Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility; and US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility Located Near Grand View, Idaho, 16239-16241 [2021-06301]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 57 / Friday, March 26, 2021 / Notices
5:45 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Critical Feedback to
the ZEUS Leadership & list of
questions that require written answers
& clarification on Day 2
https://darrp.noaa.gov/hazardouswaste/western-port-angeles-harbor.
Susan M. Akers,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental
Enforcement Section, Environment and
Natural Resources Division.
May 18, 2021
10:00 a.m.–10:45 a.m. Meeting with UM
Administration
10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. ZEUS responses
to the Critical Feedback
11:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Final comments
12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Site Visit Report
CLOSED
[FR Doc. 2021–06273 Filed 3–25–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–15–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Proposal Review Panel for Physics;
Notice of Meeting
In accordance with the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–
463, as amended), the National Science
Foundation (NSF) announces the
following meeting:
Name and Committee Code: Proposal
Review Panel for Physics (#1208)—
ZEUS Virtual Site Visit.
Date and Time: May 17, 2021; 10:00
a.m.–6:00 p.m.; May 18, 2021; 10:00
a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Place: University of Michigan, 3003 S
Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109–1274 |
Virtual.
Type of Meeting: Part-Open.
Contact Person: Vyacheslav Lukin,
Program Director, Division of Physics,
National Science Foundation, 2415
Eisenhower Avenue, Room 9226,
Alexandria, VA 22314; Telephone: (703)
292–7382.
Purpose of Meeting: Virtual site visit
to provide an evaluation of the progress
of the projects at the host site for the
Division of Physics at the National
Science Foundation.
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Agenda
Dated: March 22, 2021.
Crystal Robinson,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–06220 Filed 3–25–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Permits Issued Under the
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978
AGENCY:
ACTION:
National Science Foundation.
Notice of permits issued.
The National Science
Foundation (NSF) is required to publish
notice of permits issued under the
Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.
This is the required notice.
SUMMARY:
May 17, 2021
10:00 a.m.–10:20 a.m. Executive Session
CLOSED
10:20 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Introductions
10:30 a.m.–11:20 a.m. ZEUS Facility
Overview
11:20 a.m.–11:50 a.m. ZEUS Science
Justification
11:50 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ZEUS
Construction Status
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Break CLOSED
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& Metrics
4:15 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Executive Session
CLOSED
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Reason for Closing: The work being
reviewed during closed portions of the
virtual site visit include information of
a proprietary or confidential nature,
including technical information;
financial data, such as salaries and
personal information concerning
individuals associated with the project.
These matters are exempt under 5
U.S.C. 552b(c), (4) and (6) of the
Government in the Sunshine Act.
17:14 Mar 25, 2021
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
16239
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Advisory Committee for
Cyberinfrastructure; Notice of Meeting
In accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (Pub., L. 92–463, as
amended), the National Science Foundation
(NSF) announces the following meeting:
Name and Committee Code: Advisory
Committee for Cyberinfrastructure
(25150).
Date and Time: April 19, 2021; 11
a.m.–5 p.m.; April 20, 2021; 11 a.m.–5
p.m.
Place: National Science Foundation,
2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria,
VA 22314.
This meeting will be held virtually.
The final meeting agenda and
instructions to register will be posted on
the ACCI website: https://www.nsf.gov/
cise/oac/advisory.jsp.
Type of Meeting: Open.
Contact Person: Amy Friedlander,
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Cyberinfrastructure, National Science
Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue,
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Agenda: Updates on NSF wide OAC
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Dated: March 22, 2021.
Crystal Robinson,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–06229 Filed 3–25–21; 8:45 am]
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Nature McGinn, ACA Permit Officer,
Office of Polar Programs, National
Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower
Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703–
292–8030; email: ACApermits@nsf.gov.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On
January 25, 2021, the National Science
Foundation published a notice in the
Federal Register of permit applications
received. The permits were issued on
March 22, 2021 to:
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC;
Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility; and
US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act
Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility
Located Near Grand View, Idaho
1. Michael Gooseff—Permit No. 2021–
008
2. Daniel Costa—Permit No. 2021–009
AGENCY:
Erika N. Davis,
Program Specialist, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2021–06286 Filed 3–25–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
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[Docket No. 70–1151; NRC–2021–0062]
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: License amendment and
exemption; issuance.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption and associated license
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM
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16240
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 57 / Friday, March 26, 2021 / Notices
amendment related to a request from
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
(WEC) from NRC regulations with
respect to a request for alternate
disposal and exemption for specified
low-activity radioactive waste from the
Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility
(CFFF) in Hopkins, South Carolina for
waste containing byproduct material
and special nuclear material (SNM)
under License Number SNM–1107.
