ML20212H501
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. [p t UNITED STATES i s* j 2
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20565-0001
- , December 22, 1997 MEMORANDUM TO: Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Samuel J. Collins, Director '
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation James Lieberman, Director Office of Enforcement Jesse L. Funches Chief Financial Officer 1
Anthony J. Galante Chief Information Officer 4
Brenda Jo. Shelton, Chief Information and Records Management Branch Office of the Chief information Officer 1 l
Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel )
Office of the General Counsel Offi e earch
SUBJECT:
APPROVAL OF RULEMAKING PLAN: ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS Your concurrence is requested on the attached Commission paper transmitting a Rulemaking Plan for removing 10 CFR 72.82(e). Concurrence was previously requested (September 2, 1997) on a Rulemaking Plan of the subjec. title. This Plan has been extensively modified in response to office comments. Based on improved guidance now in place, (i.e., inspection Manual Chapter 2690 and inspection Procedures 60854 and 60855), an option has been added to remove 10 CFR 72.82(e)instead of modifying it. The directors of the program offices should obtain input from the Regions on this rulemaking plan if appropriate.
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C. J. Pa'perie!!o et al 2 ,
By memorandum dated March 15,1996, the Spent Fuel Project Office, NMSS, requested the proposed revision. The Staff Requirements Memorandum dated October 9,1996 to SECY 176, stated that rulemaking should proceed to shorten or eliminate the 30-day hold.
The following is a summary of this request:
- 1. Illig: Rulemaking plan: Elimination of 30-day hold in loading spent fuel after preoperational testing cf independent spent fuel storage or monitored retrievable storage installations,10 CFR 72.82(e).
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- 2. Task Leader: G. E. Gundersen, RES/DRA - 415-6195
- 4. ~ Steerino Grouo: No
- 5. Enhanced Public Participatiqn: No
- 6. Comoatibility for Aareement States: No
- 7. Reauested Comoletion Date: Two weeks from date of this memorandum
- 8. Reauested Action: Office Concurrence
- 9. Resources and Coordination: It is anticipated that 0.4 NRC FTEs will be needed to complete this action (0.1 RES,0.1 NMSS,0.1 OGC and 0.1 all other). These resources are within existing budget allocations. Copies of this concurrence package have been forwarded by internal mail to the Chief Financial Officer, ACRS, ACNW, and IG for information.
Attachment:
Commission Paper w/ encl.
cc w/ encl.:
H. T. Bell, OlG D. Meyer, ADM J. Larkins, ACRS & ACNW H. Miller, Region 1/ ORA L. Reyes, Region ll/ ORA A Beach, Region lil/ ORA E. W. Mershcoff, Region IV/ ORA f
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COMMISSION PAPER l l
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l EQB: The Commissioners FROM L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations 1
SUBJECT:
RULEMAKING PLAN: ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS PURPOSE:
To inform the Commission that the EDO intends to sign the enclosed Rulemaking Plan to amend 10 CFR 72.82(e). ;
ISSUE Section 72.82(e) requires a 30-day hold time after preoperational testing of an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) or monitored retrievable storage installation (MRS) before spent fuel or high-level waste can be loaded into a dry storage cask. This hold-time is unnecessary as the NRC staff is on site and evaluates preoperational testing in real time. Also, requests for exemptions to shorten this time have been received and granted by the NRC and continuing to grant exemptions should be avoided in the regulatory process.
DISCUSSION:
By a memorandum dated March 15,1996, NMSS requested that 10 CFR 72.82(e) be amended to make the submittal of a report detailing preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results optional at the discretion of the Regional Administrator or Director, NMSS. This proposed rulemaking was briefly described in the Rulemaking Activity Plan (SECY-96-176 (August 8,1996), Attachment 2, p.36). The Commission, in its October 9,1996 Staff CONTACT:
Gordon Gundersen, WMB/DRA/RES NOTE TO BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE I l (301) 415-6195 WHEN THE FINAL SRM IS MADE AVAILABLE !
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a The Commissioners 2 i
l Requirements Memorandum on SECY-96-176, stated that it did not object to moving forward with this rulemaking to shorten or eliminate the 30-day hold period but noted "that continued vigilance is needed in the development of staff and industry guidance in the area of dry cask storage" and that "[s]pecific emphasis should be placed on assuring that loading and unloading procedures for both normal and abnormal occurrences are in place and appropriate."
In January 1997, NMSS published NUREG-1536, " Standard Review Plan for Dry Cask Storage Systems." Section 8 - Operating Procedures specifies that the applicant's safety analysis report should present acceptable operating sequences, guidance, and generic procedures for three key operations: (1) cask loading, (2) cask handling and storage operations, and (3) cask unloading. NRC Inspection Procedures 60854, "Preoperational Testing of an ISFSI" and 60855, " Operation of an ISFSI" together require specific reviews of a licensee's normal, abnormal, and emergency operating procedures, including loading and unloading procedures, and provide specific guidance to the staff on evaluating the adequacy of the operating procedures.
This rulemaking will remove 10 CFR 72.82(e) from the Code of Federal Regulations. This will eliminate both the submittal of a report not needed by the NRC and a 30-day hold period which has proved to be unnecessary for regulatory purposes. Further, the rulemaking will obviate the licensee's need to submit an exemption request and the staff's review and disposition of such requests. The NRC inspection program now in place (e.g., Inspection Manual Chapter 2690, inspection Procedure 60854) will assure that the NRC staff is satisfied that the licensee is prepared to load spent fuel into the ISFSI.
