2020-15128. List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Canister Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1032, Amendment No. 5

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Direct final rule; confirmation of effective date.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of July 27, 2020, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on May 13, 2020. The direct final rule amends the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Canister Storage System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 5 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1032. Amendment No. 5 revises the certificate of compliance to: Add new heat load patterns and revise the minimum required cooling time for two multipurpose canisters (MPC-89 and MPC-37); add new fuel types to the approved contents; allow an exception to a code to permit use of certain duplex stainless steels; use an analysis model to revise the calculation for evaluating effective fuel conductivities; add the use of the damaged fuel isolator; add two versions of the standard variable weight transfer cask; add the option of using cyclic vacuum drying; and make changes to the final safety analysis report to add new types of fuel assemblies, add a definition to it and to the certificate of compliance, and add the required shielding evaluation to Section 5.4.8. In addition, Amendment No. 5 makes several clarifications and minor changes.

DATES:

The effective date of July 27, 2020, for the direct final rule published May 13, 2020 (85 FR 28479), is confirmed.

ADDRESSES:

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0050 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-2020-0050. Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. 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, 301-415-4737, or by email to [e-mail]. The proposed amendment to the certificate of compliance, the proposed changes to the technical specifications, and the preliminary safety evaluation report are available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20014E616. The final amendment to the certificate of compliance, final changes to the technical specifications, and final safety evaluation report can also be viewed in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20163A701.
• Attention: The Public Document Room (PDR), where you may examine and order copies of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request to the PDR via email at [e-mail] or call 1-800-397-4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Vanessa Cox, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone] or email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On May 13, 2020 (85 FR 28479), the NRC published a direct final rule amending its regulations in part 72 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations to revise the Holtec International HI-STORM Flood/Wind Multipurpose Canister Storage System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 5 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1032. Amendment No. 5 revises the certificate of compliance to: Add new heat load patterns and revise the minimum required cooling time for two multipurpose canisters (MPC-89 and MPC-37); add new fuel types to the approved contents; allow an exception to a code to permit use of certain duplex stainless steels; use an analysis model to revise the calculation for evaluating effective fuel conductivities; add the use of the damaged fuel isolator; add two versions of the standard variable weight transfer cask; add the option of using cyclic vacuum drying; and make changes to the final safety analysis report to add new types of fuel assemblies, add a definition to it and to the certificate of compliance, and add the required shielding evaluation to Section 5.4.8. In addition, Amendment No. 5 makes several clarifications and minor changes.

In the direct final rule published on May 13, 2020, the NRC stated that if no significant adverse comments were received, the direct final rule would become effective on July 27, 2020. The NRC received and docketed one comment on the companion proposed rule (85 FR 28521; May 13, 2020). Electronic copies of the comment can be obtained from the Federal Rulemaking website https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2020-0050 and is also available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML20168B028.

The NRC evaluated the comment against the criteria described in the direct final rule and determined that the comment was not significant and adverse. Specifically, the comment was outside the scope of this rulemaking, did not oppose the rule, or did not propose a change to the rule, such that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable without incorporation of the change. Therefore, the direct final rule will become effective as scheduled.

Dated July 8, 2020.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Pamela J. Shepherd-Vladimir,

Acting Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Rulemaking Support Branch, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.