List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1042, 14987-14992 [2017-05902]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
Vol. 82, No. 56
Friday, March 24, 2017
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains regulatory documents having general
applicability and legal effect, most of which
are keyed to and codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations, which is published under
50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by
the Superintendent of Documents.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0092]
RIN 0579–AE17
Importation of Lemons From
Northwest Argentina; Stay of
Regulations
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule; stay of regulations.
AGENCY:
On December 23, 2016, we
published a final rule amending the
fruits and vegetables regulations to
allow the importation of lemons from
northwest Argentina into the
continental United States under certain
conditions. In a document published on
January 25, 2017, we stayed the
regulations for 60 days ending March
27, 2017. In this document, we are
issuing an additional stay of those
regulations.
DATES: Effective March 24, 2017, 7 CFR
319.28(e) and 319.56–76, added
December 23, 2016 (81 FR 94217), and
stayed on January 25, 2017 (82 FR
8353), until March 27, 2017, continue to
be stayed until May 26, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Stephen O’Neill, Chief, Regulatory
Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737–1234; (301) 851–
3175.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
December 23, 2016, we published a final
rule (81 FR 94217–94230) amending the
fruits and vegetables regulations to
allow the importation of lemons from
northwest Argentina into the
continental United States under certain
conditions. On January 25, 2017, we
issued a stay of those regulations (82 FR
8353) for 60 days in accordance with
guidance issued January 20, 2017,
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with RULES
SUMMARY:
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intended to provide the new
Administration an adequate opportunity
to review new and pending regulations.
In this document we are issuing a
further stay of those regulations in order
to provide sufficient time to consider
the stakeholder input made since
January 25, 2017.
To the extent that 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A)
applies to this action, it is exempt from
notice and comment for good cause and
the reasons cited above. The Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) finds that notice and
solicitation of comment regarding the
brief extension of the effective date for
the final regulation are impracticable,
unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
APHIS believes that affected entities
need to be informed as soon as possible
of the extension and its length in order
to plan and adjust their implementation
process accordingly.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and
7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR
2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of
March 2017.
Michael C. Gregoire,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–05877 Filed 3–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC–2016–0254]
RIN 3150–AJ88
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage
Casks: TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS®
EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System,
Certificate of Compliance No. 1042
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is amending its
spent fuel storage regulations by adding
the TN Americas LLC (TN Americas),
NUHOMS® Extended Optimized
Storage (EOS) Dry Spent Fuel Storage
System, to the ‘‘List of approved spent
fuel storage casks’’ as Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) No. 1042. The
SUMMARY:
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NUHOMS® EOS System provides
horizontal storage of high burnup spent
pressurized water reactor (PWR) and
boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel
assemblies in dry shielded canisters
(DSCs).
The direct final rule is effective
June 7, 2017, unless significant adverse
comments are received by April 24,
2017. If the direct final rule is
withdrawn as a result of such
comments, timely notice of the
withdrawal will be published in the
Federal Register. 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 on or before this
date. Comments received on this direct
final rule will also be considered to be
comments on a companion proposed
rule published in the Proposed Rules
section of this issue of the Federal
Register.
DATES:
You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2016–0254. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
technical questions contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• Email comments to:
Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. 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:
Edward Lohr, Office of Nuclear Material
ADDRESSES:
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Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–
0253; email: Edward.Lohr@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting
Comments
II. Rulemaking Procedure
III. Background
IV. Discussion of Changes
V. Voluntary Consensus Standards
VI. Agreement State Compatibility
VII. Plain Writing
VIII. Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Environmental Impact
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
X. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
XI. Regulatory Analysis
XII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
XIII. Congressional Review Act
XIV. Availability of Documents
I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
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A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2016–
0254 when contacting the NRC about
the availability of information for this
action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this
action by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2016–0254.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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–2016–
0254 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include
identifying or contact information that
you do not want to be publicly
disclosed in your comment submission.
The NRC will post all comment
submissions at https://
www.regulations.gov as well as enter the
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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. Rulemaking Procedure
This rule is limited to the addition of
CoC No. 1042 to the ‘‘List of approved
spent fuel storage casks.’’ The NRC is
using the ‘‘direct final rule procedure’’
because the TN Americas NUHOMS®
EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System is
similar to other previously approved
spent fuel storage cask systems and,
therefore, is expected to be
noncontroversial. Adequate protection
of public health and safety continues to
be ensured. The addition will become
effective on June 7, 2017. However, if
the NRC receives significant adverse
comments on this direct final rule by
April 24, 2017, then the NRC will
publish a document that withdraws this
action and will subsequently address
the comments received in a final rule as
a response to the companion proposed
rule published in the Proposed Rules
section of this issue of the Federal
Register. Absent significant
modifications to the proposed
amendment and revisions requiring
republication, the NRC will not initiate
a second comment period on this action.
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-andcomment 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.
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(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 (TSs).
