Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel, 39475-39476 [2018-16994]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Notices sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES dated March 16, 2018, the Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) requested from the Commission an exemption to allow departures from Tier 1 information in the certified DCD incorporated by reference in 10 CFR part 52, appendix D, as part of license amendment request 17–042, ‘‘Tier 1 and Tier 2* Editorial and Consistency Changes.’’ For the reasons set forth in Section 3.2 of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation that which can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18106A638), the Commission finds that: A. The exemption is authorized by law; B. the exemption presents no undue risk to public health and safety; C. the exemption is consistent with the common defense and security; D. special circumstances are present in that the application of the rule in this circumstance is not necessary to serve the underlying purpose of the rule; E. the special circumstances outweigh any decrease in safety that may result from the reduction in standardization caused by the exemption; and F. the exemption will not result in a significant decrease in the level of safety otherwise provided by the design. 2. Accordingly, the licensee is granted an exemption from the certified DCD Tier 1 information, with corresponding changes to appendix C of the Facility Combined License, as described in the licensee’s request dated November 30, 2017, as supplemented by the letter dated March 16, 2018. This exemption is related to, and necessary for, the granting of License Amendment No. 125 [for Unit 3 and No. 124 for Unit 4], which is being issued concurrently with this exemption. 3. As explained in Section 5.0 of the NRC staff’s Safety Evaluation (ADAMS Accession No. ML18106A638), this exemption meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment needs to be prepared in connection with the issuance of the exemption. 4. This exemption is effective as of the date of its issuance. III. License Amendment Request By letter dated November 30, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17334B211), the licensee requested that the NRC amend the COLs for VEGP, Units 3 and 4, COLs NPF–91 and NPF–92. The proposed amendment is described in Section I of this document. The Commission has determined for these amendments that the application VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:11 Aug 08, 2018 Jkt 244001 complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission’s rules and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the Commission’s rules and regulations in 10 CFR chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment. A notice of consideration of issuance of amendment to facility operating license or COL, as applicable, proposed no significant hazards consideration determination, and opportunity for a hearing in connection with these actions, was published in the Federal Register on March 30, 2018 (83 FR 13796). No comments were received during the 30-day comment period. The Commission has determined that these amendments satisfy the criteria for categorical exclusion in accordance with 10 CFR 51.22. Therefore, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared for these amendments. IV. Conclusion Using the reasons set forth in the combined safety evaluation, the staff granted the exemption and issued the amendment that the licensee requested on November 30, 2017. The exemption and amendment were issued on May 31, 2018, as part of a combined package to the licensee (ADAMS Accession No. ML18106A626). Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of August 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jennifer L. Dixon-Herrity, Chief, Licensing Branch 4, Division of Licensing, Siting, and Environmental Analysis Office of New Reactors. [FR Doc. 2018–16995 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 39475 an engineering assessment of recent NRC-sponsored mechanical testing of HBU SNF, and proposes example approaches for licensing and certification of HBU SNF in transportation and dry storage. DATES: Submit comments on the draft NUREG–2224 by September 24, 2018. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2018–0066. Address questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual 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: Wendy Reed, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301– 415–7213; email: Wendy.Reed@nrc.gov; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments A. Obtaining Information NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2018–0066] Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Draft NUREG; request for comment. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment a draft NUREG, NUREG–2224, ‘‘Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel.’’ The draft NUREG provides technical background information applicable to high burnup spent nuclear fuel (HBU SNF), provides SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2018– 0066 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2018–0066. • 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 ‘‘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– E:\FR\FM\09AUN1.SGM 09AUN1 39476 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Notices 415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@ nrc.gov. Draft NUREG–2224, ‘‘Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel,’’ is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18214A132 • 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. