[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 51191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20972]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2019-0157]


Applicability of Existing Regulatory Guides to the Design, 
Construction, and Operation of an Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.53, ``Applicability of Existing Regulatory 
Guides to the Design, Construction, and Operation of an Independent 
Spent Fuel Storage Installation.'' This document is being withdrawn 
because the information included in the RG has been superseded by newer 
guidance and is therefore no longer needed.

DATES: The withdrawal of RG 3.53 takes effect on September 27, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0157 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document, 
using the following methods:
     Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0157. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 
telephone: 301-287-9127; 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 Document 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 ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced in this notice (if that document is available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The 
basis for the withdrawal of this regulatory guide is found in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML19177A369.
     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.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Haile Lindsay, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-0616; email: 
[email protected], or Harriet Karagiannis, Office of Nuclear 
Regulatory Research; telephone: 301-415-2493; email: 
[email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC is withdrawing RG 3.53 because it 
has been superseded and is no longer needed. RG 3.53 was published in 
July 1982 to describe the applicability of existing regulatory guides 
that would aid in the design, construction, and operation of an 
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI). At that time, 
there were no precedents for applications for ISFSIs, there was not a 
consolidated set of guidance, and information technology did not exist 
to provide guidance electronically for ISFSIs. The staff issued RG 3.53 
to expedite the staff's reviews of ISFSI applications, which were 
anticipated under the new requirements in title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 72, ``Licensing Requirements for the 
Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High Level Radioactive 
Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater than Class C Waste.''
    Since 1982, many of the guidance documents and regulatory positions 
listed in the RG have been withdrawn or superseded by more current 
guidance. Examples of new or revised staff guidance for ISFSIs include 
RG 3.48, ``Standard Format and Content for the Safety Analysis Report 
for an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation or Monitored 
Retrievable Storage Installation (Dry Storage),'' RG 3.50, ``Standard 
Format and Content for a Specific License Application for An 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation or Monitored Retrievable 
Storage Facility,'' RG 3.60, ``Design of an Independent Spent Fuel 
Storage Installation (Dry Storage),'' and RG 3.62, ``Standard Format 
and Content for the Safety Analysis Report for Onsite Storage of Spent 
Fuel Storage Casks.'' These guidance documents incorporate the lessons 
learned during the licensing process and from operational experiences 
with ISFSIs. The current information technology available today makes 
the numerous RGs in the areas of design, construction, and operation of 
an ISFSI readily available electronically on the NRC's public website 
and it is easy for applicants to navigate and identify these guides.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of September, 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Generic Issues Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2019-20972 Filed 9-26-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P