For detailed instructions on filing
comments, please see the companion
proposed rule published in the
Proposed Rules 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 Department of Energy] shall
establish a demonstration program, in
cooperation with the private sector, for
the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at
civilian nuclear power reactor sites,
with the objective of establishing one or
more technologies that the [Nuclear
Regulatory] Commission may, by rule,
approve for use at the sites of civilian
nuclear power reactors without, to the
maximum extent practicable, the need
for additional site-specific approvals by
the Commission.’’ Section 133 of the
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 in
10 CFR part 72 entitled, ‘‘Approval of
Spent Fuel Storage Casks,’’ which
contains procedures and criteria for
obtaining NRC approval of spent fuel
storage cask designs.
IV. Discussion of Changes
On December 19, 2014, AREVA Inc.
(AREVA) submitted an application to
the NRC to approve the NUHOMS® EOS
Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No.
1042. After discussions with the NRC
and an internal evaluation of the
submitted information, AREVA
withdrew the application on April 24,
2015. AREVA resubmitted the
application for the NUHOMS® EOS Dry
Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No.
1042 to the NRC on June 16, 2015.
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AREVA supplemented its request on the
following dates: July 30, 2015,
December 18, 2015, April 7, 2016, June
13, 2016, and July 28, 2016. On
November 18, 2016, AREVA notified the
NRC that it had changed its name to TN
Americas.
The TN Americas NUHOMS® EOS
System provides horizontal storage of
high burnup spent PWR and BWR fuel
assemblies in DSCs that are placed in an
EOS horizontal storage module (HSM)
utilizing an EOS transfer cask (TC). The
new PWR and BWR DSCs are the EOS–
37PTH DSC and the EOS–89BTH DSC,
respectively. The NUHOMS® EOS
System is an improved version of the
NUHOMS® HD System described in
CoC No. 1030.
As documented in the Preliminary
Safety Evaluation Report (PSER) for TN
Americas NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent
Fuel Storage System, CoC No. 1042, the
NRC staff performed a detailed safety
evaluation of the proposed CoC request
submitted by TN Americas. The staff
evaluated the specific design
requirements for each accident
condition and concluded that the design
of the cask will prevent loss of
containment, shielding, and criticality
control. Therefore, the environmental
impacts of these actions would be
insignificant. In addition, any resulting
occupational exposure or offsite dose
rates from the use of the TN Americas
NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
System, CoC No. 1042 is well within the
10 CFR part 20 limits. Therefore, use of
this new cask system will not result in
radiological or non-radiological
environmental impacts that differ
significantly from the environmental
impacts evaluated in the environmental
assessment supporting the July 18, 1990,
final rule. There will be no significant
change in the types or significant
revisions in the amounts of any effluent
released, no significant increase in the
individual or cumulative radiation
exposure, and no significant increase in
the potential for consequences from
radiological accidents.
This direct final rule amends 10 CFR
72.214 by adding the TN Americas
NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
System, CoC No. 1042. The term
‘‘Amendment 0’’ used in the supporting
documents for this direct final
rulemaking and the term ‘‘Initial
Certificate’’ used in 10 CFR 72.214
describe the same document. Initial
Certificate is the correct term and will
be used henceforth when discussion
involves this document.
The TN Americas NUHOMS® EOS
Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, when
used under the conditions specified in
the CoC, the TSs, and the NRC’s
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regulations, will meet the requirements
of 10 CFR part 72; therefore, adequate
protection of public health and safety
will continue to be ensured. When this
direct final rule becomes effective,
persons who hold a general license
under 10 CFR 72.210 may load spent
nuclear fuel into TN Americas
NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
Systems that meet the criteria of CoC
No. 1042 under 10 CFR 72.212.
V. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer
and Advancement 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 will add the TN Americas
NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
System design to the listings in 10 CFR
72.214, ‘‘List of approved spent fuel
storage casks.’’ This action does not
constitute the establishment of a
standard that contains generally
applicable requirements.
VI. 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, or the provisions of
10 CFR. Although an Agreement State
may not adopt program elements
reserved to the 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.
VII. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub.
L. 111–274) requires Federal agencies to
write documents in a clear, concise, and
well-organized manner. The NRC has
written this document to be consistent
with the Plain Writing Act as well as the
Presidential Memorandum, ‘‘Plain
Language in Government Writing,’’
published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31883).
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VIII. Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant
Environmental Impact
A. The Action
The action is to amend 10 CFR 72.214
to add the TN Americas NUHOMS®
EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System to
the listing within the ‘‘List of approved
spent fuel storage casks’’ as CoC No.
1042. Under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended, and the NRC’s regulations in
subpart A of 10 CFR part 51,
‘‘Environmental Protection Regulations
for Domestic Licensing and Related
Regulatory Functions,’’ 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 NRC has made a finding
of no significant impact on the basis of
this environmental assessment.
B. The Need for the Action
This direct final rule adds CoC No.
1042 for the TN Americas NUHOMS®
EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System
design 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.
Specifically, the TN Americas
NUHOMS® EOS System provides
horizontal storage of high burnup PWR
and BWR spent fuel assemblies in DSCs
that are placed in an EOS HSM utilizing
an EOS TC.
C. Environmental Impacts of the Action
On July 18,1990 (55 FR 29181), the
NRC issued an amendment to 10 CFR
part 72 to provide for the storage of
spent fuel under a general license in
cask designs approved by the NRC. The
potential environmental impact of using
NRC-approved storage casks was
initially analyzed in the environmental
assessment for the 1990 final rule. The
environmental assessment for this CoC
addition tiers off of the environmental
assessment for the July 18, 1990, final
rule. Tiering on past environmental
assessments is a standard process under
the National Environmental Policy Act.
