[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 202 (Friday, October 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58699-58701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23088]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-293; NRC-2021-0191]


Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC; Pilgrim Nuclear Power 
Station; Exemption From Certain Low-Level Waste Shipment Tracking 
Requirements

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
exemption in response to a request dated August 30, 2021, as 
supplemented on September 23, 2021, from Holtec Decommissioning 
International, LLC (HDI), for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station 
(Pilgrim), from the requirement to investigate, trace, and report to 
the NRC any low-level radioactive waste shipment or part of a shipment 
for which acknowledgement of receipt is not received by HDI within 20 
days after transfer from Pilgrim. HDI requested that this time period 
be extended from 20 to 45 days. HDI requested this change to avoid the 
administrative burden of investigating, tracing, and reporting on 
shipments that continue to be under requisite controls.

DATES: The exemption was issued on October 18, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0191 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-2021-0191. 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 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 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: Amy M. Snyder, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6822, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: October 19, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Bruce A. Watson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning, 
Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.

Attachment: Exemption

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket No. 50-293

Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

Exemption from Certain Low-Level Waste Shipment Tracking Requirements

I. Background

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) 
license for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim) is Renewed Facility 
Operating License No. DPR-35. The current licensed decommissioning 
operator under this license is Holtec Decommissioning International, 
LLC (HDI). The Pilgrim license is subject to the rules, regulations, 
and orders of the NRC.
    Pilgrim is located on the western shore of Cape Cod Bay in the Town 
of Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. The nearest large cities 
are Boston, Massachusetts, approximately 38 miles to the northwest and 
Providence, Rhode Island, approximately 44 miles to the west. The 
Pilgrim facility occupies approximately 140 acres.
    Operation of Pilgrim permanently ceased on May 31, 2019 and all 
fuel was permanently removed from the Pilgrim reactor vessel on June 9, 
2019. HDI is currently decommissioning the Pilgrim facility. Inherent 
to the

[[Page 58700]]

decommissioning process, large volumes of low-level radioactive waste 
are generated. This low-level radioactive waste requires processing and 
disposal or disposal without processing, as appropriate. To this end, 
HDI will transport, by truck or by mixed mode shipments like a 
combination of truck and rail, low-level radioactive waste from Pilgrim 
to locations such as the waste disposal facility operated by Waste 
Control Specialists (WCS) in Andrews, Texas. The estimated license 
termination date for Pilgrim, except for the independent spent fuel 
storage installation (ISFSI), is 2027. The site restoration activities 
will be completed by 2027. HDI projects that all decommissioning 
activities will be completed by early September 2063, approximately 9 
months after the removal of the last spent fuel from the Pilgrim ISFSI, 
which is estimated to occur by the end of December 2062.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated August 30, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML21242A267), as supplemented 
on September 23, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21266A277), HDI requested 
an exemption from certain requirements of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 20, ``Standards for Protection 
Against Radiation,'' appendix G, ``Requirements for Transfers of Low-
Level Radioactive Waste Intended for Disposal at Licensed Land Disposal 
Facilities and Manifests,'' Section III.E for shipments of low-level 
radioactive waste from Pilgrim. As indicated by HDI in its request, 
this regulation requires HDI to investigate, trace, and report to the 
NRC any low-level radioactive waste shipment or part of a shipment for 
which acknowledgement of receipt is not received by HDI within 20 days 
after transfer. HDI requested that this time period be extended from 20 
days to 45 days for ``mixed mode shipments from [Pilgrim], including 
combination of truck/rail shipments.''

III. Discussion

    The NRC's regulations at 10 CFR 20.2301, ``Applications for 
exemptions,'' allow the Commission to grant exemptions from the 
requirements of the regulations in 10 CFR part 20 if it determines the 
exemption is authorized by law and would not result in undue hazard to 
life or property.

A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The requested exemption from 10 CFR part 20, appendix G, section 
III.E would extend the receipt acknowledgment period from 20 days to 45 
days before HDI would have to investigate, trace, and report on the 
status of a low-level radioactive waste shipment being transported from 
Pilgrim to a licensed low-level radioactive waste processing or land 
disposal facility. As stated above, 10 CFR 20.2301 allows the NRC to 
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 20 when, in part, 
the exemptions are authorized by law. The NRC determined that the 
requested exemption is permissible under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 
as amended, and other regulatory requirements. Therefore, the NRC finds 
that the requested exemption is authorized by law.

