[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23075-23076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07010]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-238; NRC-2024-0060]


United States Maritime Administration; Nuclear Ship Savannah; 
License Termination Plan

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Public meeting and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: On October 23, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) received from the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD, 
the licensee) a license amendment request to include a License 
Termination Plan (LTP) for the Nuclear Ship Savannah (NS Savannah). The 
LTP provides details about the known radiological information for the 
ship, the planned demolition and decommissioning tasks to be completed, 
and the final radiological surveys and data that must be obtained for 
termination of the NRC's license for NS Savannah. The NRC is requesting 
public comments on NS Savannah's LTP and will hold a public meeting to 
discuss the LTP.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, from 
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., eastern time (ET), onboard the NS Savannah, 
online, or by phone. The NS Savannah is located at Pier 13 Canton 
Marine Terminal, 4601 Newgate Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21124. The public 
meeting is also available through an online webinar. See Section III 
``Request for Comment and Public Meeting'' of this document for 
additional information. Submit comments by June 3, 2024. Comments 
received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do 
so, but the NRC is able to ensure consideration only for comments 
received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods; 
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0060. 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.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya E. Hood, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-1387; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0060 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0060.
     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, at 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: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

    The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the 
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please 
include Docket ID NRC-2024-0060 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at 
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions 
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD, the licensee) is 
the holder of Facility Operating License, NS-1. The license provides, 
among other things, that the Nuclear Ship Savannah (NS Savannah) is 
subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the NRC now or 
hereafter in effect. The NS Savannah is a pressurized water reactor 
ship located in Baltimore, MD.
    The NS Savannah has been shutdown since November 8, 1970, and was

[[Page 23076]]

defueled on December 3, 1971. The licensee started the decommissioning 
process in 1971 in accordance with section 50.82 of title 10 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Termination of license.'' In 
1973, the U.S Atomic Energy Commission (NRC's predecessor agency) 
issued an amendment placing the reactor in a SAFSTOR condition. SAFSTOR 
is a method of decommissioning in which a nuclear facility is placed 
and maintained in a condition that allows the facility to be safely 
stored and subsequently decontaminated (deferred decontamination) to 
levels that permit release for unrestricted use. In 1976, the 
Possession-only license was issued as required by the 10 CFR 50.82 rule 
that was completely revised in 1996 (61 FR 39278, July 29, 1996).
    The licensee submitted its Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities 
Report (PSDAR), Revision 0, on December 11, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML063470625) and withdrew Revision 0 by letter dated January 26, 2007 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18120A039), prior to the NRC scheduling a PSDAR 
public meeting. By letter dated December 11, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML083590349), the licensee submitted an updated PSDAR, Revision 1, to 
reflect that the there is no intent to immediately dismantle the ship 
itself following license termination. The scope of dismantlement 
described in the PSDAR is based on several fundamental assumptions, (1) 
the ship itself is not dismantled as part of DECON; (2) existing 
accesses are utilized to support dismantlement of systems and 
components; and (3) major structures will not be dismantled. These 
assumptions are based, in part, on National Historic Preservation Act 
requirements and satisfactory final status surveys (FSS). The licensee 
anticipates requesting license termination to be effective in December 
2025, provided all prerequisite actions are complete at that time.
    Based on this, and the fact that the ship is a registered National 
Historic Landmark, the licensee intends to pursue the DECON industrial 
work in a fashion that minimizes any physical affect to adjacent ship 
structure. DECON is a method of decommissioning in which structures, 
systems, and components that contain radioactive contamination are 
actively removed from the site and safely disposed of at a commercially 
operated low-level waste disposal facility or decontaminated to a level 
that permits the site to be released for unrestricted use. DECON may 
occur shortly after cessation of operations, or after a period of 
SAFSTOR. Unlike a land-based nuclear plant, the NS Savannah is 
waterborne, mobile and of unique historic significance, thus its 
decommissioning presents a number of unusual factors for consideration.
    By application dated October 23, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML23298A041), the licensee submitted their LTP to the NRC. Paragraph 
50.82(a)(9) specifies that an application for license termination must 
be accompanied or preceded by an LTP, which is subject to NRC review 
and approval. The LTP addresses site characterization to ensure that 
the scope of FSS of the site cover all areas where contamination 
existed, remains, or has the potential to exist or remain, 
identification of remaining dismantlement activities, plans for site 
remediation, a description of the FSS plans to confirm that NS Savannah 
will meet the release criteria in 10 CFR part 20, subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination,'' dose-modeling 
scenarios that ensure compliance with the radiological criteria for 
license termination, an estimate of the remaining site-specific 
decommissioning costs and an updated assessment of the environmental 
effects of decommissioning NS Savannah. Once approved, the LTP would 
become a supplement to the NS Savannah Defueled Safety Analysis Report.
    According to 10 CFR 50.82(a)(9)(iii), after the licensee submits an 
LTP the NRC must hold a public meeting near the site. The purpose of 
the meeting is for the NRC staff to discuss the NRC's review of the LTP 
and to request public comments on the LTP. In addition, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(9)(iii) and 20.1405, upon the receipt of an LTP 
from a licensee, NRC must publish a notice in the Federal Register and 
solicit comments from affected parties. Please see the related notice 
regarding the LTP proposed no significant hazards consideration 
determination and opportunity to request a hearing and petition to 
intervene (89 FR 22199, March 29, 2024).

III. Request for Comment and Public Meeting

    The NRC is requesting public comments on the NS Savannah LTP. The 
NRC will conduct a public meeting to discuss the LTP and receive 
comments on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., ET 
onboard the NS Savannah, online, or by phone. The NS Savannah is 
located at Pier 13 Canton Marine Terminal, 4601 Newgate Avenue, 
Baltimore, MD 21124. Please contact Tanya E. Hood no later than May 6, 
2024, if accommodations or special equipment are needed for you to 
attend or to provide comments, so that the NRC staff can determine 
whether the request can be accommodated.
    Special services. The NS Savannah is not compliant with the 
Americans with Disabilities Act. The ship has some capability to 
accommodate persons with impaired mobility. For additional information 
regarding the meeting, see the NRC's Public Meeting Schedule website at 
https://meetings.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg. The agenda will be posted no later 
than 10 days prior to the meeting.

    Dated: March 29, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shaun M. Anderson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning, 
Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-07010 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P