[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 38 (Friday, February 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10832-10834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04034]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, 50-286, and 72-051; NRC-2022-0021]


Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC; Indian Point Nuclear 
Generating Station; Units 1, 2, and 3; 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 November 19, 2021, from Holtec 
Decommissioning International, LLC (HDI), for Indian Point Nuclear 
Generating Station Units 1, 2, and 3 or Indian Point Energy Center 
(IPEC), 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 IPEC. 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 February 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0021 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-2022-0021. 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.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[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: Zahira Cruz Perez, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-3808, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the exemption is attached.

    Dated: February 22, 2022.

    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.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, 50-286, 72-051

Holtec Decommissioning International, LLC

Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station Units Nos. 1, 2, and 3

Exemption From Certain Low-Level Waste Shipment Tracking Requirements

I. Background

    Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station Units 1, 2, and 3 or Indian 
Point Energy Center (IPEC), is licensed to Holtec Decommissioning 
International, LLC (HDI) under Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50 (provisional license DPR-5, renewed 
license DPR-26 and DPR-64, Docket Nos. 50-003, 50-247, 50-286, 
respectively). The facilities consist of three pressurized-water 
reactors located in Buchanan, New York, in Westchester County, all of 
which are permanently shut down. IPEC Unit No. 1 was permanently shut 
down in 1974 and is in defueled status, IPEC Unit Nos. 2 and 3 
permanently ceased operations on April 30, 2020, and April 30, 2021, 
respectively. Fuel was permanently removed from IPEC Unit Nos. 2 and 3 
and placed in spent fuel pools on May 12, 2020, and May 11, 2021, 
respectively.
    HDI is currently decommissioning the IPEC facility. Inherent to the 
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 IPEC to 
locations such as the waste disposal facility operated by Waste Control 
Specialists (WCS) in Andrews, Texas. The estimated license termination 
date for IPEC is 2062, and the estimated date for partial site release, 
for the entire site except for the Independent Spent Fuel Storage 
Installation (ISFSI), is 2033. The site restoration activities will be 
completed by 2062. HDI projects that all decommissioning activities, 
except for decommissioning the ISFSI, will be completed by early 2032, 
and expects to complete transfer of spent fuel to the ISFSI by 2024.

II. Request/Action

    By letter dated November 19, 2021 (Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML21323A070), as supplemented 
on February 3, 2022 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22034A603), HDI requested an 
exemption from certain requirements 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 IPEC. 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

[[Page 10833]]

period be extended from 20 days to 45 days for ``mixed mode shipments 
from IPEC, 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 mixed mode, low-level radioactive waste shipment being 
transported from IPEC to a licensed low-level radioactive waste 
processing or land disposal facility. As stated above, 10 CFR Section 
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 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. On 
November 3, 2021, the Commission approved publication of this proposed 
rule in the Federal Register, including the provision moving the 
receipt notification window from 20 days to 45 days (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML21307A046). 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, Vermont Yankee 
Nuclear Power Station, and Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML20287A358, ML20162A155, ML20017A069, and ML21267A519 
respectively).
    HDI stated that in its experience at IPEC thus far in 2021, 
numerous rail shipments can take longer than 20 days. According to HDI, 
exceeding the 20-day requirement results in the administrative burden 
of investigating and reporting.
    HDI stated in the February 3, 2022 supplemental letter in response 
to NRC staff request for additional information, that in letters dated 
November 19, 2021, December 21, 2021, and January 13, 2022 (ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML21323A108, ML21355A211, and ML22013A706, 
respectively), HDI reported to the NRC the results of investigations 
performed to shipments and transport of low-level radioactive waste 
shipped via truck from IPEC to Newton, Connecticut and transferred to 
rail to the WCS disposal facility in Andrews, Texas. The total 
transport time for these low-level radioactive waste shipments were 21-
22 days. HDI stated that these trace investigations identified that 
there were no significant or unusual transport delays encountered.
    HDI explained that because there is not direct rail access at IPEC, 
the disposal of IPEC low-level radioactive waste utilizes road 
shipments to intermodal transfer terminals for transfer of containers 
onto rail as the primary transport method. In the future, HDI indicated 
that it may utilize other methods of transport such as barge. 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 allowing for 
railcar repair), which may add to shipping delays. In addition, HDI 
states that administrative processes at the disposal facility and 
communication of receipt times could add several additional days.
    Additionally, as indicated in the exemption request, for truck and 
rail shipments from IPEC, HDI will use a tracking system that allows 
daily monitoring of a shipment's progress to its destination, and IPEC 
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. In addition, in its supplemental letter, HDI stated that it is 
contracted with WCS for transportation and disposal of all radioactive 
waste at IPEC, and that the agreement includes a WCS Shipping Services 
individual dedicated for onsite support to ensure packaging and 
shipment arrangements are made in accordance with state and federal 
guidelines. The online tracking portal is part of the service provided 
by WCS. Daily reports of railcar locations are sent to the HDI Waste 
Manager at IPEC with reporting starting the day the shipment leaves the 
IPEC.
    Because of this oversight and the ability to monitor low-level 
radioactive waste shipments throughout the entire journey from IPEC 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 
Section 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

[[Page 10834]]

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 Section 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(B) and inspection or 
surveillance requirements under 10 CFR Section 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 
Section 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 IPEC to a licensed land disposal or 
processing facility.

    Dated: February 14, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.


Jane E. Marshall,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 2022-04034 Filed 2-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P