The TN Americas NUHOMS® EOS
System is designed to mitigate the
effects of design basis accidents that
could occur during storage. Design basis
accidents account for human-induced
events and the most severe natural
phenomena reported for the site and
surrounding area. Postulated accidents
analyzed for an independent spent fuel
storage installation, the type of facility
at which a holder of a power reactor
operating license would store spent fuel
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in casks in accordance with 10 CFR part
72, include tornado winds and tornadogenerated missiles, a design basis
earthquake, a design basis flood, an
accidental cask drop, lightning effects,
fire, explosions, and other incidents.
Considering the specific design
requirements for each accident
condition, the design of the TN
Americas NUHOMS® EOS System cask
would prevent loss of confinement,
shielding, and criticality control. If there
is no loss of confinement, shielding, or
criticality control, the environmental
impacts would be insignificant. In
addition, any resulting occupational
exposure or offsite dose rates from the
use of the TN Americas NUHOMS® EOS
Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No.
1042 would be well within the 10 CFR
part 20 limits. Therefore, the proposed
addition of CoC No. 1042 will not result
in any radiological or non-radiological
environmental impacts that significantly
differ from the environmental impacts
evaluated in the environmental
assessment supporting the July 18, 1990,
final rule. There will be no significant
change in the types or significant
revisions in the amounts of any effluent
released, no significant increase in the
individual or cumulative radiation
exposure, and no significant increase in
the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents. The staff
documented its safety findings in the
PSER.
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D. Alternative to the Action
The alternative to this action is to
withhold approval of this new design
and issue a site-specific license to each
utility that proposes to use the casks.
This alternative would cost both the
NRC and utilities more time and money
for each site-specific license.
Conducting site-specific reviews would
ignore the procedures and criteria
currently in place for the addition of
new cask designs that can be used under
a general license, and would be in
conflict with NWPA direction to the
Commission to approve technologies for
the use of spent fuel storage at the sites
of civilian nuclear power reactors
without, to the maximum extent
practicable, the need for additional site
reviews. This alternative also would
tend to exclude new vendors from the
business market without cause and
would arbitrarily limit the choice of
cask designs available to power reactor
licensees. This final rule will eliminate
the above problems and is consistent
with previous Commission actions.
Further, the rule will have no adverse
effect on public health and safety.
Therefore, the environmental impacts
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would be the same or less than the
action.
E. Alternative Use of Resources
Approval of the addition of CoC No.
1042 to 10 CFR 72.214 would result in
no irreversible commitments of
resources.
F. Agencies and Persons Contacted
No agencies or persons outside the
NRC were contacted in connection with
the preparation of this environmental
assessment.
G. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the
action have been reviewed under the
requirements in 10 CFR part 51. Based
on the foregoing environmental
assessment, the NRC concludes that this
direct final rule entitled, ‘‘List of
Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN
Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS Dry
Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate
of Compliance No. 1042,’’ will not have
a significant effect on the human
environment. Therefore, the NRC has
determined that an environmental
impact statement is not necessary for
this direct final rule.
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act
Statement
This final rule does not contain any
new or amended collections of
information subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.). Existing collections of
information were approved by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), approval number 3150–0132.
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless the
document requesting or requiring the
collection displays a currently valid
OMB control number.
X. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
Under 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
nuclear power plant licensees and TN
Americas. These entities do not fall
within the scope of the definition of
small entities set forth in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act or the size standards
established by the NRC (10 CFR 2.810).
XI. 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
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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, the 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 10 CFR 72.214.
By letter dated June 16, 2015, as
supplemented on July 30, 2015,
December 18, 2015, April 7, 2016, June
13, 2016, and July 28, 2016, TN
Americas resubmitted an application to
the NRC to add the NUHOMS® EOS Dry
Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No.
1042 to 10 CFR 72.214. This request is
described in Section IV, ‘‘Discussion of
Changes,’’ of this document.
The alternative to this action is to
withhold approval of this new design
and issue a site-specific license to each
utility that proposes to use the casks.
Conducting site-specific reviews would
ignore the procedures and criteria
currently in place for the addition of
new cask designs that can be used under
a general license, and would be in
conflict with NWPA direction to the
Commission to approve technologies for
the use of spent fuel storage at the sites
of civilian nuclear power reactors
without, to the maximum extent
practicable, the need for additional site
reviews. This alternative would cost
both the NRC and utilities more time
and money for each site-specific license.
This alternative also would tend to
exclude new vendors from the business
market without cause and would
arbitrarily limit the choice of cask
designs available to power reactor
licensees. This final rule will avoid the
above problems and is consistent with
previous Commission actions. Further,
the rule will have no adverse effect on
public health and safety.
Approval of the direct final rule is
consistent with previous NRC actions.
Further, as documented in the PSER and
the environmental assessment, the
direct final rule will have no adverse
effect on public health and safety or the
environment. This direct final rule has
no significant identifiable impact or
benefit on other government agencies.
