[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 92 (Friday, May 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30801-30803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10162]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-1051; NRC-2018-0052]
Holtec International; HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage
Facility
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued
Materials License No. SNM-2516 to Holtec International (Holtec) to
construct and operate the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage
Facility (CISF) as proposed in its license application, as amended, and
to receive, possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel at the HI-
STORE CISF in Lea County, New Mexico. Holtec will be required to
operate under the conditions listed in Materials License No. SNM-2516.
The NRC staff has published a record of decision (ROD) that supports
the NRC's decision to approve Holtec's license application for the HI-
STORE CIS Facility and to issue the license.
DATES: May 12, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0052 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access 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-2018-0052. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access 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. In addition, for the
convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in
a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of 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
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jose Cuadrado, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0606; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Discussion
The NRC has issued a license to Holtec for its HI-STORE CISF in Lea
County, New Mexico (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML23075A179). Materials
License No. SNM-2516 authorizes Holtec to construct and operate its
facility as proposed in its license application, as amended, and to
receive, possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel at the HI-
STORE CISF. The license authorizes Holtec to store up to 8,680 metric
tons of uranium [9,568 short tons] of spent nuclear fuel for a license
period of 40 years. Holtec will be required to operate under the
conditions listed in Materials License No. SNM-2516.
The NRC staff's ROD that supports the NRC's decision to approve
Holtec's license application for the HI-STORE CIS Facility and to issue
Materials License No. SNM-2516 is available in ADAMS under Accession
No. ML23061A129. The ROD satisfies the regulatory requirement in
section 51.102 paragraph (a) of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), which requires that a Commission decision on any
action for which a final environmental impact statement (EIS) has been
prepared be accompanied by or include a concise public ROD. As
discussed in the ROD, the final EIS for Holtec's license application
for a CISF for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico (ADAMS
Accession No. ML22181B094), and Supplement 1 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML22299A238), the NRC staff considered a range of reasonable
alternatives that included the No-Action alternative, as required by
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended; storage at a
government-owned CISF; alternative design and storage technologies; and
alternative locations. The final EIS documents the environmental
review, including the NRC staff's recommendation to issue an NRC
license to Holtec to construct and operate a CISF for spent nuclear
fuel at the proposed location, subject to the determinations in the NRC
staff's safety review of the application. The final EIS conclusion is
based on the NRC staff's
[[Page 30802]]
independent environmental review, as well as (i) the license
application, which includes the environmental report and supplemental
documents and Holtec's responses to the NRC staff's requests for
additional information; (ii) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal,
and local agencies and input from other stakeholders, including members
of the public; and (iii) the assessments provided in the final EIS.
The NRC staff prepared a final safety evaluation report that
documents the staff's safety and security review of the application
(ADAMS Accession No. ML23075A183). The staff's safety and security
review found that the application met applicable NRC regulations in 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.''
Documents related to the application carry Docket ID NRC-2018-0052
and NRC-2018-0055. These documents for the Holtec license include the
license application, the applicant's safety analysis report, emergency
plan, physical security plan, environmental report, updates to these
documents, and applicant supplements and responses to NRC staff
requests for additional information, and the NRC staff's final safety
evaluation report, final EIS, and ROD.
Holtec's request for a materials license was previously noticed in
the Federal Register on March 19, 2018 (83 FR 12034). A notice with an
opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene
was published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2018 (83 FR 32919).
Six groups of petitioners filed petitions to intervene. An Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board considered the petitions and its
corresponding contentions. The Board determined that none of the
petitions met the criteria for admissibility and terminated the
adjudicatory proceeding. Intervenors appealed the decisions to the
Commission, and the Commission, in several orders, affirmed all of the
Board decisions.
In issuing a materials license to Holtec for the HI-STORE CISF, the
NRC has determined based on its review of this application that there
is reasonable assurance that: (i) the activities authorized by the
license can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of
the public; and (ii) these activities will be conducted in compliance
with the applicable regulations of 10 CFR part 72. The NRC has further
determined that the issuance of the license will not be inimical to the
common defense and security.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's ``Rules of Practice,''
the details with respect to this action, including the final safety
evaluation report and accompanying documentation and license, are
available electronically in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can
access ADAMS, which provides text and image files of the NRC public
documents.
II. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
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Document description ADAMS accession No.
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1................... Initial license ML17115A431
application, dated March (package).
30, 2017.
2................... Applicant response to ML17310A218
request for supplemental (package).
information, dated October
6, 2017.
3................... Applicant response to ML17362A097
request for supplemental (package).
information, dated
December 21, 2017.
