List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewal of Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 Through 4, 28572-28581 [2024-08388]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 77 / Friday, April 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
The TSOB ratified Security Directive
Pipeline–2021–02D on August 24, 2023.
The TSOB also authorized TSA to
extend the security directive beyond its
current expiration date, should the TSA
Administrator determine such an
extension is necessary to address the
evolving threat that may continue
beyond the original expiration date.
Such an extension is subject to the
following conditions: (1) there are no
changes to the security directive other
than an extended expiration date; (2) the
TSA Administrator makes an affirmative
determination that conditions warrant
the extension of the directive’s
requirements; and (3) the TSA
Administrator documents such a
determination and notifies the TSOB.
Kristie Canegallo,
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the
Deputy Secretary & Chairman of the
Transportation Security Oversight Board.
[FR Doc. 2024–08393 Filed 4–18–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–9M–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
7 CFR Parts 210, 220, 225, and 292
[FNS–2023–0029]
RIN 0584–AE96
Establishing the Summer EBT Program
and Rural Non-Congregate Option in
the Summer Meal Programs
Food and Nutrition Service
(FNS), Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION: Interim final rule, extension of
comment period.
AGENCY:
The USDA Food and
Nutrition Service is extending for 120
days the public comment period on the
interim final rule, ‘‘Establishing the
Summer EBT Program and Rural NonCongregate Option in the Summer Meal
Programs’’, which published in the
Federal Register on December 29, 2023.
This action extends the public comment
period from April 29, 2024, to August
27, 2024, to give the public additional
time to prepare and submit comments.
DATES: The comment period of the
interim final rule published December
29, 2023, at 88 FR 90230, is extended
through August 27, 2024. To be assured
of consideration, written comments on
this interim final rule must be received
on or before August 27, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The Food and Nutrition
Service invites interested persons to
submit comments on this interim final
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SUMMARY:
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rule. Comments may be submitted by
any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Send comments to
Community Meals Policy Division, Food
and Nutrition Service, 1320 Braddock
Place, Alexandria, VA 22314.
• All written comments submitted in
response to this interim final rule will
be included in the record and will be
made available to the public. Please be
advised that the substance of the
comments and the identity of the
individuals or entities submitting the
comments will be subject to public
disclosure. USDA will make the written
comments publicly available on the
internet via https://
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J.
Kevin Maskornick, Division Director,
Community Meals Policy Division,
USDA Food and Nutrition Service, 1320
Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314;
telephone: 703–305–2537.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Food
and Nutrition Service is extending the
public comment period on the interim
final rule ‘‘Establishing the Summer
EBT Program and Rural Non-Congregate
Option in the Summer Meal Programs’’,
which published on December 29, 2023,
at 88 FR 90230. The Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 required the
Secretary of Agriculture to make
available an option to States to provide
summer meals for non-congregate meal
service in rural areas with no congregate
meal service and to establish a
permanent Summer Electronic Benefits
Transfer for Children Program (Summer
EBT) for the purpose of ensuring
continued access to food when school is
not in session for the summer. This
interim final rule amends the Summer
Food Service Program (SFSP) and the
National School Lunch Program’s
Seamless Summer Option (SSO)
regulations to codify the flexibility for
rural program operators to provide noncongregate meal service in the SFSP and
SSO, collectively referred to as the
summer meal programs. This rule also
establishes regulations and codifies the
Summer EBT Program in the Code of
Federal Regulations.
This action extends the public
comment period to August 27, 2024, to
provide additional time for the public,
including State administering agencies,
Territories, and Indian Tribal
Organizations, as well as program
participants and beneficiaries, and other
stakeholders, to prepare and submit
comments. Because the interim final
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rule became effective immediately upon
publication, stakeholders are already
taking active steps to implement its
provisions. Extending the comment
period ensures that these stakeholders
are able to provide robust feedback on
the entirety of the interim final rule’s
provisions, and that this feedback is
reflective of their implementation
experiences in advance of and during
Summer 2024. Receipt of informed
public input accounting for the first year
of operations under the new Program
rules will be vital when the Food and
Nutrition Service considers future
rulemaking to finalize the provisions of
the interim final rule.
Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–08369 Filed 4–18–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–30–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC–2023–0220]
RIN 3150–AL05
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage
Casks: FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System, Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026, Renewal of
Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos.
1 Through 4
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is amending its
spent fuel storage regulations by
revising the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System listing within
the ‘‘List of approved spent fuel storage
casks’’ to renew the initial certificate
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026. The
renewal of the initial certificate of
compliance and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 for 40 years revises the
certificate’s conditions and technical
specifications to address aging
management activities related to the
structures, systems, and components
important to safety of the dry storage
system to ensure that these will
maintain their intended functions
during the period of extended storage
operations.
SUMMARY:
This direct final rule is effective
July 3, 2024, unless significant adverse
comments are received by May 20, 2024.
If the direct final rule is withdrawn as
DATES:
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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 NRC 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: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID NRC–2023–
0220, at https://www.regulations.gov. If
your material cannot be submitted using
https://www.regulations.gov, call or
email the individuals listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document for alternate instructions.
You can read a plain language
description of this direct final rule at
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/
NRC-2023-0220. 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:
George Tartal, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301–
415–0016, email: george.tartal@nrc.gov
and Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards,
telephone: 301–415–1018, email: yenju.chen@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001.
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 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
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I. Obtaining Information and
Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2023–
0220 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:
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• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2023–0220. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn
Forder, telephone: 301–415–3407,
email: Dawn.Forder@nrc.gov. For
technical questions contact the
individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• 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–
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: The PDR, where you
may examine and order copies of
publicly available documents, is open
by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern
time, Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC–2023–
0220 in your comment submission. The
NRC requests that you submit comments
through the Federal rulemaking website
at https://www.regulations.gov. If your
material cannot be submitted using
https://www.regulations.gov, call or
email the individuals listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document for alternate instructions.
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
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submissions to remove such information
before making the comment
submissions available to the public or
entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Rulemaking Procedure
This direct final rule is limited to the
changes contained in the Initial
Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 to Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026 and does not include other
aspects of the FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System Cask System
design. The NRC is using the ‘‘direct
final rule procedure’’ to issue this
amendment because it represents a
limited and routine change to an
existing certificate of compliance that is
expected to be non-controversial.
Adequate protection of public health
and safety continues to be reasonably
assured. The amendment to the rule will
become effective on July 3, 2024.
However, if the NRC receives any
significant adverse comment on this
direct final rule by May 20, 2024, 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 or as
otherwise appropriate. In general,
absent significant modifications to the
proposed 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 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.
(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 to
make a change (other than editorial) to
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the rule, certificate of compliance, or
technical specifications (TS).
III. Background
Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1982, as amended,
requires that ‘‘[t]he 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
Nuclear Waste Policy Act states, in part,
that ‘‘[t]he 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 that 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. The NRC subsequently issued a
final rule on January 16, 2001 (66 FR
3444), that approved the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design and added
it to the list of NRC-approved cask
designs in § 72.214 as Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026.
On August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49352),
the NRC amended the scope of the
general licenses issued under 10 CFR
72.210 to include the storage of spent
fuel in an independent spent fuel
storage installations (ISFSI) at power
reactor sites to persons authorized to
possess or operate nuclear power
reactors under 10 CFR part 52. On
February 16, 2011 (76 FR 8872), the
NRC amended subparts K and L in 10
CFR part 72, to extend and clarify the
term limits for certificates of compliance
and revised the conditions for spent fuel
storage cask renewals, including adding
requirements for the safety analysis
report to include time-limited aging
analyses and a description of aging
management programs. The NRC also
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clarified the terminology used in the
regulations to use ‘‘renewal’’ rather than
‘‘reapproval’’ to better reflect that
extending the term of a currently
approved cask design is based on the
cask design standards in effect at the
time the certificate of compliance was
approved rather than current standards.
IV. Discussion of Changes
The term certified by the initial
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026 was
20 years. The period of extended
operation for each cask begins 20 years
after the cask is first used by the general
licensee to store spent fuel. On
November 6, 2020, Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC submitted a
request to the NRC to renew Certificate
of Compliance No. 1026 for a period of
40 years beyond the initial certificate
period. Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC supplemented its request on March
30, 2021; June 30, 2022; and September
13, 2022.
The FuelSolutionsTM Storage System
(the system) is certified as described in
the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) and in
NRC’s Safety Evaluation Report (SER)
accompanying the certificate of
compliance (CoC). The system consists
of the following components: (1)
canister for dry storage of spent nuclear
fuel (W21 and W74); (2) transfer cask for
canister loading, closure and handling
capability (W100); and (3) storage cask
which provides passive vertical dry
storage of a loaded canister (W150). The
system stores up to 21 pressurized water
reactor (PWR) assemblies or 64 boiling
water reactor (BWR) assemblies.
The canister is the component
providing confinement to the system for
the stored fuel. A typical canister
consists of a shell assembly, top and
bottom inner closure plates, vent and
drain port covers, internal basket
assembly, top and bottom shield plugs,
and top and bottom outer closure plates.
All structural components are
constructed of high-strength carbon
steel (electroless nickel coated) or
stainless steel. The canister shell, top
and bottom inner closure plates, and the
vent and drain port covers form the
confinement boundary. The storage
overpack provides structural support,
shielding, protection from
environmental conditions, and natural
convection cooling of the canister
during long-term storage. The transfer
cask provides shielding during canister
movements between the spent fuel pool
and the storage cask.
The Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI)
document NEI 14–03, Revision 2,
‘‘Format, Content and Implementation
Guidance for Dry Cask Storage
Operations-Based Aging Management,’’
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(December 2016) provides an
operations-based, learning approach to
aging management for the storage of
spent fuel, which builds on the lessons
learned from industry’s experience with
aging management for reactors. The
NRC endorsed NEI 14–03, Revision 2,
with clarifications, in Regulatory Guide
3.76, Revision 0, ‘‘Implementation of
Aging Management Requirements for
Spent Fuel Storage Renewals,’’ issued
July 2021. Specifically, NEI 14–03
provides a framework for sharing
operating experience through an
industry-developed database called the
ISFSI Aging Management Institute of
Nuclear Power Operations Database.
NEI 14–03 also includes a framework for
learning aging management programs
using aging management ‘‘tollgates,’’
which offer a structured approach for
periodically assessing operating
experience and data from applicable
research and industry initiatives at
specific times during the period of
extended operation and performing a
safety assessment that confirms the safe
storage of the spent nuclear fuel by
ensuring the aging management
programs continue to effectively manage
the identified aging effects. The ISFSI
Aging Management Institute of Nuclear
Power Operations Database provides
operating experience information and a
basis to support licensees’ future
changes to the aging management
programs. The ISFSI Aging Management
Institute of Nuclear Power Operations
Database and the aging management
tollgates are considered key elements in
ensuring the effectiveness of aging
management activities and the
continued safe storage of spent fuel
during the period of extended operation.
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
incorporated periodic tollgate
assessments as requirements in the
renewed certificate of compliance, as
recommended in NEI 14–03, Revision 2.
The implementation of tollgate
assessments provides reasonable
assurance that the aging management
programs for the canister, the transfer
cask, and the overpack will continue to
effectively manage aging effects during
the period of extended operation.
The renewal of the initial certificate
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 was
conducted in accordance with the
renewal provisions in § 72.240. The
NRC’s regulations require the safety
analysis report for the renewal to
include time-limited aging analyses that
demonstrate that structures, systems,
and components important to safety will
continue to perform their intended
function for the requested period of
extended operation and a description of
the aging management programs for the
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management of issues associated with
aging that could adversely affect
structures, systems, and components
important to safety. In addition, the
regulations in § 72.240(e) authorize the
NRC to revise the certificate of
compliance to include any additional
terms, conditions, and specifications it
deems necessary to ensure the safe
operation of the cask during the
certificate of compliance’s renewal term.
The NRC is revising the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 to update the certificate
holder name and address and to make
corrections and editorial changes to the
CoC and TSs. The changes to the
aforementioned documents are
identified with revision bars in the
margin of each document. The NRC is
adding three new conditions to address
aging management activities related to
the structures, systems, and components
important to the safety of the dry storage
system to ensure that these will
maintain their intended functions
during the period of extended storage
operations. The three new conditions
added to the renewal of the initial
certificate of compliance and
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 are:
• A condition requiring the certificate
of compliance holder to submit an
updated final safety analysis report
within 90 days after the effective date of
the renewal. The updated final safety
analysis report must reflect the changes
resulting from the review and approval
of the renewal of the certificate of
compliance, including the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System final safety
analysis report. This condition ensures
that final safety analysis report changes
are made in a timely fashion to enable
general licensees using the storage
system during the period of extended
operation to develop and implement
necessary procedures related to renewal
and aging management activities. The
certificate of compliance holder is
required to continue to update the final
safety analysis report pursuant to the
requirements of § 72.248.
• A condition requiring each general
licensee using the FuelSolutionsTM
Spent Fuel Management System design
to include, in the evaluations required
by § 72.212(b)(5), evaluations related to
the terms, conditions, and specifications
of this certificate of compliance
amendment as modified (i.e., changed
or added) as a result of the renewal of
the certificate of compliance and
include, in the document review
required by § 72.212(b)(6), a review of
the final safety analysis report changes
resulting from the renewal of the
certificate of compliance and the NRC
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Safety Evaluation Report for the renewal
of the certificate of compliance. The
general licensee would also be required
to ensure that the evaluations required
by § 72.212(b)(7) in response to these
changes are conducted and the
determination required by § 72.212(b)(8)
is made. This condition also makes it
clear that to meet the requirements in
§ 72.212(b)(11), general licensees that
currently use a FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System will need to
update their § 72.212 reports, even if
they do not put additional
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management Systems into service after
the renewal’s effective date. These
evaluations, reviews, and
determinations are to be completed
before the dry storage system enters the
period of extended operation (which
begins 20 years after the first use of the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System) or no later than
365 days after the effective date of this
rule, whichever is later. This will
provide general licensees a minimum of
365 days to comply with the new terms,
conditions, specifications, and other
changes to the certificate of compliance
and to make the necessary
determinations required by
§ 72.212(b)(8) as to whether activities
related to the storage of spent nuclear
fuel using the renewed certificate of
compliance involve a change in the
facility Technical Specifications or
requires a license amendment for the
facility.
• A condition requiring all future
amendments and revisions to the
certificate of compliance (i.e., the initial
certificate 1026 and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4) include evaluations of the
impacts to aging management activities
(i.e., time-limited aging analyses and
aging management programs) to ensure
that they remain adequate for any
changes to structures, systems, and
components important to safety within
the scope of renewal. This condition
ensures that future amendments to the
certificate of compliance address the
renewed design bases for the certificate
of compliance, including aging
management impacts that may arise
from any changes to the system in
proposed future amendments.
Additionally, the condition for the
initial certificate and Amendment Nos.
1 through 4 would be amended to reflect
changes to the scope of the general
license granted by § 72.210 that were
made after the approval of the initial
certificate. The authorization is
amended to allow persons authorized to
possess or operate a nuclear power
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reactor under 10 CFR part 52 to use the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System under the general
license issued under § 72.210.
The NRC made one corresponding
change from the technical specifications
for the initial certificate of compliance
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 by
adding a section addressing the aging
management program. General licensees
using the FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design during the
period of extended operation will need
to establish, implement, and maintain
written procedures for each applicable
aging management program in the final
safety analysis report to use the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design during the
approved period of extended operation.
The procedures will need to include
provisions for changing aging
management program elements, as
necessary, and within the limitations of
the approved design bases to address
new information on aging effects based
on inspection findings and/or industry
operating experience. General licensees
will also be required to perform tollgate
assessments as described in the final
safety analysis report.
General licensees will need to
establish and implement these written
procedures prior to entering the period
of extended operation (which begins 20
years after the first use of the cask
system) or no later than 365 days after
the effective date of this rule, whichever
is later. The general licensee is required
to maintain these written procedures for
as long as the general licensee continues
to operate the FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System in service for
longer than 20 years.
Under § 72.240(d), the design of a
spent fuel storage cask will be renewed
if (1) the quality assurance requirements
in 10 CFR part 72, subpart G, ‘‘Quality
Assurance,’’ are met, (2) the
requirements of § 72.236(a) through (i)
are met, and (3) the application includes
a demonstration that the storage of spent
fuel has not, in a significant manner,
adversely affected the structures,
systems, and components important to
safety. Additionally, § 72.240(c) requires
that the safety analysis report
accompanying the application contain
time-limited aging analyses that
demonstrate that the structures,
systems, and components important to
safety will continue to perform their
intended function for the requested
period of extended operation and a
description of the aging management
program for management of aging issues
that could adversely affect structures,
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systems, and components important to
safety.
As documented in the preliminary
safety evaluation report, the NRC
reviewed the application for the renewal
of the certificate of compliance and the
conditions in the certificate of
compliance and determined that the
conditions in subpart G, § 72.236(a)
through (i), have been met and the
application includes a demonstration
that the storage of spent nuclear fuel has
not, in a significant manner, adversely
affected structures, systems, and
components important to safety. The
NRC’s safety review determined that the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System, with the added
terms, conditions, and specifications in
the certificate of compliance and the
technical specifications, will continue
to meet the requirements of 10 CFR part
72 for an additional 40 years beyond the
initial certificate term. Consistent with
§ 72.240, the NRC is renewing the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System initial certificate
1026 and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4.
Extending the expiration date of the
approval for the initial certificate and
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 for 40
years and requiring the implementation
of aging management activities during
the period of extended operation does
not impose any modification or addition
to the design of a cask system’s
structures, systems, and components
important to safety, or to the procedures
or organization required to operate the
system during the initial 20-year storage
term certified by the cask’s initial
certificate of compliance. General
licensees who have loaded these casks,
or who load these casks in the future
under the specifications of the
applicable renewed certificate of
compliance, may store spent fuel in
these cask system designs for 20 years
without implementing the aging
management program. For any casks
that have been in use for more than 20
years, the general licensee will have 365
days to complete the analyses required
to use the cask system design pursuant
to the terms and conditions in the
renewed certificate of compliance. As
explained in the 2011 final rule that
amended 10 CFR part 72 (76 FR 8872),
the general licensee’s authority to use a
particular storage cask design under an
approved certificate of compliance will
be for at least the term certified by the
cask’s certificate of compliance. For
casks placed into service before the
expiration date of the initial certificate,
the general licensee’s authority to use
the cask would be extended for an
additional 40 years from the date the
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initial certificate expired. For casks
placed into service after the expiration
date of the initial certificate and before
the effective date of this rule, the
general licensee’s authority to use the
cask would last the length of the term
certified by the cask’s certificate of
compliance (i.e., 40 years after the cask
is placed into service). For casks placed
into service after this rule becomes
effective, the general licensee’s
authority to use the cask would expire
40 years after the cask is first placed
into service.