Based on this regulatory analysis, 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 therefore, this action is
recommended.
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XII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the
backfit rule (10 CFR 72.62) does not
apply to this direct final rule and
therefore, a backfit analysis is not
required. This direct final rule adds CoC
No. 1042 for the NUHOMS® EOS Dry
Spent Fuel Storage System to the ‘‘List
of approved spent fuel storage casks.’’
The addition of CoC No. 1042 for the
NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
System was initiated by TN Americas
and was not submitted in response to
new NRC requirements, or an NRC
request for amendment. The addition of
CoC No. 1042 does not constitute
backfitting under 10 CFR 72.62, 10 CFR
50.109(a)(1), or otherwise represent an
inconsistency with the issue finality
provisions applicable to combined
licenses in 10 CFR part 52. Accordingly,
no backfit analysis or additional
documentation addressing the issue
14991
finality criteria in 10 CFR part 52 has
been prepared by the staff.
XIII. Congressional Review Act
The OMB has not found this to be a
rule as defined in the Congressional
Review Act.
XIV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons as indicated.
Document
ADAMS accession No.
AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the NUHOMS® EOS System, Docket 72–1042,
letter dated December, 19, 2014 (original application).
Withdrawal of December 19, 2014 AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
NUHOMS® EOS System, Docket 72–1042, letter dated April 24, 2015.
Re-submittal of AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the NUHOMS® EOS System,
CoC No. 1042, letter dated June 16, 2015 *.
Safety Evaluation Report for AREVA NUHOMS® HD Horizontal Modular Storage System, CoC No. 1030 .................
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information Related to Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for
the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated July 30, 2015 *.
NRC Request for Additional Information Related to AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design
for the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated October 16, 2015 *.
AREVA Response to NRC Request for Additional Information Related to Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
Cask Design for the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated December 18, 2015 *.
NRC Request for Additional Information Related to AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design
for the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated March 3, 2016 *.
AREVA Response to NRC Request for Additional Information Related to Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
Cask Design for the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated April 7, 2016 *.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information Related to Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for
the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated June 13, 2016 *.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information Related to Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for
the NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated July 28, 2016 *.
Name Change from AREVA to TN Americas, letter dated November 18, 2016 * ..........................................................
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for TN Americas NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042 * ..............................
Technical Specifications for TN Americas NUHOMS® EOS System, CoC No. 1042 * ..................................................
ML15005A477 (Package).
ML15114A444.
ML15173A379 (Package).
ML070160089.
ML15223A204.
ML15287A255 (Package).
ML15364A490 (Package).
ML16063A454 (Package).
ML16111A670 (Package).
ML16169A044 (Package).
ML16215A026 (Package).
ML16327A011.
ML16242A023.
ML16242A022.
* The term ‘‘Amendment 0’’ used in the supporting documents for this direct final rulemaking and the term ‘‘Initial Certificate’’ used in 10 CFR
72.214 describes the same document. Initial Certificate is the correct term and will be used henceforth when discussion involves this document.
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with RULES
The NRC may post materials related
to this document, including public
comments, on the Federal Rulemaking
Web site at https://www.regulations.gov
under Docket ID NRC–2016–0254. 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–2016–0254); (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).
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:12 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
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 adopting the
following amendment 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
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 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4332); Nuclear Waste Policy Act
of 1982, secs. 117(a), 132, 133, 134, 135, 137,
141, 145(g), 148, 218(a) (42 U.S.C. 10137(a),
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
10152, 10153, 10154, 10155, 10157, 10161,
10165(g), 10168, 10198(a)); 44 U.S.C. 3504
note.
2. In § 72.214, Certificate of
Compliance 1042 is added to read as
follows:
■
§ 72.214 List of approved spent fuel
storage casks.
*
*
*
*
*
Certificate Number: 1042.
Initial Certificate Effective Date: June
7, 2017.
SAR Submitted by: TN Americas LLC.
SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis
Report for the NUHOMS® EOS Dry
Spent Fuel Storage System.
Docket Number: 72–1042.
Certificate Expiration Date: March 24,
2037.
Model Number: EOS–37PTH, EOS–
89BTH.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day
of March 2017.
E:\FR\FM\24MRR1.SGM
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14992
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 56 / Friday, March 24, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor M. McCree,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2017–05902 Filed 3–23–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE
AGENCY
12 CFR Parts 1207 and 1223
RIN 2590–AA87
Minority and Women Outreach
Program
Federal Housing Finance
Agency.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Federal Housing Finance
Agency (FHFA) is prescribing this final
rule to establish its minority and women
outreach program (MWOP), pursuant to
the Financial Institutions Reform,
Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989
(FIRREA); the Federal Housing
Enterprises Financial Safety and
Soundness Act of 1992 (Safety and
Soundness Act); and the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act of 2008 (Dodd-Frank
Act). This final rule also redesignates
the current Minority and Women
Inclusion (MWI) regulation (‘‘Minority
and Women Inclusion Final Rule,’’
‘‘MWI Rule,’’ or ‘‘2010 Final Rule’’), in
the Code of Federal Regulations to
subchapter B of FHFA’s regulations.
DATES: Effective date: March 24, 2017.
