81 FR 412 - List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International HI-STORM 100 Cask System; Amendment No. 9, Revision 1

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 3 (January 6, 2016)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International (Holtec or the applicant) HI-STORM 100 Cask System listing within the ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014. Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, changes cooling time limits for thimble plug devices, removes certain testing requirements for the fabrication of Metamic HT neutron-absorbing structural material, and reduces certain minimum guaranteed values used in bounding calculations for this material. Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, also changes fuel definitions to classify certain boiling water reactor fuel within specified guidelines as undamaged fuel.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 6, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 412-414]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33279]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC-2015-0156]
RIN 3150-AJ63


List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International 
HI-STORM 100 Cask System; Amendment No. 9, Revision 1

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 storage regulations by revising the Holtec 
International (Holtec or the applicant) HI-STORM 100 Cask System 
listing within the ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to 
include Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 
No. 1014. Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, changes cooling time limits for 
thimble plug devices, removes certain testing requirements for the 
fabrication of Metamic HT neutron-absorbing structural material, and 
reduces certain minimum guaranteed values used in bounding calculations 
for this material. Amendment No. 9, Revision 1, also changes fuel 
definitions to classify certain boiling water reactor fuel within 
specified guidelines as undamaged fuel.

DATES: Submit comments by February 5, 2016. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC 
staff is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or 
before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods 
(unless this document describes a different method for submitting 
comments on a specific subject):
     Federal rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0156. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Email comments to: [email protected]. If you do 
not receive an automatic email reply confirming receipt, then contact 
us at 301-415-1677.
     Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission at 301-415-1101.
     Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
     Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) Federal 
workdays; telephone: 301-415-1677.
    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: Robert D. MacDougall, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-5175, email: 
[email protected]; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0156 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 Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0156.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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 at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2015-0156 in the subject line of 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 http://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. Procedural Background

    This proposed rule is limited to the changes contained in Amendment 
No. 9, Revision 1, to CoC No. 1014 and does not include other aspects 
of the Holtec HI-STORM 100 Cask System design. Because the NRC 
considers this action noncontroversial and routine, the NRC is 
publishing this proposed rule

[[Page 413]]

concurrently with a direct final rule in the Rules and Regulations 
section of this issue of the Federal Register. Adequate protection of 
public health and safety continues to be ensured. The direct final rule 
will become effective on March 21, 2016. If the NRC receives 
significant adverse comments on this proposed rule by February 5, 2016, 
then the NRC will publish a Federal Register notice withdrawing the 
direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will 
address the comments received in response to these proposed revisions 
in a subsequent final rule. 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 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 NRC 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 NRC staff to make a change (other than 
editorial) to the rule, CoC, or Technical Specifications.
    For additional procedural information and the regulatory analysis, 
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 (NWPA) of 1982, as 
amended, requires that ``the Secretary [of the U.S. 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 [U.S. 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 ``[the 
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 which 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 
within 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 (65 FR 25241; May 1, 2000) that approved the HI-
STORM 100 Cask System design and added it to the list of NRC-approved 
cask designs in 10 CFR 72.214, ``List of approved spent fuel storage 
casks,'' as CoC No. 1014. Most recently, the NRC issued a final rule 
effective on March 11, 2014 (78 FR 73379), that approved the HI-STORM 
100 Cask System design amendment subject to this rulemaking and added 
it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in 10 CFR 72.214 as CoC No. 
1014, Amendment No. 9.

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 
that also follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or 
field and the intended audience. 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 31883). The NRC requests comment on the proposed rule 
with respect to clarity and effectiveness of the language used.

V. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Document                  ADAMS  accession No.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed CoC 1014 Amendment No. 9,  ML15156A941
 Revision 1.
Proposed CoC 1014 Amendment No. 9,  ML15156A956
 Revision 1 Technical
 Specifications, Appendix A.
Proposed CoC 1014 Amendment No. 9,  ML15156A970
 Revision 1 Technical
 Specifications, Appendix B.
Proposed CoC 1014 Amendment No. 9,  ML15156A982
 Revision 1 Technical
 Specifications, Appendix A-100U.
Proposed CoC 1014 Amendment No. 9,  ML15156B000
 Revision 1 Technical
 Specifications, Appendix B-100U.
Preliminary CoC 1014 Amendment No.  ML15156B011
 9, Revision 1 Safety Evaluation
 Report.
Request for Revision Application    ML14182A486
 dated July 1, 2014.
Notification by general licensees   ML15240A233
 of voluntary acceptance of
 Revision 1 requirements dated
 August 28, 2015.
Interim Staff Guidance 1,           ML071420268
 Classifying the Condition of
 Spent Nuclear Fuel for Interim
 Storage and Transportation Based
 on Function.
Interim Staff Guidance 11,          ML033230335
 Revision 3, Cladding
 Considerations for the
 Transportation and Storage of
 Spent Fuel.
Interim Staff Guidance 23,          ML103130171
 Application of ASTM Standard
 Practice C1671-07 when performing
 technical reviews of spent fuel
 storage and transportation
 packaging licensing actions.
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    The NRC may post materials related to this document, including 
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking Web site at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2015-0156. The Federal 
Rulemaking Web site allows you to receive alerts when changes or 
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-2015-0156); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email 
Alerts'' link; and (3) enter your email address and select how 
frequently you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or 
monthly).

[[Page 414]]

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 72

    Administrative practice and procedure, Criminal penalties, 
Hazardous waste, Indians, Intergovernmental relations, Manpower 
training programs, Nuclear energy, 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; the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as 
amended; and 5 U.S.C. 552 and 553; the NRC is proposing to adopt the 
following amendments to 10 CFR part 72:

PART 72--LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF 
SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, AND REACTOR-
RELATED GREATER THAN CLASS C WASTE

0
1. The authority citation for part 72 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 
65, 69, 81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 223, 234, 274 (42 
U.S.C. 2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2210e, 
2232, 2233, 2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2273, 2282, 2021); Energy 
Reorganization Act of 1974, secs. 201, 202, 206, 211 (42 U.S.C. 
5841, 5842, 5846, 5851); National Environmental Policy Act of 1982, 
secs. 117(a), 132, 133, 134, 135, 137, 141, 145(g), 148, 218(a) (42 
U.S.C. 10137(a), 10152, 10153, 10154, 10155, 10157, 10161, 10165(g), 
10168, 10198(a)); 44 U.S.C. 3504 note.
    Section 72.44(g) also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act secs. 
142(b) and 148(c), (d) (42 U.S.C. 10162(b), 10168(c), (d)).
    Section 72.46 also issued under Atomic Energy Act sec. 189 (42 
U.S.C. 2239); Nuclear Waste Policy Act sec. 134 (42 U.S.C. 10154).
    Section 72.96(d) also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act sec. 
145(g) (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)).
    Subpart J also issued under Nuclear Waste Policy Act secs. 117(a), 
141(h) (42 U.S.C. 10137(a), 10161(h)).
    Subpart K also issued under sec. 218(a) (42 U.S.C. 10198).
0
2. In Sec.  72.214, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014 is revised to 
read as follows:


Sec.  72.214  List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *
    Certificate Number: 1014.
    Initial Certificate Effective Date: May 31, 2000.
    Amendment Number 1 Effective Date: July 15, 2002.
    Amendment Number 2 Effective Date: June 7, 2005.
    Amendment Number 3 Effective Date: May 29, 2007.
    Amendment Number 4 Effective Date: January 8, 2008.
    Amendment Number 5 Effective Date: July 14, 2008.
    Amendment Number 6 Effective Date: August 17, 2009.
    Amendment Number 7 Effective Date: December 28, 2009.
    Amendment Number 8 Effective Date: May 2, 2012, as corrected on 
November 16, 2012. (ADAMS Accession No. ML12213A170).
    Amendment Number 9 Effective Date: March 11, 2014, superseded by 
Amendment Number 9, Revision 1 on March 21, 2016.
    Amendment Number 9, Revision 1, Effective Date: March 21, 2016.
    SAR Submitted by: Holtec International.
    SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the HI-STORM 100 Cask 
System.
    Docket Number: 72-1014.
    Certificate Expiration Date: May 31, 2020.
    Model Number: HI-STORM 100.
* * * * *

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of December, 2015. 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Glenn M. Tracy,
Acting, Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2015-33279 Filed 1-5-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P