[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73832-73833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23761]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of Draft Basis for Section 3116 
Determination for Closure of the Calcined Solids Storage Facility at 
the Idaho National Laboratory Site, Idaho

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the Draft Basis for Section 3116 Determination for Closure of the 
Calcined Solids Storage Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory Site 
(Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document). The Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document 
demonstrates that the Calcined Solids Storage Facility (CSSF) at 
closure after waste retrieval is not high-level radioactive waste (HLW) 
and may be disposed of in place as low-level radioactive waste (LLW). 
DOE prepared the Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document pursuant to Section 
3116 of the ``Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2005'' (hereafter NDAA Section 3116). DOE is consulting 
with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and is also making 
the Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document available for comments from states, 
Tribal Nations, stakeholders, and the public. After consultation with 
the NRC, carefully considering comments received, and performing any 
necessary revisions of analyses and technical documents, DOE will 
prepare a final CSSF 3116 Basis Document. Based on the final document, 
the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the NRC, may determine in 
the future whether the stabilized CSSF bins (including integral 
equipment), transport lines, and any residual waste remaining therein 
at closure are non-HLW and may be disposed of in place as LLW.

DATES: DOE invites comments on the Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document 
during a 45-day comment period beginning the calendar day after 
publication of this Notice of Availability. A public virtual meeting on 
the Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document will be held on a date to be 
announced, currently anticipated to be November 1, 2023. Before the 
meeting, DOE will issue stakeholder and media notifications and publish 
a notice in the local newspaper providing the date, time, and virtual 
platform information of the public meeting. Information on the public 
meeting date and virtual platform information also will be available 
before the meeting at the website listed in https://www.id.energy.gov/insideNEID/PublicInvolvement.htm.

ADDRESSES: The Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document is available on the 
internet at https://www.id.energy.gov/insideNEID/PublicInvolvement.htm 
and will be publicly available for review on the U.S. DOE Idaho 
Operations Office Public Reading Room web page at https://inl.gov/about-inl/general-information/doe-public-reading-room. Written comments 
should be submitted to: Mr. Greg Balsmeier, INTEC Program Manager for 
the Calcine Disposition Project, U.S. Department of Energy Idaho 
Operations Office, 1955 Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83401. 
Alternatively, comments may also be filed electronically by email to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document, please contact Mr. Greg Balsmeier, 
INTEC Program Manager for the Calcine Disposition Project, by mail at 
U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office, 1995 Fremont Ave, 
Idaho Falls, ID 38401, by phone at 208-526-5871, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site, 
near Arco, Idaho, currently stores solid calcined radioactive waste in 
stainless-steel bins housed in six reinforced concrete vaults that are 
below or partially below grade at the CSSF. The CSSF is located at the 
Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) at the INL 
Site. The stored calcined HLW was generated by converting liquid HLW 
and non-reprocessing waste into a granular solid. The liquid HLW was 
generated by the prior reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). DOE's 
current mission focuses on the cleanup and remediation of those wastes 
and ultimate closure of the CSSF.
    As part of that mission, DOE plans to retrieve waste from the CSSF 
for treatment, and disposition out of the State of Idaho. Following 
waste retrieval, DOE plans to stabilize in grout and pursue closure 
(disposal in place) of the CSSF bins (including integral equipment), 
transport lines, and any residual waste remaining therein.
    The Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document concerns the CSSF bins 
(including integral equipment), transport lines, and any residual waste 
remaining therein, after waste retrieval, which is anticipated to 
remove most of the calcine, (approximately 99% or more of the calcine 
(by volume) and approximately 99% of the radioactivity attributable to 
highly radioactive radionuclides). A small amount of calcine, less than 
approximately 1% by volume, is expected to remain in the CSSF at the 
time of closure. The final CSSF closure configuration is anticipated to 
include stabilizing (with grout) the bins and transport line piping 
void spaces. The grout will serve to provide long term structural 
stability, limit the amount of water infiltration into the bins and 
transfer lines to mitigate contaminate migration, and provide a barrier 
for intrusion by burrowing animals, plant roots, or humans.
    NDAA Section 3116(a) provides that HLW does not include radioactive 
waste resulting from the reprocessing of SNF that the Secretary of 
Energy, in consultation with the NRC, determines:
    ``(1) does not require permanent isolation in a deep geologic 
repository for spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste;
    (2) has had highly radioactive radionuclides removed to the maximum 
extent practical; and
    (3) (A) does not exceed concentration limits for Class C low-level 
waste as set out in Section 61.55 of title 10, Code of Federal 
Regulations, and will be disposed of--
    (i) in compliance with the performance objectives set out in 
subpart C of part 61 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations; and
    (ii) pursuant to a State-approved closure plan or State-issued 
permit, authority for the approval or issuance of which is conferred on 
the State outside of this section; or
    (B) exceeds concentration limits for Class C low-level waste as set 
out in section 61.55 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, but will 
be disposed of--
    (i) in compliance with the performance objectives set out in 
subpart C of part 61 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations;
    (ii) pursuant to a State-approved closure plan or State-issued 
permit, authority for the approval or issuance of which is conferred on 
the State outside of this section; and
    (iii) pursuant to plans developed by the Secretary in consultation 
with the Commission.''
    The Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document demonstrates that after waste 
retrieval

[[Page 73833]]

activities, the CSSF at closure will meet the above criteria. DOE is 
predicating this Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document on extensive analysis 
and scientific rationale, using a risk-informed approach, including 
analyses presented in the Performance Assessment and Composite Analysis 
for the INTEC Calcined Solids Storage Facility at the INL Site (CSSF 
PA/CA).
    Specifically, this Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document shows that the 
CSSF bins (including integral equipment), transport lines, and any 
residual waste at the time of closure does not require permanent 
isolation in a deep geologic repository for spent fuel or HLW, and that 
the highly radioactive radionuclides (those radionuclides which 
contribute most significantly to radiological dose to workers, the 
public, and the environment as well as radionuclides listed in 10 CFR 
61.55) will have been removed to the maximum extent practical. As also 
shown in the Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document, the stabilized (grouted) 
CSSF stainless-steel bins (including integral equipment), transport 
lines, and any residual waste at CSSF closure will not exceed 
concentration limits for Class C LLW. Based on the analyses in the CSSF 
PA/CA, this Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document projects that potential 
doses to a hypothetical member of the public and hypothetical 
inadvertent intruder after CSSF closure will be well below the doses 
specified in the performance objectives for disposal of LLW. 
Furthermore, the CSSF closure will be performed pursuant to a State-
approved closure plan.
    DOE is consulting with the NRC on this Draft CSSF 3116 Basis 
Document and also making the Draft CSSF 3116 Basis Document available 
for comments from states, Tribal Nations, stakeholders, and the public. 
After consultation with the NRC, carefully considering comments 
received, and performing any necessary revisions of analyses and 
technical documents, DOE plans to issue a Final CSSF 3116 Basis 
Document. Based on the Final CSSF 3116 Basis Document, the Secretary of 
Energy, in consultation with the NRC, may determine in the future 
whether the CSSF bins (including integral equipment), transport lines, 
and any residual waste therein are non-HLW, and may be disposed in 
place as LLW.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 20, 
2023, by Kristen Ellis, Acting Associate Principal Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs, pursuant to delegated 
authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original 
signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes 
only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal 
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been 
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for 
publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This 
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on October 24, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-23761 Filed 10-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P