4................... Applicant response to ML18011A158.
request for supplemental
information, dated
December 22, 2017.
5................... License application, dated ML18058A617
February 23, 2018. (package).
6................... Applicant response to first ML18150A319
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 1, dated May 24, 2018.
7................... Applicant response to first ML18213A206
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 1, dated July 27,
2018.
8................... Applicant supplemental ML21131A199
response to first round (package).
request for additional
information, part 1, dated
May 11, 2021.
9................... Applicant response to first ML18345A153
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 2, dated November 30,
2018.
10.................. Applicant response to first ML19037A280
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 2, dated January 31,
2019.
11.................. Applicant response to first ML19094A271.
round request for
additional information,
part 3, dated March 30,
2019.
12.................. Applicant response to first ML19106A183
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 3, dated March 30,
2019.
13.................. Applicant safeguards ML20065H155.
information, supplemental
response to request for
additional information,
dated March 2, 2020.
14.................. Applicant response to first ML19081A083
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 4, dated March 15,
2019.
15.................. Applicant response to first ML19248C140
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 4, July 19, 2019,
follow-up, dated August
26, 2019.
16.................. Applicant response to ML20153A783
December 26, 2019, (package).
emergency response plan
clarification request for
additional information,
dated June 1, 2020.
17.................. Applicant response to first ML20153A777
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 5, dated June 1, 2020.
18.................. Applicant response to first ML20260H139
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 5, dated September
16, 2020.
19.................. Applicant response to first ML20283A789
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 6, dated October 9,
2020.
20.................. Applicant response, ML20290A465.
supporting information, to
first round request for
additional information,
part 6, dated October 9,
2020.
21.................. Applicant response to first ML20326A005
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 6, dated November 20,
2020.
22.................. Applicant response to first ML21004A241
round request for (package).
additional information,
part 6, dated January 4,
2021.
23.................. U.S. Army Corps of ML21155A229.
Engineers, Regulatory
Program, Approved
Jurisdictional
Determination Form
(Interim), Navigable
Waters Protection Rule,
dated April 1, 2021.
24.................. Applicant response to ML21224A105
second round request for (package).
additional information,
part 1, dated June 30,
2021.
25.................. Applicant response to ML21228A201
second round request for (package).
additional information,
part 2, dated August 16,
2021.
26.................. Applicant response to ML21243A525
second round request for (package).
additional information,
part 2, dated August 31,
2021.
27.................. Applicant supplemental ML21304A003
response to second round (package).
request for additional
information, dated October
29, 2021.
28.................. Applicant response to third ML22108A114
round request for (package).
additional information,
dated April 15, 2022.
29.................. Applicant response to third ML22227A156
round request for (package).
additional information,
dated August 15, 2022.
30.................. Applicant supplemental ML22331A002
response to third round (package).
request for additional
information, dated
November 23, 2022.
31.................. Applicant supplemental ML22357A117
response to third round (package).
request for additional
information, dated
December 23, 2022.
[[Page 30803]]
32.................. Applicant supplemental ML23020A128
response to third round (package).
request for additional
information, dated January
20, 2023.
33.................. NUREG-2237, ``Environmental ML20069G420.
Impact Statement for the
Holtec International's
License Application for a
Consolidated Interim
Storage Facility for Spent
Nuclear Fuel and High
Level Waste'' Draft Report
for Comment, dated March
2020.
34.................. Overview of the Draft ML20073P254.
Environmental Impact
Statement, dated March
2020.
35.................. Overview of the Draft ML20120A522.
Environmental Impact
Statement (Spanish
language version), dated
April 2020.
36.................. NUREG-2237 ``Environmental ML22181B094.
Impact Statement for the
Holtec International's
License Application for a
Consolidated Interim
Storage Facility for Spent
Nuclear Fuel in Lea
County, New Mexico'' Final
Report, dated July 2022.
37.................. NUREG-2237, Supplement 1, ML22299A238.
``Environmental Impact
Statement for Holtec
International's License
Application for a
Consolidated Interim
Storage Facility for Spent
Nuclear Fuel in Lea
County, New Mexico'',
dated October 2022.
38.................. Final Safety Evaluation ML23075A183.
Report for the HI-STORE
Consolidated Interim
Storage Facility
Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation
Specific Materials License
No. SNM-2516, dated May
2023.
39.................. NRC Staff's Record of ML23061A129.
Decision, dated May 9,
2023.
40.................. Materials License for ML23075A179
Holtec International, (package).
dated May 9, 2023.
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For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated: May 9, 2023.
Shana R. Helton,
Director, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-10162 Filed 5-11-23; 8:45 am]
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