This direct final rule revises the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design listing in
§ 72.214 by renewing, for 40 more years,
the initial certificate and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4 of Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026. The renewed
certificate of compliance includes the
changes to the certificate of compliance
and technical specifications previously
described. The renewed certificate of
compliance includes the terms,
conditions, and specifications that will
ensure the safe operation of the cask
during the renewal term and the added
conditions that will require the
implementation of an aging
management program. The preliminary
safety evaluation report describes the
new and revised conditions in the
certificate of compliance, the changes to
the technical specifications, and the
NRC staff evaluation.
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 revises the FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System Cask System
design listed in § 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 ‘‘Agreement State Program
Policy Statement’’ approved by the
Commission on October 2, 2017, and
published in the Federal Register on
October 18, 2017 (82 FR 48535), this
rule is classified as Compatibility
Category NRC—Areas of Exclusive NRC
Regulatory Authority. The NRC program
elements in this category are those that
relate directly to areas of regulation
reserved to the NRC by the Atomic
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Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the
provisions of 10 CFR chapter I.
Therefore, compatibility is not required
for program elements in this category.
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 31885).
VIII. Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact
Under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the
NRC’s regulations in 10 CFR part 51,
‘‘Environmental Protection Regulations
for Domestic Licensing and Related
Regulatory Functions,’’ the NRC has
determined that this direct final 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
based on this environmental
assessment.
A. The Action
The action is to amend § 72.214 to
revise the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System listing within
the ‘‘List of approved spent fuel storage
casks’’ to renew the initial certificate
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026.
B. The Need for the Action
This direct final rule renews the
certificate of compliance for the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design within the
list of approved spent fuel storage casks
to allow power reactor licensees to store
spent fuel at reactor sites in casks with
the approved modifications under a
general license. Specifically, this rule
extends the expiration date for the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System certificate of
compliance for an additional 40 years,
allowing a power reactor licensee to
continue using the cask design during a
period of extended operation for a term
certified by the cask’s renewed
certificate of compliance.
In addition, this direct final rule
revises the certificate of compliance for
the initial certificate and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4 to update the
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certificate holder name and address and
adds three new conditions:
• A condition for submitting an
updated FSAR to the NRC, in
accordance with § 72.4, within 90 days
after the effective date of the CoC
renewal.
• A condition for renewed CoC use
during the period of extended operation
to ensure that a general licensee’s report
prepared under § 72.212 evaluates the
appropriate considerations for the
period of extended operation. All future
amendments and revisions to this CoC
must include evaluations of the impacts
to aging management activities. The
NRC is revising the initial certificate
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to
address the language change in § 72.210
‘‘General license issue’’ and other
updates to the regulations. The NRC is
making changes to TSs including
updating the certificate holder’s
information in all TSs for the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 and updating references to
‘‘FuelSolutions’’ and ‘‘Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC’’ or ‘‘WEC.’’
• A condition requiring all future
amendments and revisions to the
certificate of compliance (i.e., the initial
certificate 1026 and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4) include evaluations of the
impacts to aging management activities
(i.e., time-limited aging analyses and
aging management programs) to ensure
that they remain adequate for any
changes to structures, systems, and
components important to safety within
the scope of renewal.
Finally, the NRC will make various
corrections and editorial changes to the
CoC and TSs.
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
analyzed in the environmental
assessment for the 1990 final rule and
are described in ‘‘Environmental
Assessment for Proposed Rule Entitled,
‘Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in NRCApproved Storage Casks at Nuclear
Power Reactor Sites.’ ’’ The potential
environmental impacts for the longerterm use of dry cask designs and the
renewal of certificates of compliance
were analyzed in the environmental
assessment for the 2011 final rule
establishing the regulatory requirements
for renewing certificates of compliance
and are described in ‘‘Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for the Final Rule
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Amending 10 CFR part 72 License and
Certificate of Compliance Terms.’’ The
environmental impacts from continued
storage were also considered in
NUREG–2157, ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement for Continued Storage
of Spent Nuclear Fuel.’’ The
environmental assessment for the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 to Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026 tiers off the environmental
assessment for the February 16, 2011,
final rule and NUREG–2157. Tiering on
past environmental assessments is a
standard process under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended.
The Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management 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 in casks
in accordance with 10 CFR part 72, can
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.
A renewal reaffirms the original
design basis and allows the cask to be
used during a period of extended
operation that corresponds to the term
certified by the cask’s certificate of
compliance in the renewal. As a
condition of the renewal, the NRC
requires an aging management program
that will ensure that structures, systems,
and components important to safety will
perform as designers intended during
the renewal period. The renewal does
not reflect a change in design or
fabrication of the cask system. This
renewal does not reflect a significant
change in design or fabrication of the
cask. Because there are no significant
design or process changes, any resulting
occupational exposure or offsite dose
rates from the renewal of the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 would remain well within the
10 CFR part 20 limits. The NRC has also
determined that the design of the cask
would continue to maintain
confinement, shielding, and criticality
control in the event of an accident.
Therefore, these changes will not result
in any radiological or non-radiological
environmental impacts that significantly
differ from the environmental impacts
evaluated in the environmental
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28577
assessment supporting the February 16,
2011, 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 exposures, and no significant
increase in the potential for, or
consequences from, radiological
accidents. The NRC determined that the
structures, systems, and components
important to safety will continue to
perform their intended functions during
the requested period of extended
operation. The NRC determined that the
renewed Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System design, when
used under the conditions specified in
the renewed certificate of compliance,
the technical specifications, 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
reasonably assured. The NRC
documented its safety findings in the
preliminary safety evaluation report.
D. Alternative to the Action
The alternative to this action is to
deny the renewal of the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 and not issue the direct final
rule. Consequently, any 10 CFR part 72
general licensee that seeks to load spent
nuclear fuel into Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System after the
expiration date of the certificate of
compliance or that seeks to continue
storing spent nuclear fuel in the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System for longer than the
term certified by the cask’s certificate of
compliance for the initial certificate
(i.e., more than 20 years) would have to
request an exemption from the
requirements of §§ 72.212 and 72.214 or
would have to load the spent nuclear
fuel into a different approved cask
design. Under this alternative, those
licensees interested in continuing to use
the Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System would have to
prepare, and the NRC would have to
review, a separate exemption request,
thereby increasing the administrative
burden upon the NRC and the costs to
each licensee. If the general licensee is
granted an exemption, the
environmental impacts would be the
same as the proposed action. If the
general licensee is not granted an
exemption, the general licensee would
need to unload the Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM
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Spent Fuel Management System and
load the fuel into another cask system
design, which would result in
environmental impacts that are greater
than for the proposed action because
activities associated with cask loading
and decontamination may result in
some small liquid and gaseous effluent.
E. Alternative Use of Resources
Renewal of the initial certificate and
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026
would result in no irreversible
commitment 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.
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G. Finding of No Significant Impact
This direct final rule is to amend
§ 72.214 to revise the Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM
Spent Fuel Management System listing
within the ‘‘List of approved spent fuel
storage casks’’ to renew, for an
additional 40 years, the initial certificate
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 of
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026. The
environmental impacts of the action
have been reviewed under the
requirements in 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 renewal
does not reflect a change in design or
fabrication of the cask system as
approved for the initial certificate or
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4. The NRC
determined that the renewed
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design, when used
under the conditions specified in the
renewed certificate of compliance, the
technical specifications, 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 reasonably assured.
Based on the foregoing environmental
assessment, the NRC concludes that this
direct final rule, ‘‘List of Approved
Spent Fuel Storage Casks:
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System, Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026, Renewal of Initial
Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4,’’ will not have a significant
effect on the quality of the human
environment. Therefore, the NRC has
determined that an environmental
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impact statement is not necessary for
this direct final rule.
IX. Paperwork Reduction Act
Statement
This direct 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,
approval number 3150–0132.
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond
to, a request for information or an
information collection requirement
unless the requesting document
displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget control
number.
X. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), the NRC
certifies that this direct final 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 Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC. 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
(§ 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 (1)
it notifies the NRC in advance; (2) the
spent fuel is stored under the conditions
specified in the cask’s certificate of
compliance; and (3) the conditions of
the general license are met. A list of
NRC-approved cask designs is contained
in § 72.214. On January 16, 2001 (66 FR
3444), the NRC issued an amendment to
10 CFR part 72 that approved the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System by adding it to the
list of NRC-approved cask designs in
§ 72.214.
On November 6, 2020, and as
supplemented on March 30, 2021, June
30, 2022, and September 13, 2022,
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
submitted a request to renew the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System as described in
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Section IV, ‘‘Discussion of Changes,’’ of
this document.
The alternative to this action is to
withhold approval of the renewal of the
initial certificate and Amendment Nos.
1 through 4 and to require any 10 CFR
part 72 general licensee seeking to
continue the storage of spent nuclear
fuel in Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System using the initial
certificate or Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 beyond the initial 20-year
storage term certified by the cask’s
initial certificate of compliance to
request an exemption from the
requirements of §§ 72.212 and 72.214.
