This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

38715

Vol. 65, No. 121

Thursday, June 22, 2000

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150–AG34

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage

Casks: Standardized NUHOMS–24P

and NUHOMS–52B Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is amending its

regulations revising the Transnuclear

West (TN West), Inc., Standardized

NUHOMS–24P and NUHOMS–52B

cask system (NUHOMS storage system)

listing within the ‘‘List of approved

spent fuel storage casks’’ to include

Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of

Compliance (CoC) No. 1004.

Amendment No. 2 makes two main

changes: it updates the Technical

Specifications’ fuel qualification tables

to reflect additional fuel parameters;

and it allows storage of burnable poison

rod assemblies (BPRAs) in model 24P of

the NUHOMS storage system, along

with spent fuel. Amendment No. 2 also

revises and renumbers several of the

conditions in the CoC to reflect the

NRC’s new standard format for CoCs.

However, no technical changes to the

CoC’s conditions are made by this

amendment. This amendment will

allow holders of power reactor operating

licenses to store spent fuel in the TN

West NUHOMS storage system, as

amended, under a general license.

DATES: The final rule is effective

September 5, 2000, unless significant

adverse comments are received by July

24, 2000. If significant adverse

comments are received, a timely

withdrawal will be published in the

Federal Register informing the public

that the rule will not take effect. If this

direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC

will address the comments received as

comments on the proposed rule

published in the proposed rules section

of this Federal Register and will

subsequently issue a final rule.

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 (301) 415–5905; e-mail

CAG@nrc.gov.

Certain documents related to this rule,

including comments received, may be

examined at the NRC Public Document

Room, 2120 L Street NW. (Lower Level),

Washington, DC. These same documents

may also be viewed and downloaded

electronically via the rulemaking

website.

Documents created or received at the

NRC after April 1, 2000 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

Agency wide Document Access and

Management System (ADAMS), which

provides text and image files of NRC’s

public documents. For more

information, contact the NRC’s Public

Document Room reference staff at (202)

634–3273 or toll free at 1–800–397–

4209, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephanie P. Bush-Goddard, Ph.D.,

telephone (301) 415–6257, e-mail,

SPB@nrc.gov, of the Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555–0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste

Policy Act of 1982, as amended

(NWPA), requires that ‘‘[t]he Secretary

[of the Department of Energy (DOE)]

shall establish a demonstration program,

in cooperation with the private sector,

for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel

at civilian nuclear power reactor sites,

with the objective of establishing one or

more technologies that the [Nuclear

Regulatory] Commission may, by rule,

approve for use at the sites of civilian

nuclear power reactors without, to the

maximum extent practicable, the need

for additional site-specific approvals by

the Commission.’’ Section 133 of the

NWPA states, in part, that ‘‘[t]he

Commission shall, by rule, establish

procedures for the licensing of any

technology approved by the

Commission under section 218(a) for

use at the site of any civilian nuclear

power reactor.’’

To implement this mandate, the NRC

approved dry storage of spent nuclear

fuel in NRC-approved casks under a

general license, publishing a final rule

in 10 CFR part 72 entitled, ‘‘General

License for Storage of Spent Fuel at

Power Reactor Sites’’ (55 FR 29181; July

18, 1990). This rule also established a

new Subpart L within 10 CFR part 72

entitled, ‘‘Approval of Spent Fuel

Storage Casks,’’ containing procedures

and criteria for obtaining NRC approval

of dry storage cask designs.

The NRC subsequently issued a final

rule on December 22, 1994 (59 FR

65898) that approved the Standardized

NUHOMS storage system and added it

to the list of NRC-approved cask designs

in § 72.214, as CoC No. 1004.

Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004 was

issued on March 28, 2000 (65 FR

16299).

Discussion

The certificate holder (Transnuclear

West, Inc.) submitted an application to

the NRC on February 16, 1996,

supplemented on November 15, 1996,

October 9, 1998, and February 10, 1999,

to amend CoC No. 1004 to include a

new fuel specification and on July 26,

1999, to amend CoC No. 1004 to permit

a part 72 licensee to store BPRAs.

