[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]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P