As a result of this action, the general public will no longer be able to access the data and information now available in the report on the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results which is submitted by licensees to the NRC and placed n the NRC Public Document Room and local public document room. However, the public sill have access to equivalent information in the inspection reports which are placed in NRC's PDR. The public already has j access to a list of preoperational tests because they are contained in the Safety Analysis Report, which is contained in the NRC's PDR.
COORDINATION:
1 The Office of the General Counsel has no legal objection to this Rulemaking Plan. The Office 1 of the Chief Financial Officer concurs that there will be no resource impacts beyond those already included in the budget. The Office of the Chief Information Officer concurs that there l will be no information technology or management impacts.
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The Commissioners 3
- SECOMMENDATION-Note that it is my intention to approve the Rulemaking Plan within 10 days from the date of this I paper.
L Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations
Enclosure:
Rulemaking Plan !
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1 l . RULEMAKING PLAN l
ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED l RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS -- 10 CFR PART 72 l
l l Lead Office: Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Staff
Contact:
Gordon Gundersen, WMB/DRA/RES l
l Concurrences: l M.R.Knapp,RES Date l
C. Paperiello, NMSS Date i
S. Collins, NRR Date i
J. Lieberman, OE Date i l !
- 9. J. Shelton, CIO Date J. Funches, CFO Date A. J. Galante, ClO Date K. D. Cyr, OGC Date Approval: -
L. Joseph Callan, EDO Date
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i 12/15/97 Rulemaking Plan 10 CFR Part 72 I
i Elimination of 30-day Hold in Loading Spent Fuel {'
After Preoperational Testing of Independent Spent Fuel Storage or Monitored Retrievable Storage Installations i
Regulatory issue !
l Section 72.82(e) requires licensees to submit to the NRC a report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results at least 30 days befort the receipt of spent fuel or high-level l waste for loading into an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) or Monitored 1 Retrievable Storage installation (MRS). The 30-day period was established to allow the NRC l staff time to review the report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results prior to a licensee beginning initial loading. The licensee is not required to obtain NRC approval of )
the report. The 30-day hold established by this requirement creates a potentially significant j financial burden for licensees because, during the 30-day period, the licensee can perform no !
loading activities even though the licensee is ready to load spent fuel or high-level waste.
In the past, the NRC staff has resolved this problem by granting requests from licensees for an exemption from the 30-day period in 10 CFR 72.82(e). In granting these exemptions, the NRC staff has determined that a 30-day period was not needed for review of the licensee's report of preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results. This is because the NRC has an extensive oversight presence during the preoperational testing phase of ISFSis, reviewing the acceptance criteria and test results in real time. The staff anticipates that if 10 CFR 72.82(e)is not amended or removed, additional requests for exemptions will be made in the future.
Routine granting of exemptions should be avoided in the regulatory process.
Existing Regulatory Framework Currently 10 CFR 72.82(e) reads as follows: "A report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results must be submitted to the appropriate Regional Office specified in Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 73 of this chapter with a copy to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, at least 30 days prior to the receipt of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste."
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How the Regulatory Problem Will be Addressed By Rulemaking An unnecessary reporting requirement and holding period will be removed from the NRC regulations.
Rulemaking Options
. Option 1 - Remove 10 CFR 72.82(e).
Option 2 - Revise 10 CFR 72.82(e) to reduce the 30-day hold to 5 days.
. Option 3 - No action. I l
impacts-::t L!cen::::
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. Option 1 - As ;n 2' tem S; to the tett retu!!: rep ~+ 'he pubs: ./" hasc acec;; to _ NOG- !
ke ructivn Rwudo vie the NRC(FDR ops 6c. Th::: r;;Miontain NRC findings !
[on the preoperational testing and assessments on the licensee's readiness to l
\ commence loading spent fuelffr'e~ port of the preoperationaftest criteria and test results will no longer be available. baeve9 tJftc inspech reptsh w % j9dien regerts 9M be a/okble in %e Pu t lic Docw.c4 Aw l
. Option 2 - Under this option, the licensee must still submit an unnecessary report and s must still observe a specific holding period which might not be needed in particular circumstances. It is possible an exemption might still be sought to further reduce the holding period.
. Option 3 - The licensee has a 30-day hold and would still be required to produce a report that is not used by the staff. Licensee's desiring to commence loading before 30 days have passed would still have to request an exemption which would have to be processed by the NRC.
Benefit s /
. Option 1 - This action will reduce the burden on licensees because the licensee will no longer have to submit a report not needed by NMSS or the Regions and the licensee will not have to wait 30 days before loading spent fuel or high-level waste. This will enable the licensee to use the crew assembled for fuel transfer when the lessons of preoperational testing are fresh in their minds and will contribute to efficiency of ,
operations by avoiding an artificial and unnecessary idle time. The NRC staff observers l
of spent fuelloading will be similarly benefitted. Also, this change would provide burden relief for both licensees and the staff because requests for exemptions would not be necessary.
