[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28687-28690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08389]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2023-0220]
RIN 3150-AL05


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: FuelSolutionsTM Spent 
Fuel Management System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewal of 
Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 Through 4

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to 
amend its spent fuel regulations by

[[Page 28688]]

revising the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC 
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System listing within 
the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to renew the initial 
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to Certificate of Compliance 
No. 1026. The renewal of the initial certificate of compliance and 
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 for 40 years would revise the certificate's 
conditions and technical specifications to address aging management 
activities related to the structures, systems, and components important 
to safety of the dry storage system to ensure that these will maintain 
their intended functions during the period of extended storage 
operations.

DATES: Submit comments by May 20, 2024. 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-2023-0220, 
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.
    You can read a plain language description of this proposed rule at 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2023-0220. 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: George Tartal, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-0016, email: 
[email protected] and Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1018, 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-2023-0220 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-2023-0220. 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: 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, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2023-0220 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 individual 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 3, 2024. 
However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by May 20, 
2024, 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, certificate of compliance, or technical 
specifications (TS).
    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.

[[Page 28689]]

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] 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 
January 16, 2001 (66 FR 3444), that approved the 
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System design and 
added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec.  72.214 as 
Certificate of Compliance No.1026.
    On August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49352), the NRC amended the scope of the 
general licenses issued under 10 CFR 72.210 to include the storage of 
spent fuel in an independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) 
at power reactor sites to persons authorized to possess or operate 
nuclear power reactors under 10 CFR part 52. On February 16, 2011 (76 
FR 8872), the NRC amended subparts K and L in 10 CFR part 72, to extend 
and clarify the term limits for certificates of compliance and revised 
the conditions for spent fuel storage cask renewals, including adding 
requirements for the safety analysis report to include time-limited 
aging analyses and a description of aging management programs. The NRC 
also clarified the terminology used in the regulations to use 
``renewal'' rather than ``reapproval'' to better reflect that extending 
the term of a currently approved cask design is based on the cask 
design standards in effect at the time the certificate of compliance 
was approved rather than current standards.

IV. Plain Writing

    The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal 
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and 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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Adams Accession No./web
                  Document                      link/Federal Register
                                                       Citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Proposed Certificate of Compliance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No.       ML22354A265.
 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No.       ML22354A269.
 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No.       ML22354A273.
 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No.       ML22354A277.
 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No.       ML22354A281.
 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4.
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for     ML22354A285.
 Renewed Certificate of Compliance No.
 1026, Amendments Nos. 0-4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for     ML22354A266 (Word, draft,
 Renewed Certificate of Compliance No.        non-public).
 1026, Amendments Nos. 0-4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Proposed Technical Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A266.
 A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A267.
 B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A268.
 C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A270.
 A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A271.
 B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A272.
 C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A274.
 A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A275.
 B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A276.
 C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A278.
 A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 3.

[[Page 28690]]

 
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A279.
 B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A280.
 C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A282.
 A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 4.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A283.
 B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 4.
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix   ML22354A284.
 C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026,
 Renewed Amendment No. 4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Environmental Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``Environmental Assessment and Findings of   ML100710441.
 No Significant Impact for the Final Rule
 Amending 10 CFR Part 72 License and
 Certificate of Compliance Terms.'' (2010).
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for   ML14198A440 (package).
 Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel:
 Final Report (NUREG-2157, Volumes 1 and 2)
 (2014).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutions Spent Fuel Management
                  System Renewal Application Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC            ML20315A012 (package).
 ``Submittal of FuelSolutions\TM\ Spent
 Fuel Management System Certificate of
 Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.''
 Westinghouse letter LTR-NRC-20-64.
 (November 6, 2020).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC            ML21090A201 (package).
 ``Reponses to Requests for Supplemental
 Information for the Application for the
 FuelSolutions\TM\ Spent Fuel Management
 System Certificate of Compliance (CoC)
 Renewal Application.'' Westinghouse letter
 LTR-NRC-21-14 Revision 0. (March 30, 2021).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC            ML22186A053 (package).
 ``Submittal of FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
 Management System Certificate of
 Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.''
 Westinghouse letter LTR-NRC-22-27. (June
 30, 2022).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC            ML22256A285 (package).
 ``Submittal of Supplemental Response to
 NRC RAI A-RCS1.'' Westinghouse letter LTR-
 NRC-22-38. (September 13, 2022).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Other Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``Standard Review Plan for Renewal of        ML16179A148.
 Specific Licenses and Certificates of
 Compliance for Dry Storage of Spent
 Nuclear Fuel.'' NUREG-1927, Revision 1.
 Washington, DC. (June 2016).
``Managing Aging Processes in Storage        ML19214A111.
 (MAPS) Report.'' Final Report. NUREG-2214.
 Washington, DC. (July 2019).
``General License for Storage of Spent Fuel  55 FR 29181.
 at Power Reactor Sites.'' (July 18, 1990).
``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage        66 FR 3444.
 Casks: FuelSolutions Addition.'' (January
 16, 2001).
``License and Certificate of Compliance      76 FR 8872.
 Terms.'' (February 16, 2011).
``Agreement State Program Policy Statement;  82 FR 48535.
 Correction.'' (October 18, 2017).
Nuclear Energy Institute NEI 14-03,          ML16356A210.
 Revision 2, ``Format, Content and
 Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask
 Storage Operations-Based Aging
 Management.'' (December 2016).
Regulatory Guide 3.76, Revision 0,           ML21098A022.
 ``Implementation of Aging Management
 Requirements for Spent Fuel Storage
 Renewals.'' (July 2021).
``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals    72 FR 49352.
 for Nuclear Power Plants.'' (August 28,
 2007).
Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language    63 FR 31885.
 in Government Writing.'' (June 10, 1998).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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-2023-0220. 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-2023-0220); (2) click 
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the 
``Subscribe'' link.

    Dated: April 8, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Raymond Furstenau,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024-08389 Filed 4-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P