10 CFR 72, Subpart H - Physical Protection

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.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a new regulatory guide (RG) 4.22, “Decommissioning Planning During Operations.” The guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use by holders of licenses in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule (DPR) (76 FR 35512; June 17, 2011). The DPR went into effect on December 17, 2012, and is intended to minimize the likelihood of new “legacy sites,” which are NRC-licensed facilities with insufficient resources to complete decommissioning activities and termination of a license at the end of operations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is confirming the effective date of May 2, 2012, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on February 17, 2012. This direct final rule amends the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 8 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1014.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 dry cask storage system listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 8 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014. Amendment No. 8 adds a new multipurpose canister (MPC)-68M to the approved models currently included in CoC No. 1014 with two new boiling water reactor fuel assembly/array classes, and a new pressurized water reactor fuel assembly/class to CoC No. 1014 for loading into the MPC-32. In addition, the amendment makes several other changes as described under the “Discussion” heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is confirming the effective date of January 30, 2012, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 14, 2011. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the NAC International, Inc. (NAC) MAGNASTOR® System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1031.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requests public comment on Draft Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Interim Staff Guidance No. 26A (SFST-ISG-26A), Revision 0, “Shielding and Radiation Protection Review Effort and Licensing Conditions for 10 CFR Part 72 Applications.”

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing for public comment a notice of receipt for a petition for rulemaking (PRM), dated October 3, 2012, which was filed with the NRC by Anthony R. Pietrangelo on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI or the petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC on October 18, 2012, and assigned Docket No. PRM-72-7. The petitioner requests that the NRC add a new rule that governs the format and content of spent fuel storage cask Certificates of Compliance (CoCs), extend the backfit rule to CoCs, and make other improvements that result in “more efficient and effective NRC oversight of dry cask storage activities as well as improved implementation of dry cask storage requirements by industry.”

The regulations for packaging and transport of spent nuclear fuel are separate from requirements for storage of spent nuclear fuel. Because these regulatory schemes are separate, there is no requirement that loaded storage casks also meet transportation requirements. Integration of storage and transport regulations could enable a more predictable transition from storage to transport by potentially minimizing future handling of spent fuel and uncertainty as to whether loaded storage casks may be transported from the storage location. As part of its evaluation of integration and compatibility between storage and transportation regulations, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is reviewing its policies, regulations, guidance, and technical needs in several key areas, such as: retrievability, cladding integrity, and safe handling of spent fuel; criticality safety features and requirements for spent fuel transportation; and aging management and qualification of dual-purpose canisters and components after long-term storage. The NRC staff is reviewing the potential policy issues and requirements related to retrievability, cladding integrity, and safe handling of spent fuel as the lead issue for evaluating compatibility of storage and transportation regulations. As part of its evaluation of integration and compatibility between NRC's storage regulations and transportation regulations, the NRC is issuing this request for comment (available in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under Accession No. ML12293A434) as the staff begins its review of NRC policies, guidance, and technical needs related to retrievability, cladding integrity, and safe handling of spent fuel.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a new regulatory guide (RG) 4.22, “Decommissioning Planning During Operations.” The guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use by holders of licenses in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule (DPR) (76 FR 35512; June 17, 2011). The DPR went into effect on December 17, 2012, and is intended to minimize the likelihood of new “legacy sites,” which are NRC-licensed facilities with insufficient resources to complete decommissioning activities and termination of a license at the end of operations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) received a petition for rulemaking (PRM) dated November 24, 2008, filed by Ms. Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director for C-10 Research and Education Foundation Inc. (the petitioner). The petition was docketed by the NRC and assigned Docket No. PRM-72-6. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations concerning dry cask safety, security, transferability, and longevity. The petitioner made 12 requests. The NRC is denying nine of the petitioner's requests, but will consider one request in the rulemaking process. Action on two requests is being reserved for future rulemaking determinations, as these requests are currently under consideration by the NRC. The NRC will publish another Federal Register notice to inform the public of the Commission's decision for these two requests. The docket for this PRM will remain open until action is taken on the two remaining requests.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is seeking input from the public, licensees, Agreement States, non-Agreement States, and other stakeholders on revised draft regulatory guide (DG) 4014, “Decommissioning Planning During Operations.” This guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule. The NRC will hold a public meeting and concurrent Webinar to facilitate the public's and other stakeholders' comments.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is confirming the effective date of May 2, 2012, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on February 17, 2012. This direct final rule amends the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM 100 System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 8 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1014.

On December 13, 2011 (76 FR 77431), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) re-issued Draft Regulatory Guide, DG-4014, “Decommissioning Planning During Operations” in the Federal Register with a public comment period ending on February 10, 2012. The NRC is re-opening the public comment period for DG-4014 from February 10, 2012 to March 30, 2012. DG-4014 describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is confirming the effective date of January 30, 2012, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on November 14, 2011. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the NAC International, Inc. (NAC) MAGNASTOR® System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1031.