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Option 2 - The burden on licensees would be reduced in that the 30-day hold after preoperational testing would be reduced to 5 days. With only a 5-day hold period, the l licensee can keep the loading crew on site, and the actual loading can be performed by l the crew with preoperational testing still fresh in their minds. The public will still have -
access to the report of the preoperational acceptance criteria and test results by means I
of the NRC's PDR system. In addition, requests for exemptions should not be necessary. .
. Option 3 - Staff resources are conserved in the short-term because no rulemaking will l be developed and promulgated. The public will still have access to the report of the l preoperational acceptance criteria and test results by means of the NRC's PDR system.
Preferred Option [ , /
The recommended action is to adopt the first option because it eliminates the submittal of a report not needed by the NRC and eliminates a 30-day hold period which has proved to be unnecessary for regulatory purposes. The licensee's need to submit an exemption request and the staff effort to review and resolve such requests will both be unnecessary. The NRC l inspection program now in place (i.e., Inspection Manual Chapter 2690 and inspection l Procedures 60854 and 60855) assures that NRC staff will both review licensee normal, abnormal, and emergency operating procedures, including loading and unloading procedures, and observe implementation of those procedures during preoperational testing. Consequently, the NRC staff will be in a position to make sure that any problems are resolved before spent fuelloading begins. Also, insofar as this regulation serves to assure notice to the NRC that spent fuel load is scheduled, it is not necessary because the general licensee is required to notify the NRC at least 90 days prior to spent fuel load (10 CFR 72.212(b)(1)(i)) and the specific licensee cannot load spent fuel until NRC has granted a license. While the public will no longer have access to the report on preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results, it will have access to equivalent information in the inspection reports which are placed in the NRC's PDR.
The public already has access to a list of preoperational tests because they are contained in the Safety Analysis Report, which is contained in the NRC's PDR.
To implement the recommended option, it is proposed that 10 CFR 72.82(e) be removed.
It is recommended that this rulemaking follow the standard two step process of proposed rule followed by final rule. This rulemaking will not result in any decrease in the oversight of licensee activities by the NRC or in the safety of licensee operations.
Office of General Counsel Legal Analysis OGC has no legal objection to this rulemaking.
Backfit Analysis A backfit analysis is not required because this proposed amendment does not involve any provisions which would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR 72.62.
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. Agreement State implementation issues I
No known Agreement State problems exist.
Major Rule ,
i This is not a major rule. !
Supporting Documents Needed None.
B clearance may be needed because the licensee burden of preparing and subm
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nnrt to the NRC isgi_minated.j issuance by Executive Director for Operations or Commission RES and NMSS recommend EDO issuance. .
Resources Needed to Complete Rulemaking Resources to complete and implement the rulemaking are included in The FY 1998 budget.
-- RES 0.1FTE NMSS 0.1FTE OGC 0.1FTE Other 0.1FTE No contractor support dollars are needed Staff Level Working Group Concurring Official RES G. Gundersen M. Knapp NMSS P. Brochman C. Paperiello NRR W. Reckley S. Collins OGC N. Jensen K. Cyr -
Management Steering Group A steering group is not required for this rulemaking. l 4 ;
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Public Participation i
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l Enhanced public participation is not needed in this simple rulemaking. This rulemaking plan will be placed on the rulemaking interactive website following EDO review and approval.
Schedule Proposed Rule to EDO.. ...... 3 months after approval of rulemaking plan.
Final Rule to EDO... .. . ... .. 9 months after approval of rulemaking plan.
Document name: O:\gunderse\part72-8\ plan 8.wpd I
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- l. p UNITED STATES
= 3 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i
- b If WASHINGTON, D.C. 2006H001 I h j *****l December 22, 1997 l
MEMORANDUM TO: Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Samuel J. Collins, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation James Lieberman, Director Office of Enforcement Jesse L. Funches !
Chief Financial Officer Anthony J. Galante i Chief Information Officer i
Brenda Jo. Shelton, Chief Information and Records Management Branch Office of the Chief Information Officer i
Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel Office of the General Counsel e earch SUBJE_CT: APPROVAL OF RULEMAKING PLAN: ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALL.ATIONS Your concurrence is requested on the attached Commission paper transmitting a Rulemaking Plan for removing 10 CFR 72.82(e). Concurrence was previously requested (September 2, 1997) on a Rulemaking Plan of the subject title This Plan has been extensively moified in response to office comments. Based on improved guidance now in place, (i.e., inspection Manual Chapter 2690 and inspection Procedures 60854 and 60855), an option has been added to remove 10 CFR 72.82(e) instead of modifying it. The directors of the program offices should obtain input from the Regions on this rulemaking plan if appropriate.
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. C. J. Paperiello et al 2 l By memorandum dated March 15,1996, the Spent Fue! Project Office, NMSS, requested the proposed revision. The Staff Requirements Memorandum dated October 9,1996 to SECY 176, stated that rulemaking should prnceed to shorten or eliminate the 30-day hold.
l l The following is a summary of this request:
- 1. Illig: Rulemaking plan: Elimination of 30-day hold in loading spent fuel after preoperational testing of independent spent fuel storage or monitored retrievable storage installations,10 CFR 72.82(e).
