[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 45 (Friday, March 6, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13076-13079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04506]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 45 / Friday, March 6, 2020 / Proposed 
Rules  

[[Page 13076]]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Chapter I

[NRC-2020-0065]


Transfer of Very Low-Level Waste to Exempt Persons for Disposal

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed interpretive rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
proposed interpretation of its low-level radioactive waste disposal 
regulations that would permit licensees to dispose of waste by transfer 
to persons who hold specific exemptions for the purpose of disposal. 
The NRC will consider approval of requests for specific exemptions for 
the purpose of disposal if they are for the disposal of very low-level 
radioactive waste by land burial. Therefore, the NRC's intent is that 
this interpretive rule will allow licensees to transfer very low-level 
radioactive waste to exempt persons for the purpose of disposal by land 
burial. The NRC is requesting comment on this proposed interpretive 
rule.

DATES: Submit comments on the proposed interpretive rule by April 20, 
2020. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is 
practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration 
only for comments received before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0065. 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.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlayna Doell, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3178; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0065 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0065.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Document 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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2020-0065 in your comment submission.
    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 will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter 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 into ADAMS.

II. Background

    The NRC's regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 20, Subpart K, ``Waste Disposal,'' govern the 
disposal of licensed material by NRC licensees. Section 20.2001 
provides the general requirements for disposal, and paragraph (a) 
requires that a licensee only dispose of licensed material using the 
methods listed in that paragraph. The authorized method of disposal 
listed in paragraph (a)(1) is ``transfer to an authorized recipient as 
provided in Sec.  20.2006 or in the regulations in parts 30, 40, 60, 
61, 63, 70, and 72 of this chapter.'' Parts 30, 40, and 70 of 10 CFR 
contain provisions that authorize the transfer of material to exempt 
persons. Specifically, Sec. Sec.  30.41(b)(3)-(b)(4), 40.51(b)(3)-
(b)(4), and 70.42(b)(3)-(b)(4) each provide that ``[e]xcept as 
otherwise provided in his license . . . any licensee may transfer 
[byproduct, source, or special nuclear] material: [t]o any person 
exempt from the licensing requirements of the Act and regulations in 
this part, to the extent permitted under such exemption; [or] [t]o any 
person in an Agreement State, subject to the jurisdiction of that 
State, who has been exempted from the licensing requirements and 
regulations of that State, to the extent permitted under such 
exemption.'' The NRC's guidance on Sec.  20.2001 states that the 
transfer of material to exempt persons is not an authorized method of 
disposal. This guidance is contained in NUREG-1736, ``Consolidated 
Guidance: 10 CFR part 20--Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' 
Section 3.20.2001. This

[[Page 13077]]

guidance explains that an ``authorized recipient is a person or an 
organization licensed to possess the material being transferred.'' With 
respect to exemptions, the guidance explains that ``[e]xemption of 
certain types, quantities, or concentrations of materials from the 
licensing requirements applies to the initial decision of whether or 
not the material should be licensed. However, once licensed, no 
quantity of that material, however small, is exempt from the applicable 
regulations in this section.''
    The proposed interpretive rule provided in this notice would modify 
the current guidance that states that Sec.  20.2001 only allows the 
transfer of licensed material for disposal to licensed persons. The 
proposed interpretive rule would allow the transfer of licensed 
material to persons who hold specific exemptions, issued pursuant to 
Sec. Sec.  30.11, 40.14, or 70.17, if those exemptions are for the 
purpose of disposal.

