[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 21, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46569-46570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16476]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 21, 2007 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 46569]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

[Docket No. PRM-50-88]


Energy Solutions; 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, dated May 29, 
2007, filed by Thomas E. Magette of EnergySolutions. The petition was 
docketed by the NRC on June 6, 2007, and has been assigned Docket No. 
PRM-50-88. The petitioner requests that the NRC amend its regulations 
to provide a regulatory framework that would allow funds from 
licensees' decommissioning trust funds to be used for the cost of 
disposal of ``major radioactive components'' (MRCs) that have been 
removed from reactors prior to the permanent cessation of operations.

DATES: Submit comments by November 5, 2007. Comments received after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
Commission is able to assure consideration only for comments received 
on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
Please include PRM-50-88 in the subject line of your comments. Comments 
on petitions submitted in writing or in electronic form will be made 
available to the public in their entirety on the NRC rulemaking Web 
site. Personal information, such as your name, address, telephone 
number, e-mail address, etc., will not be removed from your submission.
    Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    E-mail comments to: [email protected]. If you do not receive a reply e-
mail confirming that we have received your comments, contact us 
directly at (301) 415-1966. You may also submit comments via the NRC's 
rulemaking Web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov. Address questions 
about our rulemaking Web site to Carol Gallagher (301) 415-5905; e-mail 
[email protected]. Comments can also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    Hand deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays (telephone 
(301) 415-1966).
    Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 
(301) 415-1101.
    Publicly available documents related to this petition may be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor 
will copy documents for a fee. Selected documents, including comments, 
may be viewed and downloaded electronically via the NRC rulemaking Web 
site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.
    Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.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. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by 
e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, Rulemaking, 
Directives and Editing Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-7163 or Toll Free: 800-
368-5642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitioner

    The petitioner is EnergySolutions. EnergySolutions is a nuclear 
services firm that provides services to private and government 
organizations involved in nuclear activities. The petitioner states 
that it has broad experience and expertise with the NRC licensing 
process and the standards that apply to the regulation of nuclear 
facilities, the use of radioactive materials, the clean-up and 
decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and the disposal of radioactive 
waste.

Background

    The petitioner states that 10 CFR 50.2 defines decommissioning as 
not beginning until the site or facility ceases operations, and asserts 
that the definition implies that an entire facility must be removed 
from service before an activity can be considered as part of 
decommissioning. The petitioner also states that 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8) 
allows withdrawals from decommissioning trust funds for decommissioning 
expenses only, and further limits withdrawals for planning activities 
prior to the submittal of the post-shutdown decommissioning activities 
report (PSDAR) following cessation of operations. According to the 
petitioner, the disposal costs for MRCs that have been removed from 
service but are awaiting disposal while the facility is still in 
service are not covered by decommissioning trust funds. The petitioner 
states that most licensees, rather than use limited operating funds, 
defer the disposal of MRCs until the time of decommissioning, when they 
can use their trust funds to remove and dispose of the MRCs in order to 
achieve the radiation dose limits specified in Subpart E to 10 CFR Part 
20. The petitioner asserts that this disposal may not take place for 
decades, giving rise to adverse environmental impacts if not properly 
managed.

The Proposed Amendments

    The petitioner requests that NRC amend its regulations at 10 CFR 
50.82, ``Termination of License,'' to provide a process that would 
permit a licensee, in advance of permanently ceasing operation at a 
site, to facilitate the decommissioning process by allowing 
decommissioning trust funds to be used for disposal of removed MRCs. 
(Note: The petitioner is not requesting that

[[Page 46570]]

NRC amend its regulations to allow the use of decommissioning trust 
funds to cover the costs of removing the MRCs from the reactor.) 
Specifically, the petitioner is requesting that 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(iii) 
through (a)(8)(iv) be redesignated as 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(iv) through 
(a)(8)(v), and that a new 10 CFR 50.82(a)(8)(iii) be added. The 
petitioner proposes the new language read as follows:

    (iii) Notwithstanding the limitations of Sec. Sec.  
50.82(a)(8)(i)(A) and 8(ii), a licensee may use decommissioning 
trust funds to dispose of major radioactive components that have 
been removed from the reactor provided:
    A. The licensee has submitted to the NRC with a copy to the 
Federal or State government agency (e.g., Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission and State Public Utility Commissions), if any, which has 
rate regulation oversight responsibility for the licensee's 
decommissioning trust fund:
    (1) A request to allow it to withdraw a specified amount from 
its decommissioning trust fund for the purpose of disposing of 
specific major radioactive component(s);
    (2) A site-specific decommissioning cost estimate that includes 
the disposal costs for major components stored on site; and
    (3) An analysis demonstrating that if the licensee withdraws 
funds for the costs of disposing of the particular component(s) from 
the decommissioning trust fund, the remaining funds in the 
licensee's decommissioning trust fund are sufficient to meet the 
provisions of Sec. Sec.  50.82(a)(8)(i)(B) and (C); and
    B. The NRC has concluded that there is reasonable assurance that 
the provisions of Sec. Sec.  50.82(a)(8)(B) and (C) will be met if 
the licensee withdraws the funds requested under Sec.  
50.82(a)(8)(iii)(A)(1).

    The petitioner's asserted justifications for this amendment 
include:
    (1) Reducing the radioactive source term associated with the 
contaminated components at reactor sites;
    (2) Exposing site workers to less radiation;
    (3) Eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens by avoiding the 
costs associated with both maintaining the components on-site and 
providing protection to workers as a result of maintaining those 
components;
    (4) Reducing the overall costs to decommission sites; and
    (5) Ensuring that more funds are available to decommission reactors 
at the time the reactors cease operation.

Conclusion

    The petitioner concludes that it is in the public interest to 
provide a regulatory framework to allow funds from licensees' 
decommissioning trust funds to be used for the cost of disposal of MRCs 
that have been removed from reactors prior to the permanent cessation 
of operations. Accordingly, the petitioner requests that the NRC amend 
its regulations as described previously in the section titled, ``The 
Proposed Amendments.''

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of August 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E7-16476 Filed 8-20-07; 8:45 am]
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