[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27418-27420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09010]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2023-0050]
RIN 3150-AK93


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC; 
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System; Certificate of 
Compliance No. 1042, Amendment No. 3

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 storage regulations by revising the TN Americas 
LLC, NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System listing within 
the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to include Amendment 
No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1042. Amendment No. 3 revises 
the certificate of compliance to add three new heat load zone 
configurations, add a variable-lead thickness transfer cask, add ATRIUM 
11 fuel as an allowable content, update the criticality evaluation, 
allow ultrasonic testing of the outer top cover plate weld, reduce the 
time limit for transfer of two heat load zone configurations, 
incorporate a method to determine new loading patterns, waive a 
fabrication pressure test requirement, and make conforming changes for 
consistency and terminology clarification. Amendment No. 3 also 
includes additional changes associated with consideration of severe 
weather, maintaining water in the annulus, and design changes to the 
Matrix Loading Crane.

DATES: Submit comments by June 1, 2023. 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-2023-0050, 
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: Christian Jacobs, telephone: 301-415-
6825, email: [email protected] and Caylee Kenny, telephone: 301-
415-7150, 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-2023-0050 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-2023-0050. 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, 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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2023-0050 in your comment submission. 
The NRC requests that you submit comments through the Federal 
rulemaking website

[[Page 27419]]

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 July 17, 2023. 
However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by June 1, 
2023, 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. In general, 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, 
states that ``[t]he Secretary [of the Department of Energy] shall 
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 
March 24, 2017 (82 FR 14987), that approved the TN Americas LLC, 
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System design and added it to 
the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec.  72.214 as Certificate of 
Compliance No. 1042.

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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                                   ADAMS Accession No./ web link/Federal
             Document                        Register citation
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Proposed Certificate of Compliance and Proposed Technical Specifications
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Proposed Certificate of            ML23027A214.
 Compliance No.1042 (Amendment
 No. 3).
Proposed Certificate of            ML23027A216.
 Compliance No. 1042 Appendix A:
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System
 Generic Technical Specifications
 Amendment 3.
Preliminary Safety Evaluation      ML23027A217.
 Report for the NUHOMS[supreg]
 EOS System: Certificate of
 Compliance No. 1042 Amendment
 No. 3.
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     TN Americas, LLC, NUHOMS EOS Amendment 3 Application Documents
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TN Americas LLC Application for    ML21102A281 (package).
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 0 (March 31,
 2021).

[[Page 27420]]

 
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML21174A231.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 1--Response to
 Request for Supplemental
 Information (June 23, 2021).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML21209A098.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 2--Revised
 Response to OBS 4-6 (August 4,
 2021).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML21246A136.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 3--Revised
 Response to OBS 4-5 and Revised
 UFSAR Pages (September 3, 2021).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML21295A260.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 3a--Amendment
 Scope Change (October 22, 2021).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML21334A206.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 4--Response to
 Request for Additional
 Information (November 30, 2021).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22056A458.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 5--Response to
 Request for Additional
 Information (New Scope) and
 Revised Responses to Request for
 Additional Information (February
 25, 2022).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22158A293.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 6--Revised
 Responses to Request for
 Additional Information (June 7,
 2022).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22180A266.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 7--Clarification
 Regarding Annulus Temperatures
 During Vacuum Drying Operations
 (June 29, 2022).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22273A031.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 8--ASME NOG-1
 Compliance and the Matrix
 Loading Crane (September 30,
 2022).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22304A217.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 9--Clarifications
 Regarding Annulus Water, MX-LC
 Alignment, and Seismic Damping
 Values (October 31, 2022).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22318A205.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 10--Additional
 Information regarding ASME NOG-1
 Compliance and the Matrix
 Loading Crane (November 14,
 2022).
TN Americas LLC, Application for   ML22355A219.
 Amendment 3 to NUHOMS EOS
 Certificate of Compliance No.
 1042, Revision 11--Response to
 Request for Additional
 Information (New Scope Addition
 #3--ASME NOG-1 Exceptions) and
 Clarifications Regarding Annulus
 Water (December 21, 2022).
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                             Other Documents
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Storage of Spent Fuel In NRC-      55 FR 29181.
 Approved Storage Casks at Power
 Reactor Sites: Final Rule, dated
 July 18, 1990.
List of Approved Spent Fuel        82 FR 14987.
 Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC,
 NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent
 Fuel Storage System, Certificate
 of Compliance No. 1042: Direct
 Final Rule, dated March 24, 2017.
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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-2023-0050. 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-2023-0050); (2) click 
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the 
``Subscribe'' link.

    Dated: April 17, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel H. Dorman,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2023-09010 Filed 5-1-23; 8:45 am]
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