Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 1, 2020 / Notices 77267 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2018–0066] 

Dry Storage and Transportation of 

High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: NUREG; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing NUREG– 

2224, ‘‘Dry Storage and Transportation 

of High Burnup Spent Nuclear Fuel.’’ 

The NUREG provides technical 

background information applicable to 

high burnup spent nuclear fuel (HBU 

SNF), provides an engineering 

assessment of recent NRC-sponsored 

mechanical testing of HBU SNF, and 

presents example approaches for 

licensing and certification of HBU SNF 

in transportation and dry storage. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2018–0066 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: 

Address questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 

telephone: 301–287–9127; email: 

Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and search for 

Docket ID NRC–2018–0066. 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. The ADAMS accession number 

for each document referenced in this 

document (if that document is available 

in ADAMS) is provided the first time 

that a document is referenced. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ricardo Torres, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555 0001; telephone: 

301–415–7508, email: Ricardo.Torres@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion 

NUREG–2224, ‘‘Dry Storage and 

Transportation of High Burnup Spent 

Nuclear Fuel’’ (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML20191A321), is a technical basis 

document which expands on the aspects 

that pertain to hydride reorientation in 

HBU SNF cladding, as discussed in 

SFST–ISG–11, Revision 3, ‘‘Cladding 

Considerations for the Transportation 

and Storage of Spent Fuel’’ (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML033230335), NUREG– 

2215, ‘‘Standard Review Plan for Spent 

Fuel Dry Storage Systems and 

Facilities—Final Report’’ (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML20121A190), and 

NUREG–2216, ‘‘Standard Review Plan 

for Transportation Packages for Spent 

Fuel and Radioactive Material: Final 

Report’’ (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML20234A651). Hydride reorientation 

is a process in which the orientation of 

hydrides precipitated in HBU SNF 

cladding during reactor operation 

changes from the circumferential-axial 

to the radial-axial direction. NUREG– 

2224 provides an engineering 

assessment of the results of NRCsponsored research (NUREG/CR–7198, 

Rev. 1, ‘‘Mechanical Fatigue Testing of 

High-Burnup Fuel for Transportation 

Application’’ ADAMS Accession No. 

ML17292B057) on the mechanical 

performance of HBU SNF following 

hydride reorientation. Per the 

conclusions of that assessment, 

NUREG–2224 presents example 

approaches for licensing and 

certification of HBU SNF for 

transportation (under part 71 of title 10 

of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 

CFR), ‘‘Packaging and Transportation of 

Radioactive Material’’) and dry storage 

(under 10 CFR part 72, ‘‘Licensing 

Requirements for the Independent 

Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and HighLevel Radioactive Waste, and ReactorRelated Greater Than Class C Waste’’). 

II. Additional Information 

On August 9, 2018 (83 FR 39475), the 

NRC solicited comments on draft 

NUREG–2224, ‘‘Dry Storage and 

Transportation of High Burnup Spent 

Nuclear Fuel.’’ The initial public 

comment period closed on September 

24, 2018. Responding to several requests 

from the public, the NRC reopened the 

public comment period on October 10, 

2018 (83 FR 50965), to allow more time 

for members of the public to develop 

and submit their comments. The staff 

considered public comments received 

on the draft document in preparing the 

final NUREG–2224. A summary of the 

public comments and staff responses are 

available in ADAMS under Accession 

No. ML20120A444. 

III. Regulatory Analysis 

The NRC prepared a regulatory 

analysis on this action. The analysis 

examines the costs and benefits of the 

alternatives considered by the NRC. The 

regulatory analysis is available at 

ADAMS Accession No. ML20188A027. 

IV. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and 

Issue Finality Provisions 

This NUREG (NUREG–2224) sets forth 

the NRC’s position regarding acceptable 

approaches for demonstrating regulatory 

compliance in applications for dry 

storage cask Certificates of Compliance 

(CoCs), CoCs for transportation 

packages, and specific licenses for 

Independent Spent Fuel Storage 

Installations (ISFSIs) involving HBU 

SNF. The issuance of this NUREG 

would not constitute backfitting as 

defined in the backfitting provisions in 

10 CFR 72.62 and would not implicate 

forward fitting as described in 

Management Directive (MD) 8.4, 

‘‘Management of Backfitting, Forward 

Fitting, Issue Finality, and Information 

Requests,’’ for specific ISFSI licensees. 

Dry storage cask CoCs do not fall within 

the backfitting provision in 10 CFR 

72.62, and there are no backfitting 

provisions in 10 CFR part 71 regarding 

CoCs for transportation packages. 

Issuance of the NUREG would also not 

constitute backfitting or forward fitting 

under 10 CFR 50.109 or MD 8.4, or 

otherwise be inconsistent with issue 

finality provisions in 10 CFR part 52, 

that are applicable to general ISFSI 

licensees. The NRC’s position is based 

upon the following considerations. 

1. The NUREG does not constitute 

backfitting or forward fitting or affect 

issue finality. The NUREG provides 

licensing and certification approaches 

acceptable to the NRC staff for 

demonstrating regulatory compliance in 

applications for dry storage cask CoCs, 

CoCs for transportation packages, and 

specific ISFSI licenses involving HBU 

SNF. Changes in staff guidance, without 

further NRC action, are not matters that 

meet the definition of backfitting or 

forward fitting or affect the issue finality 

of a 10 CFR part 52 approval. 

