83_FR_13864 83 FR 13802 - Holtec International HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility Project

83 FR 13802 - Holtec International HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility Project

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 62 (March 30, 2018)

Page Range13802-13804
FR Document2018-06398

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a license application by letter dated March 30, 2017, from Holtec International (Holtec). By this application, Holtec is requesting authorization to construct and operate a HI-STORE consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel at a site in Lea County, New Mexico (the proposed action). Holtec intends to initially store 500 canisters or 8680 metric tons of uranium in the CISF and eventually store up to 10,000 canisters in the CISF. The NRC staff will prepare an EIS to document the potential environmental impacts from the proposed action. As part of the EIS development process, the NRC is seeking comments on the scope of its environmental review.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13802-13804]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06398]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-1051; NRC-2018-0052]


Holtec International HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage 
Facility Project

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement; conduct a 
scoping process; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a 
license application by letter dated March 30, 2017, from Holtec 
International (Holtec). By this application, Holtec is requesting 
authorization to construct and operate a HI-STORE consolidated interim 
storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel at a site in Lea County, 
New Mexico (the proposed action). Holtec intends to initially store 500 
canisters or 8680 metric tons of uranium in the CISF and eventually 
store up to 10,000 canisters in the CISF. The NRC staff will prepare an 
EIS to document the potential environmental impacts from the proposed 
action. As part of the EIS development process, the NRC is seeking 
comments on the scope of its environmental review.

DATES: Submit comments by May 29, 2018. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this 
date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0052. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
of this document.
     Mail comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail 
Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
    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: Jill Caverly, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington DC, 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7674; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0052 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0052.
     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]. In 
addition, for the convenience of the reader, instructions about 
obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in a table 
in Section VII of this notice entitled, Availability of Documents.
     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.

[[Page 13803]]

     Project web page: Information related to the Holtec HI-
STORE CISF project can be accessed on the NRC's Holtec HI-STORE CISF 
web page at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2018-0052 in your comment submission. 
Written comments may be submitted during the scoping period as 
described in the ADDRESSES section of the document.
    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 posts all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Background

    By letter dated March 30, 2017, Holtec submitted an application to 
the NRC for a specific license, pursuant to part 72 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licensing Requirements for the 
Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive 
Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste.'' Holtec is 
seeking to construct and operate a HI-STORE CISF for spent nuclear fuel 
in Lea County, New Mexico. As proposed by Holtec, the request is to 
initially possess and store 500 canisters or up to 8,680 metric tons of 
uranium (MTUs) and subsequently amend the license to eventually store 
up to 10,000 canisters for a 40-year license period. The proposed 
Holtec HI-STORE CISF site is located in southeastern New Mexico, 32 
miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico and 34 miles west of Hobbs, New 
Mexico.
    The NRC staff has completed an acceptance review of Holtec's HI-
STORE CISF license application. By letter dated July 7, 2017, the NRC 
staff provided the results of its initial acceptance review to Holtec 
and requested supplemental information in order to accept the 
application for detailed review. Holtec, by letters dated, October 6, 
2017 and December 22, 2017, provided the supplemental information 
related to its application. The NRC staff has reviewed the additional 
information and determined it contains sufficient information for NRC 
to conduct a detailed technical review. The environmental report (ER) 
can be found on the NRC's project-specific web page at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html.
    The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Inform the public that the 
NRC staff will prepare an EIS as part of its review of Holtec's HI-
STORE CISF license application in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions,'' and (2) provide the public with an 
opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process as 
defined in 10 CFR 51.29. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, 
``Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC 
plans to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act in meeting the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The NRC staff also will 
document its compliance with other applicable federal statutes, such as 
the Endangered Species Act, in the EIS.

