[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 62 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16239-16241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06495]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-271; NRC-2017-0085]


Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station Vernon, Vermont and US 
Ecology Idaho Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C 
Hazardous and Low-Activity Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal 
Facility

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 considering 
issuing an approval to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENO, or the 
licensee) for alternate disposal of low-activity radioactive waste 
water containing byproduct material from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear 
Power Station (VY). Additionally, the NRC is considering the related 
action of approving an exemption to US Ecology Idaho (USEI) from the 
licensing requirements of section 30.3 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), to allow USEI to receive and possess the 
byproduct radioactive materials from VY without an NRC license. The NRC 
staff is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no 
significant impact (FONSI) associated with the proposed approvals.

DATES: The EA is available on April 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0085 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-2017-0085. 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]. For 
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS Accession numbers are provided 
in a table in the Availability of Documents section of this document.
     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: Jack D. Parrott, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-00001; telephone: 301-415-6634, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering a request dated January 14, 2016, ADAMS 
Accession No. ML16029A071, as supplemented by letter dated June 28, 
2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16182A035), and email dated August 11, 2016 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16231A028) by ENO for alternate disposal of 
approximately 757,082 l (200,000 gal) of low-activity radioactive waste 
water containing byproduct material from VY to the USEI Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous and low-
activity radioactive waste treatment and disposal facility located near 
Grand View, Idaho. Additionally, USEI requested, by letter dated 
January 14, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16021A173), an exemption from 
the licensing requirements of 10 CFR 30.3 to allow USEI to receive and 
possess the byproduct radioactive materials from VY without an NRC 
license. These requests were made under the alternate disposal 
provision contained in 10 CFR 20.2002 and the exemption provisions in 
10 CFR 30.11. This EA has been developed in accordance with the 
requirements of 10 CFR 51.30.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of Proposed Action

    The proposed action consists of NRC approval of ENO's alternate 
disposal request under 10 CFR 20.2002 and USEI's exemption request 
under 10 CFR 30.11. The proposed action arises from the licensee's 
shutdown of its VY power reactor facility on December 29, 2014. By 
January 12, 2015, ENO certified that VY had permanently ceased power 
operations and that all fuel had been permanently removed from the 
reactor vessel and placed in the spent fuel pool, thus beginning the 
decommissioning phase for VY (ADAMS Accession No. ML15013A426).
    In its January 14, 2016 letter, ENO requested approval for the 
alternative waste disposal of certain low-activity radioactive waste 
water containing byproduct material (waste water) resulting from 
activities associated with preparing for long-term dormancy of VY as 
part of the decommissioning process. The ENO's January 14, 2016 letter 
transmitted its application for alternative waste disposal, which was 
submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 20.2002. The ENO's application 
described the transport and the disposal of the waste water at the USEI 
facility.
    In its January 14, 2016 letter, USEI also requested an exemption 
from the licensing requirements of 10 CFR 30.3, pursuant to 10 CFR 
30.11, for the USEI facility in Grand View, Idaho, to allow for the 
disposal of the ENO waste water. Because the USEI facility is not 
licensed by the NRC, this proposed action would require the NRC to 
exempt USEI from the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA) and 
NRC licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 30 with respect to the low-
activity material authorized for disposal.
    The USEI facility is a RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste disposal 
facility permitted by the State of Idaho. The USEI site has both 
natural and engineered features that limit the release of any stored 
radioactive material into the environment. The natural features include 
a low annual precipitation rate of 18.4 cm (7.4 in)/year, and a long 
average vertical distance to groundwater below the disposal zone of 61 
m (203 ft). The [engineered features include the cover, the liners, and 
the leachate monitoring systems. The waste water would be transported 
by truck from the VY facility in Vernon, Vermont to the USEI facility 
in 40 shipments of 18,927 liters (5,000 gal) each.
    The subject waste consists of approximately 757,082 liters (200,000 
gal) of water associated with the decommissioning of VY and preparing 
the VY facility for long-term dormancy. Since the cessation of plant 
operations, plant process water has been drained from systems creating 
a surplus of water. The waste water to be disposed of is currently 
stored in the former VY suppression chamber (Torus). The Torus has a 
capacity of 41,639,953 liters (1,100,000 gal) and, as of January 14, 
2016, was filled to approximately 96% of capacity. The water in the 
Torus is continuously circulated and filtered/demineralized to minimize 
suspended solids. For disposal, the waste water will be pumped from the 
Torus, from an upper elevation in the Torus that