- 2. Task Leader: G. E. Gundersen, RES/DRA - 415-6195
- 4. Steerino Grouo: No
- 5. Enhanced Public Particioation: No
- 6. Conicatibilitv for Aaraement States: No
- 7. Reouested Comoietion Date: Two weeks from date of this memorandum
- 8. Reouested Action: Office Concurrence
- 9. Resources and Coordination: It is tanticipat*d that 0.4 NRC FTEs will be needed to complete this action (0.1 RES,0.1 NMSS,0.1 OOC and 0.1 all other). These resources are within existing budget allocations. ' Copies c5 <his concurrence package have been forwarded by intemal mail to the Chief Financial Officer, ACRS, ACNW, and IG for information.
Attachment:
Commission Paper w/ encl.
cc w/ encl.: j H. T. Bell, OlG l D. Meyer, ADM l i
J. Larkins, ACRS & ACNW H. Miller, Region 1/ ORA L. Reyes, Region ll/GRA A.' Beach, Region lil/ ORA l f
E. W. Marshcoff, Region IV/ ORA i
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l COMMISS::0N PAPER l
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EQB: . The Commissioners FROM L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations .
SUBJECT:
RULEMAKING PLAN: ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS PURPOSE-
' To inform the Commission that the EDO intends to sign the enclosed Rulemaking Plan to amend 10 CFR 72.82(e)l ISSUE:
Section 72 82(e) requires a 30-day hold time after preoperational testing of an independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) or monitored istrievable storage installation (MRS) before spent fuel or high-level waste can be loaded into a dry storage cask. This . hold-time is ,
unnecessary as the NRC staff is on site and evaluates preoperational testing in real time. Also, l requests for exemptions to shorten this time have been received and granted by the NRC and I Jcontinuing to grant exemptions should be avoided in the regulatory process. -j DISCUSSION-
' By a memorandum dated March 15,1996, NMSS requested that 10 CFR 72.82(e) be amended to make the submittal of a report detailing preoperational test acceptance criteria and test -
results optional at the discretion of the Regional Administrator or Director, NMSS. This proposed rulemaking was briefly described in the Rulemaking Activity Plan (SECY-96-176 (August 8,1996), Attachment 2, p.36). The Commission, in its October 9,1996 Staff CONTACT:
Gordon Gunderson, WMB/DRA/RES blQIE TO BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILACLE (301)415-6195- WHENTHE FINAL SRM IS MADE AVAILAf>LE L ,
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, . The Commissioners 2 Requirements Memorandum on SECY-96-176, stated that it did not object to moving forward j with this rulemaking to shorten or eliminate the 30-day hold period but noted "that continued -l
! vigilance is needed in the development of staff and industry guidance in the area of dry cask storage" and that "[s)pecific emphasis should be placed on assuring that loadirig and unloading-
- procedures for both normal and abnormal occurrences are in place and appropriate."
In January 1997, NMSS published NUREG-1036," Standard Review Plan for Ory Cask Storage Systems." Section 8 - Operating Procedures specifies that the applicant's safety analysis report should present acceptable operating sequences, guidance, and generic procadures for three key operations: (1) cask loading, (2) cask handling and storage operations, and (3) cask unloading. NRC Inspection Procedures 60854, "Preoperational Testing of an ISFSI" and 60855, " Operation of an ISFSI" together require specific reviews of a licensee's normal, abnermal, and emergency operating procedures, including loading and unloading procedures, j
- and provide specific guidance to the staff on evaluating the adequacy of the operating procedures.
This rulemaking will remove 10 CFR 72.82(e) from the Code of Federal Regulations. This will I eliminate both the submittal of a report not needed by the NRC and a 30-day hold period which ;
has proved to be unnecessary for regulatory purposes. Further, the rulemaking will ooviate the i licensee's need to submit an exemption request and the staff's review and disposition of such ]
requests. The NRC inspection program now in place (e.g., inspection Manual Chapter 2690, L Inspection Procedure 60854) will a:sure that the NRC staff is satisfied that the hcensee is l prepared to load spent fuel into the ISFSI.
As a result of this action, the general public will no longer be able to access the data and information now available in the report on the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results which is submitted by licensees to the NRC and placed in the NRC Public Document
- Room and local public document room. However, the public will have access to equivalent Information in the inspection reports which are placed in NRC's PDR. The public already has access to a list of preoperational tests because they are contained in the Safety Analysis Report, which is contained in the NRC's PDR. e ..
COORDINATION-The Office of the General Counsel has no legal objection to this Rulemaking Plan. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer concurs that there will be no resource impacts beyond those l alreadyincluded in the budget. The Office of the Chief Information Officer concurs that there will be no hformation technology or management impacts.
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The Commissioners 3 BE. COMMENDATION:
Note that it is my intention to approve the Rulemaking Plan within 10 dt,s from the date of this paper.