Additionally, the NRC is taking the
related action of approving exemptions
to US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) from the
applicable licensing requirements to
allow USEI to receive and dispose the
material from CFFF without an NRC
license. The USEI disposal facility,
located near Grand View, Idaho, is a
Subtitle C Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste
disposal facility permitted by the State
of Idaho to receive low-level radioactive
waste and is not licensed by the NRC.
Approval of the alternate disposal
request from WEC, the exemptions and
license amendment requested by WEC
and associated exemptions for USEI
would allow WEC to transfer the
specific waste from CFFF for disposal at
USEI.
DATES: This exemption is effective on
March 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2021–0062 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly available
information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2021–0062. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–415–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. 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 pdr.resource@
nrc.gov. The Request for Alternate
Disposal Approval and Exemption for
Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication
Facility Waste (License No. SNM–1197,
Docket No. 70–1151) dated February 8,
2021 is available in ADAMS under
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:14 Mar 25, 2021
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Accession No. ML21039A719. The
staff’s Safety Evaluation Report dated
March 3, 2021 is available in ADAMS
under Package Accession No.
ML21053A335.
• Attention: The PDR, where you may
examine and order copies of public
documents, is currently closed. You
may submit your request to the PDR via
email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1–
800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737,
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST),
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Tiktinsky, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–8740, email: David.Tiktinsky@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
(WEC) is the holder of a Special Nuclear
Materials (SNM) License SNM–1107
under Part 70 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which
authorizes the fabrication of nuclear fuel
at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication
Facility (CFFF). The US Ecology, Inc.
(USEI) disposal facility near Grand
View, Idaho is a Subtitle C Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
hazardous waste disposal facility
permitted by the State of Idaho to
receive radioactive waste that is not
licensed or exempted from licensing by
the NRC.
II. Request/Action
The proposed action would approve
the alternate disposal request and
provide exemptions to 10 CFR 70.3 and
10 CFR 30.3, and an associated WEC
license amendment, allowing WEC to
transfer and USEI to receive and dispose
specific wastes.
Westinghouse had previously
requested and received a corresponding
exemption and license amendment,
dated December 9, 2020 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML20302A084) to
transfer approximately 1428 m3 (50,400
ft3) of solid contaminated Calcium
Fluoride (CaF2) sludge to the USEI
RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste
disposal facility near Grand View, Idaho
for disposal. This material was dredged
from the Calcium Fluoride Lagoons and
subsequently placed in a storage pile.
USEI was granted a corresponding
exemption to receive and dispose of this
material on December 9, 2020.
After Westinghouse received the
December 9, 2020 exemption, it
discovered that the actual volume of
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Sfmt 4703
CaF2 was less than the 1428 m3 (50,400
ft3) previously assumed. The actual
volume was 694 m3 (24,500 ft3). In its
February 8, 2021 letter, Westinghouse
has requested an exemption and license
amendment to dispose of 733 m3
(25,900 ft3) of similar CaF2 from the
‘‘Operations’’ pile. The total amount of
CaF2 material (from the previous
approval the additional material
considered here) would not exceed the
previously approved volume of 1428 m3
(50,400 ft3). In addition, the CaF2 from
the ‘‘Operations’’ pile is similar to the
previously approved material, and the
total activity and other parameters for
the disposal at USEI will not differ from
the initial approval. The CaF2 sludge
was generated as a waste from uranium
recovery waste treatment process and is
contaminated with SNM (low enriched
uranium {<5 wt. % U–235}) as well.
