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.

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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

75853

Vol. 65, No. 234

Tuesday, December 5, 2000

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

RIN 3150–AG66

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage

Casks: TN–32 Revision

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is amending its

regulations by revising the

Transnuclear, Inc. TN–32 cask system

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 to store spent fuel in

the cask under the revised conditions.

The changes proposed for Amendment

No. 1 to the TN–32 CoC include the

addition of the B&W/FCF 17 x 17 Mark

BW assembly to the Technical

Specification for ‘‘Fuel to be stored in

the TN–32 Cask,’’ with revised

bounding characteristics, and (2) a

revised TS for ‘‘Site Specific Parameters

and Analysis,’’ to allow analysis of

verification of allowable seismic loads.

DATES: The final rule is effective

February 20, 2001, unless significant

adverse comments are received by

January 4, 2001. If the rule is

withdrawn, timely notice will be

published in the Federal Register.

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 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. 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 by the

NRC, may be examined at the NRC

Public Document Room, 11555

Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. These

documents also may 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’s

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. For more

information, contact the NRC Public

Document Room (PDR) Reference staff

at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or

by email to pdr@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roger W. Broseus, telephone (301) 415–

7608, e-mail rwb@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 by 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 spent fuel storage cask designs. The

NRC subsequently issued a final rule on

March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14790) that

approved the TN–32 cask design and

added it to the list of NRC-approved

cask designs in § 72.214 as Certificate of

Compliance Number (CoC No.) 1021.

Discussion

On April 23, 1999, and February 29,

2000, the certificate holder

(Transnuclear, Inc.) submitted

applications to the NRC to amend the

Certificate of Compliance (CoC, No.

1021) to allow holders of power reactor

operating licenses to store spent fuel in

the cask under revised conditions. The

changes requested include: (1) Addition

of B&W/FCF 17 x 17 Mark BW assembly

to Technical Specification (TS) 2.1,

‘‘Fuel to be stored in the TN–32 Cask,’’

with revised bounding characteristics,

and (2) revision of the TS 4.3.3, ‘‘Site

Specific Parameters and Analysis’’ to

allow analysis of verification of

allowable seismic loads. No other

changes to the TN–32 cask system

design were requested in this

application. The NRC staff performed a

detailed safety evaluation of the

proposed CoC amendment request and

found that the proposed changes do not

reduce the safety margin. In addition,

the NRC staff has determined that the

changes do not pose any increased risk

to public health and safety.

This direct final rule revises the TN–

32 cask design listing in § 72.214 by

adding Amendment No. 1 to CoC No.

1021. The amendment consists of two

changes to the TSs. The first allows the

storage of an additional type of spent

fuel in the TN–32 cask system, with its

bounding characteristics. The second

changes the site-specific seismic

horizontal and vertical acceleration

limits from discrete values to two

equations. The latter change increases a

75854 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

general licensee’s flexibility by making

the technical specification more

performance based. The particular TSs

being changed are identified in the NRC

Staff’s Safety Evaluation Report (SER)

for Amendment No. 1.

The amended TN–32 cask system,

when used under 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.

CoC No. 1021, the revised TSs, the

underlying SER for Amendment No. 1,

and the Environmental Assessment are

available for inspection at the NRC

Public Document Room, 11555

Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. Single

copies of the CoC may be obtained from

Roger W. Broseus, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301)

415–7608, email rwb@nrc.gov. An

electronic copy of the proposed CoC and

preliminary SER can be found in the

NRC’s Public Electronic Reading Room

on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/

NRC/ADAMS/index.html.

Discussion of Amendments by Section

Section 72.214 List of Approved Spent

Fuel Storage Casks

Certificate No. 1021 is revised by

adding the effective date of the initial

certificate and the effective date of

Amendment Number 1. In addition, two

technical specifications are modified.

The first allows the storage of an

additional type of spent fuel in the TN–

32 cask system with its bounding

characteristics. The second changes the

site-specific seismic horizontal and

vertical acceleration limits from discrete

values to two equations. The latter

change increases a general licensee’s

flexibility by making the technical

specification more performance based.

