[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33946-33947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13665]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Elimination of the Site Decommissioning Management Plan and 
Management of All Sites Undergoing Decommissioning Under a 
Comprehensive Decommissioning Program; Information Notice

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Information notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has decided to 
eliminate the Site Decommissioning Management Plan (SDMP) designation 
for sites and manage the SDMP sites as ``complex sites,'' under a 
comprehensive decommissioning program. Elimination of the SDMP 
designation and the discontinuance of the SDMP as a separate site 
listing is appropriate, because the original intent of the SDMP and 
SDMP Action Plan (i.e., to achieve closure on cleanup issues so that 
cleanup could proceed in a timely manner) has been achieved. The SDMP 
sites have been incorporated into a comprehensive decommissioning 
program that facilitates the cleanup of

[[Page 33947]]

routine and complex sites in a manner that is consistent with the goals 
of the SDMP and SDMP Action Plan.
    Viewed in the context of this comprehensive decommissioning 
program, which includes routine decommissioning sites, formerly 
licensed sites, SDMP sites, non-routine/complex sites, fuel cycle 
sites, and test/research and power reactors, the continued use of the 
SDMP does not provide the same benefits that it did when it was first 
developed. The staff believes the cleanup of these sites is managed 
more effectively as part of this larger program. As the SDMP sites will 
be managed as complex sites under this comprehensive program, the level 
of safety currently in place at SDMP sites will not be diminished. In 
addition, as sites are identified and managed as complex sites, and as 
more sites are evaluated pursuant to the comprehensive decommissioning 
program, common problematic technical issues should be identified more 
easily, and resolutions to these issues should be implemented in a more 
consistent manner.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Daniel M. Gillen, Mail Stop: T-7F27, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. 
Telephone: (301) 415-7295; Internet: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The SDMP was developed by the staff, in response to the 
Commission's direction to develop a comprehensive strategy for NRC to 
deal with a number of contaminated sites, so that closure on cleanup 
issues could be attained in a timely manner. In 1992, the staff 
developed the SDMP Action Plan to: (1) Identify criteria that would be 
used to guide the cleanup of sites; (2) state the NRC's position on 
finality; (3) describe the NRC's expectation that cleanup would be 
completed within 3-4 years; (4) identify guidance on site 
characterization; and (5) describe the process for timely cleanup on a 
site-specific basis.

Discussion

    Since development of the SDMP Action Plan, the staff has addressed 
the issues identified in the Action Plan, as follows. The criteria for 
site cleanup and NRC's position on finality were codified in 10 CFR 
part 20, subpart E [License Termination Rule (LTR)]. NRC's expectations 
regarding the completion of site decommissioning have been codified in 
10 CFR 30.36, 40.42, 70.38, and 72.54. Issues associated with site 
characterization have been addressed in the Multi-Agency Radiation 
Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) (NUREG-1575, Rev. 1, 
August 2000) and in Volume 2: Characterization, Survey, and 
Determination of Radiological Criteria, of the Consolidated NMSS 
Decommissioning Guidance (NUREG-1757, Vol. 2, September 2003). The 
process for timely cleanup on a site-specific basis is addressed in 
NUREG-1757, Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.
    In addition, the NRC staff tracks significant decommissioning 
issues in its operating plan, and resolution of an issue is integrated 
with the work being done at the site and with other activities in the 
decommissioning program. The staff has also developed a standard review 
plan (NUREG-1727, NMSS Decommissioning Standard Review Plan, September 
2000) and has completed its efforts to consolidate, risk-inform, and 
performance-base the policies and guidance for its decommissioning 
program, with the issuance of a three-volume NUREG report (NUREG-1757, 
Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance). This guidance addresses 
compliance with the radiological criteria for license termination of 
the LTR, and it incorporates the risk-informed and performance-based 
alternatives of the rule. The guidance provides NRC staff with the 
evaluation and acceptance criteria for use in reviewing decommissioning 
plans, allowing NRC staff to determine if the decommissioning could be 
conducted such that the public health and safety are protected and the 
facility could be released in accordance with NRC's requirements.

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 7th day of June, 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel M. Gillen,
Deputy Director for the Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-13665 Filed 6-16-04; 8:45 am]
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