The term for general licenses would not
be extended from 20 years to 40 years.
Under this alternative, each interested
10 CFR part 72 licensee would have to
prepare, and the NRC would have to
review, a separate exemption request,
thereby increasing the administrative
burden upon the NRC and the costs to
each licensee.
Approval of this direct final rule is
consistent with previous NRC actions.
Further, as documented in the
preliminary safety evaluation report and
environmental assessment, this 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
this 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; therefore, this action is
recommended.
XII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the
actions in this direct final rule do not
require a backfit analysis because they
do not fall within the definition of
backfitting under § 72.62 or
§ 50.109(a)(1), they do not impact the
issue finality provisions applicable to
combined licenses under 10 CFR part
52, and they do not impact general
licensees that are using these systems
for the duration of their current general
licenses.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026 for
the Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design, as
currently listed in § 72.214, ‘‘List of
Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks,’’
was initially approved for a 20-year
term. This direct final rule would renew
the initial certificate and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4, extending their
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approval period by 40 years. The term
certified by the cask’s certificate of
compliance for a renewed certificate of
compliance is the period of time
commencing with the most recent
certificate of compliance renewal date
and ending with the certificate of
compliance expiration date. With this
renewal, the term certified by the cask’s
certificate of compliance would change
from 20 years to 60 years, with the
period of extended operation beginning
20 years after the cask is placed into
service. The revision to the certificate of
compliance through the renewal
consists of the changes in the renewed
initial certificate (Amendment No. 0)
and renewed Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 as previously described, and
as set forth in the renewed certificates
of compliance and technical
specifications. These changes would not
affect the use of the Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM
Spent Fuel Management System design
for the initial 20- year term for
previously loaded casks. The renewed
certificates would require
implementation of aging management
programs during the period of extended
operation, which begins after the storage
cask system’s initial 20-year service
period.
Because the term for the renewal
would be longer than the initial term
certified by the cask’s certificate of
compliance, the general licensee’s
authority to use the cask would be
extended and would be no less than 60
years. This change would not add,
eliminate, or modify (1) structures,
systems, or components of an
independent spent fuel storage
installation or a monitored retrievable
storage installation or (2) the procedures
or organization required to operate an
independent spent fuel storage
installation or a monitored retrievable
storage installation.
Renewing these certificates does not
fall within the definition of backfit
under § 72.62 or § 50.109, or otherwise
represent an inconsistency with the
issue finality provisions applicable to
combined licenses in 10 CFR part 52.
General licensees who have loaded
these casks, or who load these casks in
the future under the specifications of
the applicable certificate, may continue
to store spent fuel in these systems for
the initial 20-year storage period
authorized by the original certificate.
Extending the certificates’ expiration
dates for 40 more years and requiring
the implementation of aging
management programs does not impose
any modification or addition to the
design of the structures, systems, and
components important to safety of a
cask system, or to the procedures or
organization required to operate the
system during this initial 20-year term
certified by the cask’s certificate of
compliance. The aging management
programs required to be implemented
by this renewal are only required to be
implemented after the storage cask
system’s initial 20-year service period
ends.
Because this rulemaking renews the
certificates, and because renewal is a
separate NRC licensing action
voluntarily implemented by vendors or
licensees, the renewal of these
certificates is not an imposition of new
or changed requirements from which
these certificate of compliance holders
or licensees would otherwise be
protected by the backfitting provisions
in § 72.62 or § 50.109. Even if renewal
of this certificate of compliance cask
system design could be considered a
backfit, Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC, as the certificate of compliance
holder and vendor of the casks, is not
protected by the backfitting provisions
in § 72.62 in this capacity.
Unlike a vendor, general licensees
using the existing systems subject to
these renewals would be protected by
the backfitting provisions in § 72.62 and
§ 50.109 if the renewals constituted new
or changed requirements. But as
previously explained, renewal of the
certificates for these systems does not
impose such requirements. The general
licensees using these certificates of
compliance may continue storing
material in the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System design for the
initial 20-year storage period identified
in the applicable certificate or
amendment with no changes. If general
licensees choose to continue to store
spent fuel in the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System design after
the initial 20-year period, these general
licensees will be required to implement
the applicable aging management
programs for any cask systems subject to
a renewed certificate of compliance, but
such continued use is voluntary.
Additionally, the actions in this direct
final rule do not impact issue finality
provisions applicable to combined
licenses under 10 CFR part 52. For these
reasons, renewing the initial certificate
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 of
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026 does
not constitute backfitting under § 72.62
or § 50.109(a)(1), or otherwise represent
an inconsistency with the issue finality
provisions applicable to combined
licenses in 10 CFR part 52. Accordingly,
the NRC has not prepared a backfit
analysis for this rulemaking.
XIII. Congressional Review Act
This direct final rule is not 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.
Adams Accession No./
Web Link/
Federal Register
Citation
Document
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Proposed Certificate of Compliance
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Certificate
Certificate
Certificate
Certificate
Certificate
of
of
of
of
of
Compliance
Compliance
Compliance
Compliance
Compliance
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
1026,
1026,
1026,
1026,
1026,
Renewed
Renewed
Renewed
Renewed
Renewed
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
Amendment
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
0
1
2
3
4
....................................................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
....................................................................
ML22354A265.
ML22354A269.
ML22354A273.
ML22354A277.
ML22354A281.
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for Renewed Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Amendments Nos. 0–4 ...........
ML22354A285.
Proposed Technical Specifications
Proposed Technical Specifications Appendix A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0 ...
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Adams Accession No./
Web Link/
Federal Register
Citation
Document
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Technical
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
Appendix
B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0
C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0
A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1
B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1
C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1
A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2
B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2
C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2
A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3
B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3
C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3
A for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4
B for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4
C for Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
ML22354A267.
ML22354A268.
ML22354A270.
ML22354A271.
ML22354A272.
ML22354A274.
ML22354A275.
ML22354A276.
ML22354A278.
ML22354A279.
ML22354A280.
ML22354A282.
ML22354A283.
ML22354A284.
‘‘Environmental Assessment and Findings of No Significant Impact for the Final Rule Amending 10 CFR Part 72 License and Certificate of Compliance Terms.’’ (2010).
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel: Final Report (NUREG–2157,
Volumes 1 and 2). (2014).
ML100710441.
Environmental Documents
ML14198A440 (package).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System Renewal Application Documents
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ‘‘Submittal of FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.’’ Westinghouse letter LTR–NRC–20–64. (November 6, 2020).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ‘‘Reponses to Requests for Supplemental Information for the Application for the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.’’ Westinghouse letter LTR–NRC–21–14 Revision 0. (March 30, 2021).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ‘‘Submittal of FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.’’ Westinghouse letter LTR–NRC–22–27. (June 30, 2022).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ‘‘Submittal of Supplemental Response to NRC RAI A–RCS1.’’ Westinghouse letter LTR–NRC–22–38. (September 13, 2022).
ML20315A012 (package).
ML21090A201 (package).
ML22186A053 (package).
ML22256A285 (package).
Other Documents
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
‘‘Standard Review Plan for Renewal of Specific Licenses and Certificates of Compliance for Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel.’’ NUREG–1927, Revision 1. Washington, DC. (June 2016).
‘‘Managing Aging Processes in Storage (MAPS) Report.’’ Final Report. NUREG–2214. Washington, DC. (July 2019) ..
‘‘General License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.’’ (July 18, 1990) .....................................................
‘‘List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: FuelSolutions Addition.’’ (January 16, 2001) .............................................
‘‘License and Certificate of Compliance Terms.’’ (February 16, 2011) ...............................................................................
‘‘Agreement State Program Policy Statement; Correction.’’ (October 18, 2017) ................................................................
Nuclear Energy Institute NEI 14–03, Revision 2, ‘‘Format, Content and Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask Storage Operations-Based Aging Management.’’ (December 2016).
Regulatory Guide 3.76, Revision 0, ‘‘Implementation of Aging Management Requirements for Spent Fuel Storage Renewals.’’ (July 2021).
‘‘Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.’’ (August 28, 2007) ...................................................
Presidential Memorandum, ‘‘Plain Language in Government Writing.’’ (June 10, 1998) ...................................................
The NRC may post materials related
to this document, including public
comments, on the Federal rulemaking
website at https://www.regulations.gov
under Docket ID NRC–2023–0220. In
addition, the Federal rulemaking
website allows members of the public to
receive alerts when changes or additions
occur in a docket folder. To subscribe:
(1) navigate to the docket folder (NRC–
2023–0220); (2) click the ‘‘Subscribe’’
link; and (3) enter an email address and
click on the ‘‘Subscribe’’ link.
List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 72
Administrative practice and
procedure, Hazardous waste, Indians,
Intergovernmental relations, Nuclear
VerDate Sep<11>2014
22:15 Apr 18, 2024
Jkt 262001
energy, 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 amendments to 10 CFR part
72:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4700
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ML16179A148.
ML19214A111.
55 FR 29181.
66 FR 3444.
76 FR 8872.
82 FR 48535.
ML16356A210.
ML21098A022.
72 FR 49352.
63 FR 31885.
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);
E:\FR\FM\19APR1.SGM
19APR1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 77 / Friday, April 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
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.
2. In § 72.214, Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026 is revised to read
as follows:
■
§ 72.214 List of approved spent fuel
storage casks.
*
*
*
*
*
Certificate Number: 1026.
