Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units 1 and 2; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 29369-29371 [2024-08468]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 78 / Monday, April 22, 2024 / Notices
UF6 into the HALEU demonstration
cascade modules until the NRC
completed an operational readiness and
management measures verification
review. The NRC staff’s review verified
that the licensee was in compliance
with the performance requirements of
10 CFR 70.61, and that the systems,
structures, and components designed to
support safe operation of the HALEU
Demonstration Cascade were
constructed in accordance with license
requirements. By letter dated June 12,
2023, the NRC authorized the American
Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO) to
introduce UF6 into the HALEU
demonstration cascade module to
produce Category III quantities of
special nuclear material (SNM) at the
ACP. By letter dated September 21,
2023, the NRC authorized ACO to
commence enrichment operations in the
HALEU demonstration cascade module
to produce Category II quantities of
SNM up to the quantity approved on
June 11, 2021 at the ACP.
II. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS, as
indicated.
ADAMS accession
No.
Document description
Centrus Energy Corp., American Centrifuge Operating—License Amendment 13—Approval to Operate Sixteen Centrifuges
to Demonstrate Production of HALEU, dated June 11, 2021 ...................................................................................................
Enclosure 1 .............................................................................................................................................................................
Enclosure 8 .............................................................................................................................................................................
American Centrifuge Operating, LLC—American Centrifuge Plant, Authorization to Introduce UF6 into HALEU Demonstration
Cascade Module, dated June 12, 2023 .....................................................................................................................................
American Centrifuge Operating, LLC—American Centrifuge Plant, Authorization to Commence Enrichment Operations in the
HALEU Demonstration Cascade Module to Produce Category II Quantities of SNM, dated September 21, 2023 ................
Inspection Report 2021–006: Construction and Quality Assurance, dated May 10, 2021 ...........................................................
Inspection Report 2021–009: Operational Safety, Radiation Protection, Nuclear Criticality Safety, ............................................
Permanent Plant Modifications, Fire Protection, ...........................................................................................................................
Effluent Control and Environmental Protection, and Permanent Plant Modifications, dated January 27, 2022 ..........................
Inspection Report 2023–007: Operational Safety, Radiation Protection, Nuclear Criticality Safety, Permanent Plant Modification, and Fire Protection, dated May 9, 2023 ............................................................................................................................
Cover Letter to Inspection Report 2023–405 *: Material Control and Accounting Program, dated May 9, 2023 ........................
Cover Letter to Inspection Report 2023–406 *: Physical Security, dated June 5, 2023 ...............................................................
Cover Letter to Inspection Report 2023–407 *: Physical Security, dated September 7, 2023 .....................................................
Cover Letter to Inspection Report 2021–408 *: Material Control and Accounting Program, dated September 12, 2023 ............
ML21138A827
LML21148A291
ML21138A828
ML23163A168
ML23261A587
ML21130A343
ML22026A367
ML23128A350
ML23128A357
ML23152A276
ML23248A544
ML23256A229
* These report enclosures contain ‘‘Security Related Information’’ and will not be made publicly available in accordance with 10 CFR
2.390(d)(1). The ADAMS accession number for the associated public cover letter is provided.
Dated: April 16, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samantha C. Lav,
Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch,
Division of Fuel Management, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024–08480 Filed 4–19–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72–0028, 50–387, and 50–388;
NRC–2024–0068]
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC;
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station,
Units 1 and 2; Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation; Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and a
finding of no significant impact (FONSI)
for an exemption request submitted by
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC
SUMMARY:
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(Susquehanna) that would permit
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
(SSES) to load six new 89 multi-purpose
canisters (MPC) with continuous basket
shims (CBS) in the HI–STORM Flood/
Wind (FW) MPC Storage System at its
SSES Units 1 and 2 independent spent
fuel storage installation (ISFSI) in a
storage condition where the terms,
conditions, and specifications in the
Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No.
1032, Amendment No. 5, are not met.
The EA and FONSI referenced in
this document are available on April 22,
2024.