The first change permits a part 72

licensee to store spent fuel in the

NUHOMS storage system using the

new fuel qualification tables. The

particular changes are incorporated into

section 1.2.1 of the Technical

Specifications for CoC No. 1004. The

changes will incorporate new fuel

qualification tables for both pressurized

water reactor (PWR) and boiling water

reactor (BWR) fuel. The tables present

the minimum required cooling time for

fuel as a function of the initial fuel

38716 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 121 / Thursday, June 22, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

enrichment and fuel burnup. The use of

the tables provides a simplified

approach for users of the NUHOMS

storage system to select fuel for storage

without calculating specific fuel

assembly decay heat and radiation

source terms.

The NRC agrees that this direct final

rule provides a more simplified,

accurate, and straightforward method

for qualifying fuel to be stored in the

NUHOMS storage system and has

documented its review and evaluation

in a Safety Evaluation Report (SER)

regarding use of new fuel qualification

tables.

The second change permits a part 72

licensee to store BPRAs with Babcock &

Wilcox (B&W) 15 x 15 spent fuel

assemblies in the NUHOMS storage

system model 24P. A BPRA is a reactor

core component that is inserted inside

a fuel assembly. BPRAs provide a means

of controlling reactor power distribution

and do not contain fissile material. No

other changes to the TN-West system

design were requested in this

application. The NRC staff performed a

safety evaluation of this proposed CoC

amendment request and found that the

addition of the BPRAs to the B&W 15 x

15 fuel does not reduce the TN-West

safety margin. In addition, the NRC staff

has determined that the storage of

BPRAs in the TN-West does not pose

any increased risk to public health and

safety. This is documented in a SER

concerning the BPRA change.

The amended TN-West cask system,

when used in accordance with the

conditions specified in the CoC, the

Technical Specifications, and NRC

regulations, will meet the requirements

of part 72; thus, adequate protection of

public health and safety will continue to

be ensured. Currently, the CoC is

approved only for storage of spent fuel

assemblies.

Amendment No. 2 to CoC No. 1004,

the revised Technical Specifications, the

underlying Safety Evaluation Reports

(SERs) for the amendment and the

Environmental Assessment, are

available for inspection at the NRC

Public Document Room, 2120 L Street,

NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.

Single copies of the CoC and SERs may

be obtained from Stephanie P. BushGoddard, Ph.D., Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301)

415–6257, email SPB@nrc.gov.

Discussion of Amendments by Section

Section 72.214 List of Approved Spent

Fuel Storage Casks

Certificate No. 1004 will be revised

indicating the addition of Amendment

No. 2 with an effective date of

September 5, 2000.

Procedural Background

This rule is limited to the changes

contained in Amendment No. 2 to CoC

No. 1004 and does not include other

aspects of the Standardized

NUHOMS–24P and NUHOMS–52B

cask system design. Because NRC

considers this amendment to its rules to

be noncontroversial and routine, the

NRC is using the direct final rule

procedure for this rule. The amendment

to the rules will become effective on

September 5, 2000. However, if the NRC

receives significant adverse comments

on the associated proposed rule

published concurrently in the proposed

rules section of this Federal Register by

July 24, 2000, then the NRC will publish

a notice that withdraws this action and

will address the comments received in

response to the proposed amendments.

These comments will be addressed in a

subsequent final rule. Absent significant

modifications to the proposed changes

requiring republication, the NRC will

not initiate a second comment period on

this action.

