ML24029A184
| ML24029A184 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/02/2024 |
| From: | Raymond Furstenau NRC/EDO |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML24029a175:ML24029A175 | List: |
| References | |
| NRC-2009-0558, NRC-2008-0649, RIN 3150-AI78, PRM-72-6 89 FR 41901, 05/14/2024 | |
| Download: ML24029A184 (8) | |
Text
[7590-01-P]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72 and 73
[Docket No. PRM-72-6; NRC-2009-0558; NRC-2008-0649]
RIN 3150-AI78
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Discontinuation of rulemaking activity; denial of petition for rulemaking.
SUMMARY
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing the
rulemaking activity, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements
for Radiological Sabotage, and denying Request 11 in the associated petition for
rulemaking (PRM), PRM-72-6. The purpose of this action is to inform members of the
public that this rulemaking activity is bei ng discontinued and to provide a brief discussion
of the NRCs decision to discontinue the rulemaking and deny the petition. The
rulemaking activity will no longer be reported in the NRCs portion of the Unified Agenda
of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Unified Agenda).
DATES: Effective May 14, 2024, the rulemaking activity discussed in this document is
discontinued and Request 11 in the petition for rulemaking is denied.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket IDs NRC-2009-0558 or NRC-2008-0649 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-2009-0558 or NRC-2008-0649. Address questions about
NRC dockets to Angella Love Blair; email: angella.loveblair@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
- NRCs 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 NRCs Public Document Room (P DR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at
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.
- NRCs PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly
available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR,
please send an email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737,
between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Trussell, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301-415-6244; email:
Gregory.Trussell@nrc.gov; or Johari Moore, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident
Response; telephone: 301-287-3787; email: Johari.Moore@nrc.gov. Both are staff of the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001.
2 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) Security Requirements
Rulemaking
In SECY-07-0148, Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Requirements
for Radiological Sabotage, dated August 28, 2007, the NRC staff proposed to develop
new security requirements to update the security regulations for ISFSIs. Following
subsequent analysis, as directed by the Commission in staff requirements memorandum
(SRM) SRM-COMKLS-18-003, Fiscal Year 2020 Budget to the Commission, dated
August 22, 2018, and SRM-SECY-19-0100, Discontinuation of Rulemaking-
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements, dated
August 4, 2021, the staff provided SECY-22-0098, Rulemaking Options for Revising
Security Requirements for Facilities Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level
Radioactive Waste.
In SECY-22-0098, the staff outlined its determination that the current regulatory
framework, including the additional requirements in the post-9/11 security orders,
provides reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety for
facilities storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and recommended
that the Commission approve discontinuing the rulemaking directed by the Commission
in SRM-SECY-07-0148, Staff Requirements - SECY-07-0148 - Independent Spent
Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements for Radiological Sabotage. In SRM-
SECY-22-0098, dated October 4, 2023, the Commission approved discontinuing the
rulemaking.
3 B. Petition for Rulemaking
Section 2.802 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Petition
for rulemaking, provides an opportunity for any interested person to petition the
Commission to issue, amend, or rescind any regulation. On November 24, 2008, the
NRC received a PRM filed by Sandra Gavutis (the petitioner), Executive Director of C-10
Research and Education Foundation, Inc. The petitioner requested that the NRC amend
its regulations concerning dry cask safety, security, transferability, and longevity. The
petitioner made 12 specific requests in the petition. The NRC docketed the petition as
PRM-72-6 and documented it in the Federal Register for public comment on March 3,
2009 (74 FR 9178). The staff discussed its review of the petition and the comments
received in SECY-12-0079, Partial Closure of Petition for Rulemaking (PRM-72-6) C-10
Research and Education Foundation, Inc., dated June 1, 2012. The Commission
approved the staffs recommendation for partial closure of the PRM in SRM-SECY 0079, dated September 7, 2012. In a Federal Register document dated October 16,
2012 (77 FR 63254), the NRC denied 9 of the petitioners 12 specific requests
(Requests 1-3, 5-8, 10, and 12), reserved 2 requests for future rulemaking
determination (Requests 4 and 9), and accepted 1 request (Request 11) for
consideration as part of the ISFSI security requirements rulemaking effort.
Subsequently, the NRC announced its final decision to deny Requests 4 and 9 in the
Federal Register on June 24, 2016 (81 FR 41258). As stated in the petition, Request 11
in PRM-72-6 requested that the NRC amend its regulations to do the following:
[R]equire Hardened On-Site Storage (HOSS) at all nuclear power plants as well
as away-from-reactor dry cask storage sites: that all nuclear industry interim on-
site or off-site dry cask storage installations or ISFSIs be fortified against attack.
4 In addition all sites should be safeguarded against accident and age-related
leakage.
