[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45749-45752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21934]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
RIN 3150-AG83
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-MPC Revision
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its
regulations revising the NAC-MPC cask system listing within the ``List
of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include Amendment No. 1 to
Certificate of Compliance Number 1025. Amendment No. 1 will modify the
present cask system design to permit a licensee to use an alternate
fuel basket design with enlarged fuel tubes in corner locations;
increase the operational time limits provided in the Technical
Specifications (TS) for canister loading, closure, and transfer when
canister heat loads are lower than design basis heat loads; revise the
canister surface contamination limits in TS to maintain worker dose as
low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA); and revise some drawings to
reflect changes identified during cask and component fabrication under
a general license.
DATES: The final rule is effective November 13, 2001, unless
significant adverse comments are received by October 1, 2001. 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. If the rule is withdrawn, timely notice will be
published in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff. Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.
Certain documents related to this rulemaking, as well as all public
comments received on this rulemaking, may be viewed and downloaded
electronically via the NRC's rulemaking website at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. You may also provide comments via this website by
uploading comments as files (any format) if your web browser supports
that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site,
contact Ms. Carol Gallagher, (301) 415-5905; email [email protected].
Certain documents related to this rule, including comments received
by the NRC, may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. For more information, contact the NRC
Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737 or by email to [email protected].
Documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999,
are also available electronically at the NRC's Public Electronic
Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/index.html. From this site, the
[[Page 45750]]
public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's
public documents. An electronic copy of the proposed Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) and preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) can be
found under ADAMS Accession No. ML 011380038. If you do not have access
to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in
ADAMS, contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected].
CoC No. 1025, the revised TS, and the underlying SER for Amendment
No. 1, and the Environmental Assessment, are available for inspection
at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.
Single copies of these documents may be obtained from Jayne M.
McCausland, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone
(301) 415-6219, email [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayne M. McCausland, telephone (301)
415-6219, email [email protected], of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended
(NWPA), requires that ``[t]he Secretary [of the Department of Energy
(DOE)] 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 NWPA
states, in part, that ``[t]he Commission shall, by rule, establish
procedures for the licensing of any technology approved by the
Commission under Section 218(a) for use at the site of any civilian
nuclear power reactor.''
To implement this mandate, the NRC approved dry storage of spent
nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license by
publishing a final rule in 10 CFR part 72 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 within 10 CFR
part 72, entitled ``Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' containing
procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent fuel
storage cask designs. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on March
9, 2000 (65 FR 12444) that approved the NAC-MPC cask design and added
it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214 as
Certificate of Compliance Number (CoC No.) 1025.
Discussion
On September 29, 2000, and as supplemented on October 5, 2000,
March 16, 2001, April 6, 2001, and July 27, 2001, NAC International,
Inc., submitted an application and associated Safety Analysis Report to
the NRC to amend CoC No.1025 to permit a Part 72 general licensee to:
(1) Use an alternate fuel basket design with enlarged fuel tubes in
corner locations; (2) increase the operational time limits provided in
TS for canister loading, closure, and transfer when canister heat loads
are lower than design basis heat loads; (3) revise the canister surface
contamination limits in TS to maintain worker dose ALARA; and (4)
revise some drawings to reflect changes identified during cask and
component fabrication. No other changes to the NAC-MPC cask system
design were requested in this application. The NRC staff performed a
detailed safety evaluation of the proposed CoC amendment request and
found that the requested changes do not reduce the safety margin. In
addition, the NRC staff has determined that the changes do not pose any
increased risk to public health and safety.
This direct final rule revises the NAC-MPC cask design listing in
Sec. 72.214 by adding Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1025. The amendment
consists of changes to TS 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.5, 3.1.6, 3.1.10, and
3.2.2, as identified in the NRC staff's SER for Amendment No. 1.
The amended NAC-MPC cask system, when used in accordance with the
conditions specified in the CoC, the TS, and NRC regulations, will meet
the requirements of Part 72; thus, adequate protection of public health
and safety will continue to be ensured.
Discussion of Amendments by Section
72.214 List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks
Certificate No. 1025 is revised by adding the effective date of the
initial certificate, and the effective date of Amendment Number 1. The
CoC and the TS have been modified.
Procedural Background
This rule is limited to the changes contained in Amendment 1 to CoC
No. 1025 and does not include other aspects of the NAC-MPC cask system
design. The NRC is using the ``direct final rule procedure'' to issue
this amendment because it represents a limited and routine change to an
existing CoC that is expected to be noncontroversial. Adequate
protection of public health and safety continues to be ensured. The
amendment to the rule will become effective on November 13, 2001.