Agreement State Compatibility

Under the ‘‘Policy Statement on

Adequacy and Compatibility of

Agreement State Programs’’ approved by

the Commission on June 30, 1997, and

published in the Federal Register on

September 3, 1997 (62 FR 46517), this

rule is classified as compatibility

Category ‘‘NRC.’’ Compatibility is not

required for Category ‘‘NRC’’

regulations. The NRC program elements

in this category are those that relate

directly to areas of regulation reserved

to the NRC by the Atomic Energy Act of

1954, as amended (AEA), or the

provisions of title 10 of the Code of

Federal Regulations. Although an

Agreement State may not adopt program

elements reserved to NRC, it may wish

to inform its licensees of certain

requirements via a mechanism that is

consistent with the particular State’s

administrative procedure laws, but does

not confer regulatory authority on the

State.

Plain Language

The Presidential Memorandum dated

June 1, 1998, entitled ‘‘Plain Language

in Government Writing,’’ directed that

the Federal Government’s writing be in

plain language. The NRC requests

comments on this direct final rule

specifically with respect to the clarity

and effectiveness of the language used.

Comments should be sent to the address

listed under the heading ADDRESSES

above.

Finding of No Significant

Environmental Impact: Availability

Under the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the

NRC regulations in subpart A of 10 CFR

part 51, the NRC has determined that

this rule is not a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment and, therefore, an

environmental impact statement is not

required. The rule will amend the CoC

for the NUHOMS storage system

within the list of approved spent fuel

storage casks that power reactor

licensees can use to store spent fuel at

reactor sites under a general license.

The amendment will add new fuel

qualification tables to the technical

specifications and add BPRAs to the

authorized contents of the NUHOMS

system model 24P. The environmental

assessment and finding of no significant

impact on which this determination is

based are available for inspection at the

NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L

Street NW. (Lower Level), Washington,

DC. Single copies of the environmental

assessment and finding of no significant

impact are available from Stephanie P.

Bush-Goddard, Ph.D., Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301)

415–6257, email SPB@nrc.gov.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

This direct final rule does not contain

a new or amended information

collection requirement subject to the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing

requirements were approved by the

Office of Management and Budget,

Approval Number 3150–0132.

Public Protection Notification

If a means used to impose an

information collection does not display

a currently valid OMB control number,

the NRC may not conduct or sponsor,

and a person is not required to respond

to, the information collection.

Voluntary Consensus Standards

The National Technology Transfer Act

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–113) requires that

Federal agencies use technical standards

that are developed or adopted by

voluntary consensus standards bodies

unless the use of such a standard is

inconsistent with applicable law or

otherwise impractical. In this direct

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 121 / Thursday, June 22, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 38717

final rule, the NRC would revise the

Transnuclear West, Inc., Standardized

NUHOMS cask system listing within

the list of NRC approved casks for spent

fuel storage in § 72.214. This action does

not constitute the establishment of a

standard that establishes generallyapplicable requirements.

Regulatory Analysis

On July 18, 1990 (55 FR 29181), the

NRC issued an amendment to 10 CFR

part 72 to provide for the storage of

spent nuclear fuel under a general

license in cask system designs approved

by the NRC. Any nuclear power reactor

licensee can use NRC-certified casks to

store spent nuclear fuel if it notifies the

NRC in advance, spent fuel is stored

under the conditions specified in the

cask’s CoC, and the conditions of the

general license are met. A list of NRCapproved cask designs is contained in

§ 72.214. On December 22, 1994 (59 FR

65898), the NRC issued an amendment

to part 72 that approved the

Standardized NUHOMS storage system

designs by adding them to the list of

NRC-approved cask designs in § 72.214.

The NRC subsequently issued

Amendment No. 1 to CoC No. 1004 on

March 28, 2000 (65 FR 16299). The

certificate holder (Transnuclear West,

Inc.) submitted an application to the

NRC on February 16, 1996,

supplemented on November 15, 1996,

October 9, 1998, February 10, 1999 and

July 26, 1999 to amend CoC No. 1004 to

include new fuel specification tables

and to add BPRAs to the authorized

contents of the NUHOMS storage

system. The proposed new fuel

specification tables in Amendment No.

