Department of Energy March 14, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a meeting of the Ultra-Deepwater Advisory Committee. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of a draft evaluation which shows that the vitrification melter (used to vitrify waste from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and certain treatment material) at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP), located at the Western New York Service Center in West Valley, New York, is waste incidental to reprocessing and thus is not high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and may be managed and disposed of offsite as low-level waste (LLW). DOE prepared the draft evaluation pursuant to DOE Manual 435.1-1, Radioactive Waste Management. DOE is consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) before finalizing this evaluation. Although it is not required by DOE Manual 435.1-1, DOE is making the draft evaluation available for public and state review and comment during the NRC consultative review period. DOE will make its final evaluation and determination as to whether the vitrification melter is HLW, or is waste incidental to reprocessing which can be managed and disposed of as LLW, after consideration of any public, state, and NRC comments on this draft evaluation.