DATES:
Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2024–0068 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly available
information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2024–0068. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–415–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00088
Fmt 4703
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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, at
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 (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christian Jacobs, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 78 / Monday, April 22, 2024 / Notices
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301–
415–6825; email: Christian.Jacobs@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is reviewing an exemption
request from Susquehanna, dated March
19, 2024, and supplemented on March
21, 2024. Susquehanna is requesting an
exemption, pursuant to section 72.7 of
title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), in paragraphs
72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and
72.214 that require Susquehanna to
comply with the terms, conditions, and
specifications of the CoC No. 1032,
Amendment No. 5. If approved, the
exemption would allow Susquehanna to
load six new MPC–89–CBS in the HI–
STORM FW MPC Storage System at the
SSES ISFSI in a storage condition where
the terms, conditions, and specifications
in the CoC No. 1032, Amendment No.
5, are not met.
II. Environmental Assessment
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Background
SSES is located in Salem Township,
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, just west
of the Susquehanna River. The largest
community within 10 miles (16 km) of
the site is the borough of Berwick,
which is approximately 5 miles (8 km)
southwest of SSES, in Luzerne County,
Pennsylvania. The nearest major
metropolitan areas are Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, approximately 20 mi (32
km) to the northeast, and Allentown,
Pennsylvania, approximately 50 mi (80
km) to the southeast. Unit 1 began
operating in 1981 and Unit 2 began
operating in 1982. Susquehanna has
been storing spent fuel in an ISFSI at
SSES under a general license as
authorized by 10 CFR part 72, subpart
K, ‘‘General License for Storage of Spent
Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.’’
Susquehanna currently uses the HI–
STORM FW MPC Storage System under
CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 5, for
dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at the
SSES ISFSI.
Description of the Proposed Action
The CoC is the NRC approved design
for each dry cask storage system. The
proposed action would exempt the
applicant from the requirements of 10
CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and
72.214 only as these requirements
pertain to the use of the MPC–89–CBS
in the HI–STORM FW MPC Storage
System for the near-term planned
loading of the canisters. The exemption
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would allow SSES to load six new
MPC–89–CBS in the HI–STORM FW
MPC Storage System at the SSES ISFSI,
despite the MPC–89–CBS in the HI–
STORM FW MPC Storage System not
being in compliance with the terms,
conditions, and specifications in CoC
No. 1032, Amendment No. 5.
The HI–STORM FW MPC Storage
System CoC provides the requirements,
conditions, and operating limits
necessary for use of the system to store
spent fuel. Holtec International (Holtec),
the designer and manufacturer of the
HI–STORM FW MPC Storage System,
developed a variant of the design with
CBS for the MPC–89, known as MPC–
89–CBS. Holtec originally implemented
the CBS variant design under the
provisions of 10 CFR 72.48, which
allows licensees to make changes to
cask designs without a CoC amendment
under certain conditions (listed in 10
CFR 72.48(c)). After evaluating the
specific changes to the cask designs, the
NRC determined that Holtec erred when
it implemented the CBS variant design
under 10 CFR 72.48, as this was not the
type of change allowed without a CoC
amendment. For this reason, the NRC
issued three Severity Level IV violations
to Holtec. Susquehanna plans to load
six new MPC–89–CBS in the HI–
STORM FW MPC Storage System
beginning in August 2024. This
exemption considers the near-term
planned loading of the six canisters
with the CBS variant basket design.
Need for the Proposed Action
Susquehanna requested this
exemption to allow SSES to load six
new MPC–89–CBS in the HI–STORM
FW MPC Storage System at the SSES
ISFSI for the future loading campaign
scheduled to begin in August 2024.
Approval of the exemption request
would allow Susquehanna to effectively
manage the margin for full core reserve
in the SSES spent fuel pool to enable
refueling and offloading fuel from the
reactor. It would also allow
Susquehanna to manage logistical
considerations, such as personnel and
specific equipment resources, needed to
support refueling outages at SSES and
across the industry.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
This EA evaluates the potential
environmental impacts of granting an
exemption from the terms, conditions,
and specifications in CoC No. 1032,
Amendment No. 5. The exemption
would allow six new MPC–89–CBS to
be loaded in the HI–STORM FW MPC
Storage System in a near-term loading
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campaign beginning in August 2024 and
maintained in storage at the SSES ISFSI.
