[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 203 (Friday, October 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64361-64362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25848]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2010-0362]
Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in Decommissioning Waste
Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial Facilities
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft NUREG-1307, revision 15; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: On September 21, 2012 (77 FR 58591), the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) issued Draft NUREG-1307,
Revision 15, ``Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in
Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial
Facilities,'' in the Federal Register for a 30 day public comment
period. The NRC is extending the public comment period for Draft NUREG-
1307, Revision 15 from October 22, 2012, to November 15, 2012. Draft
NUREG-1307, Revision 15, Draft Report for Comment incorporates updated
information and expands on the NUREG-1307, Revision 14 report published
in November 2010. NUREG-1307, Revision 15, also incorporates changes
resulting from a reassessment of the assumptions used for the vendor
waste disposal option for low-level waste.
DATES: Submit comments by November 15, 2012. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical
[[Page 64362]]
to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments
received on or before this date. Although a time limit is given,
comments and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in
guides currently being developed or improvements in all published
guides are encouraged at any time.
ADDRESSES: You may access information and comment submissions related
to this document, which the NRC possesses and are publicly available,
by searching on http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2010-
0362. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0362. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Chief, Rules,
Announcements, and Directives Branch (RADB), Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
Fax comments to: RADB at 301-492-3446.
For additional direction on accessing information and submitting
comments, see ``Accessing Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Ann Simpson, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8388; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Accessing Information and Submitting Comments
A. Accessing Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2010-0362 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses
and are publicly available, by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2010-0362.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the NRC
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The draft regulatory guide
is available electronically under ADAMS Accession Number ML12257A191.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2010-0362 in the subject line of your
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions into
ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove
identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment submissions into ADAMS.
II. Background
On September 21, 2012 (77 FR 58591), the NRC published a notice of
issuance and availability of Draft NUREG-1307, Revision 15. The draft
NUREG proposed a reduction in the estimate of the potential savings
from using waste vendors to process radioactive waste generated during
power reactor decommissioning. The change resulted in an increase in
the minimum permissible amount of decommissioning financial assurance
required by the licensee. By letter dated September 26, 2012, (ADAMS
Accession No. ML12271A275), the Nuclear Energy Institute requested an
extension of the stated comment period for the purpose of providing
sufficient time for the industry to thoroughly understand and assess
the proposed changes, interact with the agency staff to obtain
necessary clarifications at one or more focused public meetings, and
provide-fully supported written comments to inform development of the
final NUREG-1307, Revision 15. It is the desire of the NRC to receive
comments of a high quality from all stakeholders. Several factors have
been considered in granting an extension. The comment period extension
is reasonable and does not affect NRC deadlines. The additional time
will allow adequate time for the NRC to review comments, organize a
public workshop on NUREG-1307, Revision 15, and finalize NUREG-1307,
Revision 15, for use by licensees before the required submission of
power reactor Decommissioning Funding Status reports by the March 31,
2013, due date. The NRC continues to evaluate factors affecting waste
burial costs. Guidance developed by the NRC staff would benefit from
industry information reflecting real world burial cost data and other
such information that could assist in evaluating changes to the waste
burial factor. Such information would include: (1) Actual disposal
costs, under proprietary cover, if necessary; (2) Disposal costs
specific to disposal operations for Rancho Saco and Zion Solutions,
under proprietary cover, if necessary, (3) Identification of
misinterpreted or misapplied data, if any, found in Table A-4 of NUREG-
1307, Revision 15; and (4) Licensees' site-specific cost estimates and
time assumptions. The NRC also seeks comments from other stakeholders
on the costs and benefits of reducing the estimate of potential savings
in decommissioning costs available from using a waste vendor to process
power reactor decommissioning wastes. Therefore the comment submittal
period is extended from the original date of October 22, 2012 to
November 15, 2012.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of October, 2012.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jo Ann Simpson,
Acting Chief, Financial Analysis and International Projects Branch.
Division of Inspection and Regional Support, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2012-25848 Filed 10-18-12; 8:45 am]
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