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minimizes entrainment of bottom sediment, through the former high 
pressure coolant injection suction strainers located inside the Torus. 
The waste water being considered under this request will include 
fission and activation products resulting from VY operations. The 
radionuclide concentrations, which are described in ENO's January 14, 
2016 submittal and its June 28, 2016 supplemental information, are 
expected to be low and to remain low through the shipment campaign.

Need for Proposed Action

    The need for the proposed action is to authorize an appropriate 
method of disposal for surplus waste water containing radioactive 
material currently stored at the shutdown VY power reactor in Vernon, 
VT. The waste water was generated as a result of the subsequent 
draining of plant process water from the various plant systems 
following cessation of plant operations. The VY waste water storage 
system, the Torus, is at approximately 96% of its capacity. The USEI 
facility in Grand View, Idaho has the capability to receive and process 
the waste water. Upon receipt at USEI, the waste water will be 
solidified with clay and disposed as a soil-like waste.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff has reviewed the evaluation performed by the licensee 
to demonstrate compliance with the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal 
criteria. Under these criteria, a licensee may seek NRC authorization 
to dispose of licensed material using procedures not otherwise 
authorized by NRC regulations. The licensee's application must include 
a description of the waste containing licensed material, including the 
physical and chemical properties important to risk evaluation, and the 
proposed manner and conditions of waste disposal. The application must 
also include an analysis and evaluation of pertinent environmental 
information and the nature and location of any other potentially 
affected licensed and unlicensed facilities. Finally, the licensee's 
supporting analysis must show that the radiological doses arising from 
the proposed 10 CFR 20.2002 disposal will be as low as reasonably 
achievable and within the 10 CFR part 20 dose limits.
    The licensee performed a radiological assessment. Based on this 
assessment, ENO concludes that the dose equivalent for the Maximally 
Exposed Individual, which includes workers involved in the 
transportation and placement of this waste, will not exceed ``a few 
mrem per year.'' The standard of a ``few [millirem per year] mrem/yr'' 
to a member of the public is set forth in NRC Regulatory Issues Summary 
2004-08, ``Results of the License Termination Rule Analysis'' (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML041460385). The transportation workers and USEI workers 
are treated as members of the public because the USEI site, while 
permitted by the State of Idaho under RCRA to accept certain 
radioactive materials, is not licensed by the NRC.
    The NRC staff evaluated activities and potential doses associated 
with transportation, waste handling and disposal as part of the review 
of this 10 CFR 20.2002 application. This evaluation is documented in a 
Safety Evaluation Report (ADAMS Accession No. ML16320A442). The 
projected doses to individual transportation and USEI workers have been 
appropriately estimated and are demonstrated to meet the NRC's 
alternate disposal requirement of not more than ``a few mrem/yr'' to 
any member of the public.
    The licensee also performed a radiological assessment of the 
potential dose to the general public from the USEI RCRA facility after 
its closure. They evaluated a post-closure dose to a member of the 
public, the intruder construction scenario, the intruder well drilling 
scenario, and the intruder driller occupancy scenario. All of the 
results were not more than ``a few mrem/yr'' for approval of an 
alternate disposal authorization at an operating site.
    The NRC staff's independent review of the post-closure and intruder 
scenarios confirmed that the maximum projected dose over a period of 
1,000 years is also within ``a few mrem/yr.'' Additionally, the 
proposed action would not significantly increase occupational or public 
radiation exposures.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the NRC staff 
concludes that the proposed action would not have significant impacts 
upon any environmental resources. Activities associated with the 
proposed action occurring at the VY facility are bounded by prior 
environmental analyses, including the NRC's ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-
0586, Supplement 1 (2002). The transportation of the waste water is 
also similarly bounded by the transportation analyses in NUREG-0586, 
Supplement 1.\1\ This environmental assessment incorporates by 
reference and tiers off of NUREG-0586, Supplement 1. Additionally, the 
NRC staff determined that the proposed action (i.e., undertaking) is 
not the type of activity that would have the potential to cause effects 
on historic properties, and that the proposed action would have no 
effect on endangered or threatened species or their critical habitat.
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    \1\ NUREG-0586, Supplement 1, is available on the NRC's public 
Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0586/s1/v1.
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Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
the no-action alternative, under which the staff would deny the 
disposal request. The denial of the request would result in the waste 
water being transported to another out-of-state waste disposal facility 
that is authorized to take this waste water (the current practice). All 
other factors would remain the same or similar. Therefore, the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action 
alternative are similar and the no-action alternative is accordingly 
was not further considered.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC provided a draft of this EA and draft of the NRC Safety 
Evaluation Report (SER) for this proposed action to the State of Idaho 
Department of Environmental Quality and the State of Vermont Department 
of Public Service for review on December 12, 2016 (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML17013A250, ML17013A257, and ML17013A303) for a 30-day review. No 
comments were received from the State of Idaho. Comments were received 
from the State of Vermont by letter dated January 11, 2017 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML17012A240). The State of Vermont commented on the 
potential for changes to the radionuclide concentrations in the water 
to be disposed and how that would affect dose, how particulate 
contamination in the water to be disposed would be avoided, how the 
concentration of radionuclides in the water to be disposed would be 
verified and how those concentrations would be controlled relative to 
dose, and on the calculated dose rate to the drivers of the tanker 
trucks. These comments were all comments on the NRC's SER, and were 
addressed by revising or supplementing the final SER (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML17055C780). An additional comment came from the State of Vermont 
on the potential for non-radioactive hazardous contamination in the 
water to be

