[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8771-8773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01966]


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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: Public scoping period end date; public meetings and request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a 
license application from Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) by letter 
dated April 28, 2016, as supplemented on July 20, August 19, August 31, 
September 27, October 7, November 16, December 16, and December 22, 
2016, respectively. 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 NRC is preparing 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 and is holding public 
meetings to aid in this effort.

DATES: The scoping period began on November 14, 2016, and ends on March 
13, 2017. Comments received after these dates will be considered if it 
is practical to do so but assurance of consideration cannot be given to 
comments received after this date.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2016-0231 when providing 
scoping comments or contacting the NRC about the availability of 
information regarding this document. You may submit scoping comments by 
the following methods:
     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.
    Comments must be submitted by March 13, 2017, to ensure 
consideration. For additional direction on accessing 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 ``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]. For the 
convenience of the reader, instructions about obtaining materials 
referenced in this document are provided in a table in the section of 
this notice entitled ``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: https://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 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

    In a 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' facility in Andrews 
County, Texas. If approved and licensed by NRC, the CISF would store up 
to 5,000 metric tons uranium (MTU) for a 40-year license period. In its 
application, WCS has expressed its intent eventually to store up to 
40,000 MTU in the CISF. 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.
    In a letter dated July 21, 2016, WCS also requested that the NRC 
initiate its environmental impact atatement (EIS) process for the WCS 
application as soon as practicable. The NRC informed WCS, in a letter 
dated October 7, 2016, that the NRC would begin its EIS process in 
advance of an NRC decision regarding the acceptance of the WCS 
application and noted that doing so would help fulfill the purposes of 
the NRC's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of the 
application. On November 14, 2016, the NRC published a notice in the 
Federal Register (81 FR 79531) announcing its intent to prepare

[[Page 8772]]

an EIS and to open an EIS scoping period. A notice docketing the 
application and noticing an opportunity to request a hearing and 
petition to intervene is published in the Notices section of this issue 
of the Federal Register.
    The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Identify March 13, 2017, as 
the closing date for the scoping period, and (2) provide the dates, 
times, and locations for public meetings wherein the NRC will accept 
oral comments as part of the scoping process for the EIS.

III. Environmental Review

    The EIS prepared by the NRC will examine the potential 
environmental impacts of the proposed construction and operation of the 
CISF. The NRC 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' proposed facility on historic and 
cultural resources and on threatened and endangered species. A cost 
benefit analysis also will be documented in the EIS.
    In parallel with the environmental review, the NRC will be 
conducting a safety review to determine WCS' compliance with NRC's 
regulations, including 10 CFR part 20, ``Standards for Protection 
Against Radiation'' and 10 CFR part 72. NRC's findings will be 
published in a Safety Evaluation Report.

IV. CISF Construction and Operation

    If the NRC approves WCS' request and issues a license, then WCS 
could proceed with the proposed project--the construction and operation 
of the CISF--as described in its Environmental Report and summarized in 
this document.
    The NRC received an application from WCS proposing to construct a 
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 and mixed waste (i.e., waste that is 
both hazardous waste and low-level waste). The facility also disposes 
of hazardous and toxic waste.
    In its application, 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 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 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 phases. Each 
phase would require the NRC's 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 application stated 
that it would employ the 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 dry cask storage 
systems proposed by WCS for use at the CISF would be passive systems 
(i.e., not 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 
application also stated that the dry cask storage systems would be 
located on top of the concrete pads constructed at the CISF. The 
applicant is requesting a 40-year license term.

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. 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 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 as described in its license application and 
summarized in Section IV.
    Alternatives. In its environmental report, WCS identified other 
potential alternatives involving an alternate CISF location and an 
alternate storage system design. Other alternatives not listed here may 
be identified during scoping or through the environmental review 
process.

VI. Scope of the Environmental Review

    The NRC is conducting a scoping process for the WCS EIS. In 
accordance with 10 CFR 51.29, the NRC seeks public input to help the 
NRC determine the appropriate scope of the EIS, including the 
alternatives and 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. In addition to 
accepting comments either electronically or by letter as described in 
the ADDRESSES section, the NRC has scheduled public scoping meetings to 
receive comments in person. The locations for these meetings are:
     February 13, 2017, at the Lea County Event Center, 5101 N. 
Lovington Highway, Hobbs, New Mexico 88240.
     February 15, 2017, at the James Roberts Center, 855 TX-
176, Andrews, Texas 79714.
    The two local public meetings will start at 7:00 p.m. local time 
and will continue until 10:00 p.m. Additionally, the NRC will host 
informal discussions during an open house 1 hour prior to the start of 
each meeting. Open houses will start at 6:00 p.m. local time for the 
local meetings.
    Persons interested in attending or presenting oral comments at any 
of these public meetings are encouraged to pre-register. Persons may 
pre-register to attend or present oral comments by calling Antoinette 
Walker-Smith at 301-415-6957 no later than 3 days prior to the meeting. 
Members of the public may also register to provide oral comments in-
person at each meeting. Individual oral comments may be limited by the 
time available, depending on the number of persons who register. If 
special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present 
information at a public meeting, the need should be brought to the 
NRC's attention no later than 10 days prior to the meeting to provide 
the NRC staff adequate notice to determine whether the request can be 
accommodated.
    The NRC also is considering holding additional public scoping 
meetings at the NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, in the week 
following the local meetings. Persons interested in attending the NRC's 
headquarters meetings should check the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule 
Web page at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg for the dates and times for 
these meetings.
    After the close of the scoping period, the NRC will prepare a 
concise summary of its scoping process, the

[[Page 8773]]

comments received, as well as the NRC's responses. The Scoping Summary 
Report will be included in the 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 
construction and operation of the CISF. 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's approach and methodology undertaken to determine the 
resource areas that will be studied in detail and the NRC'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 also intends to reach out to interested 
stakeholders, including other Federal and State agencies and Indian 
Tribes. The NRC 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 will continue its environmental review of WCS' license 
application, and with its contractor, prepare a draft EIS and, as soon 
as practicable, publish it for public comment. The NRC 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 the 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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                   Document                        ADAMS accession No.
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WCS's CISF license application, with            ML16133A070
 Environmental Report.
NRC request for supplemental information......  ML16175A277
WCS letter with schedule for response to NRC    ML16193A314
 request for supplemental information.
WCS initial information submittal in response   ML16229A537
 to NRC request for supplemental information.
WCS submittal of supplemental security          ML16235A467
 information.
WCS request for NRC to begin EIS process as     ML16229A340
 soon as practicable.
WCS second information submittal in response    ML16265A454
 to NRC request for supplemental information.
WCS submittal of supplemental security          ML16280A300
 information.
NRC response to WCS request to begin EIS        ML16285A317
 process as soon as practicable.
WCS submittal of third information set to NRC   ML16287A527
 request for supplemental information.
WCS fourth information submittal in response    ML16330A116
 to NRC request for supplemental information.
WCS fifth information submittal in response to  ML16356A346
 NRC request for supplemental information.
WCS sixth information submittal in response to  ML17018A292
 NRC request for supplemental information.
NRC letter accepting application for review...  ML17018A168
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    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of January 2017.

    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. 2017-01966 Filed 1-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7509-01-P