[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27465-27467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08180]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 72-1048, 50-390, and 50-391; NRC-2024-0064]


Tennessee Valley Authority; Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 
2; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Environmental 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact 
(FONSI) for an exemption request submitted by Tennessee Valley 
Authority (TVA) that would permit Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) to load 
five new 37 multi-purpose canisters (MPC) with continuous basket shims 
(CBS) beginning July 2024 in the HI-STORM Flood/Wind (FW) MPC Storage 
System at its Watts Bar Units 1 and 2 independent spent fuel storage 
installation (ISFSI) in a storage condition where the terms, 
conditions, and specifications in the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 
No. 1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1 are not met.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
April 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0064 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-2024-0064. 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 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, at 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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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: John-Chau Nguyen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-0262; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is reviewing an exemption request from TVA, dated February 
28, 2024, and supplemented on March 18, 2024. TVA is requesting an 
exemption, pursuant to section 72.7 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), in paragraphs 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 
72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 that require TVA to comply 
with the terms, conditions, and specifications of CoC No. 1032, 
Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1. If approved, the exemption would allow 
TVA to load five MPC-37-CBS beginning July 2024 in the HI-STORM FW MPC 
Storage System at the WBN ISFSI in a storage condition where the terms, 
conditions, and specifications in CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 0, 
Revision No. 1, are not met.

II. Environmental Assessment

Background

    WBN is located in Rhea County, Tennessee, on the west bank of the 
Tennessee River at Tennessee River Mile 528. Unit 1 began operating in 
1996 and Unit 2 began operating in 2016. TVA has been storing spent 
fuel in an ISFSI at WBN under a general license as authorized by 10 CFR 
part 72, subpart K, ``General License for Storage of Spent Fuel at 
Power Reactor Sites.'' TVA currently uses the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage 
System under CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1 for dry 
storage of spent nuclear fuel in a specific MPC (i.e., MPC-37) at the 
WBN ISFSI.

Description of the Proposed Action

    The CoC is the NRC approved design for each dry cask storage 
system. The proposed action would exempt the applicant from the 
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 only as these requirements pertain to the use 
of the MPC-37-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System for the near-
term planned loading of the systems. The exemption would allow WBN to 
load five MPC-37-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System at the WBN 
ISFSI beginning July 2024, despite the MPC-37-CBS in the HI-STORM FW 
MPC Storage System not being in compliance with the terms, conditions, 
and specifications in the CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 
1.
    The HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System CoC provides the requirements, 
conditions, and operating limits necessary for use of the system to 
store spent fuel. Holtec International (Holtec), the designer and 
manufacturer of the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System, developed a variant 
of the design with CBS for the MPC-37, known as MPC-37-CBS. Holtec 
originally implemented the CBS variant design under the provisions of 
10 CFR 72.48, which allows licensees to make changes to cask designs 
without a CoC amendment under certain conditions (listed in 10 CFR 
72.48(c)). After evaluating the specific changes to the cask designs, 
the NRC determined that Holtec erred when it implemented the CBS 
variant design under 10 CFR 72.48, as this was not the type of change 
allowed without a CoC amendment. For this reason, the NRC issued three 
Severity Level IV violations to Holtec. TVA plans to load five MPC-37-
CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System beginning in July 2024. This 
exemption considers the near-term planned loading of the five canisters 
with the CBS variant basket design.

Need for the Proposed Action

    TVA requested this exemption in order to allow WBN to load five 
MPC-37-CBS in HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System at the WBN ISFSI for the 
future loading campaign scheduled to begin in July 2024. Approval of 
the exemption request would allow TVA to effectively manage the margin 
for full core reserve in the WBN spent fuel pool to enable refueling 
and offloading fuel from the reactor.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    This EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of granting 
an exemption from the terms, conditions, and specifications in CoC No. 
1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1. The exemption would allow five 
MPC-37-

