EIA Requests Extension of Nuclear Fuel Data Survey Form GC-859

Content

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

DOE submitted an information collection request for extension as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information
collection requests a three-year extension of its Form GC-859 Nuclear Fuel Data Survey, OMB Control Number 1901-0287. Form GC-859 collects data on spent nuclear fuel from all utilities that operate commercial nuclear
reactors and from all others that possess irradiated fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. This notice amends a 30-day
Federal Register
notice published on February 20, 2026.

DATES:

Comments on this information collection must be received no later than May 6, 2026. If you anticipate any difficulties in
submitting comments by the deadline, contact the person listed in
ADDRESSES
section of this notice as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication
of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using
the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you need additional information, contact Debra Coaxum, EIA Clearance Officer, at (202) 586-7876. The current and proposed
Form GC-859 and instructions are available on EIA's website at https://www.eia.gov/survey/#gc-859.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This information collection request contains

(1) OMB No.: 1901-0287;

(2) Information Collection Request Title: Nuclear Fuel Data Survey;

(3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;

(4) Purpose: This notice amends a 30-day
Federal Register
notice published on February 20, 2026 (91 FR 8212) by reinstating section C.2, Projected Assembly Discharges, and requiring
reporting of at least three cycles to account for the five-year gap between survey collections.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) required that DOE enter into Standard Contracts with all generators or owners of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
waste of domestic origin. Form GC-859 (formerly Form RW-859) originated from an appendix to this Standard Contract.

Form GC-859 Nuclear Fuel Data Survey collects information on nuclear fuel use and spent fuel discharges from all utilities that operate commercial nuclear reactors
and from all others that possess irradiated fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. The data collection provides stakeholders
with detailed information concerning the spent nuclear fuel generated by the respondents (commercial utility generators of
spent nuclear fuel and other owners of spent nuclear fuel within the U.S.).

Data collected from the survey are used by personnel from DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), DOE Office of Environmental Management
(EM), and the national laboratories to meet their research objectives of developing a range of options and supporting analyses
that facilitate informed choices about how best to manage spent nuclear fuel (SNF);

(4a) Proposed Changes to Information Collection:

• Clarified instructions, definitions, and tables based on the feedback received from the last survey collection. This lessens the burden on respondents by avoiding unnecessary need for clarifications. • Section B.2: Reactor License Data. Section B.2 is being discontinued because the license status and other data is publicly available on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website. Section B.2 now indicates “Discontinued” to preserve the subsection numbering in Section B.

• Section C.1.1: Data on Discharged Fuel Assemblies and Non-Fuel Components Integral to the Assembly—Addition of an optional data field for
Assembly-Average Initial Enrichment. The form currently includes a data field only for Maximum Planar-Average Initial Enrichment.
Assembly-Average Initial Enrichment is critical for evaluating decay heat and dose rates, while Maximum Planar-Average Initial
Enrichment accounts for axial and radial variations in enrichment, essential for criticality safety assessments. Having data
for both enrichment values allows DOE to apply the appropriately conservative parameter to each discipline—maximum planar-average
for criticality, assembly-average for shielding and thermal—thus reducing unnecessary

  conservativism and uncertainty while maintaining safety margins which enables DOE to have the information necessary for effective
  planning of future spent nuclear fuel transport and storage while maintaining compliance with thermal, radiological, and criticality
  safety requirements.

• Reinstating section C.2: Projected Assembly Discharges. DOE paused collection of projected assembly discharge data in section C.2 starting with the
survey covering the July 1, 2013-December 31, 2017 period. However, reinstating this section is now necessary to provide insight
on planned changes in reactor operations, particularly power uprates and the introduction of high-assay low-enriched uranium
fuel. These developments will directly impact spent fuel characteristics, including enrichment levels and burnup rates. Section
C.2 originally called for projections of discharged assemblies to be reported for five cycles. This has been reduced to three
cycles as reporting a minimum of three cycles will be sufficient to cover the five-year gap in between survey collections.
By collecting data on projected assembly discharges, DOE can ensure that it has the necessary information to manage and plan
spent fuel storage, disposal strategies, and infrastructure investments in light of these anticipated changes. Section C.2
includes improvements for clarity of data requested, including an updated description and example of Projected Final Average
Discharge Burnup of the Group.

• Non-Fuel Components (NFC). The 3 NFC columns in Table C.1.1 will be removed (NFC, NFC Identifier, and Estimated Total Weight) and added to the D.3.3
(Assemblies in Dry Storage) table. The NFC stored in the pool is already captured in Section E: Non-Fuel Data and the text
was modified in E.2: Non-Fuel Components—Integral to an Assembly. This change was made to simplify the reporting of non-fuel
components in the spent fuel pool. For these components, DOE does not require tracking of their current location in the spent
fuel pool, only the tentative amount of hardware delivered to DOE. This reduces the burden on respondents by not requiring
them to track and report the location of hardware components in the pool.

• D.3.3: Assemblies in Dry Storage. An additional column for Damaged Fuel Canister (DFC) will be added to the D.3.3 table. This eases the burden on respondents
because this change improves clarity by avoiding confusion between a single assembly canister in section C.3.1 and a DFC reported
in D.3.3. Additionally, it enhances clarity during canister unloading, ensuring it is clear which assemblies are damaged and
whether additional hardware is present in the cask. This information is also used to verify compliance with the Certificate
of Compliance when accepting the cask for transportation.

• Appendix C: Reactor and Spent Fuel Storage Site Identification Codes. Appendix C has been updated to remove numeric ID numbers for reactors or storage locations. These have been replaced with
easily recognizable names, consistent with the choices in the web-application. Pools that no longer exist or that are no longer
planned for storage have been removed from the list. Appendix C has been renamed to Reactor or Facility and Spent Fuel Storage
Site. The form has been revised to remove references to numeric IDs, so the form now contains only user friendly, easily recognizable
names.

• Appendix E: Fuel Assembly Type Codes. Appendix E has been modified to include codes submitted on the 2023 data collection that were not already on the list and
to remove codes that are not in use, for the convenience of the respondents.

(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 126;

(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 42;

(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 3,707;

(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: The information is maintained in the normal course of business. The cost of the burden hours is estimated to be $352,128 (3,707
burden hours times $94.99 per hour). DOE estimates that respondents will have no additional costs associated with the surveys
other than the burden hours and the maintenance of the information during the normal course of business.

Comments are invited on whether or not: (a) The proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions, including whether
the information will have a practical utility; (b) DOE's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used, is accurate; (c) DOE can improve the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information it will collect; and (d) DOE can minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,
such as automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, codified as 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and the DOE
Organization Act of 1977, Public Law 95-91, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq., The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 codified at 42 U.S.C. 10222 et seq.

Signed in Washington, DC, on April 1, 2026. Debra Coaxum, Acting Director, Office of Statistical Methods and Research, U.S. Energy Information Administration. [FR Doc. 2026-06593 Filed 4-3-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

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