[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64114-64115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25121]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 071-9305; NRC-2019-0188]
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 Nuclear Waste Partnerships, LLC
for the one-time shipment of transuranic waste in two TRUPACT-III
packages from the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina, to the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
November 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0188 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 Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0188. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; 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 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, 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 it is mentioned in 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: Pierre Saverot, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7505; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On January 28, 2014, Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (NWP) requested
an exemption pursuant to section 71.12 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), for approval of two shipments, each
containing a single package of the Model No. TRUPACT-III package, from
the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina to the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. NWP requested
an exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 71.61, ``Special
Requirements for Type B Packages Containing More than 10\5\
A2,'' and authorization for an increase in the decay heat
and A2 limit beyond the limits in Certificate of Compliance
No. 9305. On June 29, 2016, the NRC granted NWP's exemption request and
reissued, on May 15, 2019, that authorization and exemption to correct
a typographical error in one of the serial numbers for the Standard
Large Box 2 (SLB2) associated with the TRUPACT-III package (ADAMS
Accession No. ML19135A512). The NWP's current exemption is set to
expire on December 31, 2019.
On July 8, 2019, NWP submitted a request to the NRC for a 24-month
extension of the current exemption (ADAMS Accession No. ML19190A289)
because it had not yet shipped the two subject TRUPACT-III packages.
The NRC is treating NWP's July 8, 2019 request to extend its exemption
as a new exemption request--in accordance with 10 CFR 71.12--for the
one-time transport of two SLB2 waste boxes, each in a Model No.
TRUPACT-III package.
Specifically, NWP requests 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). NWP
requests an exemption from the deep-water immersion test because the
design of a TRUPACT-III package
[[Page 64115]]
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 its exemption request, NWP also requests approval from
the NRC for an increase in: (1) The A2 limit from less than
10\5\A2 to 2.1x10\5\A2 and (2) the authorized
decay heat limit from 80 watts (W) to 190 W. The A2 and
decay heat limits are established in the TRUPACT-III Certificate of
Compliance No. 9305, Revision No. 10 (ADAMS Package Accession No.
ML18171A176).
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 yet been loaded into the TRUPACT-III
packages 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
Description of the Proposed Action
Under the requirements of 10 CFR 51.21 and 51.30(a), the NRC staff
developed an EA (ADAMS Accession No. ML19317E461) 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.
Need for the Proposed Action
The EA defines the NRC's proposed action (i.e., to grant NWP's
exemption request from 10 CFR 71.61) and the purpose and need for the
proposed action. Evaluations of the potential environmental impacts of
the proposed action and alternatives to the proposed action were
considered, followed by the NRC's conclusion.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
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 any
body of water with a depth 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 analyses (NUREG-0170, Vol. 1; 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.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative);
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 is 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.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on September 23, 2019, the
staff consulted with the States of South Carolina and New Mexico
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action (ADAMS
Accession Package Nos. ML19269E263, and ML19269E169, respectively). The
NRC did not receive any comments on the draft EA (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML19304B327, and ML19310F330, respectively).
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.
ML19317E461. 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 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 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 14th of November, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel I. Doyle,
Acting Chief, Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch Division of
Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-25121 Filed 11-19-19; 8:45 am]
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