[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38506-38507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15442]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2020-0255]


Implementation of Aging Management Requirements for Spent Fuel 
Storage Renewals

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a new 
Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.76 (Revision 0), ``Implementation of Aging 
Management Requirements for Spent Fuel Storage Renewals.'' This new 
guidance describes an approach that is acceptable to the staff of the 
NRC to meet the regulatory requirements for spent fuel storage 
renewals. It addresses requirements for the renewal of specific 
licenses for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) and 
certificates of compliance (CoCs) for spent fuel storage cask designs 
pursuant to NRC requirements.

DATES: Revision 0 to RG 3.76 is available on July 21, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0255 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-2020-0255. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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 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 (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine, and order 
copies of public documents is currently closed. You may submit your 
request to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-
4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Revision 0 to RG 3.76 and the regulatory analysis may be found in 
ADAMS under Accession Nos. ML21098A022 and ML20282A299, respectively.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Banovac, telephone: 301-415-
7116, email: [email protected], and Harriet Karagiannis, 
telephone: 301-415-2493, email: [email protected]. Both are 
staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing a new guide in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' 
series. This series was developed to describe and make available to the 
public information regarding methods that are acceptable to the NRC 
staff for implementing specific parts of the agency's regulations, 
techniques that the NRC staff uses in evaluating specific issues or 
postulated events, and data that the NRC staff needs in its review of 
applications for permits and licenses.
    Revision 0 of RG 3.76 was issued with a temporary identification of 
Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-3055. It describes an approach that is 
acceptable to the staff of the NRC by endorsing, with clarifications, 
the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) guidance in NEI 14-03, Revision 2, 
``Format, Content and Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask Storage 
Operations-Based Aging Management,'' issued December 2016.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of DG-3055 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML20282A298), in the Federal Register on December 11, 
2020 (85 FR 80193), for a 45-day public comment period. The public 
comment period closed on January 25, 2021. The staff received one 
public comment submission on DG-3055.
    This RG is a new RG 3.76 that describes an approach that is 
acceptable to the staff of the NRC by endorsing, with clarifications, 
the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) guidance in NEI 14-03, Revision 2, 
``Format, Content and Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask Storage 
Operations-Based Aging Management,'' issued December 2016.
    This new RG provides guidance to industry for complying with and 
implementing the requirements for spent fuel storage renewals in Part 
72 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licensing 
Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-
Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C 
Waste.'' This guidance addresses renewal of ISFSI specific licenses and 
CoCs for spent fuel storage cask designs in 10 CFR 72.42, ``Duration of 
license; renewal,'' and 10 CFR 72.240, ``Conditions for spent fuel 
storage cask renewal,'' respectively.
    The guidance specifically addresses the format and content of spent 
fuel storage renewal applications and the implementation of aging 
management programs (AMPs). The guidance uses an operations-focused 
approach to aging management, in which operating experience is shared 
through an industry database and continually assessed to adjust AMPs, 
as needed and within regulatory limits, to ensure the effectiveness of 
aging management activities during the period of extended operation and 
the continued safe storage of spent fuel.

[[Page 38507]]

III. Congressional Review Act

    This RG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5 
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not 
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    This regulatory guide, RG 3.76, endorses, with clarifications, NEI 
14-03, which provides guidance on the format and content of spent fuel 
storage renewal applications and implementation of aging management 
programs under 10 CFR part 72. As explained in RG 3.76, licensees are 
not required to comply with the positions set forth in this regulatory 
guide. Therefore, RG 3.76 does not constitute backfitting as defined in 
10 CFR 72.62, ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC Management 
Directive (MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue 
Finality, and Information Requests''; or constitute forward fitting as 
that term is defined and described in MD 8.4. If, in the future, the 
NRC were to impose a position in RG 3.76 in a manner that would 
constitute backfitting or forward fitting, then the NRC would address 
the backfitting provision in 10 CFR 72.62 or the forward fitting 
provision of MD 8.4, respectively.

    Dated: July 15, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guidance and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.
[FR Doc. 2021-15442 Filed 7-20-21; 8:45 am]
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