47232 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 173 / Monday, September 8, 1997 / Notices

from the ISFSI and TS 3/4.2 requires a

measurement of the boron concentration

of the water in the spent fuel pool before

water is introduced to the cask during

the unloading process.

The absence of specific requirements

in the TS to control the unloading

process does not diminish the

importance that the NRC staff places on

this activity or the validity of the

Petitioners’ concerns. The NRC staff

believes that other regulatory

requirements provide an equivalent

level of protection to the Petitioners’

request to include specific requirements

in the TS to control the unloading of a

TN–40 cask. The administrative controls

in the TS for the Prairie Island ISFSI

require that the associated procedures,

including the unloading procedure, be

prepared, reviewed, and maintained in

accordance with the requirements of the

Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant

Facility Operating Licenses and

associated TS. In addition, under

existing NRC requirements, the licensee

must adequately implement procedures

to control loading, maintaining, and

unloading of dry storage casks (see 10

CFR 72.122, 10 CFR 72.150, and 10 CFR

72.152). For example, the NRC

inspection documented in Inspection

Report 50–282/95002; 50–306/95002;

72–10/95002(DRP) resulted in a Notice

of Violation issued to the licensee

because the licensee failed to satisfy the

NRC’s requirements in Criterion V of

Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 50 by not

having incorporated appropriate steps

and precautions into the original

procedure developed to control

unloading of a TN–40 cask. As

demonstrated by the example, no

changes to the TS or the Safety Analysis

Report (SAR) are needed to ensure that

enforceable operating controls and

limits are in place to address the

unloading of a cask.

In regard to another concern raised by

the Petitioners, the Prairie Island ISFSI

SAR and other docketed

correspondence do state that unloading

a TN–40 cask would be performed using

a procedure that is basically the reverse

of the procedure used to load the cask.

Although this statement, in a general

sense, is true, the NRC staff agrees with

the Petitioners that such statements may

be misleading in that they oversimplify

the description of the unloading

activity. For this reason, the NRC staff

included an item related to unloading

procedures in its dry cask storage action

plan to ensure that actual unloading

procedures did not reflect such an

oversimplified representation. The

unloading procedure for the dry storage

casks at Prairie Island was inspected by

the NRC staff and, as previously

discussed, was ultimately found to

provide adequate guidance to control

the unloading process.

IV. Conclusion

For the reasons described above, the

NRC has determined that no adequate

basis exists for granting the Petitioners’

request for suspension of Northern

States Power Company’s license for dry

cask storage of spent nuclear fuel at

Prairie Island or for taking the other

actions requested by the Petitioners.

While acknowledging that the

Petitioners’ concerns regarding the

potential difficulties in retrieving failed

fuel from dry storage casks are

legitimate, the NRC staff has concluded

that licensees need not be required to

incorporate specific guidance into the

normal unloading procedure to address

this unlikely situation.

A copy of this decision will be filed

with the Secretary of the Commission

for the Commission to review in

accordance with 10 CFR 2.206(c).

As provided by this regulation, this

decision will constitute the final action

of the Commission 25 days after

issuance, unless the Commission, on its

own motion, institutes a review of the

decision within that time.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day

of August 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Samuel J. Collins,

Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–23696 Filed 9–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7690–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Regulatory Guide; Issuance,

Availability

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

has issued a new guide in its Regulatory

Guide Series. This series has been

developed to describe and make

available to the public such information

as methods acceptable to the NRC staff

for implementing specific parts of the

Commission’s regulations, techniques

used by the staff in evaluating specific

problems or postulated accidents, and

data needed by the staff in its review of

applications for permits and licenses.

Regulatory Guide 3.70, ‘‘Use of Fixed

Neutron Absorbers at Fuels and

Materials Facilities,’’ provides guidance

that is acceptable to the NRC staff on

procedures for preventing criticality

accidents by using fixed neutron

absorbers in operations involving

handling, storing, and transporting

special nuclear fuels at fuels and

materials facilities.

Comments and suggestions in

connection with items for inclusion in

guides currently being developed or

improvements in all published guides

are encouraged at any time. Written

comments may be submitted to the

Rules and Directives Branch, Division of

Administrative Services, Office of

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

Regulatory guides are available for

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room, 2120 L Street NW.,

Washington, DC. Single copies of

regulatory guides, both active and draft

guides, may be obtained free of charge

by writing the Office of Administration,

Attn: Printing, Graphics and

Distribution Branch, USNRC,

Washington, DC 20555–0001, or by fax

at (301) 415–5272. Issued guides may

also be purchased from the National

Technical Information Service on a

standing order basis. Details on this

service may be obtained by writing

NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road,

Springfield, VA 22161. Regulatory

guides are not copyrighted, and

Commission approval is not required to

reproduce them.

(5 U.S.C. 552(a))

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day

of August 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Malcolm R. Knapp,

Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research.

[FR Doc. 97–23698 Filed 9–5–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Aviation Proceedings, Agreements

Filed During the Week of August 29,

1997

The following Agreements were filed

with the Department of Transportation

under the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 412

and 414. Answers may be filed within

21 days of date of filing.

Docket Number: OST–97–2862.

Date Filed: August 27, 1997.

Parties: Members of the International

Air Transport Association.

Subject: PTC1 0049 dated August 26,

1997 r1–3, PTC1 0050 dated August 26,

1997 r4–7. Expedited TC1 Resolutions

(Summaries attached.) Intended

effective date: October 1, 1997.

Docket Number: OST–97–2861.

Date Filed: August 27, 1997.

Parties: Members of the International

Air Transport Association.

Subject: PTC 0048 dated August 26,

1997 r1–4. Expedited TC1 Longhaul