L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations
Enclosure:
Rulemaking Plan
. RULEMAKING PLAN ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STNt AGE INSTALLATIONS - 10 CFR PART 72 Lead Office: Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Staff
Contact:
Gordon Gundersen, WMB/DRAIRES 1
Concurrences:
M. R. Knapp, RES Date l
C. Paperiello, NMSS Date
, And(.h #s/9s S.Collir$NR6 [ Date k
J. Lieberman, OE Date i
B. J. Shelton, CIO Date 1
J.Funches,CFO Date A. J. Galante, CIO Date K. D. Cyr, OGC Date Approval:
L. Joseph Callan, EDO Date
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i 12/15/97 Rulemaking Plan ,
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Elimination of 30-day Hold in Loading Spent Fuel After Preoperational Testing of Independent Spent Fuel Storage or Monitored Retrievable Storage installations i 1
Regulatory issue Section 72.82(e) requires licensees to submit to the NRC a report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results at least 30 days before the receipt of spent fuel or high-level
- waste for loading into an Independent Spent Fuel Storage installation (ISFSI) or Monitored Retrievable Storage Installation (MRS). The 30-day period was established to allow the NRC ,
staff time to review the report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results pnor j to a licensee beginning initial loading. The licensee is not required to obtain NRC approval of l the report. The 30-day hold established by this requirement creates a potentially significant financial burden for licensees because, during the 30-day period, the licensee can perform no loading activities even though the licensee is ready to load spent fuel or high-level waste. )
In the past, the NRC staff has resolved this problem by granting requests from licensees for an exemption from the 30-day period in 10 CFR 72.82(e). In granting these exemptions, the NRC staff has determined that a 30-day period was not needed for review of the licensee's report of preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results. This is because the NRC has an extensive oversight presence during the preoperational testing phase of ISFSis, reviewing the acceptance criteria and test results in real time. The staff anticipates that if 10 CFR 72.82(e)is not amended or removed, additional requests for exemptions will be made in the future.
Routine granting of exemptions should be avoided in the regulatory process.
Existing Regulatory Framework Currently 10 CFR 72.82(e) reads as follows: "A report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results must be submitted to the appropriate Regional Office specified in Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 73 of this chapter with a copy to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, at least 30 days prior to the receipt of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste."
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n How the Regulatory Problem Will be Addressed By Rulemaking An unnecessary reporting requirement and holding period will be removed from the NRC regulations.
7 l Rulemaking Options l
= Option 1 - Remove 10 CFR 72.82(e).
- Option 2 - Revise 10 CFR 72.82(e) to reduce the 30-day hold to 5 days.
- Option 3 - No action.
Impacts on Licensees
= Option 1 - As an alternative to the test results report, the public will have access to NRC Inspection Reports via the NRC's PDR system. These reports will contain NRC findings on the preoperational testing and assessments on the licensee's readiness to commence loading spent fuel. A report of the preoperational test criteria and test results will no longer be available.
- Option 2 - Under this option, the licensee must still submit an unnecessary report and
- must still observe a specific holding period which might not be needed in particular j circumstances. It is possible an exemption might still be sought to further reduce the !
holding period.-
. Option 3 - The licensee has a 30-day hold and would still be required to produce a
. report that is not used by the staff. Licensee's desiring to commence loading before 30 l days have passed would still have to request an exemption which would have to be processed by the NRC.
I Benefit !
. Option 1 - This action will reduce the burden on licensees because the licensee will no longer have to submit a report not needed by NMSS or the Regions and the licensee will not have to wait 30 days before loading spent fuel or high-level waste. This will enable I
the licensee to use the crew assembled for fuel transfer when the lessons of preoperational testing are fresh in their minds and will contribute to efficiency of operations by avoiding an artificial and unnecessary idle time. The NRC staff observers of spent fuelloading will be similarly benefitted. Also, this change would provide burden relief for both licensees and the staff because requests for exemptions would not be necessary.
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.r e o Option 2 - The burden on licensees would be reduced in that the 30-day hold after L preoperational testing would be reduced to 5 days. With only a 5-day hold period, the
, licensee can keep the loading crew on site, and the actual loading can be performed by the crew with preoperational testing still fresh in their minds. The public will still have access to the report of the preoperational acceptance criteria and test results by means
~of the NRC's PDR system. In addition, requests for exemptions should not be necessary.
. Option 3 - Staff resources are conserved in the short-term because no rulemaking will be developed and promulgated. The public will still have access to the report of the preoperational acceptance criteria and test results by means of the NRC's PDR system.
I Preferred Options The recommended action is to adopt the first option becaut e it eliminates the submittal of a report not needed by the NRC and eliminates a 30-day hold period which has proved to be unnecessary for regulatory purposes. The licensee's need to submit an exemption request and the staff effort to review and resolve such requests will both be unnecessary. The NRC inspection program now in place (i.e., inspection Manual Chapter 2690 and Inspection !
i Procedures 60854 and 60855) assures that NRC staff will both review licensee normal, ;
abnormal, and emergency operating procedures, including loading and unloading procedures, I and observe implementation of those procedures during preoperational testing. Consequently, )
the NRC staf%: de in a position to make sure that any problems are resolved before spent i fuel loading begim). Also, insofar as this regulation serves to assure notice to the NRC that l spent fuel load is scheduled, it is not necessary because the general licensee is required to :
l notify the NRC at least 90 days prior to spent fuel load (10 CFR 72.212(b)(1)(i)) and the specific !
- licensee canr.ci !c,ad spent fuel until NRC has granted a license. While the public will no longer have acceso io Aa report on preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results, it will have access to equivalent information in the inspection reports which are placed in the NRC's PDR.
l The public already I c.o access to a list of preoperational tests because they are contained in the i
Safety Analysis Report, which is contained in the NRC's PDR. 4 l To implement the recommended option, it is proposed that 10 CFR 72.82(e) be removed.