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CBS to be loaded in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System in the near-term 
loading campaign and maintained in storage at the WBN ISFSI.
    The potential environmental impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel 
in NRC-approved storage systems have been documented in previous 
assessments. On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the NRC amended 10 CFR 
part 72 to provide for the storage of spent fuel under a general 
license in cask designs approved by the NRC. The EA for the 1990 final 
rule analyzed the potential environmental impacts of using NRC-approved 
storage casks. The EA for the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System, CoC No. 
1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1, (80 FR 58195), published in 
2015, tiers off of the EA issued for the July 18, 1990, final rule. 
``Tiering'' off earlier EAs is a standard process encouraged by the 
regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA) that entails the use of impact analyses of previous EAs to bound 
the impacts of a proposed action where appropriate. The Holtec HI-STORM 
FW MPC Storage System is designed to mitigate the effects of design 
basis accidents that could occur during storage. Considering the 
specific design requirements for the accident conditions, the design of 
the cask would prevent loss of containment, shielding, and criticality 
control. If there is no loss of containment, shielding, or criticality 
control, the environmental impacts would not be significant.
    The exemptions requested by TVA at the WBN site as they relate to 
CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1, for the HI-STORM FW MPC 
Storage System are limited to the use of the CBS variant basket design 
only for the near-term planned loading of five canisters utilizing the 
CBS variant basket design. The staff has determined that this change in 
the basket would not result in either radiological or non-radiological 
environmental impacts that significantly differ from the environmental 
impacts evaluated in the environmental assessment supporting the 
issuance of CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 0, Revision No. 1. If the 
exemption is granted, there would be no significant change in the types 
or amounts of any effluents released, no significant increase in 
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure, and 
no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from 
radiological accidents. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that 
there would be no significant environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed action.

Alternative to the Proposed Action

    The staff considered the no-action alternative. The no-action 
alternative (denial of the exemption request) would require TVA to keep 
the spent fuel in the spent fuel pool until older design canisters can 
be fabricated and delivered to site. Not allowing the planned future 
loading campaign could affect TVA's ability to manage pool capacity, 
reactor fuel offloading, and refueling. Any further delay would lead to 
insufficient space in the spent fuel pool for core offload and the 
shutdown of WBN Unit 2, which in turn would potentially impact the 
energy supply in the area. The NRC has determined that these potential 
impacts of the no-action alternative could be avoided by proceeding 
with the proposed exemption, especially given that the staff has 
concluded in NRC's Safety Determination Memorandum, issued with respect 
to the enforcement action against Holtec regarding these violations, 
that fuel can be stored safely in the MPC-37-CBS casks.

Agencies Consulted

    The NRC provided the Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation (TDEC) a copy of this draft EA for review by an email 
dated April 8, 2024. On April 9, 2024, the TDEC provided its 
concurrence by email.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed 
in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, which implement 
NEPA. Based upon the foregoing environmental assessment, the NRC finds 
that the proposed action of granting the exemption from the regulations 
in 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11) 
and 72.214, which require the licensee to comply with the terms, 
conditions, and specifications of the CoC, would not significantly 
impact the quality of the human environment. The exemption in this case 
would be limited to the specific future loading of five canisters with 
the CBS variant basket design. Accordingly, the NRC has determined that 
a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) is appropriate, and an 
environmental impact statement is not warranted.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.

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                    Document description                        ADAMS accession No. or Federal Register notice
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TVA's request for exemption, dated February 28, 2024.......  ML24059A369.
Supplement to request for exemption, dated March 18, 2024..  ML24078A257.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment 0, Revision    ML16112A306 (Package).
 1, dated April 25, 2016.
Notice of Violation; The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  ML24016A190.
 Inspection Report No. 07201014/2022-201, Holtec
 International, Inc.--EA-23-044, dated January 30, 2024.
10 CFR part 72 amendment to allow spent fuel storage in NRC- 55 FR 29181.
 approved casks, dated July 18, 1990.
EA for part 72 amendment to allow spent fuel storage in NRC- ML051230231.
 approved casks, dated March 8, 1989.
Final rule for List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks:    80 FR 58195.
 HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Storage System, CoC No.
 1032, Amendment 0, Revision 1, dated September 28, 2015.
Safety Determination of a Potential Structural Failure of    ML24018A085.
 the Fuel Basket During Accident Conditions for the HI-
 STORM 100 and HI-STORM Flood/Wind Dry Cask Storage
 Systems, dated January 31, 2024.
NRC email to TDEC requesting review of EA/FONSI for Watts    ML24100A840.
 Bar Exemption, dated April 8, 2024.
TDEC email response regarding review of EA/FONSI for Watts   ML24100A839.
 Bar Exemption, dated April 9, 2024.
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    Dated: April 12, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yoira Diaz-Sanabria,
Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-08180 Filed 4-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P