10 CFR Part 72, Subpart L - Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations to add Amendment No. 4 to the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1031 for the NAC International MAGNASTOR® System. Amendment No. 4 changes a limiting condition for operation (LCO) in the technical specifications for transportable storage canister (TSC) vacuum drying and helium backfill times, and corrects a typographical error. The NRC approval of this Amendment would not authorize transportation.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. (TN) Standardized Advanced NUHOMS® Horizontal Modular Storage System (NUHOMS® Storage System) listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1029. The NRC published a direct final rule on this amendment in the Federal Register on April 15, 2014. The NRC also concurrently published an identical proposed rule on April 15, 2014. The NRC received significant adverse comments on the direct final rule; therefore, the NRC withdrew the direct final rule on June 25, 2014, and is proceeding, in this Federal Register notice, to address the comments on the companion proposed rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to reflect internal organizational changes and conforming amendments. These changes include adding the address for a new NRC building at headquarters, removing references to several committees that no longer exist, adding the Computer Security Office, removing all references to the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs because that office has merged with the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, and making conforming amendments throughout the regulations to reflect this office merger.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of December 17, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on October 3, 2014. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM FLOOD/WIND (FW) System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 1 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing a direct final rule that would have added the Holtec International HI-STORM Underground Maximum Capacity (UMAX) Canister Storage System, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1040, to the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks.” The NRC is taking this action because it has received at least one significant adverse comment in response to a companion proposed rule that was concurrently published with the direct final rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include updating the address for the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), updating a footnote, correcting mathematical errors, correcting references, correcting typographical and grammatical errors, and revising language for clarity and consistency. This final rule also makes changes to the time period by which a Federal agency must refer a debt for collection through offset, and makes conforming changes to the regulations to reflect the transfer of Mississippi to NRC Region IV.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM FLOOD/WIND (FW) System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 1 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032. Amendment No. 1 adds a new heat load pattern for the multipurpose canister (MPC)-37, broadens the back pressure range for MPC-37 and MPC-89, and updates certain definitions related to fuel classification. Also, the amendment makes a correction to the expiration date of CoC No. 1032.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of October 14, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2014. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. NUHOMS® HD Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1030.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. NUHOMS® HD Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1030.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing a direct final rule that would have revised its spent fuel storage regulations to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1029, Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized Advanced NUHOMS® Horizontal Modular Storage System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks.” The NRC is taking this action because it has received at least one significant adverse comment in response to a companion proposed rule that was concurrently published with the direct final rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of May 24, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2014. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized NUHOMS® Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 13 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a document in the Federal Register (FR) on December 26, 2013, which corrected and delayed the effective date of a direct final rule published in the FR on December 6, 2013. The notice corrected several Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession numbers and delayed the effective date of the direct final rule from February 19, 2014, to March 11, 2014. The direct final rule amends the NRC's 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 Amendment No. 9 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014. This action is necessary to provide notification that the NRC is amending its regulations by revising the Holtec HI-STORM 100 Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to correct the effective date of Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1014.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized NUHOMS® Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 13 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004. Amendment No. 13 revises authorized contents to: add two new dry shielded canisters (DSCs), the -37PTH and the -69BTH; add new approved contents, including blended low enriched uranium (BLEU) fuel, and control components to already approved DSCs; and extend the use of the high-seismic horizontal storage module (HSM-HS) for storage of already approved DSCs. In addition, the amendment makes several other changes as described in Section III, “Discussion of Changes” in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. (TN) Standardized Advanced NUHOMS® Horizontal Modular Storage System (NUHOMS® Storage System) listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1029. The NRC published a direct final rule on this amendment in the Federal Register on April 15, 2014. The NRC also concurrently published an identical proposed rule on April 15, 2014. The NRC received significant adverse comments on the direct final rule; therefore, the NRC withdrew the direct final rule on June 25, 2014, and is proceeding, in this Federal Register notice, to address the comments on the companion proposed rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to reflect internal organizational changes and conforming amendments. These changes include adding the address for a new NRC building at headquarters, removing references to several committees that no longer exist, adding the Computer Security Office, removing all references to the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs because that office has merged with the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, and making conforming amendments throughout the regulations to reflect this office merger.