# List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1042, Amendment No. 5
**AGENCY:**
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
**ACTION:**
Proposed rule.
**SUMMARY:**
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage regulations by revising the TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® Extended Optimized Storage (EOS) Dry Spent Fuel Storage System listing within the “List of approved spent fuel storage casks” to include Amendment No. 5 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1042. Amendment No. 5 would revise the CoC to add a new heat load zone configuration for the EOS-37PTH canister, increasing the maximum heat load to 54 kW per dry shielded canister for storage in the EOS-Horizontal Storage Module and transfer using EOS-Transfer Casks TC125/135; clarify acceptance criteria for minor surface imperfections on high strength low-alloy basket plates in the Updated Final Safety Analysis Report (UFSAR); and make editorial updates to the UFSAR and Technical Specification revisions to align with Amendment No. 4, improve readability, and correct code references.
**DATES:**
Submit comments by February 27, 2026. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration of only comments received on or before this date.
**ADDRESSES:**
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID NRC-2025-1369, at *https://www.regulations.gov.* If your material cannot be submitted using *https://www.regulations.gov,* call or email the individual listed in the *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* section of this document for alternate instructions.
You can read a plain language description of this direct final rule at *https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NRC-2025-1369.* For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the *SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION* section of this document.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Amy McKenna, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; email: *[email protected].*
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
**Table of Contents**
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
II. Rulemaking Procedure
III. Background
IV. Plain Writing
V. Regulatory Planning and Review
VI. Availability of Documents
**I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments**
**A. Obtaining Information**
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-1369 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-2025-1369. Address questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang, telephone: 301-415-3228, email: *[email protected].* For technical questions contact the individual listed in the *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* section of this document.
• *NRC's 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 NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to *[email protected].* For the convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in the “Availability of Documents” section.
• *NRC's 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 *[email protected]* 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.
**B. Submitting Comments**
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the Federal rulemaking website ( *https://www.regulations.gov* ). Please include Docket ID NRC-2025-1369 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at *https://www.regulations.gov* as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
**II. Rulemaking Procedure**
Because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial, the NRC is publishing this proposed rule concurrently with a direct final rule in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the *Federal Register* . The direct final rule will become effective on April 13, 2026. However, if the NRC receives any significant adverse comment by February 27, 2026, then the NRC will publish a document that withdraws the direct final rule. If the direct final rule is withdrawn, the NRC will address the comments in a subsequent final rule. In general, absent significant modifications to the proposed revisions requiring republication, the NRC will not initiate a second comment period on this action in the event the direct final rule is withdrawn.
A significant adverse comment is a comment where the commenter explains why the rule would be inappropriate, including challenges to the rule's underlying premise or approach, or would be ineffective or unacceptable without a change. A comment is adverse and significant if:
(1) The comment opposes the rule and provides a reason sufficient to require a substantive response in a notice-and-comment process. For example, a substantive response is required when:
(a) The comment causes the NRC to reevaluate (or reconsider) its position or conduct additional analysis;
(b) The comment raises an issue serious enough to warrant a substantive response to clarify or complete the record; or
(c) The comment raises a relevant issue that was not previously addressed or considered by the NRC.
(2) The comment proposes a change or an addition to the rule, and it is apparent that the rule would be ineffective or unacceptable without incorporation of the change or addition.
(3) The comment causes the NRC to make a change (other than editorial) to the rule, certificate of compliance, or technical specifications.
For a more detailed discussion of the proposed rule changes and associated analyses, see the direct final rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the *Federal Register* .
For detailed instructions on filing comments, please see the *ADDRESSES* section of this document.
**III. Background**
Section 218(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, requires that “[t]he Secretary [of the Department of Energy] shall establish a demonstration program, in cooperation with the private sector, for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at civilian nuclear power reactor sites, with the objective of establishing one or more technologies that the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission may, by rule, approve for use at the sites of civilian nuclear power reactors without, to the maximum extent practicable, the need for additional site-specific approvals by the Commission.” Section 133 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act states, in part, that “[t]he Commission shall, by rule, establish procedures for the licensing of any technology approved by the Commission under section 219(a) [sic: 218(a)] for use at the site of any civilian nuclear power reactor.”
To implement this mandate, the Commission approved dry storage of spent nuclear fuel in NRC-approved casks under a general license by publishing a final rule that added a new subpart K in part 72 of title 10 of the *Code of Federal Regulations* (10 CFR) entitled “General License for Storage of Spent Fuel at Power Reactor Sites” (55 FR 29181; July 18, 1990). This rule also established a new subpart L in 10 CFR part 72 entitled “Approval of Spent Fuel Storage Casks,” which contains procedures and criteria for obtaining NRC approval of spent fuel storage cask designs. The NRC subsequently issued a final rule on March 24, 2017 (82 FR 14987), that approved the TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System design and added it to the list of NRC-approved cask designs in § 72.214 as CoC No. 1042.
This rule would be limited to the changes contained in Amendment No. 5 to CoC No. 1042 and would not include other aspects of the TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System design.
**IV. Plain Writing**
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-274) requires Federal agencies to write documents in a clear, concise, and well-organized manner. The NRC has written this document to be consistent with the Plain Writing Act as well as the Presidential Memorandum, “Plain Language in Government Writing,” published June 10, 1998 (63 FR 31885). The NRC requests comment on this proposed rule with respect to clarity and effectiveness of the language used.
**V. Regulatory Planning and Review**
**Executive Order (E.O.) 12866**
Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, as amended by E.O. 14215, provides that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will determine whether a regulatory action is significant as defined by E.O. 12866 and will review significant regulatory actions. OIRA determined that this proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under E.O. 12866.
**Review Under E.O.s 14154, 14192, 14215, and 14300**
The NRC has examined this proposed rule and has determined that it is consistent with the policies and directives outlined in E.O. 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” E.O. 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” E.O. 14215 “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies,” and E.O. 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” This proposed rule is not considered an E.O. 14192 deregulatory action.”
**VI. Availability of Documents**
The documents identified in the following table are available to interested persons as indicated.
| Document | ADAMS |
| --- | --- |
| | |
| “Proposed Certificate of Compliance No.1042—EOS Amendment No. 5 | ML25231A254 |
| | |
| Preliminary Safety Evaluation Report for Certificate of Compliance No. 1042, Amendment No. 5 | ML25231A256 |
| Proposed Technical Specifications for CoC No. 1042, Amendment No. 5 Rev 0 | ML25231A255 |
| | |
| Final Rule, List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks: TN Americas LLC, NUHOMS® EOS Dry Spent Fuel Storage System, Certificate of Compliance No. 1042,” published March 24, 2017 | 82 FR 14987 |
| Final Rule, “Storage of Spent Fuel in NRC-Approved Storage Casks at Power Reactor Sites,” published July 18, 1990 | 55 FR 29181 |
| Presidential Memorandum, “Plain Language in Government Writing,” published June 10, 1998 | 63 FR 31885 |
The NRC may post materials related to this document, including public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website at *https://www.regulations.gov* under Docket ID NRC-2025-1369. In addition, the Federal rulemaking website allows members of the public to receive alerts when changes or additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) navigate to the docket folder NRC-2025-1369; (2) click the “Subscribe” link; and (3) enter an email address and click on the “Subscribe” link.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated: January 15, 2026.
Michael King,
Executive Director for Operations.