2. Current or future applicants who 

may use this guidance in developing 

acceptable approaches for 

demonstrating regulatory compliance in 

applications for dry storage cask CoCs, 

CoCs for transportation packages, and 

specific ISFSI licenses involving HBU 

SNF in the future are not—with limited 

exceptions not applicable here—within 


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77268 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 1, 2020 / Notices 

the scope of the backfitting and issue 

finality regulations. Applicants are not, 

with certain exceptions, covered by 

either the Backfit Rule or any issue 

finality provisions under 10 CFR part 

52. This is because neither the Backfit 

Rule nor the issue finality provisions 

under 10 CFR part 52—with certain 

exclusions not applicable here—were 

intended to apply to every NRC action 

which substantially changes the 

expectations of current and future 

applicants. If, in the future, the staff 

seeks to impose a position in the 

NUREG in a manner that constitutes 

backfitting or does not provide issue 

finality as described in the applicable 

issue finality provision, then the staff 

would need to address the Backfit Rule 

or the criteria for avoiding issue finality 

as described in the applicable issue 

finality provision. 

3. The staff does not, at this time, 

intend to impose the positions 

represented in the NUREG in a manner 

that would constitute forward fitting. If, 

in the future, the staff seeks to impose 

a position in the NUREG in a manner 

that constitutes forward fitting, then the 

staff would need to address the forward 

fitting criteria in MD 8.4. 

V. Congressional Review Act 

This NUREG is a rule as defined in 

the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 

801–808). However, the Office of 

Management and Budget has not found 

it to be a major rule as defined in the 

Congressional Review Act. 

Dated: November 25, 2020. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Christopher M. Regan, 

Deputy Director, Division of Fuel 

Management, Office of Nuclear Material 

Safety and Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26516 Filed 11–30–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 70–7005; NRC–2020–0209] 

Waste Control Specialists LLC 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Environmental assessment and 

finding of no significant impact; 

issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing an 

environmental assessment (EA) and 

finding of no significant impact (FONSI) 

in support of the NRC’s consideration of 

a request from Waste Control Specialists 

LLC (WCS) to continue to store 

transuranic waste that originated from 

the Los Alamos National Laboratory 

(LANL) without an NRC license under 

the terms of a 2014 order. The 2014 

order exempted WCS from the NRC’s 

regulations concerning special nuclear 

material (SNM). The current action is in 

response to a request by WCS dated 

August 24, 2020, to extend the 

possession time to temporarily store 

certain waste at specific locations at the 

WCS Site until December 23, 2022. 

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in 

this document are available on 

December 1, 2020. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2020–0209 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–2020–0209. Address 

questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 

telephone: 301–287–9127; email: 

Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical 

questions, contact the individual listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document. 

• The 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. 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. 

• Attention: The 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 PDR.Resource@nrc.gov 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: 

Harry Felsher, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555– 0001; 

telephone: 301–415–6559; email: 

Harry.Felsher@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

Waste Control Specialists LLC 

operates a facility in Andrews County, 

Texas (the WCS Site), that is licensed to 

process and store certain types of 

radioactive material contained in lowlevel waste (LLW) and mixed waste. The 

WCS Site is also licensed to dispose of 

radioactive, hazardous, and toxic waste. 

Under an Agreement authorized by the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 

a State can assume regulatory authority 

over radioactive material. In 1963, Texas 

entered into such an Agreement and 

assumed regulatory authority over 

source material, byproduct material, and 

SNM under critical mass. The WCS Site 

is licensed by the Texas Commission on 

Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for 

possession, treatment, and storage of 

radioactive waste and disposal of LLW 

under Radioactive Materials License 

(RML) R04100. 

Section 70.3 of title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR) requires 

persons who own, acquire, deliver, 

receive, possess, use, or transfer SNM to 

obtain a license pursuant to the 

requirements of 10 CFR part 70. The 

licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 

70 apply to persons in Agreement States 

possessing greater than critical mass 

quantities, as defined in 10 CFR 150.11. 

However, pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17(a), 

‘‘the Commission may grant such 

exemptions from the requirements of 

the regulations in this part as it 

determines are authorized by law and 

will not endanger life or property or the 

common defense and security and are 

otherwise in the public interest.’’ 

On September 25, 2000, WCS first 

requested an exemption from the 

licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 

70 (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML003759584). On November 21, 2001, 

the NRC issued an order to WCS (2001 

Order) granting an exemption to WCS 

from certain NRC regulations and 

permitted WCS, under specified 

conditions, to possess waste containing 

SNM in greater quantities than specified 

in 10 CFR part 150, at the WCS storage 

and treatment facility on the WCS Site 

in Andrews County, Texas, without 

obtaining an NRC license pursuant to 10 

CFR part 70. The 2001 Order was 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 15, 2001 (66 FR 57489). The 

NRC issued superseding Orders to WCS 

in 2004 (i.e., modified list of reagents) 

and 2009 (i.e., modified sampling 

requirements) that modified the 

conditions in the 2001 Order. 

On February 14, 2014, a radiation 

release event occurred at the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) Waste 

Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Facility 


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