I l It is recommended that this rulemaking follow the standard two step process of proposed rule followrpy final rule. This rulemaking will not result in any decrease in the oversight of licensee
- activities by the NRC or in the safety of licensee operations.
Office of General Counsel Legal Analysis OGC has no legal objection to this rulemaking.
Backfit Analysis A backfit analysis is not required because this proposed amendment does not involve any provisions which would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR 72.62.
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.. l Agreement State implementation issues No known Agreement State problems exist.
Major Rule This is not a major rule.
Supporting Documents Needed An OMB clearance may be needed because the licensee burden of preparing and submitting a report to the NRC is eliminated.
Issuance by Executive Director for Operations or Commission RES and NMSS recommend EDO issuance.
Resources Needed to Complete Rulemaking ;
1 Resources to complete and implement the rulemaking are included in The FY 1998 budget.
- RES 0.1FTE
- ' NMSS 0.1FTE !
- OGC 0.1FTE 1 Other 0.1FTE
- No contractor support dollars are needed l
I Staff Level Working Group Concurring Official RES G. Gundersen M. Knapp ,
NMSS P. Brochman C. Paperiello j NRR W. Reckley S. Collins l OGC N. Jensen K. Cyr - j i
Management Steering Group A steering group is not required for this rulemaking.
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Public Participation Enhanced public participation is not needed in this simple rulemaking. This rulemaking plan will be placed on the rulemaking interactive website following EDO review and approval.
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Schedule Proposed Rule to EDO......... 3 months after approval of rulemaking plan. ]
Final Rule to EDO..... ........... 9 months after approval of rulemaking plan. l 1
Document name: O:\gunderse\part72-8\ plan 8.wpd l
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/? 6'd2 - C g: g k UNITED STATES s* j 2
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON. D.C. 2006H001
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- fo December 22, 1997 MEMORANDUM TO: Carl J. Paperiello, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards L Samuel J. Collins, Director l Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation l James Lieberman, Director Office of Enforcement Jesse L. Funches Chief FinancialOfficer Anthony J. Galante Chief Infom1ation Officer Brenda Jo, Shel ton, Chief Information and Records Management Branch Office of the Chief Information Officer Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel Office of the General Counsel I
e earch
SUBJECT:
APPROVAL OF RULEMAKING PLAN: ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR r MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS l Your concurrence is requested on the attached Commission paper transmitting a Rulemaking Plan for removing 10 CFR 72.82(e). Concurrence was previously requested (September 2, 1997) on a Rulemaking Plan of the subject title. This Plan has been extensively modified in l response to office comments. Based on improved guidance now in place, (i.e., inspection Manual Chapter 2690 and Inspection Procedures 60854 and 60855), an option has been added i to remove 10 CFR 72.82(e) instead of modifying it. The directors of the program offices should obtain input from the Regions on this rulemaking plan if appropriate.
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".' C. J. Paperiello et al - 2 By memorandum dated March 15,1996, the Spent Fuel Project Office, NMSS, requested the proposed revision. The Staff Requirements Memorandum dated October 9,1996 to SECY :176, stated that rulemaking should proceed to shorten or eliminate the 30-day hold.
The following is a summary of this request:
- 1. .Tjila: Rulemaking plan: Elimination of 30-day hold in loading spent fuel after preoperational testing of independent spent fuel storage or monitored retrievable storage installations,10 CFR 72.82(e).
- 2. Task Leader G. E. Gundersen, RES/DRA - 415-6195
- 4. Steerina Grouo: No
- 5. Enhanced Public Particioation: No
- 6. Comoatibility for Aareement States: No
' 7. Reauested Comoletion Date: Two weeks from date of this memorandum
- 8. Reauested ActiSD: Office Concun'ence
- 9. Resources and Coordination: It is anticipated that 0.4 NRC FTEs will be needed to complete this action (0.1 RES,0.1 NMSS,0.1 OGC and 0.1 all other). These resources are within existing budget allocations. Copies of this concurrence package have been forwarded by intemal mail to the Chief Financial Officer, ACRS, ACNW, and IG for information.
Attachment:
Commission Paper w/ encl.
cc w/ encl.:
H. T. Bell, OlG D. Meyer, ADM J. Larkins, ACRS & ACNW H. Miller, Region 1/ ORA L. Reyes, Region ll/ ORA A. Beach, Region Ill/ ORA E. W. Mershcoff, Region IV/ ORA
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COMMISSION PAPER i i
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EQB: The Commissioners FROM L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations SUBJECT. RULEMAKING PLAN: ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT l FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS PURPOSE-L To inform the Commission that the EDO intends to sign the enclosed Rulemaking Plan to amend 10 CFR 72.82(e).
l ISSUE.
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Section 72.82(e) requires a 30-day hold time after preoperational testing of an independent o spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) or monitored retrievable storage installation (MRS) before spent fuel or high-level waste can be loaded into a dry storage cask. This hold-time is l
unnecessary as the NRC staff is on site and evaluates preoperational testing in real time. Also, requests for exemptions to shorten this time have been received and granted by the NRC and continuing to grant exemptions thould be avoided in the regulatory process.