However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments by October 1,
2001, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws this action
and will address the comments received in response to the proposed
amendments published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. 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, in a substantive response:
(a) The comment causes the staff 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 staff.
(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 staff to make a change to the CoC or TS.
These comments will be addressed in a subsequent final rule. The
NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action.
Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113)
requires that Federal agencies use technical standards that are
developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies unless the
use of such a standard is inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise
impractical. In this direct final rule, the NRC would revise the NAC-
MPC cask system design listed in Sec. 72.214 (List of approved spent
fuel
[[Page 45751]]
storage cask designs). This action does not constitute the
establishment of a standard that establishes generally applicable
requirements.
Agreement State Compatibility
Under the ``Policy Statement on Adequacy and Compatibility of
Agreement State Programs'' approved by the Commission on June 30, 1997,
and published in the Federal Register on September 3, 1997 (62 FR
46517), this rule is classified as compatibility Category ``NRC.''
Compatibility is not required for Category ``NRC'' regulations. The NRC
program elements in this category are those that relate directly to
areas of regulation reserved to the NRC by the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended (AEA) or the provisions of Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations. Although an Agreement State may not adopt program
elements reserved to NRC, it may wish to inform its licensees of
certain requirements via a mechanism that is consistent with the
particular State's administrative procedure laws, but does not confer
regulatory authority on the State.
Plain Language
The Presidential Memorandum dated June 1, 1998, entitled ``Plain
Language in Government Writing'' directed that the Government's writing
be in plain language. The NRC requests comments on this direct final
rule specifically with respect to the clarity and effectiveness of the
language used. Comments should be sent to the address listed under the
heading ADDRESSES above.
Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact: Availability
Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended,
and the NRC regulations in Subpart A of 10 CFR part 51, the NRC has
determined that this rule, if adopted, would not be a major Federal
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment
and, therefore, an environmental impact statement is not required. The
rule would amend the CoC for the NAC-MPC cask system within the list of
approved spent fuel storage casks that power reactor licensees can use
to store spent fuel at reactor sites under a general license. The
amendment will modify the present cask system design to permit a Part
72 licensee to: (1) Use an alternate fuel basket design with enlarged
fuel tubes in corner locations; (2) increase the operational time
limits provided in TS for canister loading, closure, and transfer when
canister heat loads are lower than design basis heat loads; (3) revise
the canister surface contamination limits in TS to maintain worker dose
ALARA; and (4) revise some drawings to reflect changes identified
during cask and component fabrication. The environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact on which this determination is based
are available for inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Single copies of the environmental
assessment and finding of no significant impact are available from
Jayne M. McCausland, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
telephone (301) 415-6219, email [email protected].
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This direct final rule does not contain a new or amended
information collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were
approved by the Office of Management and Budget, Approval Number 3150-
0132.
Public Protection Notification
If a means used to impose an information collection does not
display a currently valid OMB control number, the NRC may not conduct
or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, the information
collection.
Regulatory Analysis
On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the NRC issued an amendment to 10
CFR Part 72 to provide for the storage of spent nuclear fuel under a
general license in cask designs approved by the NRC. Any nuclear power
reactor licensee can use NRC-approved cask designs to store spent
nuclear fuel if it notifies the NRC in advance, spent fuel is stored
under the conditions specified in the cask's CoC, and the conditions of
the general license are met. A list of NRC-approved cask designs is
contained in Sec. 72.214. On March 9, 2000 (65 FR 12444), the NRC
subsequently issued an amendment to Part 72 that approved the NAC-MPC
cask design by adding it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in
Sec. 72.214. On September 29, 2000, and as supplemented on October 5,
2000, March 16, 2001, April 6, 2001, and July 27, 2001, NAC
International, Inc., submitted an application and associated Safety
Analysis Report to the NRC to amend CoC No.1025 to permit a Part 72
general licensee to: (1) Use an alternate fuel basket design with
enlarged fuel tubes in corner locations; (2) increase the operational
time limits provided in TS for canister loading, closure, and transfer
when canister heat loads are lower than design basis heat loads; (3)
revise the canister surface contamination limits in TS to maintain
worker dose ALARA; and (4) revise some drawings to reflect changes
identified during cask and component fabrication.