Initial Certificate Effective Date:
February 15, 2001, superseded by
Renewed Initial Certificate on July 3,
2024.
Amendment Number 1 Effective Date:
May 14, 2001, superseded by Renewed
Amendment Number 1 on July 3, 2024.
Amendment Number 2 Effective Date:
January 28, 2002, superseded by
Renewed Amendment Number 2 on July
3, 2024.
Amendment Number 3 Effective Date:
May 7, 2003, superseded by Renewed
Amendment Number 3 on July 3, 2024.
Amendment Number 4 Effective Date:
July 3, 2006, superseded by Renewed
Amendment Number 4 on July 3, 2024.
SAR Submitted by: Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC.
SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis
Report for the FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System.
Docket Number: 72–1026.
Renewed Certificate Expiration Date:
February 15, 2061.
Model Number: WSNF–220, WSNF–
221, and WSNF–223 systems; W150
storage cask; W100 transfer cask; and
the W21 and W74 canisters.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: April 8, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Raymond Furstenau,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024–08388 Filed 4–18–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 430
[EERE–2022–BT–TP–0005]
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
RIN 1904–AF11
Energy Conservation Program: Test
Procedure for Uninterruptible Power
Supplies
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
22:15 Apr 18, 2024
Jkt 262001
The U.S. Department of
Energy (‘‘DOE’’) is amending the test
procedure for uninterruptable power
supplies (‘‘UPSs’’) to incorporate by
reference relevant portions of the latest
version of the industry testing standard,
harmonize the current DOE definitions
for UPS, total harmonic distortion, and
certain types of UPSs with the
definitions in the latest version of the
industry standard, and add a no-load
testing condition, as an optional test.
DATES: The effective date of this rule is
July 3, 2024. The amendments will be
mandatory for product testing starting
October 16, 2024.
The incorporation by reference of
certain material listed in the rule is
approved by the Director of the Federal
Register on July 3, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The docket, which includes
Federal Register notices, public meeting
attendee lists and transcripts,
comments, and other supporting
documents/materials, is available for
review at www.regulations.gov. All
documents in the docket are listed in
the www.regulations.gov index.
However, not all documents listed in
the index may be publicly available,
such as those containing information
that is exempt from public disclosure.
A link to the docket web page can be
found at www.regulations.gov/docket/
EERE-2022-BT-TP-0005. The docket
web page contains instructions on how
to access all documents, including
public comments, in the docket.
For further information on how to
review the docket contact the Appliance
and Equipment Standards Program staff
at (202) 287–1445 or by email:
ApplianceStandardsQuestions@
ee.doe.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Jeremy Dommu, U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, Building
Technologies Office, EE–2J, 1000
Independence Avenue SW, Washington,
DC 20585–0121. Telephone: (202) 586–
9870. Email:
ApplianceStandardsQuestions@
ee.doe.gov.
Ms. Kristin Koernig, U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of the General Counsel,
GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20585–0121.
Telephone: (202) 586–3593. Email:
Kristin.koernig@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE
incorporates by reference the following
industry standard into part 430:
IEC 62040–3, ‘‘Uninterruptible power
systems (UPS)—Part 3: Method of
specifying the performance and test
requirements,’’ Edition 3.0, copyright
April 2021.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4700
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28581
Copies of IEC 62040–3 Ed. 3.0 are
available from the International
Electrotechnical Commission, 3 Rue de
Varembe, Case Postale 131, 1211 Geneva
20, Switzerland; webstore.iec.ch.
For a further discussion of this
standard, see section IV.N of this
document.
Table of Contents
I. Authority and Background
A. Authority
B. Background
II. Synopsis of the Final Rule
III. Discussion
A. Scope of Applicability
B. Definitions
C. Updates to Industry Standards
D. Loading Conditions
E. No-Load Test
F. Reference Test Load
G. Test Procedure Costs and
Harmonization
1. Test Procedure Costs and Impact
2. Harmonization with Industry Standards
H. Effective and Compliance Dates
IV. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review
A. Review Under Executive Orders 12866,
13563, and 14094
B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act
C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995
D. Review Under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
E. Review Under Executive Order 13132
F. Review Under Executive Order 12988
G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995
H. Review Under the Treasury and General
Government Appropriations Act, 1999
I. Review Under Executive Order 12630
J. Review Under Treasury and General
Government Appropriations Act, 2001
K. Review Under Executive Order 13211
L. Review Under Section 32 of the Federal
Energy Administration Act of 1974
M. Congressional Notification
N. Description of Materials Incorporated by
Reference
V. Approval of the Office of the Secretary
I. Authority and Background
Uninterruptible power supplies
(‘‘UPSs’’) are a class of battery chargers
and fall among the list of ‘‘covered
products’’ for which DOE is authorized
to establish and amend energy
conservation standards and test
procedures. (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)) DOE’s
test procedure for UPSs is currently
prescribed at title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), part 430
section 32(z)(3); and 10 CFR part 430
subpart B appendix Y (‘‘appendix Y’’)
and appendix Y1 (‘‘appendix Y1’’). The
following sections discuss DOE’s
authority to establish and amend test
procedures for UPSs and relevant
background information regarding
DOE’s consideration of test procedures
for this product.
E:\FR\FM\19APR1.SGM
19APR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28572-28581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08388]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC-2023-0220]
RIN 3150-AL05
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewal of
Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 Through 4
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its
spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System
listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks'' to
renew the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026. The renewal of the initial
certificate of compliance and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 for 40 years
revises the certificate's conditions and technical specifications to
address aging management activities related to the structures, systems,
and components important to safety of the dry storage system to ensure
that these will maintain their intended functions during the period of
extended storage operations.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective July 3, 2024, unless
significant adverse comments are received by May 20, 2024. If the
direct final rule is withdrawn as
[[Page 28573]]
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 NRC 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2023-0220,
at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted
using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the individuals listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for
alternate instructions.
You can read a plain language description of this direct final rule
at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2023-0220. 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: George Tartal, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-0016, email:
[email protected] and Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1018, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
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 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-2023-0220 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-2023-0220. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder, telephone: 301-415-3407,
email: [email protected]. For technical questions contact the
individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
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, 301-415-4737, or
by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2023-0220 in your comment submission.
The NRC requests that you submit comments through the Federal
rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material
cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
of this document for alternate instructions.
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 direct final rule is limited to the changes contained in the
Initial Certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026 and does not include other aspects of the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System Cask System
design. The NRC is using the ``direct final rule procedure'' to issue
this amendment because it represents a limited and routine change to an
existing certificate of compliance that is expected to be non-
controversial. Adequate protection of public health and safety
continues to be reasonably assured. The amendment to the rule will
become effective on July 3, 2024. However, if the NRC receives any
significant adverse comment on this direct final rule by May 20, 2024,
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 or as otherwise
appropriate. In general, absent significant modifications to the
proposed 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 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.
(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 to make a change (other than
editorial) to
[[Page 28574]]
the rule, certificate of compliance, or technical specifications (TS).
III. Background
Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended,
requires that ``[t]he 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 Nuclear
Waste Policy Act states, in part, that ``[t]he 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 that 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. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on
January 16, 2001 (66 FR 3444), that approved the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System design and
added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in Sec. 72.214 as
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026.
On August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49352), the NRC amended the scope of the
general licenses issued under 10 CFR 72.210 to include the storage of
spent fuel in an independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI)
at power reactor sites to persons authorized to possess or operate
nuclear power reactors under 10 CFR part 52. On February 16, 2011 (76
FR 8872), the NRC amended subparts K and L in 10 CFR part 72, to extend
and clarify the term limits for certificates of compliance and revised
the conditions for spent fuel storage cask renewals, including adding
requirements for the safety analysis report to include time-limited
aging analyses and a description of aging management programs. The NRC
also clarified the terminology used in the regulations to use
``renewal'' rather than ``reapproval'' to better reflect that extending
the term of a currently approved cask design is based on the cask
design standards in effect at the time the certificate of compliance
was approved rather than current standards.
IV. Discussion of Changes
The term certified by the initial Certificate of Compliance No.
1026 was 20 years. The period of extended operation for each cask
begins 20 years after the cask is first used by the general licensee to
store spent fuel. On November 6, 2020, Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC submitted a request to the NRC to renew Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026 for a period of 40 years beyond the initial certificate
period. Westinghouse Electric Company LLC supplemented its request on
March 30, 2021; June 30, 2022; and September 13, 2022.
The FuelSolutions\TM\ Storage System (the system) is certified as
described in the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) and in NRC's Safety
Evaluation Report (SER) accompanying the certificate of compliance
(CoC). The system consists of the following components: (1) canister
for dry storage of spent nuclear fuel (W21 and W74); (2) transfer cask
for canister loading, closure and handling capability (W100); and (3)
storage cask which provides passive vertical dry storage of a loaded
canister (W150). The system stores up to 21 pressurized water reactor
(PWR) assemblies or 64 boiling water reactor (BWR) assemblies.
The canister is the component providing confinement to the system
for the stored fuel. A typical canister consists of a shell assembly,
top and bottom inner closure plates, vent and drain port covers,
internal basket assembly, top and bottom shield plugs, and top and
bottom outer closure plates. All structural components are constructed
of high-strength carbon steel (electroless nickel coated) or stainless
steel. The canister shell, top and bottom inner closure plates, and the
vent and drain port covers form the confinement boundary. The storage
overpack provides structural support, shielding, protection from
environmental conditions, and natural convection cooling of the
canister during long-term storage. The transfer cask provides shielding
during canister movements between the spent fuel pool and the storage
cask.
The Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI) document NEI 14-03, Revision
2, ``Format, Content and Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask Storage
Operations-Based Aging Management,'' (December 2016) provides an
operations-based, learning approach to aging management for the storage
of spent fuel, which builds on the lessons learned from industry's
experience with aging management for reactors. The NRC endorsed NEI 14-
03, Revision 2, with clarifications, in Regulatory Guide 3.76, Revision
0, ``Implementation of Aging Management Requirements for Spent Fuel
Storage Renewals,'' issued July 2021. Specifically, NEI 14-03 provides
a framework for sharing operating experience through an industry-
developed database called the ISFSI Aging Management Institute of
Nuclear Power Operations Database. NEI 14-03 also includes a framework
for learning aging management programs using aging management
``tollgates,'' which offer a structured approach for periodically
assessing operating experience and data from applicable research and
industry initiatives at specific times during the period of extended
operation and performing a safety assessment that confirms the safe
storage of the spent nuclear fuel by ensuring the aging management
programs continue to effectively manage the identified aging effects.
The ISFSI Aging Management Institute of Nuclear Power Operations
Database provides operating experience information and a basis to
support licensees' future changes to the aging management programs. The
ISFSI Aging Management Institute of Nuclear Power Operations Database
and the aging management tollgates are considered key elements in
ensuring the effectiveness of aging management activities and the
continued safe storage of spent fuel during the period of extended
operation.
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC incorporated periodic tollgate
assessments as requirements in the renewed certificate of compliance,
as recommended in NEI 14-03, Revision 2. The implementation of tollgate
assessments provides reasonable assurance that the aging management
programs for the canister, the transfer cask, and the overpack will
continue to effectively manage aging effects during the period of
extended operation.
The renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through
4 was conducted in accordance with the renewal provisions in Sec.
72.240. The NRC's regulations require the safety analysis report for
the renewal to include time-limited aging analyses that demonstrate
that structures, systems, and components important to safety will
continue to perform their intended function for the requested period of
extended operation and a description of the aging management programs
for the
[[Page 28575]]
management of issues associated with aging that could adversely affect
structures, systems, and components important to safety. In addition,
the regulations in Sec. 72.240(e) authorize the NRC to revise the
certificate of compliance to include any additional terms, conditions,
and specifications it deems necessary to ensure the safe operation of
the cask during the certificate of compliance's renewal term.
The NRC is revising the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 to update the certificate holder name and address and to make
corrections and editorial changes to the CoC and TSs. The changes to
the aforementioned documents are identified with revision bars in the
margin of each document. The NRC is adding three new conditions to
address aging management activities related to the structures, systems,
and components important to the safety of the dry storage system to
ensure that these will maintain their intended functions during the
period of extended storage operations. The three new conditions added
to the renewal of the initial certificate of compliance and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4 are:
A condition requiring the certificate of compliance holder
to submit an updated final safety analysis report within 90 days after
the effective date of the renewal. The updated final safety analysis
report must reflect the changes resulting from the review and approval
of the renewal of the certificate of compliance, including the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System final safety
analysis report. This condition ensures that final safety analysis
report changes are made in a timely fashion to enable general licensees
using the storage system during the period of extended operation to
develop and implement necessary procedures related to renewal and aging
management activities. The certificate of compliance holder is required
to continue to update the final safety analysis report pursuant to the
requirements of Sec. 72.248.
A condition requiring each general licensee using the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System design to
include, in the evaluations required by Sec. 72.212(b)(5), evaluations
related to the terms, conditions, and specifications of this
certificate of compliance amendment as modified (i.e., changed or
added) as a result of the renewal of the certificate of compliance and
include, in the document review required by Sec. 72.212(b)(6), a
review of the final safety analysis report changes resulting from the
renewal of the certificate of compliance and the NRC Safety Evaluation
Report for the renewal of the certificate of compliance. The general
licensee would also be required to ensure that the evaluations required
by Sec. 72.212(b)(7) in response to these changes are conducted and
the determination required by Sec. 72.212(b)(8) is made. This
condition also makes it clear that to meet the requirements in Sec.
72.212(b)(11), general licensees that currently use a
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System will need to
update their Sec. 72.212 reports, even if they do not put additional
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management Systems into service after the renewal's effective date.
These evaluations, reviews, and determinations are to be completed
before the dry storage system enters the period of extended operation
(which begins 20 years after the first use of the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System) or
no later than 365 days after the effective date of this rule, whichever
is later. This will provide general licensees a minimum of 365 days to
comply with the new terms, conditions, specifications, and other
changes to the certificate of compliance and to make the necessary
determinations required by Sec. 72.212(b)(8) as to whether activities
related to the storage of spent nuclear fuel using the renewed
certificate of compliance involve a change in the facility Technical
Specifications or requires a license amendment for the facility.
A condition requiring all future amendments and revisions
to the certificate of compliance (i.e., the initial certificate 1026
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4) include evaluations of the impacts to
aging management activities (i.e., time-limited aging analyses and
aging management programs) to ensure that they remain adequate for any
changes to structures, systems, and components important to safety
within the scope of renewal. This condition ensures that future
amendments to the certificate of compliance address the renewed design
bases for the certificate of compliance, including aging management
impacts that may arise from any changes to the system in proposed
future amendments.
Additionally, the condition for the initial certificate and
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 would be amended to reflect changes to the
scope of the general license granted by Sec. 72.210 that were made
after the approval of the initial certificate. The authorization is
amended to allow persons authorized to possess or operate a nuclear
power reactor under 10 CFR part 52 to use the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System
under the general license issued under Sec. 72.210.
The NRC made one corresponding change from the technical
specifications for the initial certificate of compliance and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4 by adding a section addressing the aging management
program. General licensees using the FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System design during the period of extended operation
will need to establish, implement, and maintain written procedures for
each applicable aging management program in the final safety analysis
report to use the FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management
System design during the approved period of extended operation. The
procedures will need to include provisions for changing aging
management program elements, as necessary, and within the limitations
of the approved design bases to address new information on aging
effects based on inspection findings and/or industry operating
experience. General licensees will also be required to perform tollgate
assessments as described in the final safety analysis report.
General licensees will need to establish and implement these
written procedures prior to entering the period of extended operation
(which begins 20 years after the first use of the cask system) or no
later than 365 days after the effective date of this rule, whichever is
later. The general licensee is required to maintain these written
procedures for as long as the general licensee continues to operate the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System in service for
longer than 20 years.
Under Sec. 72.240(d), the design of a spent fuel storage cask will
be renewed if (1) the quality assurance requirements in 10 CFR part 72,
subpart G, ``Quality Assurance,'' are met, (2) the requirements of
Sec. 72.236(a) through (i) are met, and (3) the application includes a
demonstration that the storage of spent fuel has not, in a significant
manner, adversely affected the structures, systems, and components
important to safety. Additionally, Sec. 72.240(c) requires that the
safety analysis report accompanying the application contain time-
limited aging analyses that demonstrate that the structures, systems,
and components important to safety will continue to perform their
intended function for the requested period of extended operation and a
description of the aging management program for management of aging
issues that could adversely affect structures,
[[Page 28576]]
systems, and components important to safety.
As documented in the preliminary safety evaluation report, the NRC
reviewed the application for the renewal of the certificate of
compliance and the conditions in the certificate of compliance and
determined that the conditions in subpart G, Sec. 72.236(a) through
(i), have been met and the application includes a demonstration that
the storage of spent nuclear fuel has not, in a significant manner,
adversely affected structures, systems, and components important to
safety. The NRC's safety review determined that the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System, with the added
terms, conditions, and specifications in the certificate of compliance
and the technical specifications, will continue to meet the
requirements of 10 CFR part 72 for an additional 40 years beyond the
initial certificate term. Consistent with Sec. 72.240, the NRC is
renewing the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System initial
certificate 1026 and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4.
Extending the expiration date of the approval for the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 for 40 years and requiring
the implementation of aging management activities during the period of
extended operation does not impose any modification or addition to the
design of a cask system's structures, systems, and components important
to safety, or to the procedures or organization required to operate the
system during the initial 20-year storage term certified by the cask's
initial certificate of compliance. General licensees who have loaded
these casks, or who load these casks in the future under the
specifications of the applicable renewed certificate of compliance, may
store spent fuel in these cask system designs for 20 years without
implementing the aging management program. For any casks that have been
in use for more than 20 years, the general licensee will have 365 days
to complete the analyses required to use the cask system design
pursuant to the terms and conditions in the renewed certificate of
compliance. As explained in the 2011 final rule that amended 10 CFR
part 72 (76 FR 8872), the general licensee's authority to use a
particular storage cask design under an approved certificate of
compliance will be for at least the term certified by the cask's
certificate of compliance. For casks placed into service before the
expiration date of the initial certificate, the general licensee's
authority to use the cask would be extended for an additional 40 years
from the date the initial certificate expired. For casks placed into
service after the expiration date of the initial certificate and before
the effective date of this rule, the general licensee's authority to
use the cask would last the length of the term certified by the cask's
certificate of compliance (i.e., 40 years after the cask is placed into
service). For casks placed into service after this rule becomes
effective, the general licensee's authority to use the cask would
expire 40 years after the cask is first placed into service.
