[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10388-10389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03358]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2022-0190]


Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in Decommissioning Waste 
Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: NUREG; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing NUREG-
1307, Revision 19, ``Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in 
Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial 
Facilities.'' This report, which is revised periodically, explains the 
formula acceptable to the NRC for determining the minimum 
decommissioning fund requirements for nuclear power reactor licensees, 
as required by NRC regulations. Specifically, this report provides the 
adjustment factor and updates the values for the labor, energy, and 
waste burial escalation factors of the minimum formula.

DATES: NUREG-1307, Revision 19, is available on February 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to NRC-2022-0190 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-2022-0190. 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 reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by 
email to [email protected]. NUREG-1307, Revision 19, ``Report on 
Waste Burial Charges: Changes in Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs 
at Low-Level Waste Burial Facilities'' is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML23044A207.
     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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Emil Tabakov, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6814, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    Pursuant to section 50.75 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Reporting and Recordkeeping for Decommissioning 
Planning,'' the NRC requires nuclear power reactor licensees to adjust 
annually, in current year dollars, their estimate of the cost to 
decommission their plants. The annual updates are part of the process 
for providing reasonable assurance that adequate funds for 
decommissioning will be available when needed.
    Revision 19 of NUREG-1307, ``Report on Waste Burial Charges: 
Changes in Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste 
Burial Facilities,'' modifies Revision 18 to this report issued in 
January 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21027A302) and incorporates updates 
to the adjustment factor and to the labor, energy, and waste burial 
escalation factors of the NRC minimum decommissioning fund formula. The 
minimum decommissioning fund formula amounts calculated by licensees 
using the

[[Page 10389]]

Barnwell low-level waste disposal facility will be impacted by a 
significant increase in low-level waste burial charge pricing at that 
site. Additionally, at the nation's three other low-level waste 
disposal facilities, both moderate increases in some, and decreases in 
other, low-level waste burial charges, coupled with moderate increases 
in labor rates and near doubling of energy rates for all licensees, 
likely will result in higher formula amounts for all licensees. Thus, 
based on revised low-level waste burial factors presented in this 
report and increases in labor and energy rates, the minimum 
decommissioning fund formula amounts calculated by licensees will 
likely reflect moderate to more substantial increases when compared to 
those previously reported by licensees in 2021.

II. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice in the Federal Register on November 29, 
2022 (87 FR 73345) requesting public comment on draft NUREG-1307, 
Revision 19, ``Report on Waste Burial Charges: Changes in 
Decommissioning Waste Disposal Costs at Low-Level Waste Burial 
Facilities.'' The public comment period closed on December 29, 2022. 
The NRC received four public comments. The public comments and the NRC 
staff's responses are presented in a comment resolution matrix 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML23038A239. The staff 
considered the public comments received on the draft document in 
preparing final NUREG-1307, Revision 19.

    Dated: February 13, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Frederick R. Miller,
Chief, Financial Assessment Branch, Division of Rulemaking, 
Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-03358 Filed 2-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P