III. Proposed Interpretive Rule

    Pursuant to Sec.  20.2001(a)(1), licensees may dispose of licensed 
material by transfer, in accordance with Sec. Sec.  30.41(b)(3)-(b)(4), 
40.51(b)(3)-(b)(4), and 70.42(b)(3)-(b)(4), to persons who hold 
specific exemptions issued pursuant to Sec. Sec.  30.11, 40.14, and 
70.17 for the purpose of disposal.
    This interpretive rule would only apply to persons who hold 
specific exemptions from the licensing requirements of the Atomic 
Energy Act and the regulations in Parts 30, 40, or 70. The basis for 
this limitation is that Parts 30, 40, and 70 are the only parts listed 
in Sec.  20.2001(a)(1) that contain provisions, namely Sec. Sec.  
30.41, 40.51, and 70.42, that explicitly permit the transfer of 
licensed material to exempt persons. Therefore, this interpretive rule 
would not apply to exemptions issued under other parts of 10 CFR. For 
example, this interpretive rule would not apply to exemptions issued 
under Sec.  61.6, because no provision in Part 61 permits the transfer 
of licensed material to exempt persons.
    This interpretive rule would also only apply to the transfer of 
licensed material to persons who hold specific exemptions for disposal 
because Sec. Sec.  30.41, 40.51, and 70.42 only permit transfer to 
exempt persons ``to the extent permitted under such exemption.'' The 
NRC's regulations contain several regulatory exemption provisions, for 
example, Sec. Sec.  30.14, ``Exempt concentrations,'' and 30.18, 
``Exempt quantities.'' These provisions exempt persons from the 
requirement to obtain a license to receive, possess, use, transfer, 
own, or acquire certain material. However, these provisions do not 
permit the exempt person to dispose of licensed material. In other 
words, most regulatory provisions that exempt persons from the 
requirement to obtain a license to possess or use material do not 
authorize that exempt person to receive licensed material from others 
and then dispose of that material. Under this interpretation, such an 
exempt person must hold a specific exemption for possession and 
disposal in order to be authorized to dispose of that material. The NRC 
may grant specific exemptions for disposal in accordance with the 
``Specific exemption'' provisions in Sec. Sec.  30.11, 40.14, and 
70.17. The section in this notice titled ``Specific Exemptions for 
Disposal'' explains the criteria that the NRC will use to review 
applications for specific exemptions for the purpose of disposal.
    This interpretive rule would not supplant any disposal method 
currently authorized under the NRC's regulations. Rather, this 
interpretive rule would modify the guidance in NUREG-1736 that states 
that licensees may only dispose of licensed material under Sec.  
20.2001(a)(1) by transferring it to licensed persons. By modifying the 
guidance in this way, the interpretive rule describes a method by which 
licensees could dispose of licensed material--by transfer to persons 
who hold specific exemptions for the purpose of disposal.
    In accordance with Sec. Sec.  30.41(b)(4), 40.51(b)(4), and 
70.42(b)(4), this interpretive rule would permit NRC licensees to 
transfer licensed materials to persons who hold specific exemptions for 
disposal issued by Agreement States as well. Like the NRC, Agreement 
States have the authority to exempt persons from the requirement to 
hold a license when doing so continues to adequately protect the public 
health and safety from radiation hazards. The NRC recognizes that 
Agreement States' exemptions may not be titled ``exemption'' or be in 
the same form as NRC exemptions. Agreement States' regulatory approvals 
might be exemptions or be in another form, such as an approval letter. 
This is due, in part, to the fact that the exemption provisions in 
Sec. Sec.  30.11, 40.14, and 70.17 are category D compatibility 
regulations, which Agreement States are not required to adopt for 
purposes of compatibility. Where Agreement States have exercised their 
exemption authority to authorize persons who do not hold a license to 
receive and dispose of licensed material, this interpretive rule 
contemplates the transfer of licensed material to those persons for 
disposal.
    Licensees must verify that the exemption holder is authorized to 
receive the licensed material for disposal. The transfer provisions in 
Sec. Sec.  30.41, 40.51, and 70.42 only allow transfer ``to the extent 
permitted under such exemption;'' therefore, licensees must verify that 
the exemption authorizes receipt of the type, form, and quantity of 
material for disposal that the licensee plans to transfer. Licensees 
may perform this verification in the same manner that they would verify 
that a licensee is authorized to receive licensed material for disposal 
in accordance with Sec. Sec.  30.41(c)-(d), 40.51(c)-(d), or 70.42(c)-
(d). Licensees must maintain records of transfers of material for 
disposal in accordance with Sec. Sec.  20.2108, 30.51, and 40.61.

