[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 219 (Monday, November 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79531-79534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27353]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 72-1050; NRC-2016-0231]
Waste Control Specialists LLC's Consolidated Interim Spent Fuel
Storage Facility Project
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement and conduct
a scoping process; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a
license application by letter dated April 28, 2016, from Waste Control
Specialists LLC (WCS). By this application, WCS is requesting
authorization to construct and operate a Consolidated Interim Storage
Facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel at WCS's facility in Andrews
County, Texas (the proposed action). The WCS intends to store up to
40,000 metric tons uranium in the CISF. The NRC will prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) to document the potential
environmental impacts from the proposed action. As part of the EIS
development process, the NRC is seeking comments on the scope of its
environmental review.
DATES: The scoping period begins on November 14, 2016, and, if the
application is docketed, will end 45 days after publication of a notice
of docketing the WCS application.
ADDRESSES: You may submit scoping comments by any of the following
methods (unless this document describes a different method for
submitting comments on a specific subject):
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0231. 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.
Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration,
Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001.
Email Comments to: You may email scoping comments to the
Project's email address: [email protected]. Comments must be
submitted by the closing date of the scoping period to ensure
consideration.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Park, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington
DC, 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6954; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0231 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may
obtain publicly-available information related to this action by the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2016-0231.
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]. In
addition, for the convenience of the reader, instructions about
obtaining materials referenced in this document are provided in a table
in Section VII of this notice entitle, Availability of Documents.
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.
Project Web page: Information related to the WCS CISF
project can be accessed on the NRC's WCS CISF Web page at: http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/waste-control-specialist.html.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2016-0231 in your comment submission.
Written comments may be submitted
[[Page 79532]]
during the scoping period as described in the ADDRESSES section of the
document.
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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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
By letter dated April 28, 2016, WCS submitted an application to the
NRC for a specific license, pursuant to part 72 of title 10 of the Code
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Licensing Requirements for the
Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive
Waste, and Reactor-Related Greater Than Class C Waste.'' The WCS is
seeking to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage
facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel at WCS's facility in Andrews
County, Texas. As proposed by WCS, the CISF would store up to 40,000
metric tons uranium (MTU) for a 40-year license period. The WCS site is
located on Texas Highway 176 West, approximately 32 miles west of
Andrews, Texas and 5 miles east of Eunice, New Mexico.
The NRC staff is conducting an acceptance review of WCS's license
application to determine if it contains sufficient information for NRC
to conduct a detailed technical review. By letter dated June 22, 2016,
the NRC staff provided the results of its acceptance review to WCS and
requested supplemental information in order to accept the application
for detailed review. WCS, by letter dated July 6, 2016, provided its
schedule for submitting the supplemental information, noting that it
would provide information related to its environmental report (ER) by
July 20, 2016. The WCS provided the supplemental information related to
its ER and a revised ER on July 20, 2016. The ER can be found on the
NRC's project-specific Web page at: http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/wcs/wcs-app-docs.html.
In its July 6, 2016, letter, WCS also stated its intent to provide
supplemental information for the safety analysis report (SAR), physical
security plan (PSP), and emergency response plan (ERP) portions of the
license application. If, after receiving and reviewing that
supplemental information for the SAR, PSP, and ERP portions of the
application, the NRC staff determines that it is sufficient to conduct
the detailed technical review, the NRC will publish in the Federal
Register a notice of docketing of WCS's license application and a
notice of opportunity to request a hearing. Accordingly, no requests
for hearing should be filed unless and until the NRC has accepted WCS's
complete application for detailed review.
By letter dated July 21, 2016, WCS requested that the NRC begin its
EIS process as soon as practicable. In an October 7, 2016 response, the
NRC staff stated that it would begin the EIS process in advance of its
decision on whether to accept the WCS application, because it would
further the purposes of the staff's NEPA review. The NRC staff also
stated that this decision does not presuppose the outcome of its
ongoing acceptance review of the WCS application.