Procedural Background

This rule is limited to the changes

contained in Amendment 1 to CoC No.

1021 and does not include other aspects

of the TN–32 cask system design. The

NRC is using the ‘‘direct final rule

procedure’’ to promulgate this

amendment 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. This amendment is not

considered to be a significant

amendment by the NRC staff. The

amendment to the rule will become

effective on February 20, 2001.

However, if the NRC receives significant

adverse comments by January 4, 2001,

then the NRC will publish a document

that withdraws this action and will

address the comments received in

response to the amendment. These

comments will be addressed in a

subsequent final rule. 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 the 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 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, if adopted, would not be 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 TN–32 cask 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. This amendment will

allow holders of power reactor operating

licenses to store spent fuel in the cask

under revised conditions. The changes

proposed for Amendment No. 1 to the

TN–32 CoC include: (1) Addition of

B&W/FCF 17 x 17 Mark BW assembly to

TS 2.1, ‘‘Fuel to be stored in the TN–32

Cask,’’ with revised bounding

characteristics, and (2) revised TS 4.3.3,

‘‘Site Specific Parameters and Analysis’’

to allow analysis of allowable seismic

loads. 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, 11555

Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.

Electronic copies the environmental

assessment and finding of no significant

impact can be found in the NRC’s Public

Electronic Reading Room on the Internet

at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/

index.html; single copies are available

from Roger W. Broseus, Office of

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards,

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,

Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301)

415–7608, email rwb@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

final rule, the NRC will revise the TN–

32 cask system design listed in § 72.214

(List of approved spent fuel storage

casks). This action does not constitute

the establishment of a standard that

establishes generally applicable

requirements.

Regulatory Analysis

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

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

issued an amendment to 10 CFR Part 72

to provide for the storage of spent

nuclear fuel under a general license in

cask designs approved by the NRC. Any

nuclear power reactor licensee can use

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 75855

NRC-approved cask designs to store

spent nuclear fuel if it notifies the NRC

in advance, spent fuel is stored under

the conditions specified in the cask’s

Certificate of Compliance (CoC), and the

conditions of the general license are

met. A list of NRC-approved cask

designs is contained in § 72.214. On

March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14790), the NRC

issued an amendment to Part 72 that

approved the TN–32 cask design by

adding it to the list of NRC-approved

cask designs in § 72.214. On April 23,

1999, and February 29, 2000, the

certificate holder (Transnuclear, Inc.)

submitted applications to the NRC to

amend the Certificate of Compliance

(CoC, No. 1021) to allow holders of

power reactor operating licenses to store

spent fuel in the cask under revised

conditions. The changes requested

include: (1) addition of B&W/FCF 17 x

17 Mark BW assembly to TS 2.1, ‘‘Fuel

to be stored in the TN–32 Cask,’’ with

revised bounding characteristics and (2)

revision of TS 4.3.3, ‘‘Site Specific

Parameters and Analysis’’ to allow

analysis of verification of allowable

seismic loads.

This rule will permit the changes

requested by the certificate holder. The

alternative to this action is to withhold

approval of this amended cask system

design and issue an exemption to each

general license. This alternative would

cost both the NRC and the utilities more

time and money because each utility

would have to pursue an exemption.

Approval of the direct final rule will

eliminate the above described problem

and is consistent with previous NRC

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 licensing and

operation of nuclear power plants,

independent spent fuel storage facilities,

and Transnuclear, Inc. 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 1021 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 72.214 List of approved spent fuel

storage casks.

* * * * *

Certificate Number: 1021

Initial Certificate Effective Date: April

19, 2000

Amendment Number 1 Effective Date:

February 20, 2001

SAR Submitted by: Transnuclear, Inc.

SAR Title: Final Safety Analysis Report

for the TN–32 Dry Storage Cask

Docket Number: 72–1021

Certificate Expiration Date: April 19,

2020

Model Number: TN–32, TN–32A, TN–

32B

* * * * *

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day

of November, 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

William D. Travers,

Executive Director for Operations.

[FR Doc. 00–30906 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

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