III. Environmental Review

    The EIS prepared by the NRC staff will examine the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed action. The NRC staff will 
evaluate the potential impacts to various environmental resources, such 
as air quality, surface and ground water, transportation, geology and 
soils, and socioeconomics. The EIS will analyze potential impacts of 
Holtec's proposed facility on historic and cultural resources and on 
threatened and endangered species. Additionally, the economic, 
technical, and other benefits and costs of the proposed action and 
alternatives will be considered in the EIS.
    The NRC staff will also conduct a safety review to determine 
Holtec's compliance with NRC's regulations, including 10 CFR part 20, 
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation'' and 10 CFR part 72. The 
NRC staff's findings will be published in a safety evaluation report.

IV. CISF Construction and Operation

    The NRC's Federal action is to either grant or deny Holtec's 
request for a license. If the NRC approves Holtec's request, then 
Holtec could proceed with the proposed project--the construction and 
operation of the CISF--as described in its application and summarized 
here.
    Holtec proposes to construct the CISF on an approximately 4.21 
square kilometer (1040 acre) site in Lea County, New Mexico. The site 
is located 32 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico and 34 miles west of 
Hobbs, New Mexico. Holtec is currently requesting authorization to 
possess and store 500 canisters of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) containing 
up to 8,680 MTUs, which includes spent uranium-based fuel from 
commercial nuclear reactors as well as a small quantity of spent mixed-
oxide fuel. If the requested license is issued by the NRC, Holtec 
anticipates subsequently requesting an amendment to the license to 
request authorization to possess and store SNF containing an additional 
500 canisters or up to 8,680 MTU for each of 19 subsequent expansion 
phases to be completed over the course of 20 years. Ultimately, Holtec 
anticipates that approximately 10,000 canisters of SNF would be stored 
at the CISF upon completion of 20 phases. Each phase would require NRC 
review and approval.
    Holtec would receive canisters containing SNF from the reactor 
sites, and once accepted at its site, Holtec would transfer them into 
onsite dry cask storage systems. Holtec would employ the HI-STORM UMAX 
canister storage system which is certified by the NRC (Docket No. 72-
1040). HI-STORM UMAX stores sealed canisters containing SNF in a 
subterranean in-ground vertical ventilated module. Holtec is requesting 
a license for a term of 40 years.

V. Alternatives To Be Evaluated

    The EIS will analyze the environmental impacts of the proposed 
action, the no-action alternative, and reasonable alternatives. A brief 
description of each is provided below.
    No-Action Alternative--the no-action alternative would be to deny 
the license application. Under this alternative, the NRC would not 
issue the license and Holtec would not construct nor operate the CISF 
at its site in southeast New Mexico. This alternative serves as a 
baseline for the comparison of environmental impacts of the proposed 
action and the reasonable alternatives.
    Proposed action--the proposed Federal action is to issue a license 
to Holtec authorizing the company to

[[Page 13804]]

construct and operate the CISF. If the NRC approves the license 
application, it would issue Holtec a specific license under the 
provisions of 10 CFR part 72, and Holtec would proceed with the 
proposed activities.
    Alternatives to the Proposed Action--other alternatives not listed 
here may be identified during scoping or through the environmental 
review process.