IV. Discussion

    This interpretive rule would apply to persons who hold specific 
exemptions for disposal, as well as those that would transfer licensed 
material to such persons for disposal. Consistent with longstanding NRC 
guidance on disposal by land burial outside of facilities licensed 
under Part 61, such disposal would also apply only to exemptions for 
the disposal of very low-level waste (VLLW) by land burial. Therefore, 
the NRC's intent is that this interpretive rule would in effect only 
provide for the transfer of VLLW to persons who hold specific 
exemptions for disposal of VLLW by land burial.
    The term VLLW is not defined by statute or in the NRC's 
regulations. The lowest portion of Class A waste has been referred to 
as VLLW. The NRC has described VLLW as waste that contains some 
residual radioactivity, including naturally occurring radionuclides, 
which may be safely disposed of in hazardous or municipal solid waste 
landfills. VLLW poses a small fraction of the hazard of waste at the 
Class A limits in Part 61. Currently, VLLW is typically disposed of 
either in a low-level waste disposal facility licensed under Part 61 or 
equivalent Agreement State regulations, or in accordance with a Sec.  
20.2002 approval of proposed disposal procedures. The NRC plans to 
limit the specific exemptions it issues for disposal to VLLW, because 
the intent is that only the least hazardous level of waste may be 
disposed of in exempt facilities. Additionally, the NRC also plans to 
limit the specific exemptions it issues for disposal to land burial, 
because the intent of such disposal is to safely isolate waste from 
people and the environment.

[[Page 13078]]

    The NRC expects that this interpretive rule would provide an 
efficient means by which the NRC may issue specific exemptions for 
disposal, and by which licensees may transfer appropriate material to 
these exempt facilities. The NRC currently issues specific exemptions 
for the purpose of disposal in conjunction with individual Sec.  
20.2002 authorizations for offsite disposal of VLLW at unlicensed 
facilities. The NRC reviews licensees' Sec.  20.2002 requests for 
approval of proposed alternate disposal procedures on a case-by-case 
basis. If a licensee proposes to dispose of the material in an 
unlicensed facility under NRC jurisdiction, then the NRC would issue 
the specific exemption to the disposal facility in conjunction with the 
issuance of a Sec.  20.2002 approval to the licensee if the proposal is 
acceptable. If the NRC licensee proposes to dispose of the material in 
an unlicensed facility under Agreement State jurisdiction, then the 
Agreement State would separately authorize such disposal, whether by 
license, exemption, or other regulatory vehicle. For these types of 
offsite disposals, the Sec.  20.2002 process remains an available 
disposal method, and the NRC will continue to review Sec.  20.2002 
disposal requests on a case-by-case basis, and issue specific 
exemptions in conjunction with these approvals for disposal facilities 
under NRC jurisdiction, as appropriate.

V. Specific Exemptions for Disposal

    Consistent with longstanding NRC guidance on disposal by land 
burial outside of facilities licensed under Part 61, the NRC would only 
consider the issuance of a specific exemption for VLLW disposal by land 
burial. The NRC would consider approval of such an exemption if the 
cumulative dose were to be maintained below 25 millirem per year. 
Agreement States may issue exemptions subject to different criteria, 
consistent with their adequate and compatible programs. Applicants 
should request exemptions pursuant to Sec. Sec.  30.11, 40.14, or 
70.17. Applications should explain why the requested exemption is 
authorized by law, will not endanger life or property or the common 
defense and security, and is otherwise in the public interest.
    Applications should include a safety analysis containing: (i) A 
description of the proposed method of land burial at the disposal 
facility (e.g., steps after arrival at the disposal facility to 
disposal in the ground); (ii) a description of the source term (i.e., 
radionuclide identification and concentration); (iii) a description of 
the proposed disposal site (e.g., name, location, and design and size 
of the disposal area including any unique features of the disposal 
facility); (iv) a discussion regarding the conceptual and mathematical 
models and parameters used in the applicant's dose assessment related 
to proposed disposal (e.g., site specific parameters and modeling data 
and results); and (v) site-specific dose assessments or sensitivity and 
uncertainty analyses when performing the dose assessments to estimate 
the radiological impacts to members of the public and ensure that the 
25 millirem per year cumulative dose limit is not exceeded. The 
applicant should address the cumulative effects of multiple VLLW 
disposals, ensuring that the dose limit is not exceeded.

