[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
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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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