The potential environmental impacts
of storing spent nuclear fuel in NRCapproved storage systems have been
documented in previous assessments.
On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the
NRC amended 10 CFR part 72 to
provide for the storage of spent fuel
under a general license in cask designs
approved by the NRC. The EA for the
1990 final rule analyzed the potential
environmental impacts of using NRCapproved storage casks. The EA for the
HI–STORM FW MPC Storage System,
CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 5, (85
FR 28479), published in 2015, tiers off
of the EA issued for the July 18, 1990,
final rule. ‘‘Tiering’’ off earlier EAs is a
standard process encouraged by the
regulations implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) that entails the use of impact
analyses of previous EAs to bound the
impacts of a proposed action where
appropriate. The Holtec HI–STORM FW
MPC Storage System is designed to
mitigate the effects of design basis
accidents that could occur during
storage. Considering the specific design
requirements for the accident
conditions, the design of the cask would
prevent loss of containment, shielding,
and criticality control. If there is no loss
of containment, shielding, or criticality
control, the environmental impacts
would not be significant.
The exemptions requested by
Susquehanna at the SSES site as they
relate to CoC No. 1032, Amendment No.
5, for the HI–STORM FW MPC Storage
System are limited to the use of the CBS
variant basket design only for the nearterm planned loading of six new
canisters utilizing the CBS variant
basket design. The staff has determined
that this change in the basket would not
result in either radiological or nonradiological environmental impacts that
significantly differ from the
environmental impacts evaluated in the
environmental assessment supporting
the issuance of CoC No. 1032,
Amendment No. 5. If the exemption is
granted, there would be no significant
change in the types or amounts of any
effluents released, no significant
increase in individual or cumulative
public or occupational radiation
exposure, and no significant increase in
the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents. Accordingly, the
Commission concludes that there would
be no significant environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action.
Alternative to the Proposed Action
The staff considered the no-action
alternative. The no-action alternative
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 78 / Monday, April 22, 2024 / Notices
(denial of the exemption request) would
require Susquehanna to keep the spent
fuel in the spent fuel pool until older
design canisters can be fabricated and
delivered to site. Not allowing the
planned future loading campaign could
affect Susquehanna’s ability to manage
pool capacity, reactor fuel offloading,
and refueling. It could also impact
Susquehanna’s availability to manage
personnel resources and coordinate
refueling outages at SSES and across the
industry. The NRC has determined that
these potential impacts of the no-action
alternative could be avoided by
proceeding with the proposed
exemption, especially given that the
staff has concluded in NRC’s Safety
Determination Memorandum, issued
with respect to the enforcement action
against Holtec regarding these
violations, that fuel can be stored safety
in the MPC–89–CBS.
Agencies Consulted
The NRC provided the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection
(PDEP) a copy of this draft EA for
review by an email dated April 10,
2024. On April 12, 2024, the PDEP
provided its concurrence by email.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the
proposed action have been reviewed in
accordance with the requirements in 10
CFR part 51, which implement NEPA.
Based upon the foregoing environmental
assessment, the NRC finds that the
proposed action of granting the
exemption from the regulations in 10
CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3),
72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11) and
72.214, which require the licensee to
comply with the terms, conditions, and
specifications of the CoC, would not
significantly impact the quality of the
human environment. The exemption in
this case would be limited to specific
future loading of six canisters with the
CBS variant design beginning in August
2024. Accordingly, the NRC has
determined that a FONSI is appropriate,
and an environmental impact statement
is not warranted.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS, as
indicated.
ADAMS accession No. or
Federal Register notice
Document description
Susquehanna’s request for exemption, dated March 19, 2024 .....................................................................................
Supplement to request for exemption, dated March 21, 2024 ......................................................................................
Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment 5, dated June 25, 2020 ...................................................................
Holtec International, Inc.—Notice of Violation; The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspection Report No.
07201014/2022–201, EA–23–044, dated January 30, 2024.
10 CFR part 72 amendment to allow spent fuel storage in NRC-approved casks, dated July 18, 1990 .....................
EA for part 72 amendment to allow spent fuel storage in NRC-approved casks, dated March 8, 1989 ......................
Final rule for List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International HI–STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Canister Storage System CoC No. 1032, Amendment 5, dated May 13, 2020.
Safety Determination of a Potential Structural Failure of the Fuel Basket During Accident Conditions for the HI–
STORM 100 and HI–STORM Flood/Wind Dry Cask Storage Systems, dated January 31, 2024.
NRC email to PDEP requesting review of EA/FONSI for SSES Exemption, dated April 10, 2024 ..............................
Email from PDEP regarding review of EA/FONSI for SSES Exemption, dated April 12, 2024 ....................................
Dated: April 16, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bernard H. White,
Acting Chief, Storage and Transportation
Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel
Management, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024–08468 Filed 4–19–24; 8:45 am]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at
202–789–6820.
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[Docket No. CP2024–130]
Table of Contents
New Postal Products
I. Introduction
II. Docketed Proceeding(s)
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Commission is noticing a
recent Postal Service filing for the
Commission’s consideration concerning
a negotiated service agreement. This
notice informs the public of the filing,
invites public comment, and takes other
administrative steps.
DATES: Comments are due: April 23,
2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically via the Commission’s
SUMMARY:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Filing Online system at https://
www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit
comments electronically should contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section by
telephone for advice on filing
alternatives.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
06:41 Apr 20, 2024
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I. Introduction
The Commission gives notice that the
Postal Service filed request(s) for the
Commission to consider matters related
to negotiated service agreement(s). The
request(s) may propose the addition or
removal of a negotiated service
agreement from the Market Dominant or
the Competitive product list, or the
modification of an existing product
currently appearing on the Market
Dominant or the Competitive product
list.
PO 00000
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ML24079A070
ML24081A335
ML20163A701 (Package).
ML24016A190
55 FR 29181
ML051230231
85 FR 28479
ML24018A085
ML24106A066
ML24106A067
Section II identifies the docket
number(s) associated with each Postal
Service request, the title of each Postal
Service request, the request’s acceptance
date, and the authority cited by the
Postal Service for each request. For each
request, the Commission appoints an
officer of the Commission to represent
the interests of the general public in the
proceeding, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505
(Public Representative). Section II also
establishes comment deadline(s)
pertaining to each request.
The public portions of the Postal
Service’s request(s) can be accessed via
the Commission’s website (https://
www.prc.gov). Non-public portions of
the Postal Service’s request(s), if any,
can be accessed through compliance
with the requirements of 39 CFR
3011.301.1
The Commission invites comments on
whether the Postal Service’s request(s)
in the captioned docket(s) are consistent
with the policies of title 39. For
request(s) that the Postal Service states
1 See Docket No. RM2018–3, Order Adopting
Final Rules Relating to Non-Public Information,
June 27, 2018, Attachment A at 19–22 (Order No.
4679).
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29369-29371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08468]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72-0028, 50-387, and 50-388; NRC-2024-0068]
Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station,
Units 1 and 2; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation;
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) for an exemption request submitted by Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC
(Susquehanna) that would permit Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
(SSES) to load six new 89 multi-purpose canisters (MPC) with continuous
basket shims (CBS) in the HI-STORM Flood/Wind (FW) MPC Storage System
at its SSES Units 1 and 2 independent spent fuel storage installation
(ISFSI) in a storage condition where the terms, conditions, and
specifications in the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032,
Amendment No. 5, are not met.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
April 22, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0068 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0068. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual 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, at 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 (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christian Jacobs, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
[[Page 29370]]
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-
415-6825; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is reviewing an exemption request from Susquehanna, dated
March 19, 2024, and supplemented on March 21, 2024. Susquehanna is
requesting an exemption, pursuant to section 72.7 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), in paragraphs 72.212(a)(2),
72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 that require
Susquehanna to comply with the terms, conditions, and specifications of
the CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 5. If approved, the exemption would
allow Susquehanna to load six new MPC-89-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC
Storage System at the SSES ISFSI in a storage condition where the
terms, conditions, and specifications in the CoC No. 1032, Amendment
No. 5, are not met.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
SSES is located in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania,
just west of the Susquehanna River. The largest community within 10
miles (16 km) of the site is the borough of Berwick, which is
approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of SSES, in Luzerne County,
Pennsylvania. The nearest major metropolitan areas are Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, approximately 20 mi (32 km) to the northeast, and
Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 50 mi (80 km) to the southeast.
