[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 59 (Monday, March 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15423-15424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6884]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Evaluation Report 
for the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan for the West Valley Demonstration 
Project, West Valley, NY

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Technical Evaluation 
Report (TER) for the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan for the West Valley 
Demonstration Project, West Valley, NY. The Phase 1 Decommissioning 
Plan describes the Phase 1 decommissioning actions for the West Valley 
Demonstration Project (WVDP) and is consistent with DOE's preferred 
alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley 
Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/
EIS-0226).

ADDRESSES: Copies of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical 
Evaluation Report for the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan for the West 
Valley Demonstration Project are available for public inspection at the 
following locations:
    U.S. Department of Energy, FOIA Reading Room, Room 1G-033, 
Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585-0001, (202) 586-5955.
    Concord Public Library, DOE-WVDP Public Reading Room, 18 Chapel 
Street, Springville, NY 14141, 716-592-7742.
    Ashford Office Complex Public Reading Room, 9030 Route 219, West 
Valley, NY 14171-0191, (716) 942-4679.
    U.S. Department of Energy West Valley Demonstration Project Web 
site: http://www.wv.doe.gov.
    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Electronic Reading Room Web 
site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Ms. Moira N. Maloney, Decommissioning Plan Project Manager, West 
Valley Demonstration Project, U.S. Department of Energy, 10282 Rock 
Springs Road, West Valley, New York 14171-0191 or via electronic mail 
at [email protected].
    Mr. Bryan C. Bower, Director, West Valley Demonstration Project, 
U.S. Department of Energy, 10282 Rock Springs Road, West Valley, New 
York 14171-0191, or via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The West Valley Demonstration Project Act (the Act), Public Law 96-
368 of October 1, 1980, directed DOE to carry out a high-level 
radioactive waste management demonstration project at the Western New 
York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, New York. The purpose of 
the project was to demonstrate the solidification of high-level 
radioactive waste for disposal in a Federal repository for permanent 
disposal. The Act also requires the Department to decontaminate and 
decommission the underground waste storage tanks and other facilities 
where the solidified high-level radioactive waste was stored, the 
facilities used in the solidification of the waste, and any material 
and hardware used in connection with the project in accordance with 
such requirements as the NRC may prescribe.
    In accordance with the Act, DOE entered into an agreement with the 
NRC to establish arrangement for review and consultation by the NRC for 
the Project. The procedures for NRC review and consultation were 
established in the September 23, 1981, Memorandum of Understanding 
between DOE and NRC and section 2(c)(1) of the Act. The Act and 
Memorandum of Understanding require the DOE to submit to the NRC, for 
its review and comment, a Project Decommissioning Plan for the 
facilities that were used in solidifying the waste, which includes a 
description of engineering and operating activities to be performed. 
The plan was reviewed by the NRC and comments provided to DOE. DOE will 
review and consider the comments provided prior to the initiation of 
decontamination and decommissioning operations.
    The decommissioning activities described in the Phase 1 
Decommissioning Plan for the WVDP are consistent with the Phased 
Decisionmaking Alternative, the preferred alternative for project 
closure described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley 
Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/
EIS-0226). Under the Phased Decisionmaking Alternative, the 
decommissioning of the Project and Western New York Nuclear Service 
Center (WNYNSC) would be completed in two phases. Phase 1 
decommissioning activities within the project premises, which are 
described in the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan, are near-term removal 
actions that include removal of the Main Plant Process Building, 
Vitrification Facility, source area of the North Plateau Groundwater 
Plume, wastewater treatment facility lagoons, and certain ancillary 
buildings, foundations, slabs, and pads on the WVDP project premises. 
The Phase 2 decisions on the decommissioning of the remainder of the 
Project and WNYNSC, or its long-term management, would be made in the 
future and are not part of the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan.
    The TER for the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan presents NRC's 
technical evaluation and view of the Phase 1 decommissioning approach 
for the WVDP and is based on its technical review of both the Phase 1 
Decommissioning Plan and DOE responses to NRC. As prescribed in section 
2(c)(1) of the West Valley Demonstration Project Act, Public Law 96-368 
of October 1, 1980, and the September 23, 1981, Memorandum of 
Understanding between DOE and NRC, the NRC review of the DOE's Phase 1 
Decommissioning Plan is an informal process, as the NRC does not have a 
licensing role with regard to DOE's involvement at WVDP and may not 
require formal procedures or actions.
    DOE submitted Revision 0 of the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan to NRC 
for technical review on December 3, 2008, and submitted Revision 1, 
which incorporated additional information, on March 16, 2009. NRC 
notified DOE on March 20, 2009, that it had finished its completeness 
review of the Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan and that it was suitable for 
NRC technical review. After its technical review, NRC submitted a total 
of 44 requests for additional information (RAI) for the Phase 1 
Decommissioning Plan to the DOE on May 15, 2009. DOE responded to the 
NRC RAI in three separate submittals on August 13, 2009, September 16, 
2009, and November 5, 2009. Revision 2 of the

[[Page 15424]]

Phase 1 Decommissioning Plan, which incorporated the changes resulting 
from the responses to the NRC RAIs was submitted to the NRC on December 
18, 2009.
    The Department will consider NRC views on the Decommissioning Plan 
expressed in the TER prior to the initiation of decontamination and 
decommissioning operations.
    As indicated by NRC, ``Should the EIS process result in the 
selection of a different preferred alternative from that considered in 
the Phase 1 DP, the DP would need to be revised and resubmitted for 
review.''

    Signed in Washington, DC on March 23, 2010.
Frank Marcinowski,
Acting Chief Technical Officer for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-6884 Filed 3-26-10; 8:45 am]
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