[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 26, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55028-55030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17446]
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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. 91, No. 164 / Wednesday, August 26, 2026 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 55028]]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC-2026-2806]
RIN 3150-AL72
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas, LLC
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System for
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Certificate of Compliance No. 1004, Renewed
Amendment No. 19
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 TN Americas, LLC
Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System for
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel listing within the ``List of approved spent
fuel storage casks'' to include Renewed Amendment No. 19 to Certificate
of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004. The NRC is referring to this amendment as
``Renewed Amendment No. 19'' because it was submitted after the renewal
of the TN Americas, LLC Standardized NUHOMS Horizontal Modular Storage
System for Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Certificate of Compliance No. 1004
and, therefore, subject to the Aging Management Program requirements of
the renewed certificate. Renewed Amendment No. 19 would amend the
certificate of compliance to provide for a 61BTH improved basket design
using staggered plates similar the 24PTH Type 3 basket approved in CoC
1004 Amendment 18 and similar to the EOS 37PTH and 89BTH baskets
approved in CoC 1042. This would simplify construction, reduce weight
and improve fabricability. Additional changes are proposed to address
editorial corrections, consistency, and terminology clarifications.
DATES: Submit comments by September 25, 2026. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to ensure consideration of only comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2026-2806,
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.
Do not include any personally identifiable information (such as
name, address, or other contact information) or confidential business
information that you do not want publicly disclosed. All comments are
public records; they are publicly displayed exactly as received, and
will not be deleted, modified, or redacted. Comments may be submitted
anonymously.
Follow the search instructions on https://www.regulations.gov to
view public comments.
You can read a plain language description of this at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2026-2806. 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: Heath Stroud, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-287-3664, email:
[email protected]; and Tim Mossman, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-287-9100, 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. Regulatory Planning and Review
VI. Availability of Documents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-2806, 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-2026-2806. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang, telephone: 301-415-3228,
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: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 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-2026-2806, 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
[[Page 55029]]
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 November 9,
2026. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by
September 25, 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.
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.
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
December 22, 1994 (59 FR 65898) that approved the Standardized
NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System for Irradiated Nuclear
Fuel System design and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask
designs in Sec. 72.214 as Certificate of Compliance No. 1004.
IV. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, 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
Executive Order (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.
Review Under E.O.s 14154, 14192, 14215, and 14300
NRC has examined this proposed rule and has determined that it is
consistent with the policies and directives outlined in E.O. 14154,
``Unleashing American Energy,'' E.O. 14192, ``Unleashing Prosperity
Through Deregulation,'' E.O. 14215 ``Ensuring Accountability for All
Agencies,'' and E.O. 14300, ``Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.'' This proposed rule is not considered an E.O.
14192 deregulatory action.
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./ web link/ Federal Register
Document citation
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Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Certificate of ML26103A253.
Compliance.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Technical ML26103A254.
Specification Appendix A.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Technical ML26103A255.
Specification Appendix B Table of Contents.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Technical ML26103A256.
Specification Appendix B Text.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Technical ML26103A257.
Specification Appendix B Tables.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Technical ML26103A258.
Specification Appendix B Figures.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Technical ML26103A259.
Specification Appendix C.
Proposed NUHOMS 1004 Amendment No. 19 Safety Evaluation ML26103A252.
Report.
[[Page 55030]]
Environmental Assessment for Proposed Rule Entitled, ML051230231.
``Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in NRC-Approved Storage
Casks at Nuclear Power Reactor Sites.'' (1989).
``Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant ML100710441.
Impact for the Final Rule Amending 10 CFR Part 72 License
and Certificate of Compliance Terms'' (2010).
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Continued ML14198A440 (package).
Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel: Final Report (NUREG-2157,
Volumes 1 and 2) (2014).
Application for Amendment 19 to Standardized NUHOMS[supreg] ML24310A095.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 for Spent Fuel Storage
Casks, Revision 0 (Docket No. 72-1004), November 5, 2024.
Response to Request for Supplemental Information-- ML25051A273.
Application for Amendment 19 to Standardized
NUHOMS[supreg] Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 for
Spent Fuel Storage Casks, Revision 1 (Docket No. 72-1004,
CAC No. 001028, EPID: L-2024-LLA-0142), February 20, 2025.
Response to Request for Additional Information--Application ML25238A033.
for Amendment 19 to Standardized NUHOMS[supreg]
Certificate of Compliance No. 1004 for Spent Fuel Storage
Casks, Revision 3 (Docket No. 72-1004, CAC No. 001028,
EPID: L-2024-LLA-0142), August 26, 2025.
Plain Language in Government Writing, dated June 10, 1998.. 63 FR 31885.
Storage of Spent Fuel In NRC-Approved Storage Casks at 55 FR 29181.
Power Reactor Sites: Final Rule, dated July 18, 1990.
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, 59 FR 65898.
NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System for
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Certificate of Compliance No.
1004: Direct Final Rule, dated December 22, 1994.
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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-2026-2806. 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-2026-2806); (2) click
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the
``Subscribe'' link.
Dated: August 14, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael King,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2026-17446 Filed 8-25-26; 8:45 am]
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