In SECY-19-0100, the staff recommended that the Commission deny Request 11
in PRM-72-6. Following the receipt of SRM-SECY-22-0098, the NRC staff submitted
SECY-24-0006, Denial of Request 11 in PRM-72-6 as Part of Notice Discontinuing
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements Rulemaking, dated
January 22, 2024. In SRM-SECY-24-0006, dated January 31, 2024, the Commission
approved the staffs recommendation.
II. Discussion
A. Discontinuation of Rulemaking Activity
In SRM-SECY-22-0098, dated October 4, 2023, the Commission approved
discontinuing the rulemaking. The NRC finds that the current regulatory framework
provides reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety for
facilities storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, regardless of the
ISFSI license type or location. The NRCs experience shows that the staff, licensees,
applicants, and other stakeholders have been able to understand and apply the existing
ISFSI security requirements, and the NRC has successfully addressed the appropriate
security considerations for new license applicants on a case-by-case basis.
B. Denial of Petition for Rulemaking
Following the receipt of SRM-SECY-22-0098, the NRC staff submitted SECY 0006, Denial of Request 11 In PRM-72-6 as Part of Notice Discontinuing Independent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements Rulemaking, dated January 22,
2024. The staff recommended that the Commission deny Request 11 in PRM-72-6. The
5 staff also noted that, in the 2012 Federal Register document that accepted Request 11
for consideration within the context of the ISFSI security rulemaking effort (77 FR 63254,
63256), the NRC stated that it has not mandated hardened on-site storage because the
NRC has, consistently, found that the r obust nature of dry cask storage systems
approved by the NRC under 10 CFR part 72 assu res the protection of public health,
safety, and security. This statement was made in 2012 in response to public comments
on Request 11. In SRM-SECY-24-0006, dated January 31, 2024, the Commission
approved the staffs recommendation. The NRC is denying Request 11 in PRM-72-6
because the NRC has found that the existing security requirements for ISFSIs, together
with the additional requirements in the post-9/11 security orders, provide reasonable
assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety.
III. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to interested
persons through one or more of the following methods, as indicated.
ADAMS ACCESSION NO. OR DOCUMENT FEDERAL REGISTER CITATION Petition for Rulemaking, The C-I0 Research and ML083470148 Education Foundation Inc. Petition for NRC Rulemaking to Upgrade Interim Dry Cask Storage Code Requirements (November 24, 2008) 10 CFR Part 72, C-10 Research and Education 74 FR 9178 Foundation, Inc.; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking (March 3, 2009)
SECY-12-0079, Partial Closure of Petition for ML12251A238 Rulemaking (PRM-72-6) C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc.
(September 7, 2012) 10 CFR Part 72, Petition for Rulemaking Submitted by 77 FR 63254 C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc.: Petition for rulemaking; partial consideration in the rulemaking process (October 16, 2012)
6 10 CFR Part 72, Petition for Rulemaking Submitted by 81 FR 41258 C-10 Research and Education Foundation, Inc.: Petition for rulemaking; denial (June 24, 2016)
SRM-SECY-07-0148, Staff Requirements - SECY ML073530119 0148 - Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements for Radiological Sabotage (December 18, 2017)
SRM-COMKLS-18-003, Fiscal Year 2020 Budget to the ML18234A238 (nonpublic, Commission budget information)
(August 22, 2018)
SECY-19-0100, Discontinuation of Rulemaking-ML19172A301 (package)
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements (October 9, 2019)
SRM-SECY-19-0100, Staff Requirements - SECY ML21217A045 0100 - Discontinuation of Rulemaking Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements (August 4, 2021)
SECY-22-0098, Rulemaking Options for Revising ML22243A143 (package)
Security Requirements for Facilities Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (November 30, 2022)
SRM-SECY-22-0098, Staff Requirements - SECY ML23277A281 0098 - Rulemaking Options for Revising Security Requirements for Facilities Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (October 4, 2023)
SECY-07-0148, Independent Spent Fuel Storage ML080250294 Installation Requirements for Radiological Sabotage (August 28, 2007)
SRM-SECY-24-0006, Denial of Request 11 in Petition ML24031A573 for Rulemaking (PRM)-72-6 as Part of Notice Discontinuing Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Security Requirements Rulemaking (January 31, 2024)
IV. Conclusion
The NRC is discontinuing the ISFSI security requirements rulemaking and is
denying Request 11 in PRM-72-6 for the reasons discussed in this document. In the next
edition of the Unified Agenda, the NRC will update the entry for this rulemaking activity
and reference this document to indicate that the rulemaking activity is no longer being
pursued. This rulemaking activity will appear in the Completed Actions section of that
7 edition of the Unified Agenda but will not appear in future editions. If the NRC decides to
pursue similar or related rulemaking activities in the future, it will inform the public
through new rulemaking entries in the Unified Agenda.
Dated: May 2, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/
Raymond Furstenau, Acting Executive Director for Operations.
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