7590-01-P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 72 [NRC-2024-0041] RIN 3150-AL08 List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec International HI-STORM 100 Cask System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Renewed Amendment No. 16 AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 Cask System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks†to include Renewed Amendment No. 16 to Certificate of Compliance No. 1014. Renewed Amendment No. 16 revises the certificate of compliance to add a new overpack, include the ability to use computational fluid dynamics analysis to evaluate site-specific accident scenarios, modify the cask design, modify operational and testing requirements, and make changes to the Final Safety Analysis Report. DATES: Submit comments by [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2024-0041, at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions. You can read a plain language description of this proposed rule at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2024-0041. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments†in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexandra Terres, Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, email: Alexandra.Terres@nrc.gov and Yen-Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1018, email: Yen-Ju.Chen@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TABLE OF CONTENTS: I. II. III. IV. V. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments Rulemaking Procedure Background Plain Writing Availability of Documents I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments A. Obtaining Information Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0041 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of the following methods: • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0041. Address questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang, telephone: 301-415-3228, email: Helen.Chang@nrc.gov. 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. For the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in the “Availability of Documents†section. • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents, by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR, Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-4154737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. B. Submitting Comments Please include Docket ID NRC-2024-004 in your comment submission. The NRC requests that you submit comments through the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions. The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information. If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS. II. Rulemaking Procedure Because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial, the NRC is publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register. The direct final rule will become effective on [INSERT DATE 75 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER], then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments in a subsequent final rule. In general, absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn. A significant adverse comment is a comment where the commenter explains why the rule would be inappropriate, including challenges to the rule’s underlying premise or approach, or would be ineffective or unacceptable without a change. A comment is adverse and significant if: 1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For example, a substantive response is required when: a) The comment causes the NRC to reevaluate (or reconsider) its position or conduct additional analysis; b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a substantive response to clarify or complete the record; or c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously addressed or considered by the NRC. 2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable without incorporation of the change or addition. 3) The comment causes the NRC to make a change (other than editorial) to the rule. For a more detailed discussion of the proposed rule changes and associated analyses, see the direct final rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register. III. Background Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, 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 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 Nuclear Waste Policy Act states, in part, that “[t]he Commission shall, by rule, establish procedures for the licensing of any technology approved by the Commission under Section 219(a) [sic: 218(a)] for use at the site of any civilian nuclear power reactor.†To implement this mandate, the Commission approved dry storage of spent nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license by publishing a final rule that added a new subpart K in part 72 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 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 in 10 CFR part 72 entitled “Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,†which contains procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent fuel storage cask designs. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on May 1, 2000 (65 FR 25241) that approved the HISTORM 100 Cask System design and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in § 72.214 as Certificate of Compliance No. 1014. IV. Plain Writing The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, “Plain Language in Government Writing,†published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31885). The NRC requests comment on the proposed rule with respect to clarity and effectiveness of the language used. V. Availability of Documents The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons as indicated. DOCUMENT ADAMS ACCESSION NO. / WEB LINK / FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION Amendment Request Documents Holtec International, Submittal of HIML21068A360 (package) STORM 100 Multipurpose Canister Storage System Amendment 16 Request, dated March 9, 2021 HI-STORM 100 Amendment 16 Responses ML21223A045 (package) to Requests for Supplemental Information, dated August 11, 2021 HI-STORM 100 Amendment 16 Responses ML22243A269 (package) to Requests for Additional Information (Batches 1 and 2), dated August 31, 2022 Holtec International, HI-STORM 100 ML22249A347 (package) Amendment 16 Responses to Requests for Additional Information (Batch 2), dated September 9, 2022 HI-STORM 100 Amendment 16 Responses ML22276A286 (package) to Requests for Additional Information (Batch 3), dated October 3, 2022 Holtec International, HI-STORM 100 ML23005A000 (package) Amendment 16 Responses to Requests for Additional Information (Batch 4), dated January 4, 2023 Holtec International, HI-STORM 100 ML23005A273 (package) Amendment 16 Responses to Requests for Additional Information (Batch 4) – Additional Supporting Document, dated January 5, 2023 Holtec International, HI-STORM 100 ML23013A337 (package) Amendment 16 Responses to Requests for Additional Information (Batch 5), dated January 13, 2023 HI-STORM 100 Amendment 16 RAI 3-3 ML23076A271 (package) Clarification, dated March 17, 2023 HI-STORM 100 Amendment 16 Responses ML23263B122 (package) to Second Round Requests for Additional Information, dated September 20, 2023 Holtec International – HI-STORM 100 ML22048C222 Multipurpose Canister Storage System Amendment 19, dated February 17, 2022 Technical Specifications Proposed Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 Proposed Technical Specifications, Appendix A, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 Proposed Technical Specifications, Appendix B, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 Proposed Technical Specifications, Appendix C, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 Proposed Technical Specifications, Appendix D, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 Proposed Technical Specifications, Appendix A-100U, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 Proposed Technical Specifications, Appendix B-100U, Certificate of Compliance No. 1014, Amendment 16 ML23123A104 ML23123A105 ML23123A106 ML23123A107 ML23123A108 ML23123A109 ML23123A110 Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report Preliminary Certificate of Compliance 1014 ML23123A112 Amendment 16 Safety Evaluation Report Additional Documents Final Rule, “Storage of Spent Fuel in NRCApproved Storage Casks at Power Reactor Sites,†published July 18, 1990 Final Rule, “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: Holtec HI-STORM 100 Addition,†published May 1, 2000 Revision to Policy Statement, “Agreement State Program Policy Statement; Correction,†published October 18, 2017 Presidential Memorandum, “Plain Language in Government Writing,†published June 10, 1998 55 FR 29181 65 FR 25241 82 FR 48535 63 FR 31885 The NRC may post materials related to this document, including public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2024-0041. In addition, the Federal rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: 1) navigate to the docket folder (NRC-2024-0041); 2) click the “Subscribe†link; and 3) enter an email address and click on the “Subscribe†link. Dated: June 7, 2024. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Raymond Furstenau, Acting Executive Director for Operations. [FR Doc. 2024-13734 Filed: 6/24/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/25/2024]