[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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Document description      ADAMS accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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