B. The Exemption Would Not Result in Undue Hazard to Life or Property

    As stated in Enclosure 1 to SECY-18-0055, ``Proposed Rule: 
Regulatory Improvements for Production and Utilization Facilities 
Transitioning to Decommissioning'' (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML18012A019), the underlying purpose of 10 CFR part 20, appendix G, 
section III.E is to require licensees to investigate, trace, and report 
on low-level radioactive waste shipments that have not reached their 
destination, as scheduled, for unknown reasons.
    In its exemption request, HDI stated that in May and June 2021, it 
had shipped numerous freight containers of low-level radioactive waste 
that were transloaded onto railcars for transport to the WCS disposal 
facility in Andrews, Texas. The total time from release of these 
shipments to verification of receipt varied from 22 to 56 days. HDI 
investigated these shipments and submitted reports on them to the NRC 
Region I Administrator (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML21165A399, ML21187A200, 
and ML21203A313).
    In support of its exemption request, HDI identified the NRC staff 
statement in Enclosure 1 to SECY-18-0055 that ``operating experience 
indicates that, while the 20-day receipt notification window is 
adequate for waste shipments by truck, other modes of shipment such as 
rail, barge, or mixed-mode shipments, such as combinations of truck and 
rail, barge and rail, and barge and truck shipments, may take more than 
20 days to reach their destination due to delays in the route that are 
outside the shipper's control (e.g., rail cars in switchyards waiting 
to be included in a complete train to the disposal facility).'' On this 
basis, the NRC staff proposed to amend 10 CFR part 20, appendix G, 
section III.E to extend the receipt notification window to 45 days. HDI 
also stated that its exemption request is similar to those previously 
submitted to and approved by the NRC for San Onofre Nuclear Generating 
Station, Fort Calhoun Station, and Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML20287A358, ML20162A155, and ML20017A069, 
respectively).
    HDI further stated that although it takes actions during the 
preparation of shipments to predict and mitigate undesirable 
conditions, encountered delays can often extend the shipping duration 
beyond the 20-day requirement. According to HDI, exceeding the 20-day 
requirement results in the administrative burden of investigating and 
reporting, even though the shipments continue to be under requisite 
controls.
    HDI explained that because there is not direct rail access at 
Pilgrim, the disposal of Pilgrim low-level radioactive waste utilizes 
road shipments to intermodal transfer terminals for transfer of 
containers onto rail as the primary transport method. According to HDI, 
these truck to rail shipments may sit on the rail spur at a remote 
railyard (e.g., waiting for a train to depart or allow for railcar 
repair), which may add to shipping delays. In addition, HDI believes 
that administrative processes at the disposal facility and 
communication of receipt times could add several additional days to 
shipping delays. Therefore, HDI concludes that receipt notifications 
for low-level radioactive waste shipments from Pilgrim to a waste 
disposal facility can often take longer than 20 days. This delay, 
though, is not indicative of loss, but a consequence of the complexity 
involved in shipping.
    The NRC staff notes that the shipments are compliant with the 
Department of Transportation and NRC requirements for low-level 
radioactive waste packaging, placarding, and radiation levels for 
health and safety purposes during transit, including during switchyard 
staging. Therefore, there are no potential health or safety concerns 
associated with these shipments sitting in a switchyard for an extended 
period of time or taking more than 20 days overall.
    Based on the history of low-level radioactive waste shipments from 
Pilgrim and the lack of potential health or safety concerns associated 
with these shipments sitting in a switchyard for an extended period of 
time or taking more than 20 days overall, the need to investigate, 
trace, and report on these shipments that take longer than 20 days but 
not longer than 45 days is inappropriate. The NRC staff believes that 
the application of 45 days as an

[[Page 58701]]

upper bound is appropriate for the same reasons as presented in 
Enclosure 1 to SECY-18-0055.
    Additionally, as indicated in the exemption request, for truck and 
rail shipments from Pilgrim, HDI will use a tracking system that allows 
daily monitoring of a shipment's progress to its destination and 
Pilgrim shipping procedures prescribe the expectations for tracking and 
communications during transit. The NRC staff notes that this will allow 
for monitoring the progress of shipments on a daily basis, if needed, 
in lieu of the 20-day requirement, and will initiate an investigation 
as provided for by 10 CFR part 20, appendix G, section III.E after 45 
days. Because of this oversight and the ability to monitor low-level 
radioactive waste shipments throughout the entire journey from Pilgrim 
to a disposal or processing facility, the staff concludes that it is 
unlikely that a shipment could be lost, misdirected, or diverted 
without the knowledge of the carrier or HDI and that, therefore, there 
is no potential health or safety concern presented by the requested 
exemption. Furthermore, by extending the time for receipt 
acknowledgment to 45 days before requiring investigations, tracing, and 
reporting, a reasonable upper limit on shipment duration is maintained 
in the event that a breakdown of normal tracking systems were to occur.
    Based on the above, the NRC staff finds that the requested 
exemption would not result in undue hazard to life or property.

C. Environmental Considerations

    With respect to compliance with section 102(2) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the NRC staff has 
determined that the proposed action, the approval of the HDI exemption 
request, is within the scope of the categorical exclusion at 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25). The proposed granting of the exemption from certain 
requirements of the NRC's regulations at 10 CFR part 20, appendix G, 
section III.E, would: (i) Present no significant hazards consideration; 
(ii) not result in a significant change in the types or significant 
increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released offsite; 
(iii) not result in a significant increase in individual or cumulative 
public or occupational radiation exposure; (iv) have no significant 
construction impact; and (v) not result in a significant increase in 
the potential for or consequences from radiological accidents. 
Additionally, the requirements from which the exemption is sought 
involve reporting requirements under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(B) and 
inspection or surveillance requirements under 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(25)(vi)(C). Given the applicability of a relevant categorical 
exclusion, no further analysis is required under NEPA.

IV. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
20.2301, the exemption is authorized by law and will not result in 
undue hazard to life or property. Therefore, effective immediately, the 
Commission hereby grants HDI an exemption from 10 CFR part 20, appendix 
G, section III.E, to extend the receipt of notification period from 20 
days to 45 days after transfer for rail or mixed-mode shipments of low-
level radioactive waste from Pilgrim to a licensed land disposal or 
processing facility.

    Dated: October 18, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
    /RA/

Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-23088 Filed 10-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P