VI. Scope of the Environmental Review

    The NRC staff is conducting a scoping process for the Holtec HI-
STORE CISF EIS, which begins on the day this notice appears in the 
Federal Register. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.29, the NRC seeks public 
input to help the NRC determine the appropriate scope of the EIS, 
including significant environmental issues to be analyzed in depth, as 
well as those that should be eliminated from detailed study because 
they are peripheral or are not significant. The NRC staff is planning 
to publish information related to this action in newspapers serving the 
communities near the Holtec site, requesting information and comments 
from the public. Additionally, the NRC is planning to hold public 
scoping meetings to receive comments in person in accordance with 10 
CFR 51.26. The dates, times, and locations for any meetings will be 
provided in a future Federal Register notice.
    After the close of the scoping period, the NRC staff will prepare a 
concise summary of its scoping process, the comments received, as well 
as the NRC's responses. The Scoping Summary Report will be included in 
NRC's draft EIS as an appendix and sent to each participant in the 
scoping process for whom the staff has an address.
    The Holtec HI-STORE CISF EIS will address the potential impacts 
from the proposed action. The anticipated scope of the EIS will 
consider both radiological and non-radiological impacts associated with 
the proposed project and its alternatives. The EIS will also consider 
unavoidable adverse environmental impacts, the relationship between 
short-term uses of resources and long-term productivity, and 
irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources. The following 
resource areas have been tentatively identified for analysis in the 
EIS: Land use, transportation, geology and soils, water resources, 
ecological resources, air quality and climate change, noise, historical 
and cultural resources, visual and scenic resources, socioeconomics, 
public and occupational health, waste management, environmental 
justice, and cumulative impacts. This list is not intended to be 
exhaustive, nor is it a predetermination of potential environmental 
impacts. The EIS will describe the NRC staff's approach and methodology 
undertaken to determine the resource areas that will be studied in 
detail and the NRC staff's evaluation of potential impacts to those 
resource areas.
    The NRC encourages members of the public, local, State, Tribal, and 
Federal government agencies to participate in the scoping process. 
Written comments may be submitted during the scoping period as 
described in the ADDRESSES and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document. Participation in the scoping process for the Holtec HI-
STORE CISF EIS does not entitle participants to become parties to any 
proceeding to which the EIS relates.
    In addition to requesting scoping comments through this Federal 
Register notice, the NRC staff also intends to reach out to interested 
stakeholders, including other Federal and State agencies and Indian 
Tribes. The NRC staff seeks to identify, among other things, all review 
and consultation requirements related to the proposed action, and 
agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to 
any environmental impact involved or which is authorized to develop and 
enforce relevant environmental standards. The NRC invites such agencies 
to participate in the scoping process and, as appropriate, cooperate in 
the preparation of the EIS.
    The NRC staff will continue its environmental review of Holtec's 
HI-STORE CISF license application, and with its contractor, prepare a 
draft EIS and, as soon as practicable, publish it for public comment. 
The NRC staff plans to have a public comment period for the draft EIS. 
Availability of the draft EIS and the dates of the public comment 
period will be announced in a future Federal Register notice. The final 
EIS will include NRC's responses to public comments received on the 
draft EIS.

VII. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in this Federal Register notice are 
accessible to interested persons by the means indicated in either the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice or in the table below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Document                        Adams Accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holtec's HI-STORE CISF license            ML17115A418
 application and Environmental Report.    ML17139C535
Rev. 0 (March 2017).....................
NRC's request for supplemental            ML17191A357
 information (July 2017).                 ML17191A358
Holtec's submittal of responses to NRC's  ML17310A234
 request for supplemental information     ML17345B064
 and Environmental Report Rev. 0A
 (October 2017).
Holtec's submittal of responses to NRC's  ML17362A093
 request for supplemental information     ML18023A904
 and Environmental Report Rev. 1
 (December 2017).
NRC's response to Holtec and acceptance   ML18059A251
 of the application for docketing and
 detailed review (February 28, 2018).
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, on March 26, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental 
Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-06398 Filed 3-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7509-01-P



                                             13802                           Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2018 / Notices

