[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 243 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 81849-81850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27565]
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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; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing 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 by
burial. The proposal is being withdrawn based on the NRC staff's
assessment that the proposed changes may not benefit the regulatory
framework for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
DATES: The proposed interpretive rule is withdrawn as of December 17,
2020.
ADDRESSES: 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. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301-287-9127; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly
[[Page 81850]]
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.
Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of public documents is currently closed. You may submit your request to
the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maurice Heath, telephone: 301-415-
3137, email: [email protected] and Stephen Dembek, telephone: 301-
415-2343, email: [email protected]. Both are staff of the Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 6, 2020, the NRC issued a proposed
interpretation of paragraph 20.2001(a)(1) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations in the Federal Register (85 FR 13076). The proposed
interpretation would have expanded, in guidance, the meaning of
``authorized recipient'' in Sec. 20.2001, allowing for the disposal of
very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) at approved non-licensed
disposal sites in accordance with technical and regulatory requirements
established by the NRC or Agreement States for granting such an
exemption.
This change would have had the effect of providing a regulatory
approach that, in addition to that specified by Sec. 20.2002, allowed
the transfer and disposal of certain VLLW in hazardous and solid waste
disposal facilities having explicit approval to dispose of VLLW. In
cases where the waste disposal site had an approval (exemption) for
disposing of VLLW, the use of Sec. 20.2001 by the licensee would not
have required additional, specific approval to transfer VLLW to that
disposal site under certain circumstances.
The NRC sought comments on the proposed interpretive rule in order
to engage stakeholders on the merits of the idea and collect feedback
prior to making a decision on whether or not to move forward with the
proposed interpretation. The comment period was extended in response to
requests related to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and closed on
October 21, 2020 (85 FR 45809).
The NRC received approximately 200 individual comment submissions
and approximately 15,000 form letter submissions. The vast majority of
these comments opposed the proposed interpretive rule. The major
comment themes included:
The NRC should complete the 2018 VLLW Scoping Study, address the
comments already submitted, and publicize the results instead of
pursuing the proposed interpretive rule.
The current regulations for the disposal of VLLW are sufficient and
already allow for an alternate method of disposal on a case-by-case
basis under the provisions of Sec. 20.2002.
The NRC should pursue rulemaking to provide a definition of VLLW
that can be used across the industry if a regulatory change is pursued.
Changes to LLW regulations, including the definitions of authorized
recipient and VLLW, should be pursued via the formal rulemaking process
and not as an interpretation to an existing regulation. This approach
would be more in keeping with the provisions of the Administrative
Procedures Act.
The NRC and/or Agreement State should provide opportunities for
public involvement during the exemption review process that evaluates a
disposal facility request to become an authorized recipient for the
disposal of VLLW.
The approval process should consider the need for an NRC or
Agreement State environmental review related to the proposed VLLW
disposal sites.
The NRC should provide an explanation of the implementation of the
proposed interpretation. Specific comments questioned how
implementation would be managed across various Agreement State
programs, the methods for verifying that VLLW disposals were conducted
as intended, and requested clarification of oversight responsibilities
in the event that provisions of an exemption for disposal were
challenged or found not to have been met.
Implementation of the proposed interpretive rule should consider
potential impacts on existing state and LLW compact requirements,
including additional burdens on state agencies that would be the
primary regulatory body involved in the review, approval, and oversight
of disposal sites wishing to obtain an exemption for VLLW disposal.
Specific comments questioned how the proposed change could affect the
LLW disposal agreements already in place amongst various states
involved in the LLW compact system.
In addition, the Organization of Agreement States Board and 10
individual Agreement States provided comments that did not support the
NRC's expanded definition of ``authorized recipient.'' Most Agreement
State comments also cited the restrictions in individual states that
would prevent them from implementing the expanded definition.
The NRC staff assesses that the potential main benefit of the
proposed interpretive rule--the potential for fewer regulatory
approvals related to disposal at an authorized disposal site--would not
outweigh the costs of implementing the proposed interpretive rule,
especially given the lack of Agreement State support and a limited
number of potential users. Therefore, the NRC has decided to withdraw
its proposed interpretation of ``authorized recipient'' related to the
requirements in Sec. 20.2001 based on the conclusion that the proposed
changes would not benefit the current regulatory framework for the
disposal of VLLW.
The information obtained through the public comments on this effort
will be considered in other ongoing low-level waste program
initiatives, including the staff's Very Low-Level Waste Scoping Study.
The scoping study is an ongoing action from SECY-16-0118,
``Programmatic Assessment of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Regulatory
Program'' (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML15208A305). The staff will
continue to monitor the external environment and seek innovations in
the low-level waste regulatory program.
Dated: December 10, 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. 2020-27565 Filed 12-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P