[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 106 (Thursday, June 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35387-35388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13014]
[[Page 35387]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 071-9305; NRC-2016-0106]
Nuclear Waste Partnerships, LLC
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) for an exemption request from the Nuclear Waste Partnerships,
LLC, (NWP) for the one-time shipment of transuranic waste in two
TRUPACT-III packages from the Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, South
Carolina, to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Carlsbad, New
Mexico.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
June 2, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0106 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-2016-0106. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER 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 (if it 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: Jessie Muir Quintero, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7476; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is reviewing a request from NWP (or applicant), dated
January 28, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14035A106), for an exemption--
in accordance with section 71.12 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR)-- for the one-time transport of two Standard Large
Box 2 (SLB2) waste boxes, each in a Model No. TRUPACT-III package.
Specifically, NWP requested an exemption from the requirements in
10 CFR 71.61, ``Special requirements for Type B packages containing
more than 10\5\A2,'' (i.e., deep water immersion test). The
applicant requested an exemption from the deep water immersion test
because the design of a TRUPACT-III package containing more than
10\5\A2 has not been demonstrated to meet the deep water
immersion requirements of 10 CFR 71.61, i.e., the package's undamaged
containment system has not been shown that it can withstand an external
water pressure of 2 MegaPascal for a period of not less than 1 hour
without collapse, buckling, or in-leakage of water.
Along with the exemption request, NWP also requested approval from
the NRC for an increase in: (1) The A2 limit from less than
10\5\A2 to 2.1 x 10\5\A2 and (2) the authorized
decay heat limit from 80 watts (W) to 190W. The A2 and decay
heat limits are established in the TRUPACT-III Certificate of
Compliance No. 9305, Revision No. 9 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15201A571).
The TRUPACT-III is a shipping container used to transport
transuranic (TRU) waste within an SLB2. The TRUPACT-III packages are
front loaded in a horizontal position on custom-designed trailers for
truck transport. The two TRUPACT-III packages will be transported by
truck from the SRS in South Carolina, to the U.S. Department of Energy
WIPP, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The SLB2 waste boxes have not been loaded into the TRUPACT-III
packages yet and are currently sitting on a storage pad at SRS. The
contents of each SLB2 waste box is primarily one half of a
decommissioned tank used to process Plutonium-238.
II. Environmental Assessment Summary
Under the requirements of 10 CFR 51.21 and 51.30(a), the NRC staff
developed an EA (ADAMS Accession No. ML16119A075) to evaluate the
proposed federal action, which is for the NRC to grant an exemption to
NWP from the deep water immersion test requirements for the one-time
transport of two TRUPACT-III packages from SRS to WIPP.
The EA defines the NRC's proposed action (i.e., to grant NWP's
exemption request from 10 CFR 71.61) and the purpose of and need for
the proposed action. Evaluations of the potential environmental impacts
of the proposed action and alternatives to the proposed action were
presented, followed by the NRC's conclusion. Alternatives to the
proposed action considered included: The no-action alternative (i.e.,
not granting the exemption); further segmenting the waste; using a
different type of package; and storing the waste until the activity
decays below 10\5\A2. None of the alternatives are
preferable to the proposed action because either the impacts are
greater than the proposed action or they do not meet the purpose and
need of the proposed action. Therefore, the proposed action is the
preferred alternative.
The EA evaluates the potential environmental impacts of granting
the exemption of the two subject TRUPACT-III packages from the deep
water immersion test. The only potential impacts from granting the
exemption would be radiological impacts associated with an accident
scenario. However, the analysis in the EA shows that there would be no
radiological impacts as a result of exempting these two packages from
the deep water immersion test since the packages will not cross bodies
of water with depths greater than 15 meters (m) (50 feet [ft]). Any
nonradiological impacts would be no greater than those for the
transport of any other TRUPACT-III package and would be bounded by
previous environmental analysis (NUREG-0170, ADAMS Accession No.
ML12192A283). Therefore, the environmental impacts of transporting
these two TRUPACT-III packages from SRS to WIPP are still bounded by
those impacts documented in NUREG-0170.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared an EA and FONSI in support of the
proposed action. The EA is available at ADAMS Accession No.
ML16119A075. The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action, for
the NRC to grant an exemption to NWP from the deep water immersion test
for the transport of two SLB2 waste boxes in Model No. TRUPACT-III
packages from SRS to WIPP, will not significantly impact the
[[Page 35388]]
quality of the human environment, and that the proposed action is the
preferred alternative. The environmental impacts of the two packages
are bounded by previous NRC environmental analysis since the packages
will not cross bodies of water greater than 15 m (50 ft) in depth.
The NRC provided the States of South Carolina and New Mexico a
draft copy of this EA for a 30-day review on April 14, 2016 (ADAMS
Accession Nos. ML16032A178 and ML16032A175, respectively). The NRC did
not receive any comments on the draft EA (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML16134A603 and ML16144A079, respectively).
The NRC staff has determined that the exemption from the deep water
immersion test for the two subject packages would have no impact on
historic and cultural resources or ecological resources and, therefore,
no consultations are necessary under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
respectively.
The NRC finds that there are no significant environmental impacts
from the proposed action, and that preparation of an environmental
impact statement is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC has determined
that a FONSI is appropriate.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of May, 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Acting Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-13014 Filed 6-1-16; 8:45 am]
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