[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66079-66080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27810]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2018-0212]
RIN 3150-AK16


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, 
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1004, 
Renewed Amendment No. 15

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule; confirmation of effective date.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the 
effective date of January 22, 2019, for the direct final rule that was 
published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2018. This direct 
final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising 
the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Renewed 
Amendment No. 15 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 for the TN 
Americas LLC Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage 
System (NUHOMS[supreg] System). Because this amendment is subsequent to 
the renewal of the TN Americas LLC Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] 
Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 system and, therefore, subject to 
the Aging Management Program requirements of the renewed certificate, 
it is referred to as ``Renewed Amendment No. 15.''

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date of January 22, 2019, for the 
direct final rule published November 7, 2018 (83 FR 55601), is 
confirmed.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0212 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0212. 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 ``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 proposed amendment to the 
certificate, the proposed changes to the technical specifications, and 
preliminary safety evaluation report are available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML18228A529. The final amendment to the certificate, 
final changes to the technical specifications, and final safety 
evaluation report can also be viewed in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML18347B333.
     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

[[Page 66080]]

Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-6825; email: 
[email protected] or Edward M. Lohr, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-0253; email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 7, 2018 (83 FR 55601), the NRC 
published a direct final rule amending its regulations in part 72 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations by revising the ``List of 
approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Renewed Amendment No. 15 
to Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 for the TN Americas LLC 
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System. Renewed 
Amendment No. 15 revised the technical specifications of the 
certificate of compliance to: Unify and standardize fuel qualification 
tables; revise existing and add new heat load zoning configurations; 
increase the allowable maximum assembly average burnup; allow loading 
of damaged fuel assemblies under certain conditions; expand the 
definition of the poison rod assemblies to include rod cluster control 
assembly materials; allow other zirconium alloy cladding materials; add 
model OS197 as an authorized transfer cask; add the description for the 
solar shield in the updated final safety analysis report; and add 
flexibility to general licensees in verifying compliance regarding the 
storage pad location and the soil-structure interaction. Additionally, 
the rulemaking made clarifications to rule text related to the 
certificate of compliance by removing redundant language.
    In the direct final rule, the NRC stated that if no significant 
adverse comments were received, the direct final rule would become 
effective on January 22, 2019. As described more fully in the direct 
final rule, 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.
    The NRC received two comments and has determined that they are not 
significant adverse comments. One comment agreed with the proposed 
changes to the regulations. The second comment concerned transportation 
of nuclear waste fuel to another country. As this rulemaking only 
addressed the changes to the technical specifications for dry shielded 
canisters used to store nuclear waste on-site, the NRC determined this 
comment to be out of scope. Because no significant adverse comments 
were received, the direct final rule will become effective as 
scheduled.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of December, 2018.

    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. 2018-27810 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P