The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Inform the public that the
NRC staff will prepare an EIS as part of its review of WCS's license
application in accordance with 10 CFR part 51 ``Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions,'' and (2) provide the public with an opportunity to
participate in the environmental scoping process as defined in 10 CFR
51.29. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with
the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate
compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
in meeting the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA). The NRC staff also will document its compliance with other
applicable federal statutes, such as the Endangered Species Act, in the
EIS.
III. Environmental Review
The EIS prepared by the NRC staff will examine the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed action. The NRC staff will
evaluate the potential impacts to various environmental resources, such
as air quality, surface and ground water, transportation, geology and
soils, and socioeconomics. The EIS will analyze potential impacts of
WCS's proposed facility on historic and cultural resources and on
threatened and endangered species. Additionally, the economic,
technical, and other benefits and costs of the proposed action and
alternatives will be considered in the EIS.
If the application is accepted for a detailed technical review, the
NRC staff will also conduct a safety review to determine WCS's
compliance with NRC's regulations, including 10 CFR part 20,
``Standards for Protection Against Radiation'' and 10 CFR part 72. The
NRC staff's findings would be published in a safety evaluation report.
IV. CISF Construction and Operation
The NRC's Federal action is to either grant or deny WCS's request
for a license. If the NRC approves WCS's request, then WCS could
proceed with the proposed project--the construction and operation of
the CISF--as described in its application and summarized here.
The WCS proposes to construct the CISF on its approximately 60.3
square kilometer (14,900 acre) site in western Andrews County, Texas.
On this site, WCS currently operates facilities that process and store
certain types of radioactive material, mainly Low-Level Waste (LLW) and
Mixed Waste (i.e., waste that is both hazardous waste and LLW). The
facility also disposes of hazardous and toxic waste.
The WCS plans to construct the CISF in eight phases. Phase one of
the CISF would be designed to provide storage for up to 5,000 MTU of
spent nuclear fuel received from commercial nuclear power reactors
across the United States. The WCS proposes that small amounts of mixed
oxide spent fuels and Greater Than Class C (GTCC) LLW wastes also be
stored at the CISF. The WCS stated that it would design each subsequent
phase of the CISF to store up to an additional 5,000 MTU for a total of
up to 40,000 MTU being stored at the site by the completion of the
final phase. Each phase would require NRC review and approval.
The WCS would receive canisters containing spent nuclear fuel from
the reactor sites, and once accepted at its site, WCS would transfer
them into onsite dry cask storage systems. The WCS stated that it would
employ dry cask storage system technology that has been licensed by the
NRC pursuant to 10 CFR part 72 at various commercial nuclear reactors
across the country. The WCS stated that the dry cask storage systems
proposed for use at the CISF would be passive systems (i.e., not
[[Page 79533]]
relying on any moving parts) and would provide physical protection,
containment, nuclear criticality controls and radiation shielding
required for the safe storage of the spent nuclear fuel. The WCS also
stated that the dry cask storage systems would be located on top of the
concrete pads constructed at the CISF. The WCS is requesting a license
for a term of 40 years.
V. Alternatives To Be Evaluated
The EIS will analyze the environmental impacts of the proposed
action, the no-action alternative, and reasonable alternatives. A brief
description of each is provided below.
No-Action Alternative--The no-action alternative would be to deny
the license application. Under this alternative, the NRC would not
issue the license and WCS would not construct nor operate the CISF at
its site in west Texas. Existing waste handling, storage, and disposal
operations at the WCS site unrelated to storage of spent nuclear fuel
would continue. This alternative serves as a baseline for the
comparison of environmental impacts of the proposed action and the
reasonable alternatives.
Proposed action--The proposed Federal action is to issue a license
to WCS authorizing the company to construct and operate the CISF. If
the NRC approves the license application, it would issue WCS a specific
license under the provisions of 10 CFR part 72, and WCS would proceed
with the proposed activities.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action--Other alternatives not listed
here may be identified during scoping or through the environmental
review process.
