[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 233 (Monday, December 8, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56697-56699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22230]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 233 / Monday, December 8, 2025 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 56697]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC-2025-0025]
RIN 3150-AL30
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC International,
Inc., NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System, Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015, Renewed Amendment No. 10, and Revision 1 to
Renewed Amendment Nos. 5 Through 9
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to
amend its spent fuel regulations by revising the NAC International,
Inc., NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System (NAC-UMS[supreg]) design
listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to
include Renewed Amendment No. 10, and to revise Renewed Amendment Nos.
5 through 9 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1015. The addition
of Renewed Amendment No. 10 and Revision 1 to Renewed Amendment Nos. 5
through 9 of the certificate of compliance would correct licensing
basis deficiencies and update the address in the CoC to reflect the new
address of the applicant's headquarters offices.
DATES: Submit comments by January 7, 2026. 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-2025-0025,
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.
You can read a plain language description of this proposed rule at
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2025-0025. 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: Gregory Trussell, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6244, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Rulemaking Procedure
III. Background
IV. Plain Writing
V. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866)
VI. Availability of Documents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID: NRC-2025-0025 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-2025-0025. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang, telephone: 301-415-3228,
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, 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
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2025-0025 in your comment submission.
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 February 23,
2026. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by
January 7, 2026, 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.
[[Page 56698]]
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.
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.
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
October 19, 2000 (65 FR 62581), that approved the NAC-UMS[supreg]
design and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec.
72.214 as Certificate of Compliance No. 1015.
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. Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866)
Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, as amended by E.O. 14215, provides
that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will
determine whether a regulatory action is significant as defined by E.O.
12866 and will review significant regulatory actions. OIRA determined
that this proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under
E.O. 12866.
VI. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons as indicated.
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ADAMS accession No./ weblink/
Document Federal Register citation
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Renewed Certificate of Compliance No. ML25003A177
1015, Amendments 5 to 9, Revision 1,
and Amendment 10 for the Model No. NAC-
UMS[supreg] Storage System.
User Need Memo for Amendment Nos. 5 ML25003A178
through 9, Revision 1, and Amendment
No. 10 of the Renewed Certificate of
Compliance No. 1015 for the NAC-
UMS[supreg] Universal Storage System.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A180
Amendment No. 5, Revision 1.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A181
Amendment No. 5, Revision 1, Appendix
A.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A182
Amendment No. 5, Revision 1, Appendix
B.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A183
Amendment No. 6, Revision 1.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A184
Amendment No. 6, Revision 1, Appendix
A.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A185
Amendment No. 6, Revision 1, Appendix
B.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A186
Amendment No. 7, Revision 1.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A187
Amendment No. 7, Revision 1, Appendix
A.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A188
Amendment No. 7, Revision 1, Appendix
B.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A189
Amendment No. 8, Revision 1.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A190
Amendment No. 8, Revision 1, Appendix
A.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A191
Amendment No. 8, Revision 1, Appendix
B.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A192
Amendment No. 9, Revision 1.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A193
Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, Appendix
A.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A194
Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, Appendix
B.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A195
Amendment No. 10.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A196
Amendment No. 10, Appendix A.
Proposed Renewed CoC No. 1015, ML25003A197
Amendment No. 10, Appendix B.
Submission of an Amendment Request for ML23283A249
NAC-UMS Amendment No. 10 and Revisions ML23291A095
to Amendments 5 to 9, dated October
10, 2023.
Email dated 12-19-2024 related to ML25021A284
Applicability of Amendments.
Supplement to Amendment Request, dated ML24044A221
February 13, 2024.
[[Page 56699]]
Supplement to Amendment Request, dated ML24179A058
June 26, 2024.
Request for Exemption from Certain ML24094A060
Requirements.
Email dated 1-30-2025 Regarding planned ML25031A348
Adoption of Renewed Amendment No.9,
Revision 1.
Email dated 1-14-2025 Adopting ML25014A450
Amendment No. 9, Revision 1.
Supplement to Amendment Request, dated ML25198A286
July 17, 2025.
Supplement to Amendment Request, dated ML25240A911
August 27, 2025.
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report, ML25029A237
Model No. NAC-UMS[supreg] Universal
Storage System, Renewed CoC No. 1015,
Amendment Nos. 5 through 9, Revision
1, and Amendment No. 10.
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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-2025-0025. 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-2025-0025); (2) click
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the
``Subscribe'' link.
Dated: November 19, 2025.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael King,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2025-22230 Filed 12-5-25; 8:45 am]
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