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of December 17, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on October 3, 2014. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Holtec International HI-STORM FLOOD/WIND (FW) System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 1 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1032.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing a direct final rule that would have added the Holtec International HI-STORM Underground Maximum Capacity (UMAX) Canister Storage System, Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1040, to the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks.” The NRC is taking this action because it has received at least one significant adverse comment in response to a companion proposed rule that was concurrently published with the direct final rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to make miscellaneous corrections. These changes include updating the address for the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), updating a footnote, correcting mathematical errors, correcting references, correcting typographical and grammatical errors, and revising language for clarity and consistency. This final rule also makes changes to the time period by which a Federal agency must refer a debt for collection through offset, and makes conforming changes to the regulations to reflect the transfer of Mississippi to NRC Region IV.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of October 14, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on July 31, 2014. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. NUHOMS® HD Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 2 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1030.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will consider in its rulemaking process six issues raised in a petition for rulemaking (PRM), PRM-72-7, submitted by Anthony Pietrangelo, on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI or the petitioner). The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations to improve the efficiency of the licensing and oversight of spent fuel dry cask storage.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing a direct final rule that would have revised its spent fuel storage regulations to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1029, Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized Advanced NUHOMS® Horizontal Modular Storage System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks.” The NRC is taking this action because it has received at least one significant adverse comment in response to a companion proposed rule that was concurrently published with the direct final rule.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of May 24, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2014. This direct final rule amended the NRC's spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized NUHOMS® Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 13 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1004.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized Advanced NUHOMS® Horizontal Modular Storage System (NUHOMS® Storage System) within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1029. Amendment No. 3 adds a new transportable dry shielded canister (DSC), 32PTH2, to the NUHOMS® Storage System; and makes editorial corrections.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a document in the Federal Register (FR) on December 26, 2013, which corrected and delayed the effective date of a direct final rule published in the FR on December 6, 2013. The notice corrected several Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession numbers and delayed the effective date of the direct final rule from February 19, 2014, to March 11, 2014. The direct final rule amends the NRC's 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 Amendment No. 9 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014. This action is necessary to provide notification that the NRC is amending its regulations by revising the Holtec HI-STORM 100 Cask System listing within the “List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks” to correct the effective date of Amendment No. 9 to CoC No. 1014.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is announcing the withdrawal of draft Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Interim Staff Guidance No. 26A (SFST-ISG-26A), Revision 0, “Shielding and Radiation Protection Review Effort and Licensing Parameters for 10 CFR Part 72 Applications.”

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is confirming the effective date of March 11, 2014, for the direct final rule that was published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2013, and corrected on December 26, 2013. This direct final rule amended the NRC's 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 Amendment No. 9 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1014.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations concerning deliberate misconduct by licensees and other persons otherwise subject to the NRC's jurisdiction (known as the “Deliberate Misconduct Rule”) and its regulations concerning challenges to immediately effective orders issued by the NRC. This proposed rule would incorporate the concept of “deliberate ignorance” as an additional basis on which to take enforcement action against persons who violate any of the NRC's Deliberate Misconduct Rule provisions. The NRC is also proposing to amend its regulations regarding challenges to the immediate effectiveness of NRC enforcement orders to clarify that the NRC staff has the burden of persuasion in showing that adequate evidence supports the grounds for the order and that immediate effectiveness is warranted and to clarify the authority of the NRC's presiding officer to order live testimony in resolving these challenges.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plans to hold a second public meeting on its proposed rule to amend its regulations for material control and accounting (MC&A) of special nuclear material (SNM) and the associated proposed guidance documents. This will be a continuation of the first public meeting that was held on January 9, 2014. The second public meeting will provide an additional opportunity for interested parties to improve their understanding of the NRC's proposed rule to revise and consolidate the NRC regulations for MC&A of special nuclear material (SNM) and the guidance. The public comment period for the proposed rule and the proposed guidance was previously extended in response to a request by stakeholders, and closes on March 10, 2014.