The previously exempted sludge, soil,
and debris associated with the closure
of the East Lagoon will be shipped with
the CaF2 sludge to USEI using a
combination of trucks and railcars.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17 and 10 CFR
30.11, the Commission may, upon
application of any interested person or
upon its own initiative, grant such
exemptions from the requirements of 10
CFR part 70 and Part 30 respectively, as
it determines are authorized by law and
will not endanger life or property or the
common defense and security and are
otherwise in the public interest.
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The proposal provides that the
material previously described, would be
transported in compliance with U.S.
Department of Transportation
regulations to USEI in Idaho, which is
a Subtitle C, RCRA hazardous waste
disposal facility permitted by the State
of Idaho. As such, the material will be
removed per State and local regulations,
will be shipped per existing Federal
regulations to a location approved by
the State of Idaho to receive the
material, and such disposal is not
otherwise contrary to NRC
requirements, and is therefore
authorized by law.
The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life,
Property and Is Consistent With The
Common Defense and Security
NRC staff reviewed the information
provided by WEC to support their 10
CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal request
and for the specific exemptions from 10
CFR 30.3 and 10 CFR 70.3 and
associated license amendment in order
to dispose of CaF2 sludge from the
‘‘Operations pile’’ as aggregated waste at
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 57 / Friday, March 26, 2021 / Notices
USEI. As documented in the Safety
Evaluation Report, the NRC staff
concludes that, consistent with 10 CFR
20.2002, WEC provided an adequate
description of the materials and the
proposed manner and conditions of
waste disposal. The NRC staff also
concluded that the use of the sitespecific dose assessment methodology
to evaluate the projected doses
associated with the transportation and
disposal of the waste streams at USEI
are acceptable. The NRC staff reviewed
the input parameters included in this
modeling and found that they are
appropriate for the scenarios
considered. The NRC staff also
evaluated the potential doses associated
with transportation, waste handling,
and disposal and found that the
projected doses have been appropriately
estimated and are demonstrated to meet
the NRC’s alternate disposal standard of
contributing a dose of not more than ‘‘a
few millirem per year’’ to any member
of the public and are as low as is
reasonably achievable. The NRC staff
also concluded that the projected doses
from the post-closure and intruder
scenarios at USEI are also within ‘‘a few
millirem per year’’ over a period of
1,000 years. Lastly, because of the
presence of SNM, the NRC evaluated
potential criticality in its SER, and
found no concerns. This subsequent
disposal request remains bounded by
the parameters of the previous request
and approval. Therefore, the NRC
concludes that issuance of the
exemption is will not endanger life,
property, and is consistent with the
common defense and security.
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The Exemption Is in the Public Interest
Issuance of the exemption to WEC
and USEI is in the public interest
because it would provide for the
efficient and safe disposal for the
subject waste material, would facilitate
the decommissioning of the East Lagoon
at the CFFF site, and would conserve
low-level radioactive waste disposal
capacity at licensed low-level
radioactive disposal sites, while
ensuring that the material being
considered is disposed of safely in a
regulated facility. Therefore, based upon
the evaluation above, an exemption is
appropriate pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11
and 10 CFR 70.17.
IV. Environmental Considerations
As required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC
performed an environmental assessment
(EA) that analyzes the environmental
impacts of the proposed exemption in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and
NRC implementing regulations in 10
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:14 Mar 25, 2021
Jkt 253001
CFR part 51. Based on that EA, the NRC
staff has determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the
proposed exemption and has issued a
finding of no significant impact
(FONSI). The EA and FONSI were
published in the Federal Register on
March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13915).
V. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has
determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the exemptions
for WEC and USEI and associated WEC
license amendment are authorized by
law, will not present an undue risk to
the public health and safety, is
consistent with the common defense
and security, and is in the public
interest. Therefore, the Commission
hereby grants WEC and USEI
exemptions from 10 CFR 70.3 and 10
CFR 30.3 to allow WEC to transfer the
specifically identified byproduct
material and SNM waste described
above from the WEC CFFF for disposal
at the USEI disposal facility located near
Grand View, Idaho, and issues WEC a
conforming license amendment.
Dated: March 23, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jacob I. Zimmerman,
Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch,
Division of Fuel Management, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021–06301 Filed 3–25–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–289; NRC–2021–0079]
Exelon Generation Company, LLC;
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit
1
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Exemption; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has issued an
exemption in response to a request from
the licensee that would permit Exelon
Generation Company, LLC to reduce the
minimum coverage limit for onsite
property damage insurance from $1.06
billion to $50 million for Three Mile
Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1.
