. The comment does not oppose the rule, and 
it did not cause the NRC staff to reevaluate or reconsider its position 
or conduct additional analysis. Nor did the comment cause the NRC staff 
to make any change to the rule, CoC, or TSs.

Comment 3

    The commenter asked if the language in the revised TSs that 
``[e]ach general licensee shall have a program to establish, implement, 
and maintain written procedures . . .'' applies to all GLs, including 
those that have only recently begun loading casks under CoC No. 1004. 
The commenter further asked if a site that began loading casks in 2014 
would be required to have the ISFSI AMP procedure in place after 180 
days.

NRC Response

    Under the renewed CoC, each GL using NUHOMS[supreg] systems will be 
required to have a program with approved written AMP procedures in 
place within 180 days after the effective date of the renewal, or 180 
days after the 20th anniversary of the loading of the first dry storage 
system at its site, whichever is later. Thus, if a particular ISFSI has 
casks that were loaded in 2014, these casks would not be required to 
have AMP procedures in place until 2034 at the earliest.
    This comment does not meet the criteria for consideration as a 
significant adverse comment. The comment did not oppose the rule, and 
it did not cause the NRC staff to reevaluate or reconsider its position 
or conduct additional analysis. Nor did the comment cause the NRC staff 
to make any change to the rule, CoC, or TSs.
    Therefore, because no significant adverse comments were received, 
this direct final rule will become effective as

[[Page 57821]]

scheduled on December 11, 2017. The final CoC, TS, and SER can be 
viewed in ADAMS under Accession No. ML17338A091.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of December 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cindy K. Bladey,
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Rulemaking Support Branch, Division of 
Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-26508 Filed 12-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P