                                             transport, special nuclear material;                    III. Specific Requests for Comments                   ADDRESSES:   You may submit comments
                                             actively decommissioning reactor                           The NRC is seeking comments that                   by any of the following methods:
                                             licensees; Category I fuel facilities;                  address the following questions:                        • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to
                                             Category II and III fuel facilities;                       1. Is the proposed collection of                   http://www.regulations.gov and search
                                             nonpower reactors (research and test                    information necessary for the NRC to                  for Docket ID NRC–2018–0052. Address
                                             reactors); and other entities who mark                  properly perform its functions? Does the              questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer
                                             and handle Safeguards Information.                      information have practical utility?                   Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127;
                                                7. The estimated number of annual                       2. Is the estimate of the burden of the            email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For
                                             responses: 177,986 (40,819 reporting                    information collection accurate?                      technical questions, contact the
                                             responses + 136,957 third party                            3. Is there a way to enhance the                   individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER
                                             disclosure responses + 210                              quality, utility, and clarity of the                  INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
                                             recordkeepers).                                         information to be collected?                          document.
                                                8. The estimated number of annual                       4. How can the burden of the                         • Mail comments to: May Ma, Office
                                             respondents: 210 (60 power reactors; 10                 information collection on respondents                 of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7–
                                             decommissioning reactor facilities; 3                   be minimized, including the use of                    A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
                                             Category I fuel facilities; 4 Category II               automated collection techniques or                    Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
                                             and III fuel facilities; 31 nonpower                    other forms of information technology?                0001.
                                             reactors; and 102 other entities who                                                                            For additional direction on obtaining
                                             mark and handle Safeguards                                Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day
                                                                                                                                                           information and submitting comments,
                                                                                                     of March, 2018.
                                             Information.                                                                                                  see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
                                                9. The estimated number of hours                       For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
                                                                                                                                                           Submitting Comments’’ in the
                                             needed annually to comply with the                      David Cullison,                                       SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
                                             information collection requirement or                   NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief            this document.
                                             request: 541,406 hours (22,591 reporting                Information Officer.
                                                                                                                                                           FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill
                                             + 475,852 recordkeeping + 42,963 third                  [FR Doc. 2018–06495 Filed 3–29–18; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                                                                           Caverly, Office of Nuclear Material
                                             party disclosure).                                      BILLING CODE 7590–01–P                                Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
                                                10. Abstract: The NRC regulations in
                                                                                                                                                           Regulatory Commission, Washington
                                             10 CFR part 73 prescribe requirements
                                                                                                                                                           DC, 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
                                             to establish and maintain a physical                    NUCLEAR REGULATORY                                    7674; email: Jill.Caverly@nrc.gov.
                                             protection system and security                          COMMISSION
                                             organization with capabilities for                                                                            SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                                                                     [Docket No. 72–1051; NRC–2018–0052]
                                             protection of (1) Special nuclear                                                                             I. Obtaining Information and
                                             material (SNM) at fixed sites, (2) SNM                  Holtec International HI–STORE                         Submitting Comments
                                             in transit, and (3) plants in which SNM                 Consolidated Interim Storage Facility
                                             is used. Part 73 contains reporting and                                                                       A. Obtaining Information
                                                                                                     Project
                                             recordkeeping requirements which are                                                                             Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018–
                                             necessary to help ensure that an                        AGENCY:  Nuclear Regulatory                           0052 when contacting the NRC about
                                             adequate level of protection is provided                Commission.                                           the availability of information regarding
                                             for nuclear facilities and nuclear                      ACTION: Intent to prepare an                          this document. You may obtain
                                             material, such as: Development and                      environmental impact statement;                       publicly-available information related to
                                             maintenance of security documents,                      conduct a scoping process; request for                this action by the following methods:
                                             including a physical security plan,                     comment.                                                 • Federal Rulemaking website: Go to
                                             training and qualification plan,                                                                              http://www.regulations.gov and search
                                             safeguards contingency plan, cyber                      SUMMARY:    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory               for Docket ID NRC–2018–0052.
                                             security plan, and security                             Commission (NRC) received a license                      • NRC’s Agencywide Documents
                                             implementing procedures; notifications                  application by letter dated March 30,                 Access and Management System
                                             to the NRC regarding safeguards and                     2017, from Holtec International (Holtec).             (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-
                                             cyber security events; notifications to                 By this application, Holtec is requesting             available documents online in the
                                             state governors and tribes of shipments                 authorization to construct and operate a              ADAMS Public Documents collection at
                                             of irradiated reactor fuel; and                         HI–STORE consolidated interim storage                 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
                                             requirements for conducting criminal                    facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel at             adams.html. To begin the search, select
                                             history records checks of individuals                   a site in Lea County, New Mexico (the                 ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
                                             granted unescorted access to a nuclear                  proposed action). Holtec intends to                   select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
                                             power facility, a non-power reactor, or                 initially store 500 canisters or 8680                 Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
                                             access to Safeguards Information. The                   metric tons of uranium in the CISF and                please contact the NRC’s Public
                                             objective is to ensure that activities                  eventually store up to 10,000 canisters               Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
                                             involving special nuclear material are                  in the CISF. The NRC staff will prepare               1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
                                             consistent with interests of common                     an EIS to document the potential                      email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. In
                                             defense and security and that these                     environmental impacts from the                        addition, for the convenience of the
                                             activities do not constitute an                         proposed action. As part of the EIS                   reader, instructions about obtaining
                                             unreasonable risk to public health and                  development process, the NRC is                       materials referenced in this document
                                             safety. The information in the reports                  seeking comments on the scope of its                  are provided in a table in Section VII of
amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES




                                             and records submitted by licensees is                   environmental review.                                 this notice entitled, Availability of
                                             used by the NRC staff to ensure that the                DATES: Submit comments by May 29,                     Documents.
                                             health and safety of the public and the                 2018. Comments received after this date                  • NRC’S PDR: You may examine and
                                             environment are protected, and licensee                 will be considered if it is practical to do           purchase copies of public documents at
                                             possession and use of special nuclear                   so, but the Commission is able to ensure              the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
                                             material is in compliance with license                  consideration only for comments                       White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
                                             and regulatory requirements.                            received before this date.                            Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.


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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2018 / Notices                                            13803

                                               • Project web page: Information                       acceptance review to Holtec and                       IV. CISF Construction and Operation
                                             related to the Holtec HI–STORE CISF                     requested supplemental information in                    The NRC’s Federal action is to either
                                             project can be accessed on the NRC’s                    order to accept the application for                   grant or deny Holtec’s request for a
                                             Holtec HI–STORE CISF web page at                        detailed review. Holtec, by letters dated,            license. If the NRC approves Holtec’s
                                             https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-                   October 6, 2017 and December 22, 2017,                request, then Holtec could proceed with
                                             storage/cis/holtec-international.html.                  provided the supplemental information                 the proposed project—the construction
                                             B. Submitting Comments                                  related to its application. The NRC staff             and operation of the CISF—as described
                                                                                                     has reviewed the additional information               in its application and summarized here.
                                               Please include Docket ID NRC–2018–
                                                                                                     and determined it contains sufficient                    Holtec proposes to construct the CISF
                                             0052 in your comment submission.
                                                                                                     information for NRC to conduct a                      on an approximately 4.21 square
                                             Written comments may be submitted
                                                                                                     detailed technical review. The                        kilometer (1040 acre) site in Lea County,
                                             during the scoping period as described
                                             in the ADDRESSES section of the                         environmental report (ER) can be found                New Mexico. The site is located 32
                                             document.                                               on the NRC’s project-specific web page                miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico and
                                               The NRC cautions you not to include                   at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-                   34 miles west of Hobbs, New Mexico.
                                             identifying or contact information that                 fuel-storage/cis/holtec-                              Holtec is currently requesting
                                             you do not want to be publicly                          international.html.                                   authorization to possess and store 500
                                             disclosed in your comment submission.                      The purpose of this notice is to: (1)              canisters of spent nuclear fuel (SNF)
                                             The NRC posts all comment                               Inform the public that the NRC staff will             containing up to 8,680 MTUs, which
                                             submissions at https://                                 prepare an EIS as part of its review of               includes spent uranium-based fuel from
                                             www.regulations.gov as well as entering                 Holtec’s HI–STORE CISF license                        commercial nuclear reactors as well as
                                             the comment submissions into ADAMS.                     application in accordance with 10 CFR                 a small quantity of spent mixed-oxide
                                             The NRC does not routinely edit                         part 51, ‘‘Environmental Protection                   fuel. If the requested license is issued by
                                             comment submissions to remove                                                                                 the NRC, Holtec anticipates
                                                                                                     Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
                                             identifying or contact information.                                                                           subsequently requesting an amendment
                                                                                                     Related Regulatory Functions,’’ and (2)
                                               If you are requesting or aggregating                                                                        to the license to request authorization to
                                                                                                     provide the public with an opportunity
                                             comments from other persons for                                                                               possess and store SNF containing an
                                                                                                     to participate in the environmental
                                             submission to the NRC, then you should                                                                        additional 500 canisters or up to 8,680
                                                                                                     scoping process as defined in 10 CFR
                                             inform those persons not to include                                                                           MTU for each of 19 subsequent
                                                                                                     51.29. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR             expansion phases to be completed over
                                             identifying or contact information that                 800.8, ‘‘Coordination with the National