Unit 1 began operating in 1981 and Unit 2 began operating in 1982.
Susquehanna has been storing spent fuel in an ISFSI at SSES under a
general license as authorized by 10 CFR part 72, subpart K, ``General
License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites.'' Susquehanna
currently uses the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System under CoC No. 1032,
Amendment No. 5, for dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at the SSES
ISFSI.
Description of the Proposed Action
The CoC is the NRC approved design for each dry cask storage
system. The proposed action would exempt the applicant from the
requirements of 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i),
72.212(b)(11), and 72.214 only as these requirements pertain to the use
of the MPC-89-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System for the near-
term planned loading of the canisters. The exemption would allow SSES
to load six new MPC-89-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System at the
SSES ISFSI, despite the MPC-89-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage
System not being in compliance with the terms, conditions, and
specifications in CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 5.
The HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System CoC provides the requirements,
conditions, and operating limits necessary for use of the system to
store spent fuel. Holtec International (Holtec), the designer and
manufacturer of the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System, developed a variant
of the design with CBS for the MPC-89, known as MPC-89-CBS. Holtec
originally implemented the CBS variant design under the provisions of
10 CFR 72.48, which allows licensees to make changes to cask designs
without a CoC amendment under certain conditions (listed in 10 CFR
72.48(c)). After evaluating the specific changes to the cask designs,
the NRC determined that Holtec erred when it implemented the CBS
variant design under 10 CFR 72.48, as this was not the type of change
allowed without a CoC amendment. For this reason, the NRC issued three
Severity Level IV violations to Holtec. Susquehanna plans to load six
new MPC-89-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System beginning in
August 2024. This exemption considers the near-term planned loading of
the six canisters with the CBS variant basket design.
Need for the Proposed Action
Susquehanna requested this exemption to allow SSES to load six new
MPC-89-CBS in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System at the SSES ISFSI for
the future loading campaign scheduled to begin in August 2024.
Approval of the exemption request would allow Susquehanna to
effectively manage the margin for full core reserve in the SSES spent
fuel pool to enable refueling and offloading fuel from the reactor. It
would also allow Susquehanna to manage logistical considerations, such
as personnel and specific equipment resources, needed to support
refueling outages at SSES and across the industry.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
This EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of granting
an exemption from the terms, conditions, and specifications in CoC No.
1032, Amendment No. 5. The exemption would allow six new MPC-89-CBS to
be loaded in the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System in a near-term loading
campaign beginning in August 2024 and maintained in storage at the SSES
ISFSI.
The potential environmental impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel
in NRC-approved storage systems have been documented in previous
assessments. On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the NRC amended 10 CFR
part 72 to provide for the storage of spent fuel under a general
license in cask designs approved by the NRC. The EA for the 1990 final
rule analyzed the potential environmental impacts of using NRC-approved
storage casks. The EA for the HI-STORM FW MPC Storage System, CoC No.
1032, Amendment No. 5, (85 FR 28479), published in 2015, tiers off of
the EA issued for the July 18, 1990, final rule. ``Tiering'' off
earlier EAs is a standard process encouraged by the regulations
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) that
entails the use of impact analyses of previous EAs to bound the impacts
of a proposed action where appropriate. The Holtec HI-STORM FW MPC
Storage System is designed to mitigate the effects of design basis
accidents that could occur during storage. Considering the specific
design requirements for the accident conditions, the design of the cask
would prevent loss of containment, shielding, and criticality control.
