Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/03/18/2013-06015/list-of-approved-spent-fuel-storage-casks-magnastor-system
Timestamp: 2017-10-23 02:45:11
Document Index: 102249125

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 20', 'art 72', '§\u200972', 'art 51', 'art 72', 'art 72']

A Rule by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 03/18/2013
The final rule is effective June 3, 2013, unless significant adverse comments are received by April 17, 2013. If the rule is withdrawn as a result of such comments, timely notice of the withdrawal will be published in the Federal Register. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC staff is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
16601-16604 (4 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2013-06015 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2013-06015
Start Preamble Start Printed Page 16601
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the NAC International, Inc. (NAC) Modular Advanced Generation Nuclear All-purpose Storage (MAGNASTOR®) System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1031. Amendment No. 3 revises authorized contents to include: Pressurized water reactor (PWR) damaged fuel contained in damaged fuel (DF) cans that are placed in a damaged fuel basket assembly; PWR fuel assemblies with nonfuel hardware per the expanded definition in the Amendment No. 3 application; and PWR fuel assemblies with up to five activated stainless steel fuel replacement rods at a maximum burnup/exposure of 32.5 gigawatt days per metric ton of uranium (GWd/MTU). Additionally, Amendment No. 3 revises paragraph 4.3.1(i) in appendix A of the CoC Technical Specifications (TS) to clarify that the maximum design basis earthquake accelerations of 0.37g in the horizontal direction (without cask sliding) and 0.25g in the vertical direction at the independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) pad top surface do not result in cask tip-over. Amendment No. 3 also makes additional changes to appendix A, Technical Specifications and Design Features for the MAGNASTOR® System, and appendix B, Approved Contents for the MAGNASTOR® System, of the CoC.
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0308.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. To begin the search, select “ADAMS Public Documents” and then 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. An electronic copy of the proposed CoC, including appendices A and B of the TS, and preliminary safety evaluation report (SER) can be found in ADAMS under Package Accession No. ML12227A900. The ADAMS Accession No. for the MAGNASTOR® Cask System Amendment No. 3 application dated August 26, 2010, is ML102420569.
This rule is limited to the changes contained in Amendment No. 3 to CoC No. 1031 and does not include other aspects of the MAGNASTOR® Cask System design. The NRC is using the “direct final rule procedure” to issue 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. The amendment to the rule will become effective on June 3, 2013. However, if the NRC receives significant adverse comments on this direct final rule by April 17, 2013, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws this action and will subsequently address the comments received in a final rule as a response to the companion proposed rule published in the Proposed Rule section of this issue of the Federal Register. Absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action.
(b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a substantive response to clarify or complete the record; orStart Printed Page 16602
On August 26, 2010 NAC submitted a request to the NRC to amend CoC No. 1031 (ML102420569). NAC supplemented its request on the following dates: February 4, 2011 (ML11138A224), February 16, 2011 (ML110480498), August 15, 2011 (ML11229A701), October 3, 2011 (ML11287A020), March 21, 2012 (ML120820463), March 30, 2012 (ML12094A056), and April 6, 2012 (ML12104A025). The amendment revises authorized contents to include: (1) PWR damaged fuel contained in damaged fuel cans that are placed in a damaged fuel basket assembly; (2) PWR fuel assemblies with nonfuel hardware per the expanded definition in the Amendment No. 3 application; and (3) PWR fuel assemblies with up to five activated stainless steel fuel replacement rods at a maximum burnup/exposure of 32.5 GWd/MTU.
This amendment also revises paragraph 4.3.1(i) in appendix A of the CoC to clarify that the maximum design basis earthquake accelerations of 0.37g in the horizontal direction (without cask sliding) and 0.25g in the vertical direction at the ISFSI pad top surface do not result in cask tip-over. Furthermore, this amendment makes additional changes to appendix A (ML12227A913) and appendix B (ML12227A912) of the CoC. The changes to the aforementioned documents are identified with revisions bars in the margin of each document.
As documented in the SER (ML12227A914), the NRC staff performed a detailed safety evaluation of the proposed CoC amendment request. There are no significant changes to cask design requirements in the proposed CoC amendment. Considering the specific design requirements for each accident condition, the design of the cask would prevent loss of containment, shielding, and criticality control. If there is no loss of containment, shielding, or criticality control, the environmental impacts would be insignificant. This amendment does not reflect a significant change in design or fabrication of the cask. In addition, any resulting occupational exposure or offsite dose rates from the implementation of Amendment No. 3 would remain well within the 10 CFR part 20 limits. Thus, the proposed CoC changes will not result in any radiological or non-radiological environmental impacts that significantly differ from the environmental impacts evaluated in the environmental assessment supporting the November 21, 2008, final rule. There will be no significant change in the types or significant revisions in the amounts of any effluent released, no significant increase in the individual or cumulative radiation exposure, and no significant increase in the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents.
