[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35923-35925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12745]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC-2022-0049]
RIN 3150-AK76
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC International NAC-
UMS Universal Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1015,
Amendment No. 9
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to
amend its spent fuel regulations by revising the NAC International NAC-
UMS Universal Storage System listing within the ``List of approved
spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment No. 9 to Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015. Amendment No. 9 revises the certificate of
compliance to correct the effective thermal properties for pressurized-
water reactor fuel assemblies used in the certification basis ANSYS
thermal models and to update modeling assumptions. In addition, this
rulemaking makes editorial corrections to Amendment No. 8.
DATES: Submit comments by July 14, 2022. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is
able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2022-0049,
at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted
using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the individuals listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for
alternate instructions.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernard White, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards;
[[Page 35924]]
telephone: 301-415-6577, email: [email protected] or Vanessa Cox,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-
8342, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Rulemaking Procedure
III. Background
IV. Plain Writing
V. Availability of Documents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0049 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0049. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder, telephone: 301-415-3407,
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]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
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, 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.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2022-0049 in your comment submission.
The NRC requests that you submit comments through the Federal
rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material
cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this document for alternate instructions.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Rulemaking Procedure
Because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial, the
NRC is publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final
rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal
Register. The direct final rule will become effective on August 29,
2022. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by
July 14, 2022, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the
direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will
address the comments in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant
modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the
NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action in the
event the direct final rule is withdrawn.
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. A comment is adverse and significant if:
(1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient
to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For
example, a substantive response is required when:
(a) The comment causes the NRC to reevaluate (or reconsider) its
position or conduct additional analysis;
(b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a
substantive response to clarify or complete the record; or
(c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously
addressed or considered by the NRC.
(2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and
it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable
without incorporation of the change or addition.
(3) The comment causes the NRC to make a change (other than
editorial) to the rule.
For a more detailed discussion of the proposed rule changes and
associated analyses, see the direct final rule published in the Rules
and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.
III. Background
Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended,
requires that ``[t]he Secretary [of the Department of Energy] . . .
establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with the private
sector, for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian nuclear
power reactor sites, with the objective of establishing one or more
technologies that the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission may, by rule,
approve for use at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors
without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional
site-specific approvals by the Commission.'' Section 133 of the Nuclear
Waste Policy Act states, in part, that ``[t]he Commission shall, by
rule, establish procedures for the licensing of any technology approved
by the Commission under Section 219(a) [sic: 218(a)] for use at the
site of any civilian nuclear power reactor.''
To implement this mandate, the Commission approved dry storage of
spent nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license by
publishing a final rule that added a new subpart K in part 72 of title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) entitled ``General
License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites'' (55 FR
29181; July 18, 1990). This rule also established a new subpart L in 10
CFR part 72 entitled ``Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,'' which
contains procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent
fuel storage cask designs. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on
October 19, 2000 (65 FR 62581), that approved the NAC International
NAC-UMS Universal Storage System and added it to the list
[[Page 35925]]
of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214 as Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015.
IV. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, well-organized manner.
The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the Plain
Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language in
Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31885). The NRC
requests comment on the proposed rule with respect to clarity and
effectiveness of the language used.
V. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons as indicated.
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Document ADAMS accession No.
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Submittal of Request for NAC International ML21222A017 (package)
NAC-UMS Universal Storage System,
Certificate of Compliance No. 1015,
Amendment No. 9 dated July 30, 2021.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance for NAC ML21313A071
International NAC-UMS Universal Storage
System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1015,
Amendment No. 9.
Safety Evaluation Report for NAC ML21312A495
International NAC-UMS Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015, Amendment 9.
Corrected pages B-2, B-4, and B3-2 from NAC ML21312A499
International NAC-UMS Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015, Amendment 8 Technical
Specifications (Appendix B).
Proposed Technical Specifications (Appendix ML21312A501
A) for NAC International NAC-UMS Certificate
of Compliance No. 1015, Amendment 9.
Proposed Technical Specifications (Appendix ML21312A500
B) for NAC International NAC-UMS Certificate
of Compliance No. 1015, Amendment 9.
User Need Memorandum for forwarding ML21312A488
Certificate of Compliance, Technical
Specifications and Safety Evaluation Report
for NAC International NAC-UMS Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015, Amendment 9.
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The NRC may post materials related to this document, including
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2022-0049. In addition, the
Federal rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive
alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To
subscribe: (1) Navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2022-0049); (2) click
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the
``Subscribe'' link.
Dated: June 1, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel H. Dorman,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2022-12745 Filed 6-13-22; 8:45 am]
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