This direct final rule revises the FuelSolutionsTM Spent
Fuel Management System design listing in Sec. 72.214 by renewing, for
40 more years, the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4
of Certificate of Compliance No. 1026. The renewed certificate of
compliance includes the changes to the certificate of compliance and
technical specifications previously described. The renewed certificate
of compliance includes the terms, conditions, and specifications that
will ensure the safe operation of the cask during the renewal term and
the added conditions that will require the implementation of an aging
management program. The preliminary safety evaluation report describes
the new and revised conditions in the certificate of compliance, the
changes to the technical specifications, and the NRC staff evaluation.
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 revises the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System Cask System
design listed in Sec. 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 ``Agreement State Program Policy Statement'' approved by
the Commission on October 2, 2017, and published in the Federal
Register on October 18, 2017 (82 FR 48535), this rule is classified as
Compatibility Category NRC--Areas of Exclusive NRC Regulatory
Authority. 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
chapter I. Therefore, compatibility is not required for program
elements in this category.
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
31885).
VIII. Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended,
and the NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,''
the NRC has determined that this direct final 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
based on this environmental assessment.
A. The Action
The action is to amend Sec. 72.214 to revise the Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management
System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks''
to renew the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026.
B. The Need for the Action
This direct final rule renews the certificate of compliance for the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design within the list of approved spent fuel storage
casks to allow power reactor licensees to store spent fuel at reactor
sites in casks with the approved modifications under a general license.
Specifically, this rule extends the expiration date for the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System certificate of
compliance for an additional 40 years, allowing a power reactor
licensee to continue using the cask design during a period of extended
operation for a term certified by the cask's renewed certificate of
compliance.
In addition, this direct final rule revises the certificate of
compliance for the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4
to update the
[[Page 28577]]
certificate holder name and address and adds three new conditions:
A condition for submitting an updated FSAR to the NRC, in
accordance with Sec. 72.4, within 90 days after the effective date of
the CoC renewal.
A condition for renewed CoC use during the period of
extended operation to ensure that a general licensee's report prepared
under Sec. 72.212 evaluates the appropriate considerations for the
period of extended operation. All future amendments and revisions to
this CoC must include evaluations of the impacts to aging management
activities. The NRC is revising the initial certificate and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4 to address the language change in Sec. 72.210
``General license issue'' and other updates to the regulations. The NRC
is making changes to TSs including updating the certificate holder's
information in all TSs for the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1
through 4 and updating references to ``FuelSolutions'' and
``Westinghouse Electric Company LLC'' or ``WEC.''
A condition requiring all future amendments and revisions
to the certificate of compliance (i.e., the initial certificate 1026
and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4) include evaluations of the impacts to
aging management activities (i.e., time-limited aging analyses and
aging management programs) to ensure that they remain adequate for any
changes to structures, systems, and components important to safety
within the scope of renewal.
Finally, the NRC will make various corrections and editorial
changes to the CoC and TSs.
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 analyzed
in the environmental assessment for the 1990 final rule and are
described in ``Environmental Assessment for Proposed Rule Entitled,
`Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in NRC-Approved Storage Casks at Nuclear
Power Reactor Sites.' '' The potential environmental impacts for the
longer-term use of dry cask designs and the renewal of certificates of
compliance were analyzed in the environmental assessment for the 2011
final rule establishing the regulatory requirements for renewing
certificates of compliance and are described in ``Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Final Rule
Amending 10 CFR part 72 License and Certificate of Compliance Terms.''
The environmental impacts from continued storage were also considered
in NUREG-2157, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Continued
Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel.'' The environmental assessment for the
initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 to Certificate of
Compliance No. 1026 tiers off the environmental assessment for the
February 16, 2011, final rule and NUREG-2157. Tiering on past
environmental assessments is a standard process under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.
The Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM
Spent Fuel Management 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 in casks in accordance with 10 CFR part
72, can 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.
A renewal reaffirms the original design basis and allows the cask
to be used during a period of extended operation that corresponds to
the term certified by the cask's certificate of compliance in the
renewal. As a condition of the renewal, the NRC requires an aging
management program that will ensure that structures, systems, and
components important to safety will perform as designers intended
during the renewal period. The renewal does not reflect a change in
design or fabrication of the cask system. This renewal does not reflect
a significant change in design or fabrication of the cask. Because
there are no significant design or process changes, any resulting
occupational exposure or offsite dose rates from the renewal of the
initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 would remain well
within the 10 CFR part 20 limits. The NRC has also determined that the
design of the cask would continue to maintain confinement, shielding,
and criticality control in the event of an accident. Therefore, these
changes 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
February 16, 2011, 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 exposures, and no significant increase in the potential for,
or consequences from, radiological accidents. The NRC determined that
the structures, systems, and components important to safety will
continue to perform their intended functions during the requested
period of extended operation. The NRC determined that the renewed
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System design, when used under the conditions specified in
the renewed certificate of compliance, the technical specifications,
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 reasonably assured. The NRC documented its safety
findings in the preliminary safety evaluation report.
D. Alternative to the Action
The alternative to this action is to deny the renewal of the
initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 and not issue the
direct final rule. Consequently, any 10 CFR part 72 general licensee
that seeks to load spent nuclear fuel into Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System
after the expiration date of the certificate of compliance or that
seeks to continue storing spent nuclear fuel in the Westinghouse
Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management
System for longer than the term certified by the cask's certificate of
compliance for the initial certificate (i.e., more than 20 years) would
have to request an exemption from the requirements of Sec. Sec. 72.212
and 72.214 or would have to load the spent nuclear fuel into a
different approved cask design. Under this alternative, those licensees
interested in continuing to use the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System would have to
prepare, and the NRC would have to review, a separate exemption
request, thereby increasing the administrative burden upon the NRC and
the costs to each licensee. If the general licensee is granted an
exemption, the environmental impacts would be the same as the proposed
action. If the general licensee is not granted an exemption, the
general licensee would need to unload the Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC FuelSolutionsTM
[[Page 28578]]
Spent Fuel Management System and load the fuel into another cask system
design, which would result in environmental impacts that are greater
than for the proposed action because activities associated with cask
loading and decontamination may result in some small liquid and gaseous
effluent.
E. Alternative Use of Resources
Renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4
to Certificate of Compliance No. 1026 would result in no irreversible
commitment 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
This direct final rule is to amend Sec. 72.214 to revise the
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel
storage casks'' to renew, for an additional 40 years, the initial
certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 of Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026. The environmental impacts of the action have been reviewed
under the requirements in 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 renewal does not reflect a change
in design or fabrication of the cask system as approved for the initial
certificate or Amendment Nos. 1 through 4. The NRC determined that the
renewed Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM
Spent Fuel Management System design, when used under the conditions
specified in the renewed certificate of compliance, the technical
specifications, 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 reasonably assured.
Based on the foregoing environmental assessment, the NRC concludes
that this direct final rule, ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage
Casks: FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System,
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026, Renewal of Initial Certificate and
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4,'' will not have a significant effect on the
quality of 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 direct 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, approval number 3150-
0132.
Public Protection Notification
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a request for information or an information collection
requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid
Office of Management and Budget control number.
X. Regulatory Flexibility Certification
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), the
NRC certifies that this direct final 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
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC. 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
(Sec. 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 (1) it notifies the NRC in advance; (2) the spent fuel
is stored under the conditions specified in the cask's certificate of
compliance; and (3) the conditions of the general license are met. A
list of NRC-approved cask designs is contained in Sec. 72.214. On
January 16, 2001 (66 FR 3444), the NRC issued an amendment to 10 CFR
part 72 that approved the FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System by adding it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs
in Sec. 72.214.
On November 6, 2020, and as supplemented on March 30, 2021, June
30, 2022, and September 13, 2022, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
submitted a request to renew the FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel
Management System as described in Section IV, ``Discussion of
Changes,'' of this document.
The alternative to this action is to withhold approval of the
renewal of the initial certificate and Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 and
to require any 10 CFR part 72 general licensee seeking to continue the
storage of spent nuclear fuel in Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System using the
initial certificate or Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 beyond the initial
20-year storage term certified by the cask's initial certificate of
compliance to request an exemption from the requirements of Sec. Sec.
72.212 and 72.214. The term for general licenses would not be extended
from 20 years to 40 years. Under this alternative, each interested 10
CFR part 72 licensee would have to prepare, and the NRC would have to
review, a separate exemption request, thereby increasing the
administrative burden upon the NRC and the costs to each licensee.
Approval of this direct final rule is consistent with previous NRC
actions. Further, as documented in the preliminary safety evaluation
report and environmental assessment, this 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 this 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; therefore, this action
is recommended.
XII. Backfitting and Issue Finality
The NRC has determined that the actions in this direct final rule
do not require a backfit analysis because they do not fall within the
definition of backfitting under Sec. 72.62 or Sec. 50.109(a)(1), they
do not impact the issue finality provisions applicable to combined
licenses under 10 CFR part 52, and they do not impact general licensees
that are using these systems for the duration of their current general
licenses.
