[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60721-60722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27597]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

 Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EIA has submitted an information collection request to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for extension under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information 
collection requests a three-year extension of its Form GC-859 ``Nuclear 
Fuel Data Survey,'' OMB Control Number 1901-0287. Form GC-859 collects 
data on spent nuclear fuel from all utilities that operate commercial 
nuclear reactors and from all others that possess irradiated fuel from 
commercial nuclear reactors.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before January 22, 2018. If you anticipate that you will 
be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, please advise the DOE Desk 
Officer at OMB of your intention to make a submission as soon as 
possible. The Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202-395-1254 or emailed 
at [email protected].

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the:

    DOE Desk Officer: James Tyree, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Room 9249, 735 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503.

    And to: Marta Gospodarczyk, Office of Electricity, Coal, Nuclear, 
and Renewables Analysis, EI-34, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585, or by email at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Marta Gospodarczyk at the contact information given 
above or phone at, 202-586-0527. Form GC-859 and its instructions are 
available on the internet at https://www.eia.gov/survey/#gc-859.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains:
    (1) OMB No. 1901-0287;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Nuclear Fuel Data Survey;
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose: The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 
et seq.) required that DOE enter into Standard Contracts with all 
generators or owners of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste of domestic origin. Form GC-859 (formerly Form RW-859) originated 
from an appendix to this Standard Contract.
    Form GC-859 collects information on nuclear fuel use and spent fuel 
discharges from all utilities that operate commercial nuclear reactors 
and from all others that possess irradiated fuel from commercial 
nuclear reactors. The data collection provides stakeholders with 
detailed information concerning the spent nuclear fuel generated by the 
respondents (commercial utility generators of spent nuclear fuel and 
other owners of spent nuclear fuel within the U.S.).
    Data collected from the survey are used by personnel from DOE 
Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), DOE Office of Environmental Management 
(EM), and the national laboratories to meet their research objectives 
of developing a range of options and supporting analyses that 
facilitate informed choices about how best to manage spent nuclear fuel 
(SNF).
    (4a) Changes to Information Collection:
     Collection of fuel manufacturer and lattice size used in 
Section C.1.1 of the 2013 GC-859 is replaced by fuel assembly type 
codes for fuel discharged from July 1, 2013--December 31, 2017. Fuel 
assembly type codes were last collected in the 2003 RW-859. 
Identification of the fuel assembly type provides significantly more 
information of the spent fuel than just manufacturer and lattice size.
     Section C.1.3 is added to the survey to collect fuel 
assembly type codes for fuel discharged from January 1, 2003--June 30, 
2013. Selection boxes are added to this section to reduce reporting 
burden. Respondents may mark the fuel assembly type code based on the 
reactor design, previously used fuel types, range of assembly 
identification numbers, and initial cycle in core.
     ``Cumulative Burnup for Each Cycle,'' for each assembly is 
added to Section C.1.2 of the survey. Respondents may voluntarily 
report this data. Assembly burnup data by cycle is used to calculate 
discharged fuel characteristics and obtain fundamental parameters 
needed for spent fuel safety analyses.
     Section C.1.4 is added to the survey to collect data on 
all discharged fuel that is shipped or transferred to other storage 
sites (since January 1, 2003). This information was last collected in 
2003 using Form RW-859 and allows the tracking of all spent nuclear 
fuel discharged by commercial reactors, regardless of current ownership 
or transit status.
     Section C.2 ``Projected Assembly Discharges'' is deleted 
since this data is no longer needed for analysis.
     Section C.3.3.1 requests information for consolidated, 
reconstituted, reconstructed fuel assemblies. A drop-down menu was 
created with these three choices of fuel assemblies.
     A note is added in Section D.3.2 ``Multi-Assembly 
Canisters/Casks Inventory'' to capture deviations from standard 
operating procedures related to drying, backfilling, leak testing, or 
pad transfer processes.
     Dry cask loading pattern maps with orientation details are 
added to Section D.3.2 of the survey. For each canister/cask model, 
respondents provide or reference a loading map that clearly indicates 
identifiers for basket cell locations relative to fixed drain and vent 
port locations. For systems stored horizontally, the map indicates 
which direction is up when placed in a horizontal storage module. The 
dry cask loading pattern data facilitates detailed as-loaded analyses 
and enables the quantification of realistic safety margins and 
conditions.
     Section E.2 ``Non-fuel Components Integral to an 
Assembly'' is deleted and the data on non-fuel components integral to 
an assembly should be reported in Section C.1.1. The collection of data 
on non-fuel component identifiers was also added to Section C.1.1.

[[Page 60722]]

     Schedule G is deleted. This schedule was used to collect 
comments. It is easier for respondents to provide comments when 
completing a schedule so the new form will collect comments after each 
section.
     A copy of Standard Contract (10 CFR 961.11) Appendix E 
General Specifications is added to the survey for the convenience of 
the respondents.
     The following terms have either been added or updated to 
match the definition prescribed by the Standard Contract; Canister, DOE 
Facility, Failed Fuel, Multi-Assembly Canister/Cask, Non-fuel Component 
Identifier, Non-standard Fuel and Reconstructed Assembly.
     DOE is changing Form GC-859 to collect information once 
every three years on a triennial basis. Reporting once every three 
years reduces respondent burden by permitting all new data for the 
multiyear period to be reported in one report.
     In response to a public comment on the 60-day Federal 
Register notice, the due date listed in Appendix A is changed to August 
31, 2018, so it is consistent with the due date listed on the cover 
page.
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 125.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 42.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 3,747 hours.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
Additional costs to respondents are not anticipated beyond costs 
associated with response burden hours. The information is maintained in 
the normal course of business. The cost of the burden hours is 
estimated to be $276,004 (3,747 burden hours times $73.66 per hour). 
EIA estimates that there are no additional costs to respondents 
associated with the survey other than the costs associated with the 
burden hours.

    Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, codified as 15 U.S. 
C. 772(b) and the DOE Organization Act of 1977, Public Law 95-91, 
codified at 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq., The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1982 codified at 42 U.S.C. 10222 et seq.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 15, 2017.
Nanda Srinivasan,
Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration, 
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-27597 Filed 12-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P