                                             they do not want to be publicly                                                                               the course of 20 years. Ultimately,
                                                                                                     Environmental Policy Act,’’ the NRC                   Holtec anticipates that approximately
                                             disclosed in their comment submission.
                                                                                                     plans to coordinate compliance with                   10,000 canisters of SNF would be stored
                                             Your request should state that the NRC
                                                                                                     Section 106 of the National Historic                  at the CISF upon completion of 20
                                             does not routinely edit comment
                                                                                                     Preservation Act in meeting the                       phases. Each phase would require NRC
                                             submissions to remove such information
                                                                                                     requirements of the National                          review and approval.
                                             before making the comment
                                                                                                     Environmental Policy Act of 1969                         Holtec would receive canisters
                                             submissions available to the public or
                                             entering the comment submissions into                   (NEPA). The NRC staff also will                       containing SNF from the reactor sites,
                                             ADAMS.                                                  document its compliance with other                    and once accepted at its site, Holtec
                                                                                                     applicable federal statutes, such as the              would transfer them into onsite dry cask
                                             II. Background                                          Endangered Species Act, in the EIS.                   storage systems. Holtec would employ
                                                By letter dated March 30, 2017, Holtec               III. Environmental Review                             the HI–STORM UMAX canister storage
                                             submitted an application to the NRC for                                                                       system which is certified by the NRC
                                             a specific license, pursuant to part 72 of                 The EIS prepared by the NRC staff                  (Docket No. 72–1040). HI–STORM
                                             title 10 of the Code of Federal                         will examine the potential                            UMAX stores sealed canisters
                                             Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Licensing                       environmental impacts of the proposed                 containing SNF in a subterranean in-
                                             Requirements for the Independent                        action. The NRC staff will evaluate the               ground vertical ventilated module.
                                             Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-                    potential impacts to various                          Holtec is requesting a license for a term
                                             Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-                   environmental resources, such as air                  of 40 years.
                                             Related Greater Than Class C Waste.’’                   quality, surface and ground water,                    V. Alternatives To Be Evaluated
                                             Holtec is seeking to construct and                      transportation, geology and soils, and
                                             operate a HI–STORE CISF for spent                       socioeconomics. The EIS will analyze                     The EIS will analyze the
                                             nuclear fuel in Lea County, New                         potential impacts of Holtec’s proposed                environmental impacts of the proposed
                                             Mexico. As proposed by Holtec, the                      facility on historic and cultural                     action, the no-action alternative, and
                                             request is to initially possess and store               resources and on threatened and                       reasonable alternatives. A brief
                                             500 canisters or up to 8,680 metric tons                endangered species. Additionally, the                 description of each is provided below.
                                             of uranium (MTUs) and subsequently                                                                               No-Action Alternative—the no-action
                                                                                                     economic, technical, and other benefits
                                             amend the license to eventually store up                                                                      alternative would be to deny the license
                                                                                                     and costs of the proposed action and
                                             to 10,000 canisters for a 40-year license                                                                     application. Under this alternative, the
                                                                                                     alternatives will be considered in the
                                             period. The proposed Holtec HI–STORE                                                                          NRC would not issue the license and
                                                                                                     EIS.
                                             CISF site is located in southeastern New                                                                      Holtec would not construct nor operate
                                             Mexico, 32 miles east of Carlsbad, New                     The NRC staff will also conduct a                  the CISF at its site in southeast New
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                                             Mexico and 34 miles west of Hobbs,                      safety review to determine Holtec’s                   Mexico. This alternative serves as a
                                             New Mexico.                                             compliance with NRC’s regulations,                    baseline for the comparison of
                                                The NRC staff has completed an                       including 10 CFR part 20, ‘‘Standards                 environmental impacts of the proposed
                                             acceptance review of Holtec’s HI–                       for Protection Against Radiation’’ and                action and the reasonable alternatives.
                                             STORE CISF license application. By                      10 CFR part 72. The NRC staff’s findings                 Proposed action—the proposed
                                             letter dated July 7, 2017, the NRC staff                will be published in a safety evaluation              Federal action is to issue a license to
                                             provided the results of its initial                     report.                                               Holtec authorizing the company to