VI. Scope of the Environmental Review
The NRC staff is conducting a scoping process for the WCS EIS,
which begins on the day this notice appears in the Federal Register. In
accordance with 10 CFR 51.29, the NRC seeks public input to help the
NRC determine the appropriate scope of the EIS, including significant
environmental issues to be analyzed in depth, as well as those that
should be eliminated from detailed study because they are peripheral or
are not significant. The NRC staff is planning to publish information
related to this action in newspapers serving communities near the WCS
site, requesting information and comments during the scoping period
from the public. Additionally, if WCS's application is found acceptable
for detailed review, the NRC may hold public scoping meetings to
receive comments in person in accordance with 10 CFR 51.26. The dates,
times, and locations for any meetings will be provided in a future
Federal Register notice.
After the close of the scoping period, the NRC will prepare a
concise summary of its scoping process, the comments received, as well
as the NRC's responses. The Scoping Summary Report will be included in
NRC's draft EIS as an appendix and sent to each participant in the
scoping process for whom the staff has an address.
The WCS EIS will address the potential impacts from the proposed
action. The anticipated scope of the EIS will consider both
radiological and non-radiological (including chemical) impacts
associated with the proposed project and its alternatives. The EIS will
also consider unavoidable adverse environmental impacts, the
relationship between short-term uses of resources and long-term
productivity, and irreversible and irretrievable commitments of
resources. The following resource areas have been tentatively
identified for analysis in the WCS EIS: Land use, transportation,
geology and soils, water resources, ecological resources, air quality
and climate change, noise, historical and cultural resources, visual
and scenic resources, socioeconomics, public and occupational health,
waste management, environmental justice, and cumulative impacts. This
list is not intended to be exhaustive, nor is it a predetermination of
potential environmental impacts. The EIS will describe the NRC staff's
approach and methodology undertaken to determine the resource areas
that will be studied in detail and the NRC staff's evaluation of
potential impacts to those resource areas.
The NRC encourages members of the public, local, State, Tribal, and
Federal government agencies to participate in the scoping process.
Written comments may be submitted during the scoping period as
described in the ADDRESSES and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. Participation in the scoping process for the WCS EIS
does not entitle participants to become parties to any proceeding to
which the EIS relates.
In addition to requesting scoping comments through this Federal
Register notice, the NRC staff also intends to reach out to interested
stakeholders, including other Federal and State agencies and Indian
Tribes. The NRC staff seeks to identify, among other things, all review
and consultation requirements related to the proposed action, and
agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to
any environmental impact involved or which is authorized to develop and
enforce relevant environmental standards. The NRC invites such agencies
to participate in the scoping process and, as appropriate, cooperate in
the preparation of the EIS.
The NRC staff will continue its environmental review of WCS's
license application, and with its contractor, prepare a draft EIS and,
as soon as practicable, publish it for public comment. The NRC staff
plans to have a public comment period for the draft EIS. Availability
of the draft EIS and the dates of the public comment period will be
announced in a future Federal Register notice. The final EIS will
include NRC's responses to public comments received on the draft EIS.
VII. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in this Federal Register notice are
accessible to interested persons by the means indicated in either the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice or in the table below.
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ADAMS
Document Accession No.
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WCS's CISF license application, with Environmental ML16133A070
Report.................................................
NRC request for supplemental information................ ML16175A277
WCS letter with schedule for response to NRC request for ML16193A314
supplemental information...............................
WCS submittal of initial responses to NRC request for ML16229A537
supplemental information...............................
WCS request for NRC to begin EIS process as soon as ML16229A340
practicable............................................
WCS submittal of second responses to NRC request for ML16265A454
supplemental information...............................
NRC response to WCS request to begin EIS process as soon ML16285A317
as practicable.........................................
WCS submittal of third responses to NRC request for ML16294A134
supplemental information...............................
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[[Page 79534]]
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of November, 2016.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Smith,
Deputy Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-27353 Filed 11-10-16; 8:45 am]
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