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shipped. Non-radiological impacts from this disposal have been 
addressed in this EA as having been bounded by previous environmental 
analysis. Further State of Vermont concerns about non-radiological 
constituents in the water to be shipped should be addressed to ENO 
under the State's authority for regulation of hazardous wastes.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The proposed action consists of the NRC approval of ENO's alternate 
disposal request under 10 CFR 20.2002 and USEI's exemption request 
under 10 CFR 30.11. The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of 
the proposed action. On the basis of this EA and NUREG-0586, Supplement 
1, which are incorporated by reference, the NRC finds that the proposed 
action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment, and therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact 
statement is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a 
Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.

IV. Availability of Documents

    Documents related to the proposed action, including the application 
and supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
From this site, you can access the NRC's ADAMS, which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. The documents related to this 
action are listed below, along with their ADAMS accession numbers.

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                         Document                               Date                ADAMS accession No.
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ENO letter to NRC, Vermont Yankee--Submittal of 10 CFR         01/14/2016  ML16029A071
 20.2002 Request for Alternate Waste Disposal at US
 Ecology.
USEI letter to NRC, US Ecology Idaho, Inc.--Request for        01/14/2016  ML16021A173
 Exemptions under 10 CFR 30.11 for Alternate Disposal of
 Wastes from Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Under 10 CFR
 20.2002.
NRC letter to ENO, Request for Additional Information          03/22/2016  ML16077A345
 Related to 10 CFR 20.2002 Alternate Waste Disposal
 Request for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station.
ENO letter to NRC, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station--      06/28/2016  ML16182A035
 Response to Request for Additional Information Related
 to 10 CFR 20.2002, Alternate Waste Disposal Request.
NRC email to ENO, Follow-up Questions Related to Entergy       07/28/2016  ML16231A219
 Request for 20.2002 Disposal of Contaminated Water.
ENO email to NRC, Response to NRC Questions Related to         08/11/2016  ML16231A028
 Request for 20.2002 Disposal of Contaminated Water.
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    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email at [email protected]. These documents may also be viewed on the 
public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The PDR 
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of March 2017.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce A. Watson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning, 
Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Materials 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-06495 Filed 3-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P