00-31098. List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: NAC-UMS Revision

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Proposed rule.

SUMMARY:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations revising the NAC International (NAC) Universal Storage System (NAC-UMS) listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 1 to the Certificate of Compliance (CoC). This amendment will allow holders of power reactor operating licenses as general licensees to store PWR design basis fuel assemblies in accordance with revised technical specifications and Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuel in the NAC-UMS. The changes proposed for Amendment No. 1 to the NAC-UMS CoC include: changes to authorized contents to allow Maine Yankee site-specific spent fuels within the PWR basket, including damaged or consolidated fuel in a Maine Yankee fuel can and burnups up to 50,000 MWd/MTU; changes to allow longer times for PWR spent fuel cask loading operations based on reduced heat loads; authorization to store, without canning, intact PWR assemblies with missing grid spacers (up to an unsupported length of 60 inches); editorial clarifications to the technical specifications (TS); and deletion of a certificate reference to the NS-4-FR trade name of the solid neutron shielding material in the VCC shield plug.

DATES:

Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before January 8, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.

You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking website (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). This site provides the capability to upload comments as files (any format) if your web browser supports that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher [phone]; e-mail [e-mail].

Certain documents related to this rule, including comments received by the NRC, may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. These documents may also be viewed and downloaded electronically via the rulemaking website.

Documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999 are also available electronically at the NRC Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/​NRC/​ADAMS/​index.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. An electronic copy of the proposed CoC and preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) can be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML003754655. For more information, contact the NRC's Public Document Room Reference Staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail at [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Keith McDaniel, telephone [phone], e-mail, [e-mail], of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

For additional information see the Direct Final Rule published in the final rules section of this Federal Register.

Procedural Background

The NRC is also publishing this proposed rule as a direct final rule because it represents a limited and routine change to an existing CoC that is expected to be noncontroversial; adequate protection of public health and safety continues to be ensured. The direct final rule will become effective on February 20, 2001. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on the direct final rule by January 8, 2001, then the NRC will publish a document to withdraw the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments received in response to the proposed revisions in a subsequent final rule. Absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period for this action if the direct final rule is withdrawn.

List of Subjects In 10 CFR Part 72

• Criminal penalties
• Manpower training programs
• Nuclear materials
• Occupational safety and health
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Security measures
• Spent fuel

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; and 5 U.S.C. 553; the NRC is proposing to adopt the following amendments to 10 CFR Part 72.

PART 72—LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

1. The authority citation for Part 72 continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69, 81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 68 Stat. 929, 930, 932, 933, 934, 935, 948, 953, 954, 955, as amended, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233, 2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2282); sec. 274, Pub. L. 86-373, 73 Stat. 688, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2021); sec. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended, 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846); Pub. L. 95-601, sec. 10, 92 Stat. 2951 as amended by Pub. L. 10d—48b, sec. 7902, 10b Stat. 31b3 (42 U.S.C. 5851); sec. 102, Pub. L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 853 (42 U.S.C. 4332); secs. 131, 132, 133, 135, 137, 141, Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2229, 2230, 2232, 2241, sec. 148, Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-235 (42 U.S.C. 10151, 10152, 10153, 10155, 10157, 10161, 10168).

Section 72.44(g) also issued under secs. 142(b) and 148(c), (d), Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-232, 1330-236 (42 U.S.C. 10162(b), 10168(c),(d)). Section 72.46 also issued under sec. 189, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2239); sec. 134, Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2230 (42 U.S.C. 10154). Section 72.96(d) also issued under sec. 145(g), Pub. L. 100-203, 101 Stat. 1330-235 (42 U.S.C. 10165(g)). Subpart J also issued under secs. 2(2), 2(15), 2(19), 117(a), 141(h), Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2202, 2203, 2204, 2222, 2244, (42 U.S.C. 10101, 10137(a), 10161(h)). Subparts K and L are also issued under sec. 133, 98 Stat. 2230 (42 U.S.C. 10153) and sec. 218(a), 96 Stat. 2252 (42 U.S.C. 10198).

2. In § 72.214, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) 1015 is revised to read as follows:

§ 72.214

List of approved spent fuel storage casks.

* * * * *

Certificate Number: 1015.

Initial Certificate Effective Date: [November 20, 2000].

Amendment No. 1 Effective Date: February 20, 2001.

SAR Submitted by: NAC International, Inc.

SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report for the NAC-UMS Universal Storage System.

Docket Number: 72-1015.

Certificate Expiration Date: November 20, 2020.

Model Number: NAC-UMS.

* * * * *

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of November, 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Travers,

Executive Director for Operations.