For additional information, see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sharron Levine, Director, Office of
Minority and Women Inclusion,
Sharron.Levine@fhfa.gov, (202) 649–
3496; or Eric Howard, Deputy Director,
Office of Minority and Women
Inclusion, Eric.Howard@fhfa.gov, (202)
649–3009; or James Jordan, Assistant
General Counsel, James.Jordan@
fhfa.gov, (202) 649–3075 (not toll-free
numbers), Federal Housing Finance
Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20219. The telephone
number for the Telecommunications
Device for the Hearing Impaired is (800)
877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
diversity in its workforce, at all levels of
the agency, consistent with the
demographic diversity of the United
States.’’ 2
HERA also amended FIRREA 3 to add
FHFA to a list of agencies required to
‘‘prescribe regulations to establish and
oversee a minority outreach program
within [the agency] to ensure inclusion,
to the maximum extent possible, of
minorities and women, and entities
owned by minorities and women,
including financial institutions,
investment banking firms, underwriters,
accountants, and providers of legal
services, in all contracts entered into by
the agency with such persons or
entities, public and private, in order to
manage the institutions and their assets
for which the agency is responsible or
to perform such other functions
authorized under any law applicable to
such agency.’’ 4
B. Subpart B of 2010 NPR (March 2010)
In January 2010, FHFA published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on
Minority and Women Inclusion (2010
NPRM) 5 to implement HERA’s MWI
mandates. The 2010 NPRM Subparts A
and C addressed the establishment and
supervision of Office[s] of Minority and
Women Inclusion (OMWIs) at the
Federal National Mortgage Association
(Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan
Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the
Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs)
(collectively, ‘‘FHFA’s regulated
entities’’), as well as, the Federal Home
Loan Banks’ Office of Finance.
The 2010 NPRM Subpart B addressed
internal operations. Subpart B: (1)
Outlined affirmative steps FHFA would
take to promote diversity in its own
workforce (as required by the HERA
amendments to the Safety and
Soundness Act); and (2) Established an
FHFA outreach program regulation (as
required by the HERA amendments to
FIRREA).
C. Dodd-Frank Act, 2010 Final Rule
(July 2010–December 2010)
On July 21, 2010, after FHFA
published the 2010 NPRM, but before
the rule was finalized, Dodd-Frank Act 6
was enacted. Dodd-Frank Act section
342 required FHFA and several other
agencies to ‘‘develop [internal]
standards’’ that address equal
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with RULES
I. Background
A. HERA and FIRREA (July 2008)
In 2008, the Housing and Economic
Recovery Act (HERA) 1 amended the
Safety and Soundness Act to require
FHFA to ‘‘take affirmative steps to seek
1 Public
Law 110–289, 122 Stat. 2654 (2008).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:20 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 241001
2 Public Law 110–289, div. A, title I, sec. 1116(f),
122 Stat. 2681. 12 U.S.C. 4520(f).
3 Public Law 101–73, 103 Stat. 183 (1989).
4 Public Law 110–289, div. A, title II, sec 1216(c),
122 Stat. 2792. 12 U.S.C. 1833e(c).
5 ‘‘Minority and Women Inclusion; Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking,’’ 75 FR 1289 (January 11,
2010).
6 Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
employment opportunity (EEO) and
increased participation of minorityowned and women-owned business in
the programs and contracts of the
respective agency.7
FHFA was specially situated. As the
only agency subject to HERA’s Minority
and Women Inclusion (MWI)
requirements, FHFA already had
published the 2010 NPRM Subpart B
which, if adopted, would have fulfilled
both its obligations under HERA, and,
the newly established Dodd-Frank Act
section 342.
However, in December 2010, FHFA
finalized its 2010 NPRM without
adopting proposed Subpart B.8 In the
preamble to the 2010 Final Rule, FHFA
committed to finalize Subpart B, but not
until the other agencies subject to DoddFrank Act section 342 began work on
implementation, and FHFA ensured that
its proposal aligned with the other
agencies’ practices.
The other agencies subsequently
established their respective OMWIs,
and, along with FHFA’s OMWI,
implemented Dodd-Frank Act section
342. FHFA drafted internal EEO
standards in August, 2016. However,
FHFA did not adopt the standards in a
formal rulemaking, nor did FHFA fulfill
the promise in its 2010 Final Rule to
revisit and finalize Subpart B.
D. FIRREA Requirement To Prescribe
Regulations (Current State)
The Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), FHFA, and Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
hold a special status among the agencies
subject to Dodd-Frank Act section 342.
The FDIC, FHFA, and OCC are the only
agencies also subject to the FIRREA
section 1216 (12 U.S.C. 1833e)
requirement to ‘‘prescribe regulations’’
to establish a minority outreach program
(the other agencies subject to DoddFrank Act section 342 simply were
required to develop and implement the
less formal ‘‘standards’’ referenced
above). The FDIC and OCC were the
original subjects of FIRREA section
1216’s (12 U.S.C. 1833e) regulation
requirement when FIRREA was enacted
in 1989. Accordingly, both agencies
7 The Dodd-Frank Act imposed MWI
requirements on the internal operations of the
following agencies and entities: The Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), FHFA,
Federal Reserve Board (FRB), each of the Federal
Reserve Banks, National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA), Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency (OCC), Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), and the Department of Treasury.