Certificate of Compliance No. 1026 for the Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System
design, as currently listed in Sec. 72.214, ``List of Approved Spent
Fuel Storage Casks,'' was initially approved for a 20-year term. This
direct final rule would renew the initial certificate and Amendment
Nos. 1 through 4, extending their
[[Page 28579]]
approval period by 40 years. The term certified by the cask's
certificate of compliance for a renewed certificate of compliance is
the period of time commencing with the most recent certificate of
compliance renewal date and ending with the certificate of compliance
expiration date. With this renewal, the term certified by the cask's
certificate of compliance would change from 20 years to 60 years, with
the period of extended operation beginning 20 years after the cask is
placed into service. The revision to the certificate of compliance
through the renewal consists of the changes in the renewed initial
certificate (Amendment No. 0) and renewed Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 as
previously described, and as set forth in the renewed certificates of
compliance and technical specifications. These changes would not affect
the use of the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System design for the
initial 20- year term for previously loaded casks. The renewed
certificates would require implementation of aging management programs
during the period of extended operation, which begins after the storage
cask system's initial 20-year service period.
Because the term for the renewal would be longer than the initial
term certified by the cask's certificate of compliance, the general
licensee's authority to use the cask would be extended and would be no
less than 60 years. This change would not add, eliminate, or modify (1)
structures, systems, or components of an independent spent fuel storage
installation or a monitored retrievable storage installation or (2) the
procedures or organization required to operate an independent spent
fuel storage installation or a monitored retrievable storage
installation.
Renewing these certificates does not fall within the definition of
backfit under Sec. 72.62 or Sec. 50.109, or otherwise represent an
inconsistency with the issue finality provisions applicable to combined
licenses in 10 CFR part 52. General licensees who have loaded these
casks, or who load these casks in the future under the specifications
of the applicable certificate, may continue to store spent fuel in
these systems for the initial 20-year storage period authorized by the
original certificate. Extending the certificates' expiration dates for
40 more years and requiring the implementation of aging management
programs does not impose any modification or addition to the design of
the structures, systems, and components important to safety of a cask
system, or to the procedures or organization required to operate the
system during this initial 20-year term certified by the cask's
certificate of compliance. The aging management programs required to be
implemented by this renewal are only required to be implemented after
the storage cask system's initial 20-year service period ends.
Because this rulemaking renews the certificates, and because
renewal is a separate NRC licensing action voluntarily implemented by
vendors or licensees, the renewal of these certificates is not an
imposition of new or changed requirements from which these certificate
of compliance holders or licensees would otherwise be protected by the
backfitting provisions in Sec. 72.62 or Sec. 50.109. Even if renewal
of this certificate of compliance cask system design could be
considered a backfit, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, as the
certificate of compliance holder and vendor of the casks, is not
protected by the backfitting provisions in Sec. 72.62 in this
capacity.
Unlike a vendor, general licensees using the existing systems
subject to these renewals would be protected by the backfitting
provisions in Sec. 72.62 and Sec. 50.109 if the renewals constituted
new or changed requirements. But as previously explained, renewal of
the certificates for these systems does not impose such requirements.
The general licensees using these certificates of compliance may
continue storing material in the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System design for the
initial 20-year storage period identified in the applicable certificate
or amendment with no changes. If general licensees choose to continue
to store spent fuel in the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System design after
the initial 20-year period, these general licensees will be required to
implement the applicable aging management programs for any cask systems
subject to a renewed certificate of compliance, but such continued use
is voluntary.
Additionally, the actions in this direct final rule do not impact
issue finality provisions applicable to combined licenses under 10 CFR
part 52. For these reasons, renewing the initial certificate and
Amendment Nos. 1 through 4 of Certificate of Compliance No. 1026 does
not constitute backfitting under Sec. 72.62 or Sec. 50.109(a)(1), or
otherwise represent an inconsistency with the issue finality provisions
applicable to combined licenses in 10 CFR part 52. Accordingly, the NRC
has not prepared a backfit analysis for this rulemaking.
XIII. Congressional Review Act
This direct final rule is not 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adams Accession No./ Web Link/
Document Federal Register Citation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Certificate of Compliance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No. ML22354A265.
1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No. ML22354A269.
1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No. ML22354A273.
1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No. ML22354A277.
1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Certificate of Compliance No. ML22354A281.
1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for ML22354A285.
Renewed Certificate of Compliance No.
1026, Amendments Nos. 0-4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Technical Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A266.
Appendix A for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0.
[[Page 28580]]
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A267.
Appendix B for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A268.
Appendix C for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 0.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A270.
Appendix A for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A271.
Appendix B for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A272.
Appendix C for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 1.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A274.
Appendix A for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A275.
Appendix B for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A276.
Appendix C for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 2.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A278.
Appendix A for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A279.
Appendix B for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A280.
Appendix C for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 3.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A282.
Appendix A for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A283.
Appendix B for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4.
Proposed Technical Specifications ML22354A284.
Appendix C for Certificate of Compliance
No. 1026, Renewed Amendment No. 4.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Environmental Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``Environmental Assessment and Findings ML100710441.
of No Significant Impact for the Final
Rule Amending 10 CFR Part 72 License and
Certificate of Compliance Terms.''
(2010).
Generic Environmental Impact Statement ML14198A440 (package).
for Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear
Fuel: Final Report (NUREG-2157, Volumes
1 and 2). (2014).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC FuelSolutions\TM\ Spent Fuel
Management System Renewal Application Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ML20315A012 (package).
``Submittal of FuelSolutions\TM\ Spent
Fuel Management System Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.''
Westinghouse letter LTR-NRC-20-64.
(November 6, 2020).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ML21090A201 (package).
``Reponses to Requests for Supplemental
Information for the Application for the
FuelSolutions\TM\ Spent Fuel Management
System Certificate of Compliance (CoC)
Renewal Application.'' Westinghouse
letter LTR-NRC-21-14 Revision 0. (March
30, 2021).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ML22186A053 (package).
``Submittal of FuelSolutions\TM\ Spent
Fuel Management System Certificate of
Compliance (CoC) Renewal Application.''
Westinghouse letter LTR-NRC-22-27. (June
30, 2022).
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC ML22256A285 (package).
``Submittal of Supplemental Response to
NRC RAI A-RCS1.'' Westinghouse letter
LTR-NRC-22-38. (September 13, 2022).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Documents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``Standard Review Plan for Renewal of ML16179A148.
Specific Licenses and Certificates of
Compliance for Dry Storage of Spent
Nuclear Fuel.'' NUREG-1927, Revision 1.
Washington, DC. (June 2016).
``Managing Aging Processes in Storage ML19214A111.
(MAPS) Report.'' Final Report. NUREG-
2214. Washington, DC. (July 2019).
``General License for Storage of Spent 55 FR 29181.
Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.'' (July 18,
1990).
``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage 66 FR 3444.
Casks: FuelSolutions Addition.''
(January 16, 2001).
``License and Certificate of Compliance 76 FR 8872.
Terms.'' (February 16, 2011).
``Agreement State Program Policy 82 FR 48535.
Statement; Correction.'' (October 18,
2017).
Nuclear Energy Institute NEI 14-03, ML16356A210.
Revision 2, ``Format, Content and
Implementation Guidance for Dry Cask
Storage Operations-Based Aging
Management.'' (December 2016).
Regulatory Guide 3.76, Revision 0, ML21098A022.
``Implementation of Aging Management
Requirements for Spent Fuel Storage
Renewals.'' (July 2021).
``Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals 72 FR 49352.
for Nuclear Power Plants.'' (August 28,
2007).
Presidential Memorandum, ``Plain Language 63 FR 31885.
in Government Writing.'' (June 10, 1998).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including
public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2023-0220. In addition, the
Federal rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive
alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To
subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2023-0220); (2) click
the ``Subscribe'' link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the
``Subscribe'' link.
List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 72
Administrative practice and procedure, Hazardous waste, Indians,
Intergovernmental relations, Nuclear energy, 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
amendments to 10 CFR part 72:
PART 72--LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF
SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, AND REACTOR-
RELATED GREATER THAN CLASS C WASTE
0
1. The authority citation for part 72 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Atomic Energy Act of 1954, secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63,
65, 69, 81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 223, 234, 274 (42
U.S.C. 2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2210e,
2232, 2233, 2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2273, 2282, 2021); Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974, secs. 201, 202, 206, 211 (42 U.S.C.
5841, 5842, 5846, 5851);
[[Page 28581]]
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 No. 1026 is revised to
read as follows:
Sec. 72.214 List of approved spent fuel storage casks.
* * * * *
Certificate Number: 1026.
Initial Certificate Effective Date: February 15, 2001, superseded
by Renewed Initial Certificate on July 3, 2024.
Amendment Number 1 Effective Date: May 14, 2001, superseded by
Renewed Amendment Number 1 on July 3, 2024.
Amendment Number 2 Effective Date: January 28, 2002, superseded by
Renewed Amendment Number 2 on July 3, 2024.
Amendment Number 3 Effective Date: May 7, 2003, superseded by
Renewed Amendment Number 3 on July 3, 2024.
Amendment Number 4 Effective Date: July 3, 2006, superseded by
Renewed Amendment Number 4 on July 3, 2024.
SAR Submitted by: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.
SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the
FuelSolutionsTM Spent Fuel Management System.
Docket Number: 72-1026.
Renewed Certificate Expiration Date: February 15, 2061.
Model Number: WSNF-220, WSNF-221, and WSNF-223 systems; W150
storage cask; W100 transfer cask; and the W21 and W74 canisters.
* * * * *
Dated: April 8, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Raymond Furstenau,
Acting Executive Director for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024-08388 Filed 4-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