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                                             13804                                     Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2018 / Notices

                                             construct and operate the CISF. If the                                   participant in the scoping process for                                    STORE CISF EIS does not entitle
                                             NRC approves the license application, it                                 whom the staff has an address.                                            participants to become parties to any
                                             would issue Holtec a specific license                                       The Holtec HI–STORE CISF EIS will                                      proceeding to which the EIS relates.
                                             under the provisions of 10 CFR part 72,                                  address the potential impacts from the                                      In addition to requesting scoping
                                             and Holtec would proceed with the                                        proposed action. The anticipated scope                                    comments through this Federal Register
                                             proposed activities.                                                     of the EIS will consider both                                             notice, the NRC staff also intends to
                                               Alternatives to the Proposed Action—                                   radiological and non-radiological                                         reach out to interested stakeholders,
                                             other alternatives not listed here may be                                impacts associated with the proposed                                      including other Federal and State
                                             identified during scoping or through the                                 project and its alternatives. The EIS will                                agencies and Indian Tribes. The NRC
                                             environmental review process.                                            also consider unavoidable adverse                                         staff seeks to identify, among other
                                                                                                                      environmental impacts, the relationship                                   things, all review and consultation
                                             VI. Scope of the Environmental Review                                    between short-term uses of resources                                      requirements related to the proposed
                                                The NRC staff is conducting a scoping                                 and long-term productivity, and                                           action, and agencies with jurisdiction by
                                             process for the Holtec HI–STORE CISF                                     irreversible and irretrievable
                                                                                                                                                                                                law or special expertise with respect to
                                             EIS, which begins on the day this notice                                 commitments of resources. The
                                                                                                                                                                                                any environmental impact involved or
                                             appears in the Federal Register. In                                      following resource areas have been
                                                                                                                                                                                                which is authorized to develop and
                                             accordance with 10 CFR 51.29, the NRC                                    tentatively identified for analysis in the
                                                                                                                                                                                                enforce relevant environmental
                                             seeks public input to help the NRC                                       EIS: Land use, transportation, geology
                                                                                                                                                                                                standards. The NRC invites such
                                             determine the appropriate scope of the                                   and soils, water resources, ecological
                                                                                                                                                                                                agencies to participate in the scoping
                                             EIS, including significant environmental                                 resources, air quality and climate
                                                                                                                                                                                                process and, as appropriate, cooperate
                                             issues to be analyzed in depth, as well                                  change, noise, historical and cultural
                                                                                                                                                                                                in the preparation of the EIS.
                                             as those that should be eliminated from                                  resources, visual and scenic resources,
                                             detailed study because they are                                          socioeconomics, public and                                                  The NRC staff will continue its
                                             peripheral or are not significant. The                                   occupational health, waste management,                                    environmental review of Holtec’s HI–
                                             NRC staff is planning to publish                                         environmental justice, and cumulative                                     STORE CISF license application, and
                                             information related to this action in                                    impacts. This list is not intended to be                                  with its contractor, prepare a draft EIS
                                             newspapers serving the communities                                       exhaustive, nor is it a predetermination                                  and, as soon as practicable, publish it
                                             near the Holtec site, requesting                                         of potential environmental impacts. The                                   for public comment. The NRC staff
                                             information and comments from the                                        EIS will describe the NRC staff’s                                         plans to have a public comment period
                                             public. Additionally, the NRC is                                         approach and methodology undertaken                                       for the draft EIS. Availability of the draft
                                             planning to hold public scoping                                          to determine the resource areas that will                                 EIS and the dates of the public comment
                                             meetings to receive comments in person                                   be studied in detail and the NRC staff’s                                  period will be announced in a future
                                             in accordance with 10 CFR 51.26. The                                     evaluation of potential impacts to those                                  Federal Register notice. The final EIS
                                             dates, times, and locations for any                                      resource areas.                                                           will include NRC’s responses to public
                                             meetings will be provided in a future                                       The NRC encourages members of the                                      comments received on the draft EIS.
                                             Federal Register notice.                                                 public, local, State, Tribal, and Federal                                 VII. Availability of Documents
                                                After the close of the scoping period,                                government agencies to participate in
                                             the NRC staff will prepare a concise                                     the scoping process. Written comments                                       The documents identified in this
                                             summary of its scoping process, the                                      may be submitted during the scoping                                       Federal Register notice are accessible to
                                             comments received, as well as the                                        period as described in the ADDRESSES                                      interested persons by the means
                                             NRC’s responses. The Scoping Summary                                     and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section                                     indicated in either the SUPPLEMENTARY
                                             Report will be included in NRC’s draft                                   of this document. Participation in the                                    INFORMATION section of this notice or in
                                             EIS as an appendix and sent to each                                      scoping process for the Holtec HI–                                        the table below:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Adams
                                                                                                                                   Document                                                                                                    Accession
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  No.

