[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 132 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42305-42306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17340]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 54

[Docket No. PRM-54-1]


Union of Concerned Scientists; Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; Notice of receipt.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received and 
requests public comment on a petition for rulemaking filed by the Union 
of Concerned Scientists (petitioner). The petition has been docketed by 
the Commission and has been assigned Docket No. PRM-54-1. The 
petitioner requests that the NRC regulations governing requirements for 
renewal of operating licenses for nuclear power plants be amended to 
address potential concerns about aging degradation of liquid and 
gaseous radioactive waste systems. The petitioner believes the 
degradation from aging of piping and components of liquid and gaseous 
radioactive waste systems at nuclear power facilities may result in an 
increased probability and/or consequences from design and licensing 
bases events.

DATES: Submit comments by September 25, 2000. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance 
of consideration cannot be given except as to comments received on or 
before this date.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications staff.
    Deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 
between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm on Federal workdays.
    For a copy of the petition, write: David L. Meyer, Chief, Rules and 
Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001. Documents related to this action

[[Page 42306]]

are available for public inspection at the NRC Public Document Room 
(PDR) located at the Gelman Building, 2012 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20555. Documents created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999 
are also available electronically at the NRC's Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ ADAMS/
index.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into the NRC's 
Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. For more 
information, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff 
at 1-800-397-4209, or 202-634-3273, or by email to [email protected].
    You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive rulemaking 
website through the NRC home page (http://ruleforum.llnl.gov). This 
site provides the availability to view and upload comments as files 
(any format), if your web browser supports that function. For 
information about the interactive rulemaking website, contact Ms. Carol 
Gallagher, (301) 415-5905 (e-mail: [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David L. Meyer, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555. Telephone: 301-415-7162 or Toll Free: 1-800-368-5642 or E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission received a petition for 
rulemaking dated May 3, 2000, submitted by the Union of Concerned 
Scientists (petitioner). The petitioner requests that the regulations 
governing renewal of operating licenses for nuclear power plants in 10 
CFR parts 51 and 54 be amended to address potential concerns relating 
to degradation through aging of piping and components of liquid and 
gaseous radioactive waste systems at operating nuclear power plants. 
This petition was included as part of a document in which the 
petitioner details concerns related to the review of the license 
renewal application submitted by the owner of the Hatch Nuclear Plant. 
Specifically, the petitioner is concerned that the license renewal 
application for the Hatch facility has not addressed deficiencies it 
believes exists in the aging management of the liquid and gaseous 
radioactive waste (radwaste) systems. The petitioner concludes that the 
requirements pertaining to renewal of operating licenses for nuclear 
power plants do not adequately address degradation from aging of liquid 
and gaseous radioactive waste systems. The petitioner requests that the 
regulations in 10 CFR part 51 and part 54 be amended to clarify that 
liquid and gaseous radioactive waste systems must be covered by aging 
management programs during license renewal periods.
    The NRC has determined that the petition meets the threshold 
sufficiency requirements for a petition for rulemaking under 10 CFR 
2.802. The petition has been docketed as PRM-54-1. The NRC is 
soliciting public comment on the petition for rulemaking.

Discussion of the Petition

    The petitioner states that in 10 CFR part 51, appendix B to subpart 
A, ``Environmental Effect of Renewing the Operating License of a 
Nuclear Power Plant,'' the NRC concluded that radiation exposures to 
the public and occupational exposures to workers during the license 
renewal term will continue at levels below regulatory limits. The 
petitioner believes that this conclusion is based on an assumption that 
the piping and components of the liquid and gaseous radioactive waste 
systems at nuclear power plants do not experience greater failure rates 
during the license renewal term.
    Using the case of a recent license renewal application, the 
petitioner cites the Hatch Nuclear Plant as an example in contending 
that the plant is being operated outside its design and licensing bases 
because the material condition of piping and components of the liquid 
(Contention No. 1) and gaseous (Contention No. 2) radioactive waste 
systems are not being properly inspected and maintained. In its request 
for a generic communication by the NRC to all nuclear power plant 
owners about potential aging degradation of liquid and gaseous 
radioactive waste systems, the petitioner indicates that the Millstone 
facility received an Information Notice in 1979 regarding liquid 
radwaste system problems that the petitioner believes was ignored. The 
petitioner notes that in 1996 the Millstone facility received another 
Information Notice also regarding degradation problems with the liquid 
radwaste system.
    The petitioner believes that from its review of the license renewal 
applications submitted by the owners of the Calvert Cliffs, Oconee, and 
Hatch facilities, it appears that 10 CFR 54.4(a)(1)(iii) has been 
interpreted to exclude the liquid and gaseous radioactive waste systems 
from aging management consideration. The petitioner requests that NRC 
amend 10 CFR parts 51 and 54 to clarify that the liquid and gaseous 
radioactive waste systems must be covered by aging management programs 
during the license renewal term. The petitioner believes that 
regulations imposing aging management for these systems are necessary 
to ensure that these systems do not experience greater failure rates 
that could result in an increased probability and/or consequences from 
design bases events.

The Petitioner's Conclusions

    The petitioner has concluded that the NRC requirements governing 
renewal of operating licenses of nuclear power facilities do not 
adequately address degradation that may result from aging of liquid and 
gaseous radioactive waste systems. The petitioner has also concluded 
that the degradation by aging of these systems may result in an 
increased probability of adverse consequences from design and licensing 
bases events. The petitioner requests that the regulations in 10 CFR 
part 54 and part 51, if appropriate, be amended to clarify that liquid 
and gaseous radwaste systems must be covered by aging management 
programs during the license renewal term of an operating nuclear power 
facility.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 3rd day of July, 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew L. Bates,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 00-17340 Filed 7-7-00; 8:45 am]
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