[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79317-79318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22117]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2023-0145]
Interim Staff Guidance: Radiological Survey and Dose Modeling of
the Subsurface To Support License Termination
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Final guidance; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the
Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs
(DUWP), Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), DUWP-ISG-02, ``Radiological
Survey and Dose Modeling of the Subsurface to Support License
Termination.'' The purpose of this ISG is to provide guidance on
surveys of open surfaces in the subsurface, including open excavations,
materials planned for reuse, and substructures. This ISG also provides
guidance on the use of commonly used decommissioning dose modeling
codes for submerged and partially submerged substructures to develop
clean-up levels, and on methods to evaluate risk from existing
groundwater contamination. This ISG supplements guidance found in
NUREG-1757, Volume 2, Revision 2, which pertains to licensees subject
to the license termination rule found in NRC regulations. This ISG is
intended for use by applicants, licensees, and NRC staff. The guidance
is also available to Agreement States and the public.
DATES: This guidance is effective on October 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0145 when contacting the
[[Page 79318]]
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-2023-0145. 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, 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. The ISG
``Radiological Survey and Dose Modeling of the Subsurface to Support
License Termination,'' is available in ADAMS under Accession No.
ML24197A219.
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. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Barr, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-4015; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The NRC is issuing this ISG to supplement guidance provided in
NUREG-1757, Volume 2, Revision 2, ``Consolidated Decommissioning
Guidance, Characterization, Survey, and Determination of Radiological
Criteria,'' which was issued in July 2022 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML22194A859). The ISG provides additional guidance developed after
Revision 2 to NUREG-1757, Volume 2, was published related to surveys of
open surfaces in the subsurface, including open excavations, materials
planned for reuse, and substructures. The ISG also provides guidance on
the use of commonly used decommissioning dose modeling codes to develop
clean-up levels for submerged and partially submerged substructures,
and on methods to evaluate risk from existing groundwater
contamination. NRC staff held two subsurface investigations workshops
on July 14-15, 2021, and May 11, 2022, to help support the development
of this ISG, and contracted with Oak Ridge Associated Universities to
develop guidance on acceptable survey methods.
On October 19, 2023, the NRC issued a Federal Register notice (88
FR 72112) soliciting public comment on its draft ISG, ``Radiological
Survey and Dose Modeling of the Subsurface to Support License
Termination.'' The NRC received comments from the Nuclear Energy
Institute, by letter dated December 13, 2023 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML24009A037); EnergySolutions, by letter dated December 18, 2023 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML23353A243); and the State of New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, by email dated December 21, 2023 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML24009A080). No other comments were submitted. The NRC
staff considered those comments in developing the final version of the
ISG. The staff's responses to the comments are provided in Appendix D,
``Comment Responses,'' of the final ISG. The NRC also issued a draft
Regulatory Analysis for the draft ISG for public comment (ADAMS
Accession No. ML23177A009). No comments were received on the draft
Regulatory Analysis. The final Regulatory Analysis is available in
ADAMS under ML24200A233.
II. Backfitting, Forward Fitting, and Issue Finality
Issuance of this ISG will not (i) constitute backfitting as defined
in sections 50.109, 70.76, or 72.62 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Backfitting,'' and as described in Management
Directive (MD) 8.4, ``Management of Backfitting, Forward Fitting, Issue
Finality, and Information Requests''; (ii) affect issue finality of any
approval issued under 10 CFR part 52, ``Licenses, Certifications, and
Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants''; or (iii) constitute forward
fitting as that term is defined and described in MD 8.4. This ISG
states the NRC staff's position on acceptable methods for surveys of
open surfaces in the subsurface, including open excavations, materials
planned for reuse, and substructures, as well as guidance on the use of
commonly used decommissioning dose modeling codes for submerged and
partially submerged substructures to develop clean-up levels, and on
methods to evaluate risk from existing groundwater contamination.
Applicants and licensees will not be required to comply with the
positions set forth in this ISG.
III. Congressional Review Act
This ISG is a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act (5
U.S.C. 801-808). However, the Office of Management and Budget has not
found it to be a major rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.
Dated: September 23, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jennifer Whitman,
Acting Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and
Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-22117 Filed 9-26-24; 8:45 am]
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