Northern States Power Company; Prairie Island Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; License Amendment Application, 83054-83055 [2024-23647]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83054-83055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23647]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72-10; NRC-2024-0086]


Northern States Power Company; Prairie Island Independent Spent 
Fuel Storage Installation; License Amendment Application

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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[[Page 83055]]

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed an 
application by Northern States Power Company (NSPM) for amendment of 
Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2506 which authorizes NSPM to 
receive, possess, store, and transfer spent nuclear fuel and associated 
radioactive materials. The amendment request sought to revise the 
license conditions to describe the inspection intervals similar to 
Technical Specifications Surveillance Requirement Frequency, allowing 
up to 1.25 times the specified intervals to account for scheduling 
challenges, including but not limited to inclement weather, security 
drills, and refueling outages.

DATES: The license amendment was issued September 23, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0086 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-2024-0086. 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]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the 
first time that it is mentioned in this document.
     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: John-Chau Nguyen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0262; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC received, by letter dated April 2, 
2024 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24095A075), a license amendment application 
from NSPM, to amend Special Nuclear Materials License No. SNM-2506, 
which authorizes the storage of spent fuel at the Prairie Island 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (PI ISFSI) located in 
Welch, Minnesota. Specifically, the amendment sought to revise License 
Conditions 23(a), 24(A)(2), and 24(B)(2). The subject license 
conditions are aging management activities with specified inspection 
intervals of three months or one quarter. NSPM proposed to revise the 
license conditions to describe the inspection intervals similar to 
Technical Specifications Surveillance Requirement Frequency, allowing 
up to 1.25 times the specified intervals to account for scheduling 
challenges, including but not limited to inclement weather, security 
drills, and refueling outages.
    An NRC administrative completeness review, documented in a letter 
to NSPM dated May 16, 2024 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24128A257), found the 
application acceptable to begin a technical review. In accordance with 
section 72.16 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Filing of application for specific license,'' a notice of docketing 
was published in the Federal Register on May 28, 2024 (89 FR 46176). 
The notice of docketing included an opportunity to request a hearing 
and to petition for leave to intervene. No requests for a hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene were submitted.
    The NRC prepared a safety evaluation report (SER) (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML24241A169) to document its review and evaluation of the amendment 
request. In addition, the NRC evaluated an assertion by NSPM that the 
amendment request satisfied the categorical exclusion criteria 
specified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11). Under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11), a 
categorical exclusion is allowed for amendments to materials licenses 
which are administrative, organizational, or procedural in nature, or 
which result in a change to process operations or equipment, provided 
that (i) there is no significant change in the types or significant 
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite, 
(ii) there is no significant increase in individual or cumulative 
occupational radiation exposure, (iii) there is no significant 
construction impact, and (iv) there is no significant increase in the 
potential for or consequences from radiological accidents. As explained 
in the SER, the NRC determined that the license amendment request 
satisfied the 10 CFR 51.22(c)(11) categorical exclusion criteria. 
Consequently, an environmental assessment and finding of no significant 
impact are not required.
    Upon completing its review, the NRC staff determined that the 
request complies with the standards and requirements of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), as well as the NRC's rules 
and regulations. The Commission has made appropriate findings as 
required by the Act and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 
CFR chapter I, which are set forth in the license amendment. The NRC 
approved and issued Amendment No. 13 to Special Nuclear Materials 
License No. SNM-2506 (ADAMS Accession No. ML24241A170), held by NSPM 
for the receipt, possession, transfer, and storage of spent fuel and 
associated radioactive materials at the PI ISFSI. Pursuant to 10 CFR 
72.46(d), the NRC is providing notice of the action taken. Amendment 
No. 13 was effective as of the date of issuance, September 23, 2024.

    Dated: October 8, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christian Jacobs,
Acting Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch, Division of 
Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-23647 Filed 10-11-24; 8:45 am]
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