VI. Backfit Considerations

    The NRC staff considered whether the proposed interpretive rule 
would constitute a backfit. Backfitting occurs when the NRC imposes new 
or changed regulatory requirements or staff interpretations of the 
regulations or requirements on nuclear power reactor licensees, certain 
nuclear power reactor applicants, or select nuclear material licensees. 
The backfitting requirements are in Sec. Sec.  50.109, 70.76, 72.62, 
and 76.76. Provisions analogous to the backfitting requirements, 
referred to as issue finality provisions, are set forth in Part 52. The 
proposed interpretive rule is a non-mandatory, voluntary relaxation. 
The NRC licensee could continue to comply with the requirements of its 
current licensing basis or choose to adopt the alternative method of 
sending VLLW to a specifically exempted facility under Sec. Sec.  
30.11, 40.14, or 70.17. If a licensee chooses to adopt the alternative 
method of disposal, then it must comply with the applicable 
requirements. This is not backfitting because it is an additional 
available option that the licensee may choose to adopt.

VII. Specific Requests for Comment

    The NRC is interested in receiving comments from a broad range of 
stakeholders, including professional organizations, licensees, 
Agreement States, and members of the public, related to the proposed 
interpretive rule. Although all comments are appreciated, the NRC is 
seeking stakeholders' input on the following specific areas. The NRC 
asks that commenters provide the bases for their comments (i.e., the 
underlying rationale for the position stated in the comment) to enable 
the NRC to have a complete understanding of commenters' positions.
    (1) This interpretive rule would authorize the transfer of licensed 
material to persons who hold specific exemptions for disposal without a 
case-by-case review and approval of the transfers. Do you think that 
case-by-case review and approval of these transfers is necessary?
    (2) Transboundary transfer of VLLW associated with the approved 
disposal actions is an important consideration. What issues associated 
with transboundary transfer of VLLW should be considered with this 
interpretive rule?
    (3) 10 CFR 20.2006 states that ``[a]ny licensee shipping 
radioactive waste intended for ultimate disposal at a licensed land 
disposal facility must document the information required on NRC's 
Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste Manifest and transfer this recorded 
manifest information to the intended consignee in accordance with 
appendix G to 10 CFR part 20.'' Should the exempt persons authorized to 
dispose of certain VLLW that would be considered Sec.  20.2001 
``authorized recipients'' under this proposed interpretive rule be 
required to use Uniform Waste Manifests (consistent with Sec.  20.2006) 
for waste transferred to the exempted disposal facility?
    (4) Are there any other criteria that the NRC should consider when 
it reviews a request for a specific exemption for the purpose of 
disposal?
    (5) The regulation in Sec.  20.2001 is currently identified as a 
compatibility C regulation for purposes of Agreement State 
compatibility. In light of this proposed interpretive rule, does the 
compatibility designation raise issues that the NRC should consider?

VIII. Public Meeting

    During the comment period, the NRC will conduct a public meeting at 
the NRC's Headquarters and via Webinar that will address questions on 
this proposed interpretive rule. Information regarding the public 
meeting, including agenda, scheduling, and meeting location 
information, will be posted on the NRC's public meeting website at 
least 10 calendar days before the meeting. The NRC's public meeting 
website is located at https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve.html.
    The NRC will also post the meeting notice on the Federal rulemaking 
website at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2020-0065. 
The NRC may post materials related this proposed interpretive rule, 
including public comments, on the Federal rulemaking website. The 
Federal rulemaking website allows you to receive alerts when changes or 
additions occur in a docket folder. To subscribe: (1) Navigate to the 
docket folder (NRC-

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2020-0065); (2) click the ``Sign up for Email Alerts'' link; and (3) 
enter your email address and select how frequently you would like to 
receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly).
    The NRC will treat all feedback provided at this public meeting as 
public comments on the proposed interpretive rule.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of March, 2020.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-04506 Filed 3-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P