[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]
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