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Certification Process for Spent Fuel Storage Casks

A spent fuel storage cask Certificate of Compliance (COC) is used by general licensees and contains technical requirements and operating conditions (fuel specifications, cask leak testing, surveillance, and other requirements) for the cask design and specifies what the licensee is authorized to store in the cask system.

Process for New Certificates of Compliance
Modification Process for Certificates of Compliance
Renewal Process for Certificates of Compliance
Transfer and Merger Process for Certificates of Compliance
License Fees
Public Involvement

See Draft Schedules for Rulemakings to Amend Part 72.214 for Dry Storage Casks

Process for New Certificates of Compliance

To apply for a certificate of compliance for a spent fuel storage system, an organization submits an application to NRC for review and approval. The application would contain information as described in "Standard Review Plan for Dry Cask Storage Systems" (NUREG-1536). The application must address the safety and operational characteristics of the cask system, including design analysis for structural, thermal, radiation shielding, nuclear criticality, material content confinement, and accident conditions. In addition, the application must contain operational guidance, such as operating procedures and conditions for cask use.

Modification Process for Certificates of Compliance

To modify a certificate of compliance, a certificate holder submits a request to NRC with any necessary supporting technical information for NRC to review and approve the amendment.

Renewal Process for Certificates of Compliance

To renew a certificate of compliance at the end of the 20-year approval period, a certificate holder submits a request to NRC with any necessary supporting information describing (1) the capability of the cask design to meet technical requirements and (2) the capability of loaded casks to continue to meet technical requirements for another certificate of compliance approval period. After reviewing this information, the NRC would determine whether to renew the certificate.

Transfer and Merger Process for Certificates of Compliance

To transfer ownership of the certificate of compliance or to merge with another organization, a certificate holder submits a request to NRC with any necessary supporting organizational information for NRC to review and approve the amendment.

License Fees

The fees charged by the NRC to applicants for an NRC license and to holders of NRC licenses and the associated requirements are found in 10 CFR Part 170 and 10 CFR Part 171. See in particular 10 CFR 170.20 and 170.31, and 10 CFR 171.16 and 171.17(b) for sections directly applicable to fees for fuel cycle facility licenses. Also see 10 CFR 170.11 and 10 CFR 171.11 for exemptions from the fee requirements. For more information about fees, see our License Fees page and 10 CFR 170 and 10 CFR 171.

Public Involvement

To learn how stakeholders can participate in our licensing process, see Public Involvement in Licensing.