! DISCUSSION By a memorandum dated March 15,1996, NMSS requested that 10 CFR 72.82(e) be amended to make the submittal of a report detailing preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results optional at the discretion of the Regional Administrator or Director, NMSS. This proposed rulemaking was briefly described in the Rulemaking Activity Plan (SECY-96-176 (August 8,1996), Attachment 2, p.36). The Commission, in its October 9,1996 Staff l' CONTACT:
I Gordon Gundersen, WMB/DRA/RES NOTE TO BE MADE PUBLICLYAVAILABLE (301) 415-6195 WHEN THE FINAL SRM IS MADE AVAILABLE L
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. The Commissioners 2 Requirements Memorandum on SECY-96-176, stated that it did not object to moving forward with this rulemaking to shorten or uiminate the 30-day hold period but noted "that continued vigilance is needed in the development of staff and industry guidance in the rea of dry cask storage" and that "[s]pecific emphasis should be placed on assuring that loading and unloading procedures for both normal and abnormal occurrences are in place and appropriate."
In' January 1997, NMSS published NUREG-1536, " Standard Review Plan for Dry Cask Storage Systems." Section 8 - Operating Procedures specifies that the applicant's safety analysis report should present acceptable operating sequences, guidance, and generic procedures for three key operations: (1) cask loading, (2) cask handling and storage operations, and (3) cask unloading. NRC Inspection Procedures 60854, "Preoperational Testing of an ISFSl" and 60855, " Operation of an ISFSI" together require specific reviews of a licensee's normal, abnormal, and emergency operating procedures, including loading and unloading procedures, and provide specific guidance to the staff on evaluating the adequacy of the operating procedures.
This rulemaking will remove 10 CFR 72.82(e) from the Code of Federal Regulations. This will eliminate both the submittal of a report not needed by the NRC and a 30-day hold period which has proved to be unnecessary for regulatory purposes. Further, the rulemaking will obviate the licensee's need to submit an exemption request and the staff's review and disposition of such requests. The NRC inspection program now in place (e.g., inspection Manual Chapter 2690, inspection Procedure 60854) will assure that the NRC staff is satisfied that the licensee is I prepared to load spent fuel into the ISFSI.
As a result of this action, the general public will no longer be able to access the data and information now available in the report on the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results which is submitted by licensees to the NRC and placed in the NRC Public Document Room and local public document room. However, the public will have access to equivalent information in the inspection reports which are placed in NRC's PDR. The public already has secess to a list of preoperational tests because they are contained in the Safety Analysis Report, which is contained in the NRC's PDR.
COORDINATION The Office of the General Counsel has no legal objection to this Rulemaking Plan. The Office i of the Chief Financial Officer concurs that there will be no resource impacts beyond those already included in the budget. The Office of the Chief Information Officer concurs that there will be no information technology or management impacts. l
'.' The Commissioners 3 RECOMMENDATION Note that it is my intention to approve the Rulemaking Plan within 10 days from the date of this paper.
L. Joseph Callan Executive Director for Operations
Enclosure:
Rulemaking Plan
', RULEMAKING PLAN ELIMINATION OF 30-DAY HOLD IN LOADING SPENT FUEL AFTER PREOPERATIONAL TESTING OF INDEPENDENT SPENT FUEL STORAGE OR MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE INSTALLATIONS - 10 CFR PART 72 i i
I Lead Office: Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research Staff
Contact:
Gordon Gundersen, WMB/DRA/RES Concurrences:
M. R. Knapp, RES Date C. Paperiello, NMSS Date 3 dnzd( .W </=/97 S. Colli @R6 [ Date h
J. Lieberman, OE Date B. J. Shelton, ClO Date J. Funches, CFO Date A. J. Galante, CIO Dato K. D. Cyr, OGC Date Approval: _
L. Joseph Callan, EDO Date
e Rl _ EV A(I N G 3
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12/15/97 Rulemaking Plan 10 CFR Part 72 Elimination of 30-day Hold in Loading Spent Fuel After Preoperational Testing of Independent Spent Fuel Storage or Monitored Retrievable Storage Installations
- Regulatory issue Section 72.82(e) requires licensees to submit to the NRC a report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results at least 30 days before the receipt of spent fuel or high .'evel waste for loading into an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) or Monitored Retrievable Storage Installation (MRS). The 30-day period was established to allow the NRC staff time to review the report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results prior to a licensee beginning initial loading. The licensee is not required to obtain NRC approval of the report. The 30-day hold established by this requirement creates a potentially significant financial burden for licensees because, during the 30-day period, the licensee can perfonn no loading activities even though the licensee is ready to load spent fuel or high-level waste.
In the past, the NRC staff has resolved this problem by granting requests from licensees for an exemption from the 30-day period in 10 CFR 72.82(e). In granting these exemptions, the NRC staff has determined that a 30-day period was not needed for review of the licensee's report of preoperational test acceptance criteria and test resultsc This is because the NRC has an extensive oversight presence during the preoperational testing phase of ISFSIs, reviewing the acceptance criteria and test results in real time. The staff anticipates that if 10 CFR 72.82(e) is not amended or removed, additional requests for exemptions will be made in the future.
Routine granting of exemptions should be avoided in the regulatory process.
1 Existing Regulatory Framework Currently 10 CFR 72.82(e) reads as follows: "A report of the preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results must be submitted to the appropriate Regional Office specified in Appendix A of 10 CFR Part 73 of this chapter with a copy to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, at least 30 days prior to the receipt of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste."