If there is no loss of containment, shielding, or criticality control,
the environmental impacts would not be significant.
The exemptions requested by Susquehanna at the SSES site as they
relate to CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 5, for the HI-STORM FW MPC
Storage System are limited to the use of the CBS variant basket design
only for the near-term planned loading of six new canisters utilizing
the CBS variant basket design. The staff has determined that this
change in the basket would not result in either radiological or non-
radiological environmental impacts that significantly differ from the
environmental impacts evaluated in the environmental assessment
supporting the issuance of CoC No. 1032, Amendment No. 5. If the
exemption is granted, there would be no significant change in the types
or amounts of any effluents released, no significant increase in
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure, and
no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from
radiological accidents. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that
there would be no significant environmental impacts associated with the
proposed action.
Alternative to the Proposed Action
The staff considered the no-action alternative. The no-action
alternative
[[Page 29371]]
(denial of the exemption request) would require Susquehanna to keep the
spent fuel in the spent fuel pool until older design canisters can be
fabricated and delivered to site. Not allowing the planned future
loading campaign could affect Susquehanna's ability to manage pool
capacity, reactor fuel offloading, and refueling. It could also impact
Susquehanna's availability to manage personnel resources and coordinate
refueling outages at SSES and across the industry. The NRC has
determined that these potential impacts of the no-action alternative
could be avoided by proceeding with the proposed exemption, especially
given that the staff has concluded in NRC's Safety Determination
Memorandum, issued with respect to the enforcement action against
Holtec regarding these violations, that fuel can be stored safety in
the MPC-89-CBS.
Agencies Consulted
The NRC provided the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (PDEP) a copy of this draft EA for review by an email dated
April 10, 2024. On April 12, 2024, the PDEP provided its concurrence by
email.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The environmental impacts of the proposed action have been reviewed
in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, which implement
NEPA. Based upon the foregoing environmental assessment, the NRC finds
that the proposed action of granting the exemption from the regulations
in 10 CFR 72.212(a)(2), 72.212(b)(3), 72.212(b)(5)(i), 72.212(b)(11)
and 72.214, which require the licensee to comply with the terms,
conditions, and specifications of the CoC, would not significantly
impact the quality of the human environment. The exemption in this case
would be limited to specific future loading of six canisters with the
CBS variant design beginning in August 2024. Accordingly, the NRC has
determined that a FONSI is appropriate, and an environmental impact
statement is not warranted.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document description ADAMS accession No. or Federal Register notice
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Susquehanna's request for exemption, dated March 19, 2024.. ML24079A070
Supplement to request for exemption, dated March 21, 2024.. ML24081A335
Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment 5, dated June ML20163A701 (Package).
25, 2020.
Holtec International, Inc.--Notice of Violation; The U.S. ML24016A190
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspection Report No.
07201014/2022-201, EA-23-044, dated January 30, 2024.
10 CFR part 72 amendment to allow spent fuel storage in NRC- 55 FR 29181
approved casks, dated July 18, 1990.
EA for part 72 amendment to allow spent fuel storage in NRC- ML051230231
approved casks, dated March 8, 1989.
Final rule for List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: 85 FR 28479
Holtec International HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose
Canister Storage System CoC No. 1032, Amendment 5, dated
May 13, 2020.
Safety Determination of a Potential Structural Failure of ML24018A085
the Fuel Basket During Accident Conditions for the HI-
STORM 100 and HI-STORM Flood/Wind Dry Cask Storage
Systems, dated January 31, 2024.
NRC email to PDEP requesting review of EA/FONSI for SSES ML24106A066
Exemption, dated April 10, 2024.
Email from PDEP regarding review of EA/FONSI for SSES ML24106A067
Exemption, dated April 12, 2024.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: April 16, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bernard H. White,
Acting Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of
Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-08468 Filed 4-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