                                             Holtec’s HI–STORE CISF license application and Environmental Report ......................................................................................                                      ML17115A418
                                             Rev. 0 (March 2017) .........................................................................................................................................................................   ML17139C535
                                             NRC’s request for supplemental information (July 2017) ................................................................................................................                         ML17191A357
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ML17191A358
                                             Holtec’s submittal of responses to NRC’s request for supplemental information and Environmental Report Rev. 0A (October                                                                         ML17310A234
                                               2017).                                                                                                                                                                                        ML17345B064
                                             Holtec’s submittal of responses to NRC’s request for supplemental information and Environmental Report Rev. 1 (December                                                                         ML17362A093
                                               2017).                                                                                                                                                                                        ML18023A904
                                             NRC’s response to Holtec and acceptance of the application for docketing and detailed review (February 28, 2018) ................                                                               ML18059A251



                                               Dated at Rockville, Maryland, on March 26,                             PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY                                                  ACTION:Notice of request for extension
                                             2018.                                                                    CORPORATION                                                               of OMB approval of collection of
                                               For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.                                                                                                           information.
                                             Craig G. Erlanger,                                                       Submission of Information Collection
amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                      for OMB Review; Comment Request;                                          SUMMARY:   The Pension Benefit Guaranty
                                             Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety,
                                                                                                                      Payment of Premiums                                                       Corporation (PBGC) is requesting that
                                             Safeguards, and Environmental Review,
                                                                                                                                                                                                the Office of Management and Budget
                                             Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
                                             Safeguards.                                                              AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty                                          (OMB) extend approval for three years
                                                                                                                      Corporation.                                                              under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
                                             [FR Doc. 2018–06398 Filed 3–29–18; 8:45 am]
                                                                                                                                                                                                the collection of information under its
                                             BILLING CODE 7509–01–P
                                                                                                                                                                                                regulation on Payment of Premiums


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Document Created: 2018-11-01 08:58:02
Document Modified: 2018-11-01 08:58:02
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionIntent to prepare an environmental impact statement; conduct a scoping process; request for comment.
DatesSubmit comments by May 29, 2018. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this date.
ContactJill Caverly, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC, 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7674; email: [email protected]
FR Citation83 FR 13802 

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