[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21330-21332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07742]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-1031, 50-413, and 50-414; CEQ ID: EAXX-429-00-000-
1775697562; NRC-2026-1486]
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Catawba Nuclear Station, 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 Duke Energy Carolinas,
LLC (Duke) that would permit Catawba Nuclear Station (CNS) to maintain
one loaded and to load nine transportable storage canisters (TSCs) in
the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system at the Catawba Units 1 and 2
independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI), beginning July 6,
2026, in a storage condition where the terms, conditions, and
specifications in the Certification of Compliance (CoC) No. 1031,
Amendment No. 15, are not met.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
April 21, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-1486 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-2026-1486. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; 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 ADAMS Public 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 Duke, dated March
19, 2026. Duke 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), 72.214,
72.154(b), and 72.174 that require CNS to comply with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of CoC No. 1031, Amendment No. 15. If
approved, Duke's exemption request would accordingly allow CNS to
maintain one loaded and to load nine TSCs in the MAGNASTOR[supreg]
storage system, beginning July 6, 2026, in a storage condition where
the terms, conditions, and specifications in CoC No. 1031, Amendment
No. 15, are not met.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
CNS is located on 391 acres in York County, South Carolina,
approximately 18 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina. Rock
Hill, South Carolina, the nearest city, is about 6 miles south of the
site. Catawba is situated on a peninsula that protrudes into Lake
Wylie, a man-made lake created by the Wylie Dam on the Catawba River.
Units 1 and 2 began operating in 1985 and 1986, respectively. Duke has
been storing spent fuel in an ISFSI at CNS under a general license as
authorized by 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General License for Storage
of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.'' Duke currently uses the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system under CoC No. 1031, Amendment No. 15
for dry storage of spent nuclear fuel in the TSCs at the CNS 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), 72.214, 72.154(b), and 72.174 only as these requirements
pertain to the use of the TSC in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system
for the one already loaded and the planned loading of nine TSC
beginning July 6, 2026. The proposed exemption would allow the already
loaded TSC in the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system to remain in storage
at the Catawba ISFSI and would authorize future use of the nine
affected TSCs in planned loading campaigns, beginning July 6, 2026, in
storage conditions where the terms, conditions, and specifications in
CoC No. 1031, Amendment No. 15, are not met.
The MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system CoC provides the requirements,
conditions, and operating limits necessary for use of the system to
store spent fuel. The MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system uses three
qualified neutron absorber materials--borated aluminum alloy, borated
MMC, and Boral[supreg]--to ensure subcriticality in spent nuclear fuel
storage and transport casks under all conditions. These materials,
containing boron-10 (\10\B), are critical for the Pressurized Water
Reactor (PWR) fuel basket design, which holds up to 37 assemblies and
includes 68 absorber panels. Specifications require minimum effective
areal density (75 percent for Boral, 90 percent for borated aluminum/
MMC) and \10\B loading of 0.040 g/cm\2\, verified through testing and
inspections.
On September 10, 2025, NAC International (NAC) reported a
fabrication deficiency and provided an update on December 30, 2025,
regarding neutron absorber panels supplied by 3M: test coupons were cut
from non-approved sheet areas, causing some to fail \10\B density
requirements. This affected 39 panels linked to ten TSCs at Duke's
Catawba site, including one already loaded. NAC notified Duke, tagged
affected TSCs, and initiated corrective actions under its Quality
Assurance (QA) program. Engineering evaluations confirmed that the
impact on reactivity is negligible (<2 [Delta]k/[sigma]), and other
safety functions remain intact. Despite the deficiency, analyses show
[[Page 21331]]
the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system continues to meet safety
requirements for spent fuel storage.
Duke has previously loaded one TSC and plans to load nine TSC in
the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system beginning July 6, 2026. This
exemption considers the storage of the one already loaded TSC and the
planned loading of the nine TSC.
Need for The Proposed Action
Duke requested this exemption because Duke is currently out of
compliance with NRC requirements, resulting from the previous loading
of spent fuel into a storage system with non-compliance TSC, and has a
planned, future loading campaign for nine additional impacted TSCs.
This exemption would allow one already loaded TSC in the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system to remain in storage at the CNS ISFSI.
