[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 198 (Monday, October 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57705-57706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22645]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-1151; NRC-2021-0158]


Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; Columbia Fuel Fabrication 
Facility; and US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility Located Near Grand 
View, Idaho

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment and exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
exemption and associated license amendment related to a request from 
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) from NRC regulations with 
respect to a request for alternate disposal and exemptions for 
specified low-activity radioactive waste from the Columbia Fuel 
Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in Hopkins, South Carolina for waste 
containing byproduct material and special nuclear material (SNM) under 
License Number SNM-1107. Additionally, the NRC is taking the related 
action of approving exemptions to US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) from the 
applicable licensing requirements to allow USEI to receive and dispose 
of the material from CFFF without an NRC license. The USEI disposal 
facility, located near Grand View, Idaho, is a Subtitle C Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste disposal facility 
permitted by the State of Idaho to receive low-level radioactive waste 
and is not licensed by the NRC. Approval of the alternate disposal 
request from WEC and the exemptions and license amendment requested by 
WEC and associated exemptions for USEI would allow WEC to transfer the 
specific waste from CFFF for disposal at USEI.

DATES: This exemption is effective on October 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0158 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-2021-0158. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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 Request for Alternate Disposal 
Approval and Exemption for Specific CFFF Waste (License No. SNM-1197, 
Docket No. 70-1151) dated June 1, 2021 is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML21153A001. The staff's Safety Evaluation Report dated 
October 4, 2021 is available in ADAMS under Package Accession No. 
ML21202A110.
     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 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Tiktinsky, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8740, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    WEC is the holder of a Special Nuclear Materials License SNM-1107 
under part 70 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 
``Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material,'' which authorizes 
the fabrication of nuclear fuel at the CFFF. The USEI disposal facility 
near Grand View, Idaho is a Subtitle C RCRA hazardous waste disposal 
facility permitted by the State of Idaho to receive radioactive waste.

II. Request/Action

    The proposed action would approve the alternate disposal request 
and provide exemptions from 10 CFR 70.3

[[Page 57706]]

and 10 CFR 30.3 and an associated WEC license amendment, allowing WEC 
to transfer and USEI to receive and dispose of 133,000 ft\3\ of calcium 
fluoride (CaF2) sludge containing byproduct and special 
nuclear material (low enriched uranium {<5wt% U-235{time} ). The 
CaF2 to be disposed of is generated from CFFF site 
operations and previously stored in onsite lagoons. The lagoons are 
periodically dredged and the resulting CaF2 sludge is placed 
in piles on the site for drying prior to disposal.
    As proposed, this waste would be transported from CFFF in South 
Carolina to the USEI facility near Grand View, Idaho. The USEI facility 
is a RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the 
State of Idaho.

III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the Commission may, upon 
application of any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant 
such exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 70 and part 30 
respectively, as it determines are authorized by law and will not 
endanger life or property or the common defense and security and are 
otherwise in the public interest.

The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The proposal provides that the material described in this notice 
would be transported and disposed of in compliance with Federal, State, 
and local regulations. Specifically, the material will be removed from 
the site per WEC's proposed disposal procedures and NRC license and 
State and local regulations. It will be shipped in accordance with U.S. 
Department of Transportation regulations to USEI. USEI, a RCRA Subtitle 
C disposal site, must obtain approval from the State of Idaho to 
receive and dispose of the material in accordance with its RCRA 
Subtitle C regulations in addition to the exemptions evaluated here. 
Therefore, such disposal is not otherwise contrary to NRC requirements, 
and is otherwise authorized by law.

The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life, Property and Is Consistent With 
the Common Defense and Security

    NRC staff reviewed the information provided by WEC to support their 
10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal request and the specific exemptions 
from 10 CFR 30.3 and 10 CFR 70.3 and associated license amendment in 
order to dispose of the described CaF2 sludge associated 
with cleanup activities at CFFF. The NRC staff concluded that the 
requested disposal of 133,000 ft\3\ of CaF2 sludge is 
acceptable under 10 CFR 20.2002. Details provided in this request, in 
combination with appropriate references to past approvals of similar 
procedures and material from the same site, provide an adequate 
description of the waste and the proposed manner and conditions of 
waste disposal. Lastly, because of the presence of SNM, the NRC 
evaluated potential criticality in its safety evaluation report and 
found no concerns. Therefore, the NRC concludes that issuance of the 
exemption will not endanger life, property, and is consistent with the 
common defense and security.

The Exemption Is in the Public Interest

    Issuance of the exemptions to WEC and USEI is in the public 
interest because it provides for the efficient and safe disposal for 
the subject waste material, facilitates the decommissioning of the CFFF 
site consistent with the consent agreement between CFFF and the South 
Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and conserves 
low-level radioactive waste disposal capacity at licensed low-level 
radioactive disposal sites while ensuring that the material being 
considered is disposed of safely in a regulated facility. Therefore, 
based upon the evaluation above, exemptions are appropriate pursuant to 
10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17.

IV. Environmental Considerations

    As required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC performed an environmental 
assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental impacts of the proposed 
exemption in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and NRC implementing regulations in 10 CFR part 51. Based on the 
conclusions of the EA, the NRC staff has determined that there is no 
need to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
exemption and has issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). 
The EA and FONSI were published in the Federal Register on October 12, 
2021 (86 FR 56729).

V. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, exemptions for WEC and USEI are authorized by 
law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, 
are consistent with the common defense and security, and are in the 
public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants WEC and USEI 
exemptions from 10 CFR 70.3 and 10 CFR 30.3 to allow WEC to transfer 
133,000 ft\3\ of CaF2 sludge from the WEC CFFF for disposal 
at the USEI disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho, and 
issues WEC a conforming license amendment.

    Dated: October 13, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jacob I. Zimmerman,
Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Management, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-22645 Filed 10-15-21; 8:45 am]
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