[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30517-30518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10754]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2022-0116]


Spent Fuel Heat Generation in an Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing 
Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide (RG) 3.54, ``Spent Fuel Heat Generation 
in an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation.'' This RG includes 
methods acceptable to the NRC staff for calculating spent nuclear fuel 
heat generation rates for use for an Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation. Revision 3 incorporates corrections to Appendix A, Table 
A-1 that were erroneously recorded in the previous revision (Revision 2 
to this RG). In general, this revision presents an up-to-date 
methodology for determining heat generation rates and it also allows 
loading of higher burnup fuel by using more accurate methods for decay 
heat calculations.

DATES: Revision 3 to RG 3.54 is available on May 19, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0116 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-2022-0116. 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.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[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 3 to RG 3.54 may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML22066B275.
    Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis Sotomayor-Rivera, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-7265; email: 
[email protected], Harriet Karagiannis, telephone: 301-
415-2493; email: [email protected], and Ramon Gascot Lozada 
telephone: 301-415-2004, email: [email protected], both staff 
of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. All are staff at the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing an administrative revision to an existing guide 
in the NRC's ``Regulatory Guide'' series. Regulatory guides were 
developed to describe and make available to the public information and 
methods that are acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing specific 
parts of the agency's regulations, techniques that the staff uses in 
evaluating specific issues or postulated events, and data that the 
staff needs in its review of applications for permits and licenses. The 
NRC typically seeks public comment on a draft version of a RG by 
announcing its availability for comment in the Federal Register. 
However, as explained in NRC's Management Directive (MD) 6.6 
``Regulatory Guides,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML110330475) the NRC may 
directly issue a final RG without a draft version or public comment 
period if the changes to the RG are non-substantive.
    The NRC is issuing Revision 3 of RG 3.54 directly as a final RG 
because the

[[Page 30518]]

changes between Revision 2 and Revision 3 are non-substantive. This 
revision (Revision 3) like Revision 2 presents an up-to-date 
methodology for determining heat generation rates for both pressurized-
water reactor and boiling water reactor fuel and provides greater 
flexibility (fewer restrictions). It allows loading of higher burnup 
fuel by using more accurate methods for decay heat calculations by 
covering a wider range of fuel characteristics, including operating 
history. Appendix A provides an example that illustrates the use of the 
RG for calculating the decay heat generation rate for a spent fuel 
assembly. However, Appendix A to Revision 2 of RG 3.54 included 
erroneous data.
    Revision 3 of RG 3.54 is issued to incorporate corrections for 
Appendix A, Table A-1 showing the correct irradiation data for an 
assembly C-64. These corrected data are as follows: (1) The last column 
of the Table A-1, the third row (operating (days)) is now recorded as 
3.39E+02, (2) the fourth row (downtime (days)) is recorded as 
1.633E+03, (3) the fifth row (cumulative burnup (MWd/KgU)) is recorded 
as 3.9384E+01, and (4) the sixth row (Power (W/KgU)) is recorded as 
2.8378E+04.

II. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality

    The NRC staff may use this RG as a reference in its regulatory 
processes, such as licensing, inspection, or enforcement. However, the 
NRC staff does not intend to use the guidance in this RG to support NRC 
staff actions in a manner that would constitute backfitting as that 
term is defined in Section 50.109 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described in NRC MD 8.4, 
``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue Finality, and 
Information Requests'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18093B087), nor does the 
NRC staff intend to use the guidance to affect the issue finality of an 
approval under 10 CFR part 52. The staff also does not intend to use 
the guidance to support NRC staff actions in a manner that constitutes 
forward fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4. If a 
licensee believes that the NRC is using this RG in a manner 
inconsistent with the discussion in the Implementation section of RG 
3.54, then the licensee may file a backfitting or forward fitting 
appeal with the NRC in accordance with the process in MD 8.4.

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. Submitting Suggestions for Improvement of Regulatory Guides

    Revision 3 of RG 3.54 is being issued without public comment. 
However, a member of the public may, at any time, submit suggestions to 
the NRC for improvement of existing RGs or for the development of new 
RGs to address new issues. Suggestions can be submitted on the NRC's 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/reg-guides/contactus.html. Suggestions will be considered in future updates 
and enhancements to the ``Regulatory Guide'' series.

    Dated: May 13, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Meraj Rahimi,
Chief, Regulatory Guide and Programs Management Branch, Division of 
Engineering, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research.

[FR Doc. 2022-10754 Filed 5-18-22; 8:45 am]
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