7 12 U.S.C. 5452.
8 ‘‘Minority and Women Inclusion; Final Rule,’’
75 FR 81395 (December 28, 2010) (codified at 12
CFR 1207).
E:\FR\FM\24MRR1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 56 (Friday, March 24, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 14987-14992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05902]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC-2016-0254]
RIN 3150-AJ88
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC,
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate of
Compliance No. 1042
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its
spent fuel storage regulations by adding the TN Americas LLC (TN
Americas), NUHOMS[supreg] Extended Optimized Storage (EOS) Dry Spent
Fuel Storage System, to the ``List of approved spent fuel storage
casks'' as Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1042. The NUHOMS[supreg]
EOS System provides horizontal storage of high burnup spent pressurized
water reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies in
dry shielded canisters (DSCs).
DATES: The direct final rule is effective June 7, 2017, unless
significant adverse comments are received by April 24, 2017. If the
direct final rule is withdrawn as a result of such comments, timely
notice of the withdrawal will be published in the Federal Register.
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 on or before this date. Comments received on this
direct final rule will also be considered to be comments on a companion
proposed rule published in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of
the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0254. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For technical questions contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Email comments to: Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. 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: Edward Lohr, Office of Nuclear
Material
[[Page 14988]]
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0253; email: Edward.Lohr@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Rulemaking Procedure
III. Background
IV. Discussion of Changes
V. Voluntary Consensus Standards
VI. Agreement State Compatibility
VII. Plain Writing
VIII. Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Environmental Impact
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
X. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
XI. Regulatory Analysis
XII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
XIII. Congressional Review Act
XIV. Availability of Documents
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0254 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0254.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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-2016-0254 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Rulemaking Procedure
This rule is limited to the addition of CoC No. 1042 to the ``List
of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' The NRC is using the ``direct
final rule procedure'' because the TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry
Spent Fuel Storage System is similar to other previously approved spent
fuel storage cask systems and, therefore, is expected to be
noncontroversial. Adequate protection of public health and safety
continues to be ensured. The addition will become effective on June 7,
2017. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on this
direct final rule by April 24, 2017, then the NRC will publish a
document that withdraws this action and will subsequently address the
comments received in a final rule as a response to the companion
proposed rule published in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of
the Federal Register. Absent significant modifications to the proposed
amendment and revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not
initiate a second comment period on this action.
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 (TSs).
For detailed instructions on filing comments, please see the
companion proposed rule published in the Proposed Rules 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 Department of Energy]
shall establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with the
private sector, for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian
nuclear power reactor sites, with the objective of establishing one or
more technologies that the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission may, by
rule, approve for use at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors
without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional
site-specific approvals by the Commission.'' Section 133 of the 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 in 10
CFR part 72 entitled, ``Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,'' which
contains procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent
fuel storage cask designs.
IV. Discussion of Changes
On December 19, 2014, AREVA Inc. (AREVA) submitted an application
to the NRC to approve the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
System, CoC No. 1042. After discussions with the NRC and an internal
evaluation of the submitted information, AREVA withdrew the application
on April 24, 2015. AREVA resubmitted the application for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No. 1042 to the
NRC on June 16, 2015.
[[Page 14989]]
AREVA supplemented its request on the following dates: July 30, 2015,
December 18, 2015, April 7, 2016, June 13, 2016, and July 28, 2016. On
November 18, 2016, AREVA notified the NRC that it had changed its name
to TN Americas.
The TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System provides horizontal
storage of high burnup spent PWR and BWR fuel assemblies in DSCs that
are placed in an EOS horizontal storage module (HSM) utilizing an EOS
transfer cask (TC). The new PWR and BWR DSCs are the EOS-37PTH DSC and
the EOS-89BTH DSC, respectively. The NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System is an
improved version of the NUHOMS[supreg] HD System described in CoC No.
1030.
As documented in the Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report (PSER)
for TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC
No. 1042, the NRC staff performed a detailed safety evaluation of the
proposed CoC request submitted by TN Americas. The staff evaluated the
specific design requirements for each accident condition and concluded
that the design of the cask will prevent loss of containment,
shielding, and criticality control. Therefore, the environmental
impacts of these actions would be insignificant. In addition, any
resulting occupational exposure or offsite dose rates from the use of
the TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC
No. 1042 is well within the 10 CFR part 20 limits. Therefore, use of
this new cask system will not result in radiological or non-
radiological environmental impacts that differ significantly from the
environmental impacts evaluated in the environmental assessment
supporting the July 18, 1990, final rule. There will be no significant
change in the types or significant revisions in the amounts of any
effluent released, no significant increase in the individual or
cumulative radiation exposure, and no significant increase in the
potential for consequences from radiological accidents.
This direct final rule amends 10 CFR 72.214 by adding the TN
Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No.
1042. The term ``Amendment 0'' used in the supporting documents for
this direct final rulemaking and the term ``Initial Certificate'' used
in 10 CFR 72.214 describe the same document. Initial Certificate is the
correct term and will be used henceforth when discussion involves this
document.
The TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System,
when used under the conditions specified in the CoC, the TSs, and the
NRC's regulations, will meet the requirements of 10 CFR part 72;
therefore, adequate protection of public health and safety will
continue to be ensured. When this direct final rule becomes effective,
persons who hold a general license under 10 CFR 72.210 may load spent
nuclear fuel into TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage
Systems that meet the criteria of CoC No. 1042 under 10 CFR 72.212.
V. Voluntary Consensus Standards
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement 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 will add
the TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System design
to the listings in 10 CFR 72.214, ``List of approved spent fuel storage
casks.'' This action does not constitute the establishment of a
standard that contains generally applicable requirements.
VI. 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, or the provisions of 10 CFR. Although an Agreement
State may not adopt program elements reserved to the 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.
VII. Plain Writing
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal
agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized
manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the
Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain
Language in Government Writing,'' published June 10, 1998 (63 FR
31883).
VIII. Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Environmental Impact
A. The Action
The action is to amend 10 CFR 72.214 to add the TN Americas
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System to the listing within
the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' as CoC No. 1042.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and
the NRC's regulations in subpart A of 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions,'' 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 NRC has made a finding of no significant impact on
the basis of this environmental assessment.
B. The Need for the Action
This direct final rule adds CoC No. 1042 for the TN Americas
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System design 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.
Specifically, the TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System provides
horizontal storage of high burnup PWR and BWR spent fuel assemblies in
DSCs that are placed in an EOS HSM utilizing an EOS TC.
C. Environmental Impacts of the Action
On July 18,1990 (55 FR 29181), the NRC issued an amendment to 10
CFR part 72 to provide for the storage of spent fuel under a general
license in cask designs approved by the NRC. The potential
environmental impact of using NRC-approved storage casks was initially
analyzed in the environmental assessment for the 1990 final rule. The
environmental assessment for this CoC addition tiers off of the
environmental assessment for the July 18, 1990, final rule. Tiering on
past environmental assessments is a standard process under the National
Environmental Policy Act.
The TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System is designed to mitigate
the effects of design basis accidents that could occur during storage.
Design basis accidents account for human-induced events and the most
severe natural phenomena reported for the site and surrounding area.
Postulated accidents analyzed for an independent spent fuel storage
installation, the type of facility at which a holder of a power reactor
operating license would store spent fuel
[[Page 14990]]
in casks in accordance with 10 CFR part 72, include tornado winds and
tornado-generated missiles, a design basis earthquake, a design basis
flood, an accidental cask drop, lightning effects, fire, explosions,
and other incidents.
Considering the specific design requirements for each accident
condition, the design of the TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System cask
would prevent loss of confinement, shielding, and criticality control.
If there is no loss of confinement, shielding, or criticality control,
the environmental impacts would be insignificant. In addition, any
resulting occupational exposure or offsite dose rates from the use of
the TN Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC
No. 1042 would be well within the 10 CFR part 20 limits. Therefore, the
proposed addition of CoC No. 1042 will not result in any radiological
or non-radiological environmental impacts that significantly differ
from the environmental impacts evaluated in the environmental
assessment supporting the July 18, 1990, final rule. There will be no
significant change in the types or significant revisions in the amounts
of any effluent released, no significant increase in the individual or
cumulative radiation exposure, and no significant increase in the
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents. The staff
documented its safety findings in the PSER.
D. Alternative to the Action
The alternative to this action is to withhold approval of this new
design and issue a site-specific license to each utility that proposes
to use the casks. This alternative would cost both the NRC and
utilities more time and money for each site-specific license.
Conducting site-specific reviews would ignore the procedures and
criteria currently in place for the addition of new cask designs that
can be used under a general license, and would be in conflict with NWPA
direction to the Commission to approve technologies for the use of
spent fuel storage at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors
without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional
site reviews. This alternative also would tend to exclude new vendors
from the business market without cause and would arbitrarily limit the
choice of cask designs available to power reactor licensees. This final
rule will eliminate the above problems and is consistent with previous
Commission actions. Further, the rule will have no adverse effect on
public health and safety. Therefore, the environmental impacts would be
the same or less than the action.
E. Alternative Use of Resources
Approval of the addition of CoC No. 1042 to 10 CFR 72.214 would
result in no irreversible commitments of resources.
F. Agencies and Persons Contacted
No agencies or persons outside the NRC were contacted in connection
with the preparation of this environmental assessment.
G. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the action have been reviewed under
the requirements in 10 CFR part 51. Based on the foregoing
environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that this direct final rule
entitled, ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC,
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate of
Compliance No. 1042,'' will not have a significant effect on the human
environment. Therefore, the NRC has determined that an environmental
impact statement is not necessary for this direct final rule.
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
This final rule does not contain any new or amended collections of
information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.). Existing collections of information were approved by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), approval number 3150-0132.
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information unless the document requesting
or requiring the collection displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
X. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
Under 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 nuclear power plant licensees and TN Americas.
These entities do not fall within the scope of the definition of small
entities set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the size
standards established by the NRC (10 CFR 2.810).
XI. 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, the 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 10 CFR 72.214.
