[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7035-7036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02606]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-295 and 50-304; NRC-2015-0024]


ZionSolutions, LLC, Zion Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
exemption in response to an October 27, 2014, request from 
ZionSolutions, LLC (ZS), for Zion Nuclear Power Station (ZNPS), Units 1 
and 2 (Docket Nos. 50-295 and 50-304), from the requirement to 
investigate and report to the NRC when ZS does not receive notification 
or receipt of a shipment, or part of a shipment, of low-level 
radioactive waste within 20 days after transfer. ZionSolutions is 
currently in the process of decommissioning the ZNPS site. Inherent to 
the decommissioning process, large volumes of slightly contaminated 
debris are generated and require disposal at distant locations. 
Historical data from the experiences of other decommissioning reactor 
sites indicates that rail transportation time to waste disposal 
facilities frequently exceeded the 20-day reporting requirement. The 
licensee requested that the time period for it to receive 
acknowledgement that the shipment has been received by the intended 
recipient be extended from 20 to 45 days to avoid an excessive 
administrative burden because of required investigations and reporting 
arising from rail shipments that frequently take more than 20 days to 
reach their destination.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0024 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0024. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

[[Page 7036]]

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Hickman, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3017, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The ZNPS facility was shut down on February 21, 1997, and is 
currently in a permanently shut-down and defueled condition. 
ZionSolutions is the current holder of Facility Operating License Nos. 
DPR-39 and DPR-48, for ZNPS Units 1 and 2. The license, pursuant to the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and 10 CFR part 50, allows ZS to possess but 
not operate the defueled ZNPS facility. ZionSolutions is currently in 
the process of decommissioning the ZNPS.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated October 27, 2014, (ADAMS Accession Number 
ML14309A197) ZS requested an exemption from Part 20 of Title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), appendix G, ``Requirements for 
Transfers of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Intended for Disposal at 
Licensed Land Disposal Facilities and Manifests,'' Section III. E. for 
ZNPS. Specifically, ZS is requesting that the time period for ZS to 
receive acknowledgement that the shipment has been received by the 
intended recipient be extended from 20 to 45 days for rail shipments 
from ZNPS. The NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 20.2301 allow the Commission 
to grant exemptions if it determines the exemption would be lawful and 
would not result in undue hazard to life or property. Inherent to the 
decommissioning process, large volumes of slightly contaminated debris 
are generated and require disposal. The licensee transports low-level 
radioactive waste from ZNPS Units 1 and 2 to distant locations such as 
a waste disposal facility operated by EnergySolutions in Clive, Utah, 
and waste processors in Texas. Experience with waste shipments from 
ZNPS and at other decommissioning reactor sites indicates that rail 
transportation time to waste disposal facilities frequently exceeds the 
20-day reporting requirement.

III. Discussion

The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2301, the Commission may, upon application by 
a licensee or upon its own initiative, grant an exemption from the 
requirements of regulations in 10 CFR part 20 if it determines the 
exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to 
life or property. There are no provisions in the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (or in any other Federal statute) that impose a 
requirement to investigate and report on low-level radioactive waste 
shipments that have not been acknowledged by the recipient within 20 
days of transfer. Therefore, the NRC concludes that there is no 
statutory prohibition on the issuance of the requested exemption and 
the NRC is authorized to grant the exemption by law.

The Exemption Would Not Result in Undue Hazard to Life or Property

    The NRC finds that the underlying purpose of 10 CFR part 20, 
Appendix G, Section III.E is to require licensees to investigate, 
report, and trace radioactive shipments that have not reached their 
destination, as scheduled, for unknown reasons. Data from San Onofre 
Nuclear Generating Station found that rail shipments took over 16 days 
on average, and on occasion, took up to 57 days. The NRC acknowledges 
that, based on the history of low-level radioactive waste shipments 
from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and Humboldt Bay Power 
Plant sites, the need to investigate and report on shipments that take 
longer than 20 days could result in an excessive administrative burden 
on the licensee. For rail shipments, ZS will require electronic data 
tracking system interchange, or similar tracking systems that allow 
monitoring the progress of the shipments by the rail carrier on a daily 
basis. Because of the oversight and monitoring of radioactive waste 
shipments throughout the entire journey from ZNPS to the disposal site, 
it is unlikely that a shipment could be lost, misdirected, or diverted 
without the knowledge of the carrier or ZS. Furthermore, by extending 
the elapsed time for receipt acknowledgment to 45 days before requiring 
investigations and reporting, a reasonable upper limit on shipment 
duration (based on historical analysis) is still maintained if a 
breakdown of normal tracking systems were to occur. Consequently, the 
NRC finds that there is no hazard to life or property by extending the 
investigation and reporting time for low-level radioactive waste 
shipments from 20 to 45 days for rail shipments. The NRC also finds 
that the underlying purpose of 10 CFR part 20, Appendix G, Section 
III.E will be met.

IV. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
20.2301, the exemption is authorized by law and will not result in 
undue hazard to life or property. Therefore, the NRC hereby grants 
ZionSolutions, LLC an exemption from 10 CFR part 20, Appendix G. 
Section III.E to extend the requirement to investigate, trace, and 
report on rail shipments of low-level radioactive waste intended for 
disposal at a licensed land disposal facility that have not been 
received at the disposal facility within 20 days to 45 days after 
transfer.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of January 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry W. Camper,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-02606 Filed 2-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P