The exemption would also allow Duke to load nine new TSC in
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system at the CNS ISFSI for the future
loading campaign scheduled to begin on July 6, 2026.
Approval of the exemption request would allow Duke to effectively
and safely manage the spent fuel pool margin and capacity to enable
refueling and offloading fuel from the reactor. It would also allow
Duke to effectively manage the availability of the specialized
workforce and equipment needed to support competing fuel loading and
continued, safe operational activities at CNS and other Duke sites.
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.
1031, Amendment No. 15. The exemption would allow continued storage of
one already loaded TSC, and future loading of nine TSC beginning on
July 6, 2026, at the CNS 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 MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system, CoC No.
1031, Amendment No. 15, (90 FR 13047), published in 2025, 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 MAGNASTOR[supreg] 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 exemption requested by Duke at the CNS site for the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system (CoC No. 1031, Amendment No. 15) is
limited to the use of the TSCs where neutron absorber panels were
fabricated outside the special process instructions required by
Appendix A of the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system CoC No. 1031. In
some cases, test coupons had results below the required minimum \10\B
areal density. This exemption applies only to the one previously loaded
TSC and the planned loading of nine additional TSCs in the
MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system at the CNS ISFSI for the future
loading campaign scheduled to begin on July 6, 2026. The staff has
determined that this change in the TSC will 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. 1031,
Amendment No. 15. If the exemption is granted, there will 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 Duke to
unload and reload the spent fuel into a new TSC to bring it in
compliance with the CoC terms, conditions, and specifications in the
CoC No. 1031, Amendment No. 15. Duke has scheduled its loading campaign
on July 6, 2026, and further delay in the loading of this spent fuel
into other casks could affect CNS's ability to effectively manage the
spent fuel pool capacity and reactor fuel offloading. Not allowing the
planned future loading campaign could affect CNS's ability to manage
pool capacity, reactor fuel offloading, and refueling. It could also
pose challenges to spent fuel heat removal and impact the availability
of the specialized resources and equipment needed to support competing
fuel loading and operational activities at CNS, including spent fuel
pool clean-up and refueling outages. The NRC has determined that the
no-action alternative would result in undue potential human health and
safety impacts that could be avoided by proceeding with the proposed
exemption.
Agencies Consulted
The NRC provided the South Carolina Department of Environmental
Services (SCDES) a copy of this draft EA for review by an email dated
April 1, 2026. On April 14, 2026, SCDES 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 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), 72.214,
72.154(b), and 72.174, which require the licensee to comply with the
terms, conditions, and specifications of the CoC, in this case limited
to the one past loading and nine future loading of TSCs with neutron
absorber panels fabricated outside the special process instructions
required by Appendix A of the MAGNASTOR[supreg] storage system CoC,
would not significantly impact the quality of the human environment.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a 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.
[[Page 21332]]
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ADAMS accession No. or
Document description Federal Register notice
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Duke's request for exemption, dated March ML26078A372
19, 2026.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1031, ML25112A096 (Package)
Amendment 15, dated April 25, 2025.
10 CFR 72.242 Reportable Licensing Basis ML25253A488
Fabrication Deficiency for
MAGNASTOR[supreg] Dry Cask Storage System
3M Neutron Absorber Panels, dated
September 10, 2025.
Follow-up to 10 CFR 72.242 Reportable ML25364A119
Licensing Basis Fabrication Deficiency on
MAGNASTOR[supreg] Dry Cask Storage System
3M Neutron Absorber Panels, dated December
30, 2025.
10 CFR part 72 amendment to allow spent 55 FR 29181
fuel storage in NRC-approved casks,
published July 18, 1990.
EA for part 72 amendment to allow spent ML051230231
fuel storage in NRC-approved casks, dated
March 8, 1989.
Direct Final Rule for approval of 90 FR 13047
MAGNASTOR[supreg] System CoC No. 1031,
Amendment 15, published March 20, 2025.
NRC email, ``South Carolina Review of Draft ML26097A213
EA for Exemption Request,'' dated April 1,
2026.
South Carolina email, ``South Carolina ML26097A232
Review of draft EA for exemption request--
response from state,'' dated April 14,
2026.
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Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.
Dated: April 17, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Haimanot Yilma,
Acting Chief, Storage and Transportation Branch, Division of Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2026-07742 Filed 4-20-26; 8:45 am]
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