By letter dated June 16, 2015, as supplemented on July 30, 2015,
December 18, 2015, April 7, 2016, June 13, 2016, and July 28, 2016, TN
Americas resubmitted an application to the NRC to add the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, CoC No. 1042 to 10
CFR 72.214. This request is described in Section IV, ``Discussion of
Changes,'' of this document.
The alternative to this action is to withhold approval of this new
design and issue a site-specific license to each utility that proposes
to use the casks. Conducting site-specific reviews would ignore the
procedures and criteria currently in place for the addition of new cask
designs that can be used under a general license, and would be in
conflict with NWPA direction to the Commission to approve technologies
for the use of spent fuel storage at the sites of civilian nuclear
power reactors without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for
additional site reviews. This alternative would cost both the NRC and
utilities more time and money for each site-specific license. This
alternative also would tend to exclude new vendors from the business
market without cause and would arbitrarily limit the choice of cask
designs available to power reactor licensees. This final rule will
avoid the above problems and is consistent with previous Commission
actions. Further, the rule will have no adverse effect on public health
and safety.
Approval of the direct final rule is consistent with previous NRC
actions. Further, as documented in the PSER and the environmental
assessment, the direct final rule will have no adverse effect on public
health and safety or the environment. This direct final rule has no
significant identifiable impact or benefit on other government
agencies. Based on this regulatory analysis, 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 therefore, this action is recommended.
[[Page 14991]]
XII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the backfit rule (10 CFR 72.62) does
not apply to this direct final rule and therefore, a backfit analysis
is not required. This direct final rule adds CoC No. 1042 for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System to the ``List of
approved spent fuel storage casks.''
The addition of CoC No. 1042 for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS Dry Spent
Fuel Storage System was initiated by TN Americas and was not submitted
in response to new NRC requirements, or an NRC request for amendment.
The addition of CoC No. 1042 does not constitute backfitting under 10
CFR 72.62, 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1), or otherwise represent an inconsistency
with the issue finality provisions applicable to combined licenses in
10 CFR part 52. Accordingly, no backfit analysis or additional
documentation addressing the issue finality criteria in 10 CFR part 52
has been prepared by the staff.
XIII. Congressional Review Act
The OMB has not found this to be a rule as defined in the
Congressional Review Act.
XIV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons as indicated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document ADAMS accession No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AREVA Application for Approval of the Spent ML15005A477 (Package).
Fuel Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg]
EOS System, Docket 72-1042, letter dated
December, 19, 2014 (original application).
Withdrawal of December 19, 2014 AREVA ML15114A444.
Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
System, Docket 72-1042, letter dated April
24, 2015.
Re-submittal of AREVA Application for ML15173A379 (Package).
Approval of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for
the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No.
1042, letter dated June 16, 2015 *.
Safety Evaluation Report for AREVA ML070160089.
NUHOMS[supreg] HD Horizontal Modular
Storage System, CoC No. 1030.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information ML15223A204.
Related to Application for Approval of the
Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
letter dated July 30, 2015 *.
NRC Request for Additional Information ML15287A255 (Package).
Related to AREVA Application for Approval
of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
letter dated October 16, 2015 *.
AREVA Response to NRC Request for ML15364A490 (Package).
Additional Information Related to
Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated
December 18, 2015 *.
NRC Request for Additional Information ML16063A454 (Package).
Related to AREVA Application for Approval
of the Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
letter dated March 3, 2016 *.
AREVA Response to NRC Request for ML16111A670 (Package).
Additional Information Related to
Application for Approval of the Spent Fuel
Cask Design for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
System, CoC No. 1042, letter dated April
7, 2016 *.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information ML16169A044 (Package).
Related to Application for Approval of the
Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
letter dated June 13, 2016 *.
AREVA Submittal of Additional Information ML16215A026 (Package).
Related to Application for Approval of the
Spent Fuel Cask Design for the
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042,
letter dated July 28, 2016 *.
Name Change from AREVA to TN Americas, ML16327A011.
letter dated November 18, 2016 *.
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for TN ML16242A023.
Americas NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC
No. 1042 *.
Technical Specifications for TN Americas ML16242A022.
NUHOMS[supreg] EOS System, CoC No. 1042 *.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The term ``Amendment 0'' used in the supporting documents for this
direct final rulemaking and the term ``Initial Certificate'' used in
10 CFR 72.214 describes the same document. Initial Certificate is the
correct term and will be used henceforth when discussion involves this
document.
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including
public comments, on the Federal Rulemaking Web site at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2016-0254. 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-2016-0254); (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).
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 adopting the following
amendment 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 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4332); Nuclear Waste 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.
0
2. In Sec. 72.214, Certificate of Compliance 1042 is added to read as
follows:
Sec. 72.214 List of approved spent fuel storage casks.
* * * * *
Certificate Number: 1042.
Initial Certificate Effective Date: June 7, 2017.
SAR Submitted by: TN Americas LLC.
SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the NUHOMS[supreg] EOS
Dry Spent Fuel Storage System.
Docket Number: 72-1042.
Certificate Expiration Date: March 24, 2037.
Model Number: EOS-37PTH, EOS-89BTH.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of March 2017.
[[Page 14992]]
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Victor M. McCree,
Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2017-05902 Filed 3-23-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
