[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]
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