DATES: The exemption was issued on
March 22, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2021–0079 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly available
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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16241
information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2021–0079. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–415–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. 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 pdr.resource@
nrc.gov. The ADAMS accession number
for each document referenced (if it is
available in ADAMS) is provided the
first time that it is mentioned in this
document.
• Attention: The PDR, where you may
examine and order copies of public
documents, is currently closed. You
may submit your request to the PDR via
email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1–
800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737,
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST),
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Theodore Smith, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone:
301–415–6721, email: Theodore.Smith@
nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of
the exemption is attached.
Dated: March 23, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce A. Watson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch,
Division of Decommissioning, Uranium
Recovery and Waste Programs, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
Attachment—Exemption
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Docket No. 50–289
Exelon Generation Company, LLC
Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit
1
Exemption
I. Background
By letter dated June 20, 2017
(Agencywide Documents Access and
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 57 (Friday, March 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16239-16241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06301]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-1151; NRC-2021-0062]
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; Columbia Fuel Fabrication
Facility; and US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility Located Near Grand
View, Idaho
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: License amendment and exemption; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
exemption and associated license
[[Page 16240]]
amendment related to a request from Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
(WEC) from NRC regulations with respect to a request for alternate
disposal and exemption for specified low-activity radioactive waste
from the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in Hopkins, South
Carolina for waste containing byproduct material and special nuclear
material (SNM) under License Number SNM-1107. Additionally, the NRC is
taking the related action of approving exemptions to US Ecology, Inc.
(USEI) from the applicable licensing requirements to allow USEI to
receive and dispose the material from CFFF without an NRC license. The
USEI disposal facility, located near Grand View, Idaho, is a Subtitle C
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste disposal
facility permitted by the State of Idaho to receive low-level
radioactive waste and is not licensed by the NRC. Approval of the
alternate disposal request from WEC, the exemptions and license
amendment requested by WEC and associated exemptions for USEI would
allow WEC to transfer the specific waste from CFFF for disposal at
USEI.
DATES: This exemption is effective on March 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0062 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2021-0062. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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]. The Request for Alternate Disposal
Approval and Exemption for Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility
Waste (License No. SNM-1197, Docket No. 70-1151) dated February 8, 2021
is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21039A719. The staff's
Safety Evaluation Report dated March 3, 2021 is available in ADAMS
under Package Accession No. ML21053A335.
Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Tiktinsky, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8740, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) is the holder of a Special
Nuclear Materials (SNM) License SNM-1107 under Part 70 of title 10 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which authorizes the
fabrication of nuclear fuel at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility
(CFFF). The US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) disposal facility near Grand View,
Idaho is a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho to
receive radioactive waste that is not licensed or exempted from
licensing by the NRC.
II. Request/Action
The proposed action would approve the alternate disposal request
and provide exemptions to 10 CFR 70.3 and 10 CFR 30.3, and an
associated WEC license amendment, allowing WEC to transfer and USEI to
receive and dispose specific wastes.
Westinghouse had previously requested and received a corresponding
exemption and license amendment, dated December 9, 2020 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML20302A084) to transfer approximately 1428 m\3\ (50,400
ft\3\) of solid contaminated Calcium Fluoride (CaF2) sludge
to the USEI RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste disposal facility near
Grand View, Idaho for disposal. This material was dredged from the
Calcium Fluoride Lagoons and subsequently placed in a storage pile.
USEI was granted a corresponding exemption to receive and dispose of
this material on December 9, 2020.
After Westinghouse received the December 9, 2020 exemption, it
discovered that the actual volume of CaF2 was less than the
1428 m\3\ (50,400 ft\3\) previously assumed. The actual volume was 694
m\3\ (24,500 ft\3\). In its February 8, 2021 letter, Westinghouse has
requested an exemption and license amendment to dispose of 733 m\3\
(25,900 ft\3\) of similar CaF2 from the ``Operations'' pile.