This direct final rule revises the MAGNASTOR® System listing in 10 CFR 72.214 by adding Amendment No. 3 to CoC No.1031. The amendment consists of the changes previously described, as set forth in the revised CoC and TS. The revised TS are identified in the SER.
The amended MAGNASTOR® cask design, when used under the conditions specified in the CoC, the TS, and the NRC's regulations, will meet the requirements of 10 CFR part 72; thus, adequate protection of public health and safety will continue to be ensured. When this direct final rule becomes effective, persons who hold a general license under 10 CFR 72.210 may load spent nuclear fuel into MAGNASTOR® Systems that meet the criteria of Amendment No. 3 to CoC No. 1031 under 10 CFR 72.212.
The National Technology Transfer and Advancement 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 MAGNASTOR® 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 contains generally applicable requirements.
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, or the provisions of 10 CFR. Although an Agreement State may not adopt program elements reserved to the 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.Start Printed Page 16603
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 NRC has prepared an environmental assessment (ML13043A147) and, on the basis of this environmental assessment, has made a finding of no significant impact. This rule amends the CoC for the MAGNASTOR® System cask design 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. Specifically, NAC requested changes to revise authorized contents to include: (1) PWR damaged fuel contained in damaged fuel cans that are placed in a damaged fuel basket assembly; (2) PWR fuel assemblies with nonfuel hardware per the expanded definition in the Amendment No. 3 application; and (3) PWR fuel assemblies with up to five activated stainless steel fuel replacement rods at a maximum burnup/exposure of 32.5 GWd/MTU.
This amendment revises paragraph 4.3.1(i) in appendix A of the CoC to clarify that the maximum design basis earthquake accelerations of 0.37g in the horizontal direction (without cask sliding) and 0.25g in the vertical direction at the ISFSI pad top surface do not result in cask tip-over. Furthermore, this amendment makes additional changes to appendix A (ML12227A913) and appendix B (ML12227A912) of the CoC. The changes to the aforementioned documents are identified with revisions bars in the margin of each document.
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact on which this determination is based are available for inspection at the NRC PDR, Room O-1F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Single copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact are available from Naiem Tanious, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6103, email: Naiem.Tanious@nrc.gov.
On August 26, 2010 (ML102420569), and as supplemented on February 4, 2011 (ML11138A224), February 16, 2011 (ML110480498), August 15, 2011 (ML11229A701), October 3, 2011 (ML11287A020), March 21, 2012 (ML120820463), March 30, 2012 (ADAMS ML12094A056), and April 6, 2012 (ML12104A025), NAC submitted an application to amend the MAGNASTOR® Cask System. The amendment revises authorized contents to include: (1) PWR damaged fuel contained in damaged fuel cans that are placed in a damaged fuel basket assembly; (2) PWR fuel assemblies with nonfuel hardware per the expanded definition in the application; and (3) PWR fuel assemblies with up to five activated stainless steel fuel replacement rods at a maximum burnup/exposure of 32.5 GWd/MTU.
The alternative to this action is to withhold approval of Amendment No. 3 and to require any 10 CFR part 72 general licensee seeking to load spent nuclear fuel into MAGNASTOR® Systems under the changes described in Amendment No. 3 to request an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 72.212 and 72.214. Under this alternative, each interested 10 CFR part 72 licensee would have to prepare, and the NRC would have to review, a separate exemption request, thereby increasing the administrative burden upon the NRC and the costs to each licensee.
The NRC has determined that the backfit rule (10 CFR 72.62) does not apply to this direct final rule because Start Printed Page 16604this amendment does not involve any provisions that would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR 72.62 Therefore, a backfit analysis is not required.
Authority: Atomic Energy Act secs. 51, 53, 57, 62, 63, 65, 69, 81, 161, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 223, 234, 274 (42 U.S.C. 2071, 2073, 2077, 2092, 2093, 2095, 2099, 2111, 2201, 2232, 2233, 2234, 2236, 2237, 2238, 2273, 2282, 2021); Energy Reorganization Act sec. 201, 202, 206, 211 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846, 5851); National Environmental Policy Act sec. 102 (42 U.S.C. 4332); Nuclear Waste Policy Act secs. 131, 132, 133, 135, 137, 141 148 (42 U.S.C. 10151, 10152, 10153, 10155, 10157, 10161, 10168); sec. 1704, 112 Stat. 2750 (44 U.S.C. 3504 note); Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, 119 Stat. 549 (2005).
Amendment Number 3 Effective Date: June 3, 2013.
Certificate Expiration Date: February 4, 2024.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of March 2013.
[FR Doc. 2013-06015 Filed 3-15-13; 8:45 am]