[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46176-46178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11555]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-10; NRC-2024-0086]


Northern States Power Company; Prairie Island Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation; License Amendment Application

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to 
intervene.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a 
license amendment application from Northern States Power Company (NSPM) 
for an amendment to Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2506 for 
the Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (PI 
ISFSI) located in Welch, Minnesota. The amendment request seeks to 
change License Conditions 23(a), 24(A)(2), and 24(B)(2). The subject 
license conditions are management activities with specified inspection 
intervals of three months or one quarter. The inspection intervals are 
``not to exceed every quarter'' for license condition 23 and ``not to 
exceed three months'' for license condition 24. This is inconsistent 
with similar independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) 
technical specifications (TS) surveillance requirements (SRs), for 
example, SR

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3.1.4.1 and SR 3.1.4.2, which give the frequency as 92 days, and ISFSI 
TS SR 3.0.2, which allows up to 1.25 times the interval specified in 
the frequency. NSPM proposes to revise the license conditions to 
describe the inspection intervals similar to TS Surveillance 
Requirement Frequency, allowing up to 1.25 times the specified 
intervals to account for scheduling challenges, including but not 
limited to periods of extreme cold weather or other high-priority plant 
activities.

DATES: A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must 
be filed by July 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0086 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-2024-0086. 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]. 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.
     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 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0262; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC received, by letter dated April 2, 2024 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML24095A075), a license amendment application from NSPM, to amend 
Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2506, which authorizes the 
storage of spent fuel at the PI ISFSI located in Welch, Minnesota. 
Specifically, the proposed amendment, if approved, would allow NSPM to 
perform inspections with intervals similar to TS Surveillance 
Requirement Frequency, allowing up to 1.25 times the specified 
intervals. An interval extension period will provide flexibility to 
schedule the inspections around typical challenges, including but not 
limited to inclement weather, security drills, and refueling outages. 
The proposed changes to the inspection intervals in the subject license 
conditions also make them more consistent with the ISFSI TS.
    An NRC administrative completeness review, documented in a letter 
to NSPM dated May 16, 2024 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24128A257), found the 
application acceptable to begin a technical review.
    Before any issuance of the proposed amendment, the NRC will need to 
make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 
(the Act), and the NRC's regulations. The NRC's findings will be 
documented in a safety evaluation report. In the amendment request, 
NSPM asserted that the proposed amendment satisfies the categorical 
exclusion criteria of paragraph 51.22(c)(11) of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The NRC will evaluate this assertion and 
make findings consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act and 
10 CFR part 51.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To 
Intervene

    Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any 
person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may 
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in 
accordance with the NRC's ``Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure'' in 
10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 10 CFR 2.309. If a 
petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on the petition and, 
if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.
    Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions 
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document. 
Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that 
are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a 
determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates 
good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) 
through (iii).
    A State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian 
Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the 
Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later 
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. 
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized 
Indian Tribe, or agency thereof may participate as a non-party under 10 
CFR 2.315(c).
    For information about filing a petition and about participation by 
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. 
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website 
at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.

III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including 
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body, 
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that 
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires 
participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the 
internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media, 
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further 
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is 
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC'' 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at 
https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other

[[Page 46178]]

adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the participant, or 
its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish 
an electronic docket for the proceeding if the Secretary has not 
already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a digital ID certificate is 
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory 
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is 
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing 
system also distributes an email that provides access to the document 
to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any others who have 
advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in 
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those 
participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants 
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a 
digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to 
obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner 
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants. 
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still 
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), 
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate as previously described, click ``cancel'' when the link 
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket where you will be able to access any 
publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires 
submission of such information. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants 
should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.

    Dated: May 21, 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. 2024-11555 Filed 5-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P