This direct final rule will revise the NAC-MPC cask design listing
in Sec. 72.214 by adding Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1025. The amendment
consists of changes to TS 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.5, 3.1.6, 3.1.10, and
3.2.2, as identified in the NRC staff's SER for Amendment No. 1. The
alternative to this action is to withhold approval of this amended cask
system design and issue an exemption to each general license. This
alternative would cost both the NRC and the utilities more time and
money because each utility would have to pursue an exemption.
Approval of the direct final rule will eliminate the above
described problem and is consistent with previous NRC actions. Further,
the direct final rule will have no adverse effect on public health and
safety. This direct final rule has no significant identifiable impact
or benefit on other Government agencies. Based on the above discussion
of the benefits and impacts of the alternatives, the NRC concludes that
the requirements of the direct final rule are commensurate with the
NRC's responsibilities for public health and safety and the common
defense and security. No other available alternative is believed to be
as satisfactory, and thus, this action is recommended.
Regulatory Flexibility Certification
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C.
605(b)), the NRC certifies that this rule will not, if issued, have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
This direct final rule affects only the licensing and operation of
nuclear power plants, independent spent fuel storage facilities, and
NAC International, Inc. The companies that own these plants do not fall
within the scope of the definition of ``small entities'' set forth in
the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the Small Business Size Standards set
out in regulations issued by the Small Business Administration at 13
CFR part 121.
Backfit Analysis
The NRC has determined that the backfit rule (10 CFR 50.109 or 10
CFR 72.62) does not apply to this direct final rule because this
amendment does not involve any provisions that would impose backfits as
defined. Therefore, a backfit analysis is not required.
[[Page 45752]]
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
In accordance with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC has determined that this action is not a
major rule and has verified this determination with the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget.
List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 72
Administrative practice and procedure, Criminal penalties, Manpower
training programs, Nuclear materials, Occupational safety and health,
Penalties, Radiation protection, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Security measures, Spent fuel, Whistleblowing.
For the reasons set out in the preamble and under the authority of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Energy Reorganization
Act of 1974, as amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553; the NRC is adopting
the following amendments to 10 CFR part 72.
PART 72--LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF
SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE
1. The authority citation for part 72 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69, 81, 161, 182, 183,
184, 186, 187, 189, 68 Stat. 929, 930, 932, 933, 934, 935, 948, 953,
954, 955, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C.
2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233,
2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2282); sec. 274, Pub. L. 86-373, 73 Stat.
688, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2021); sec. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88
Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846);
Pub. L. 95-601, sec. 10, 92 Stat. 2951 as amended by Pub. L. 102-
486, sec. 7902, 106 Stat. 3123 (42 U.S.C. 5851); sec. 102, Pub. L.
91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332); secs. 131, 132, 133, 135,
137, 141, Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2229, 2230, 2232, 2241, sec. 148,
Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-235 (42 U.S.C. 10151, 10152, 10153,
10155, 10157, 10161, 10168).
Section 72.44(g) also issued under secs. 142(b) and 148(c), (d),
Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-232, 1330-236 (42 U.S.C. 10162(b),
10168(c),(d)). Section 72.46 also issued under sec. 189, 68 Stat.
955 (42 U.S.C. 2239); sec. 134, Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2230 (42
U.S.C. 10154). Section 72.96(d) also issued under sec. 145(g), Pub.
L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-235 (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)). Subpart J also
issued under secs. 2(2), 2(15), 2(19), 117(a), 141(h), Pub. L. 97-
425, 96 Stat. 2202, 2203, 2204, 2222, 2244 (42 U.S.C. 10101,
10137(a), 10161(h)). Subparts K and L are also issued under sec.
133, 98 Stat. 2230 (42 U.S.C. 10153) and sec. 218(a), 96 Stat. 2252
(42 U.S.C. 10198).
2. In Sec. 72.214, Certificate of Compliance 1025 is revised to
read as follows:
Sec. 72.214 List of approved spent fuel storage casks.
* * * * *
Certificate Number: 1025.
Initial Certificate Effective Date: April 10, 2000.
Amendment Number 1 Effective Date: November 13, 2001.
SAR Submitted by: NAC International, Inc.
SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the NAC Multi-Purpose
Canister System (NAC-MPC System).
Docket Number: 72-1025.
Certificate Expiration Date: April 10, 2020.
Model Number: NAC-MPC.
* * * * *
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of August, 2001.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William D. Travers,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 01-21934 Filed 8-29-01; 8:45 am]
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