[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32479-32480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14463]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2019-0139]


Expiration Term for Certificates of Compliance for Transportation 
Packages

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Basis document; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is noticing the 
availability of the ``Basis Document for Expiration Term for 
Certificates of Compliance for Transportation Packages'' (Basis 
Document). The Basis Document details the NRC's analysis and 
development of a programmatic basis for the 5-year expiration term for 
certificates of compliance for transportation packages.

DATES: The basis document is available on July 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0139 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0139. Address 
questions about docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual 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 ADAMS 
Public Documents collection at https://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 Basis Document, ``Basis Document 
for Expiration Term for Certificates of Compliance for Transportation 
Packages,'' and the OIG audit report, ``OIG-17-A-21, Audit of NRC's

[[Page 32480]]

Oversight for Issuing Certificates of Compliance for Radioactive 
Material Packages,'' are available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML19140A059 and ML17228A217, respectively.
     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: Torre Taylor, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7900, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit of the 
NRC's oversight of issuing certificates of compliance for radioactive 
material packages and spent fuel storage casks. The OIG documented its 
findings in a report entitled, OIG-17-A-21, ``Audit of NRC's Oversight 
for Issuing Certificates of Compliance for Radioactive Material 
Packages,'' dated August 16, 2017. The OIG recommended, in part, that 
the NRC staff conduct an analysis to develop a regulatory and technical 
basis for the expiration term for the certificates of compliance for 
transportation packages.

II. Discussion

    Certificates of compliance are issued pursuant to title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations, part 71, ``Packaging and Transportation of 
Radioactive Material.'' The current 5-year expiration term for these 
certificates was not established by rule, but by agency practice, and 
the 5-year term was not documented in a technical evaluation. In 
response to OIG's recommendation, the NRC conducted an analysis of the 
regulatory and technical bases for the expiration term for certificates 
of compliance and documented its conclusions in the Basis Document. The 
Basis Document provides the NRC's analysis, including reviews of the 
NRC's statutory authority, regulations, agency guidance, and current 
process for review of applications for transportation package design 
approvals. The NRC also included information on its evaluation of 
expiration terms in other NRC program areas in which certificates are 
issued, stakeholder interactions, the impact of changing expiration 
terms for transportation certificates of compliance related to foreign 
competent authorities, and factors to consider in the NRC's evaluation.
    The NRC has determined that, absent a request from a vendor for a 
different term, a 5-year expiration term is appropriate for 
certificates of compliance for transportation packages, and has 
documented this determination in a Basis Document. As is further 
explained in the Basis Document, a longer expiration term could provide 
equivalent protection for public health and safety, and could 
potentially save some burden for some NRC certificate holders. The NRC 
has determined, however, that the efficiency in maintaining consistency 
between NRC, U.S. Department of Transportation, and foreign competent 
authority expiration dates in certificates outweighs any burden saved. 
Moreover, NRC regulations afford flexibility in selecting an 
appropriate term and certificate holders may request a longer renewal 
term on a case-by-case basis, with appropriate supporting 
documentation.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of July 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John B. McKirgan,
Chief, Spent Fuel Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Management, 
Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-14463 Filed 7-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P