The total amount of CaF2 material (from the previous
approval the additional material considered here) would not exceed the
previously approved volume of 1428 m\3\ (50,400 ft\3\). In addition,
the CaF2 from the ``Operations'' pile is similar to the
previously approved material, and the total activity and other
parameters for the disposal at USEI will not differ from the initial
approval. The CaF2 sludge was generated as a waste from
uranium recovery waste treatment process and is contaminated with SNM
(low enriched uranium {<5 wt. % U-235{time} ) as well.
The previously exempted sludge, soil, and debris associated with
the closure of the East Lagoon will be shipped with the CaF2
sludge to USEI using a combination of trucks and railcars.
III. Discussion
Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the Commission may, upon
application of any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant
such exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 70 and Part 30
respectively, as it determines are authorized by law and will not
endanger life or property or the common defense and security and are
otherwise in the public interest.
The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The proposal provides that the material previously described, would
be transported in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation
regulations to USEI in Idaho, which is a Subtitle C, RCRA hazardous
waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho. As such, the
material will be removed per State and local regulations, will be
shipped per existing Federal regulations to a location approved by the
State of Idaho to receive the material, and such disposal is not
otherwise contrary to NRC requirements, and is therefore authorized by
law.
The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life, Property and Is Consistent With
The Common Defense and Security
NRC staff reviewed the information provided by WEC to support their
10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal request and for the specific
exemptions from 10 CFR 30.3 and 10 CFR 70.3 and associated license
amendment in order to dispose of CaF2 sludge from the
``Operations pile'' as aggregated waste at
[[Page 16241]]
USEI. As documented in the Safety Evaluation Report, the NRC staff
concludes that, consistent with 10 CFR 20.2002, WEC provided an
adequate description of the materials and the proposed manner and
conditions of waste disposal. The NRC staff also concluded that the use
of the site-specific dose assessment methodology to evaluate the
projected doses associated with the transportation and disposal of the
waste streams at USEI are acceptable. The NRC staff reviewed the input
parameters included in this modeling and found that they are
appropriate for the scenarios considered. The NRC staff also evaluated
the potential doses associated with transportation, waste handling, and
disposal and found that the projected doses have been appropriately
estimated and are demonstrated to meet the NRC's alternate disposal
standard of contributing a dose of not more than ``a few millirem per
year'' to any member of the public and are as low as is reasonably
achievable. The NRC staff also concluded that the projected doses from
the post-closure and intruder scenarios at USEI are also within ``a few
millirem per year'' over a period of 1,000 years. Lastly, because of
the presence of SNM, the NRC evaluated potential criticality in its
SER, and found no concerns. This subsequent disposal request remains
bounded by the parameters of the previous request and approval.
Therefore, the NRC concludes that issuance of the exemption is will not
endanger life, property, and is consistent with the common defense and
security.
The Exemption Is in the Public Interest
Issuance of the exemption to WEC and USEI is in the public interest
because it would provide for the efficient and safe disposal for the
subject waste material, would facilitate the decommissioning of the
East Lagoon at the CFFF site, and would conserve low-level radioactive
waste disposal capacity at licensed low-level radioactive disposal
sites, while ensuring that the material being considered is disposed of
safely in a regulated facility. Therefore, based upon the evaluation
above, an exemption is appropriate pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR
70.17.
IV. Environmental Considerations
As required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC performed an environmental
assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental impacts of the proposed
exemption in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 and NRC implementing regulations in 10 CFR part 51. Based on that
EA, the NRC staff has determined not to prepare an environmental impact
statement for the proposed exemption and has issued a finding of no
significant impact (FONSI). The EA and FONSI were published in the
Federal Register on March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13915).
V. Conclusions
Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the exemptions for WEC and USEI and associated
WEC license amendment are authorized by law, will not present an undue
risk to the public health and safety, is consistent with the common
defense and security, and is in the public interest. Therefore, the
Commission hereby grants WEC and USEI exemptions from 10 CFR 70.3 and
10 CFR 30.3 to allow WEC to transfer the specifically identified
byproduct material and SNM waste described above from the WEC CFFF for
disposal at the USEI disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho,
and issues WEC a conforming license amendment.
Dated: March 23, 2021.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jacob I. Zimmerman,
Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Management,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-06301 Filed 3-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