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES B. Submitting Comments Please include Docket ID NRC–2018– 0066 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. Discussion Historically, the potential for changes in the cladding performance of HBU SNF to compromise the analyzed fuel configuration in transportation packages and dry storage systems has been addressed through safety review guidance (Interim Staff Guidance (ISG)—11, Revision 3, ‘‘Cladding Considerations for the Transportation and Storage of Spent Fuel’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML033230335); NUREG– 1536, Revision 1, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry Storage Systems at a General License Facility’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML101040620)). Timedependent changes on the cladding performance of HBU SNF are primarily driven by the fuel’s temperature, rod internal pressure (and corresponding pressure-induced cladding hoop stresses), and the environment during dry storage or transport operations. ISG– 11, Revision 3 and NUREG–1536, Revision 1 defines adequate fuel conditions, including peak cladding temperatures during short-term loading operations to prevent and mitigate degradation of the cladding. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:11 Aug 08, 2018 Jkt 244001 Draft NUREG–2224, ‘‘Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel,’’ (ADAMS Accession No. ML18214A132) is a technical basis document which expands on the aspects of ISG–11, Rev. 3 and NUREG–1536, Rev. 1 that pertain to hydride reorientation in HBU SNF cladding. Hydride reorientation is a process in which the orientation of hydrides precipitated in HBU SNF cladding during reactor operation changes from the circumferential-axial to the radialaxial direction. Draft NUREG–2224 provides an engineering assessment of the results of NRC-sponsored research (NUREG/CR–7198, Rev. 1, ‘‘Mechanical Fatigue Testing of High-Burnup Fuel for Transportation Application,’’ ADAMS Accession No. ML17292B057) on the mechanical performance of HBU SNF following hydride reorientation; and per the conclusions of that assessment, presents example approaches for licensing and certification of HBU SNF for transportation (under part 71of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material’’) and dry storage (under 10 CFR part 72, ‘‘Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste’’). The staff will review and consider public comments received on draft NUREG–2224 as it finalizes the guidance. The NRC is particularly seeking public comment on the following: 1. Are NRC’s assumptions regarding the performance of other cladding alloys based on data obtained from HBU SNF with Zircaloy-4 cladding for evaluating design basis drop accidents reasonable? If not, please explain why not. 2. Are the described licensing and certification approaches easy to follow and practical? If not, please explain why not. 3. Is the proposed approach for evaluation of vibration normally incident to transport clear? If not, please explain why not. 4. Are the discussions on consequence analyses due to hypothetical fuel reconfiguration clear and meaningful? If not, please explain why not. 5. Are there any potential conflicts between NUREG–2215, Standard Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry Storage Systems and Facilities, Draft for Comment (ADAMS Accession No. ML17310A693) and this document? If so, please describe any conflicts. 6. Is the NRC’s reassessment of the ductility transition temperature as PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 measured by ring compression testing of defueled HBU SNF specimens reasonable? If not, please explain why not. In answering the questions, please fully explain your answers. In addition, comments are invited on any areas of the draft report. III. Public Meeting The NRC will conduct a public meeting for the purpose of describing the draft NUREG and answering questions from the public. The NRC will publish a notice of the location, time, and agenda of the meeting on the NRC’s public meeting website at least 10 calendar days before the meeting. Stakeholders should monitor the NRC’s public meeting website for information about the public meeting at: https:// www.nrc.gov/public-involve/publicmeetings/index.cfm. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of August 2018. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Michael C. Layton, Director, Division of Spent Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 2018–16994 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 040–08903; NRC–2018–0154] Homestake Mining Company of California; Grants Reclamation Project; Groundwater Monitoring Plan Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: License amendment application; opportunity to request a hearing and to petition for leave to intervene. AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received an application from the Homestake Mining Company of California (the licensee), for amendment of Materials License No. SUA–1471, which authorizes the possession of residual uranium and byproduct material in the form of uranium waste tailings and other byproduct waste generated by the licensee’s past milling operations at the licensee’s uranium mill located in Cibola County, New Mexico. The amendment would update the groundwater monitoring plan to adjust the compliance monitoring for the groundwater restoration areas at the Grants Reclamation Project site. This change to the groundwater monitoring plan should ensure that coverage is SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\09AUN1.SGM 09AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 154 (Thursday, August 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39475-39476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16994]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2018-0066]


Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft NUREG; request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment a draft NUREG, NUREG-2224, ``Dry Storage and 
Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel.'' The draft NUREG 
provides technical background information applicable to high burnup 
spent nuclear fuel (HBU SNF), provides an engineering assessment of 
recent NRC-sponsored mechanical testing of HBU SNF, and proposes 
example approaches for licensing and certification of HBU SNF in 
transportation and dry storage.

DATES: Submit comments on the draft NUREG-2224 by September 24, 2018. 
Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical 
to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0066. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual 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: Wendy Reed, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-7213; email: 
[email protected]; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0066 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0066.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-

[[Page 39476]]

415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. Draft NUREG-2224, ``Dry 
Storage and Transportation of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel,'' is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18214A132
     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-2018-0066 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. Discussion

    Historically, the potential for changes in the cladding performance 
of HBU SNF to compromise the analyzed fuel configuration in 
transportation packages and dry storage systems has been addressed 
through safety review guidance (Interim Staff Guidance (ISG)--11, 
Revision 3, ``Cladding Considerations for the Transportation and 
Storage of Spent Fuel'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML033230335); NUREG-1536, 
Revision 1, ``Standard Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry Storage Systems 
at a General License Facility'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML101040620)). 
Time-dependent changes on the cladding performance of HBU SNF are 
primarily driven by the fuel's temperature, rod internal pressure (and 
corresponding pressure-induced cladding hoop stresses), and the 
environment during dry storage or transport operations. ISG-11, 
Revision 3 and NUREG-1536, Revision 1 defines adequate fuel conditions, 
including peak cladding temperatures during short-term loading 
operations to prevent and mitigate degradation of the cladding.
    Draft NUREG-2224, ``Dry Storage and Transportation of High Burnup 
Spent Nuclear Fuel,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML18214A132) is a technical 
basis document which expands on the aspects of ISG-11, Rev. 3 and 
NUREG-1536, Rev. 1 that pertain to hydride reorientation in HBU SNF 
cladding. Hydride reorientation is a process in which the orientation 
of hydrides precipitated in HBU SNF cladding during reactor operation 
changes from the circumferential-axial to the radial-axial direction. 
Draft NUREG-2224 provides an engineering assessment of the results of 
NRC-sponsored research (NUREG/CR-7198, Rev. 1, ``Mechanical Fatigue 
Testing of High-Burnup Fuel for Transportation Application,'' ADAMS 
Accession No. ML17292B057) on the mechanical performance of HBU SNF 
following hydride reorientation; and per the conclusions of that 
assessment, presents example approaches for licensing and certification 
of HBU SNF for transportation (under part 71of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Packaging and Transportation of 
Radioactive Material'') and dry storage (under 10 CFR part 72, 
``Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear 
Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than 
Class C Waste'').
    The staff will review and consider public comments received on 
draft NUREG-2224 as it finalizes the guidance. The NRC is particularly 
seeking public comment on the following:
    1. Are NRC's assumptions regarding the performance of other 
cladding alloys based on data obtained from HBU SNF with Zircaloy-4 
cladding for evaluating design basis drop accidents reasonable? If not, 
please explain why not.
    2. Are the described licensing and certification approaches easy to 
follow and practical? If not, please explain why not.
    3. Is the proposed approach for evaluation of vibration normally 
incident to transport clear? If not, please explain why not.
    4. Are the discussions on consequence analyses due to hypothetical 
fuel reconfiguration clear and meaningful? If not, please explain why 
not.
    5. Are there any potential conflicts between NUREG-2215, Standard 
Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry Storage Systems and Facilities, Draft 
for Comment (ADAMS Accession No. ML17310A693) and this document? If so, 
please describe any conflicts.
    6. Is the NRC's reassessment of the ductility transition 
temperature as measured by ring compression testing of defueled HBU SNF 
specimens reasonable? If not, please explain why not.
    In answering the questions, please fully explain your answers. In 
addition, comments are invited on any areas of the draft report.

III. Public Meeting

    The NRC will conduct a public meeting for the purpose of describing 
the draft NUREG and answering questions from the public. The NRC will 
publish a notice of the location, time, and agenda of the meeting on 
the NRC's public meeting website at least 10 calendar days before the 
meeting. Stakeholders should monitor the NRC's public meeting website 
for information about the public meeting at: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of August 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael C. Layton,
Director, Division of Spent Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-16994 Filed 8-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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