2 provides a simplified method for

determining acceptable spent fuel to be

stored in the NUHOMS storage system

and will add BPRAs as authorized

contents of the NUHOMS storage

system model 24P that are currently

only for storage of spent fuel assemblies.

The alternative to Amendment 2 is to

withhold approval of this amended cask

system design. This alternative would

require users of the NUHOMS storage

system to use a less efficient method for

selecting fuel for storage and would also

require users to bear the additional costs

of disassembling BPRA’s from the spent

fuel assemblies and of storing them as

low-level waste.

Approval of the direct final rule will

eliminate the problems described above

and is consistent with previous

Commission actions. Further, the direct

final rule will have no adverse effect on

public health and safety. This direct

final rule has no significant identifiable

impact or benefit on other Government

agencies.

Based on the above discussion of the

benefits and impacts of the alternatives,

the NRC concludes that the

requirements of the direct final rule are

commensurate with the NRC’s

responsibilities for public health and

safety and the common defense and

security. No other available alternative

is believed to be as satisfactory, and

thus, this action is recommended.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act

In accordance with the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996, the NRC has

determined that this action is not a

major rule and has verified this

determination with the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget.

Regulatory Flexibility Certification

In accordance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605(b)),

the NRC certifies that this rule will not,

if promulgated, have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. This direct

final rule affects only the operation of

nuclear power plants, independent

spent fuel storage facilities, and TNWest. The companies that own these

plants do not fall within the scope of the

definition of ‘‘small entities’’ set forth in

the Regulatory Flexibility Act or the

Small Business Size Standards set out in

regulations issued by the Small

Business Administration at 13 CFR part

121.

Backfit Analysis

The NRC has determined that the

backfit rule (10 CFR 50.109 or 10 CFR

72.62) does not apply to this direct final

rule because this amendment does not

involve any provisions that would

impose backfits as defined. Therefore, a

backfit analysis is not required.

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 adopting 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) 1004 is revised to

read as follows:

§ 72.214 List of approved spent fuel

storage casks.

* * * * *

Certificate Number: 1004.

Initial Certificate Effective Date:

January 23, 1995.

Amendment No. 1 Effective Date:

April 27, 2000.

Amendment No. 2 Effective Date:

September 5, 2000.

SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear

West, Inc.

SAR Title: Transnuclear West, Inc.,

‘‘Final Safety Analysis Report for the

Standardized NUHOMS Horizontal

Modular Storage System for Irradiated

Nuclear Fuel’’.

Docket Number: 72–1004.

Certificate Expiration Date: January

23, 2015.

Model Number: Standardized

NUHOMS-24P and NUHOMS-52B.

* * * * *

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day

of May, 2000.

38718 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 121 / Thursday, June 22, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Travers,

Executive Director for Operations.

[FR Doc. 00–15542 Filed 6–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150–AG55

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage

Casks: VSC–24 Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is amending its

regulations revising the Pacific Sierra

Nuclear Associates (PSNA) VSC–24 cask

system listing within the 10 CFR part 72

‘‘List of approved spent fuel storage

casks,’’ to include Amendment No. 2 to

the Certificate of Compliance (CoC).

Amendment No. 2 will revise the

Technical Specifications and CoC

regarding welding and nondestructive

examination of welds, the method for

determining cask drain time during

loading, the minimum temperature for

moving the loaded multi-assembly

sealed basket (MSB), artificial thermal

loads other than spent fuel that may be

used to obtain temperature data, and the

maximum permissible air outlet

temperature. In addition, the

amendment includes changes to the

Technical Specifications and CoC to

correct typographical errors and to make

other minor clarifications and changes.

This amendment will allow the holders

of power reactor operating licenses to

store spent fuel in the VSC–24 cask

system, as amended, under a general

license.

DATES: The final rule is effective

September 5, 2000, unless significant

adverse comments are received by July

24, 2000. If adverse comments are

received, a timely withdrawal will be

published in the Federal Register

informing the public that the rule will

not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to:

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001. Attention: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff.

Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30

a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.