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l How the Regulatory Problem Will be Addressed By Rulemaking .
- 1 An unnecessary reporting requirement and holding period will be removed from the NRC regulations.
Rulemaking Options !
. Option 1 - Remove 10 CFR 72.82(e).
i Option 2 - Revise 10 CFR 72.82(e) to reduce the 30-day hold to 5 days.
. Option 3 - No action, impacts on Licensees l
. Option 1 - As an alternative to the test results report, the public will have access to NRC Inspection Reports via the NRC's PDR system. These reports will contain NRC findings ,
on the preoperational testing and assessments on the licensee's readiness to '
commence loading spent fuel. A report of the preoperational test criteria and test results will no longer be available.
. Option 2 - Under this option, the licensee must still submit an unnecessary report and l must still observe a specific holding period which might not be needed in particular l circumstances. It is possible an exempt;on might still be sought to further reduce the ;
holding period.
. Option 3 - The licensee has a 30-day hold and would still be required to produce a report that is not used by the staff. Licensee's desiring to commence loading before 30 days have passed would still have to request an exemption which would have to be processed by the NRC. l Benefit
. Option 1 - This action will reduce the burden on licensees because the licensee will no longer have to submit a report not needed by NMSS or the Regions and the licensee will not have to wait 30 days before loading spent fuel or high-level waste. This will enable the licensee to use the crew assembled for fuel transfer when the lessons of preoperational testing are fresh in their minds and will contribute to efficiency of operations by avoiding an artificial and unnecessary idle time. The NRC staff observers ;
of spent fuel loading will be similarly benefitted. Also, this change would provide burden i relief for both licensees and the staff because requests for exemptions would not be l necessary.
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. Option 2 - The burden on licensees would be reduced in that the 30-day hold after preoperational testing would be reduced to 5 days. With only a 5-day hold period, the licensee can keep the loading crew on site, and the actual loading can be performed by the crew with preoperational testing still fresh in their minds. The public will still have access to the report of the preoperational acceptance criteria and test results by means of the NRC's PDR system. In addition, requests for exemptions should not be necessary.
- Option 3 - Staff resources are conserved in the short-term because no rulemaking will be developed and promulgated. The public will still have access to the report of the preoperational acceptance criteria and test results by means of the NRC's PDR system.
Preferred Options The recommended action is to adopt the first option because it eliminates the submittal of a report not needed by the NRC and eliminates a 30-day hold period which has proved to be unnecessary for regulatory purposes. The licensee's need to submit an exemption request and the staff effort to review and resolve such requests will both be unnecessary. The NRC inspection program now in place (i.e., inspection Manual Chapter 2690 and Inspection Procedures 60854 and 60855) assures that NRC staff will both review licensee normal, abnormal, and emergency operating procedures, including loading and unloading procedures, and observe implementation of those procedures during preoperational testing. Consequently, the NRC staff will be in a position to make sure that any problems are resolved before spent fuel loading begins. Also, insofar as this regulation serves to assure notice to the NRC that spent fuel load is scheduled, it is not necessary because the general licensee is required to notify the NRC at least 90 days prior to spent fuel load (10 CFR 72.212(b)(1)(i)) and the specific licensee cannot load spent fuel until NRC has granted a license. While the public will no longer have access to the report on preoperational test acceptance criteria and test results, it will have access to equivalent information in the inspection reports which are placed in the NRC's PDR.
The public already has access to a list of preoperational tests because they are contained in the Safety Analysis Report, which is contained in the NRC's PDR.
To implement the recommended option, it is proposed that 10 CFR 72.82(e) be removed.
It is recommended that this rulemaking follow the standard two step process of proposed rule followed by final rule. This rulemaking will not result in any decrease in the oversight of licensee activities by the NRC or in the safety of licensee operations.
Office of General Counsel Legal Analysis i OGC has no legal objection to this rulemaking.
t Backfit Analysis l
A backfit analysis is not required because this proposed amendment does not involve any provisions which would impose backfits as defined in 10 CFR 72.62.
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Agreement State implementation issues No known Agreement State problems exist.
Major Rule This is not a major rule.
Supporting Documents Needed An OMB clearance may be needed because the licensee burden of preparing and submitting a -
report to the NRC is eliminated. -
1 lasuance by Executive Director for Operations or Commission RES and NMSS recommend EDO issuance.
I Resources Needed to Complete Rulemaking !
Resources to complete and implement the rulemaking are included in The FY 1998 budget.
l RES 0.1FTE NMSS 0.1FTE OGC 0.1FTE '
Other 0.1FTE No contractor support dollars are needed Staff LevelWorking Group Concurring Official RES G. Gundersen M Knapp NMSS P. Brochman C. Paperiello NRR W. Reckley S. Collins OGC N. Jensen K. Cyr Management Steering Group l
A steering group is not required for this rulemaking. l 4
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j Public Participation l
Enhanced public participation is not needed in this simple rulemaking. This rulemaking plan will l be placed on the rulemaking interactive website following EDO review and approval.
l Schedule Proposed Rule to EDO.. ..... 3 months after approval of rulemaking plan.
Final Rule to EDO........ .... ... 9 months after approval of rulemaking plan.
Document name: 0:\gunderse\part72-8\ plan 8.wpd i
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