You may also provide comments via

the NRC’s interactive rulemaking

website (http://ruleforumllnl.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 website, contact Ms. Carol

Gallagher, (301) 415–5905 (e-mail:

cag@nrc.gov).

Copies of any comments received may

be examined at the NRC Public

Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW.

(Lower Level), Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gordon Gundersen, telephone (301)

415–6195, e-mail, GEG1@nrc.gov of the

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste

Policy Act of 1982, as amended

(NWPA), requires that ‘‘[t]he Secretary

[of the Department of Energy] shall

establish a demonstration program, in

cooperation with the private sector, for

the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at

civilian nuclear power reactor sites,

with the objective of establishing one or

more technologies the [Nuclear

Regulatory] Commission may, by rule,

approve for use at the sites of civilian

nuclear power reactors without, to the

maximum extent practicable, the need

for additional site-specific approvals by

the Commission.’’ Section 133 of the

NWPA states, in part, that ‘‘[t]he

Commission shall, by rule, establish

procedures for the licensing of any

technology approved by the

Commission under section 218(a) for

use at the site of any civilian nuclear

power reactor.’’

To implement this mandate, the NRC

approved dry storage of spent nuclear

fuel in NRC-approved casks under a

general license, publishing a final rule,

in 10 CFR part 72 entitled ‘‘General

License for Storage of Spent Fuel at

Power Reactor Sites’’ (55 FR 29181, July

18, 1990). This rule also established a

new Subpart L within 10 CFR part 72

entitled ‘‘Approval of Spent Fuel

Storage Casks,’’ containing procedures

and criteria for obtaining NRC approval

of dry storage cask designs.

The NRC subsequently issued a final

rule on April 7, 1993 (58 FR 17948), that

approved the VSC–24 cask design,

added it to the list of NRC-approved

cask designs in § 72.214, and issued

Certificate of Compliance Number (CoC

No.) 1007.

Discussion

On November 20, 1998, PSNA (the

certificate holder), submitted an

application to the NRC to amend CoC

No. 1007 to revise the Technical

Specifications and CoC regarding

welding and nondestructive

examination of welds, the method for

determining cask drain time during

loading, the minimum temperature for

moving the loaded multi-assembly

sealed basket (MSB), artificial thermal

loads other than spent fuel that may be

used to obtain temperature data, and the

maximum permissible air outlet

temperature. In addition, the

amendment includes changes to the

Technical Specifications and CoC to

correct typographical errors and to make

other minor clarifications and changes.

These changes are described in the

Revision History for Amendment 2

(CoC, Attachment A, pages iii and iv).

The staff performed a safety evaluation

of the amendment request and found

that the changes provide reasonable

assurance that the spent fuel can be

stored safely and in compliance with 10

CFR Part 72. The staff documented its

review and evaluation in a Safety

Evaluation Report. A separate

amendment request (submitted

December 30, 1998) to permit a Part 72

licensee to store burnable poison rod

assemblies (BPRAs) in the VSC–24 cask

design along with the spent fuel is being

addressed in a separate rulemaking.

This direct final rule will revise the

PSNA VSC–24 cask system listing

within the list of NRC-approved casks

for spent fuel storage in § 72.214 by

adding Amendment No. 2 to CoC No.

1007. The amended VSC–24 cask

system, when used in accordance with

the conditions specified in the CoC and

NRC regulations, will meet the

requirements of 10 CFR Part 72; thus,

adequate protection of public health and

safety will continue to be ensured.

Amendment No. 2 applies to any VSC–

24 cask loaded after September 5, 2000.

Amendment No. 2 to CoC No. 1007

and the underlying SER, and the

Environmental Assessment and Finding

of No Significant Impact are available

for inspection and comment at the NRC

Public Document Room, 2120 L Street,

NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC.

Single copies of the CoC and SER may

be obtained from Gordon Gundersen,

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555,

telephone (301) 415–6195, email

GEG1@nrc.gov.