2021-06301. Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility; and US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility Located Near Grand View, Idaho  

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    AGENCY:

    Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    ACTION:

    License amendment and exemption; issuance.

    SUMMARY:

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an exemption and associated license Start Printed Page 16240amendment related to a request from Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) from NRC regulations with respect to a request for alternate disposal and exemption for specified low-activity radioactive waste from the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in Hopkins, South Carolina for waste containing byproduct material and special nuclear material (SNM) under License Number SNM-1107. Additionally, the NRC is taking the related action of approving exemptions to US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) from the applicable licensing requirements to allow USEI to receive and dispose the material from CFFF without an NRC license. The USEI disposal facility, located near Grand View, Idaho, is a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho to receive low-level radioactive waste and is not licensed by the NRC. Approval of the alternate disposal request from WEC, the exemptions and license amendment requested by WEC and associated exemptions for USEI would allow WEC to transfer the specific waste from CFFF for disposal at USEI.

    DATES:

    This exemption is effective on March 12, 2021.

    ADDRESSES:

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0062 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-2021-0062. Address questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624; email: Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. 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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The Request for Alternate Disposal Approval and Exemption for Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Waste (License No. SNM-1197, Docket No. 70-1151) dated February 8, 2021 is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML21039A719. The staff's Safety Evaluation Report dated March 3, 2021 is available in ADAMS under Package Accession No. ML21053A335.
    • Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request to the PDR via email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Start Further Info

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    David Tiktinsky, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-8740, email: David.Tiktinsky@nrc.gov.

    End Further Info End Preamble Start Supplemental Information

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    I. Background

    Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) is the holder of a Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License SNM-1107 under Part 70 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which authorizes the fabrication of nuclear fuel at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF). The US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) disposal facility near Grand View, Idaho is a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho to receive radioactive waste that is not licensed or exempted from licensing by the NRC.

    II. Request/Action

    The proposed action would approve the alternate disposal request and provide exemptions to 10 CFR 70.3 and 10 CFR 30.3, and an associated WEC license amendment, allowing WEC to transfer and USEI to receive and dispose specific wastes.

    Westinghouse had previously requested and received a corresponding exemption and license amendment, dated December 9, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20302A084) to transfer approximately 1428 m3 (50,400 ft3) of solid contaminated Calcium Fluoride (CaF2) sludge to the USEI RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste disposal facility near Grand View, Idaho for disposal. This material was dredged from the Calcium Fluoride Lagoons and subsequently placed in a storage pile. USEI was granted a corresponding exemption to receive and dispose of this material on December 9, 2020.

    After Westinghouse received the December 9, 2020 exemption, it discovered that the actual volume of CaF2 was less than the 1428 m3 (50,400 ft3) previously assumed. The actual volume was 694 m3 (24,500 ft3). In its February 8, 2021 letter, Westinghouse has requested an exemption and license amendment to dispose of 733 m3 (25,900 ft3) of similar CaF2 from the “Operations” pile. The total amount of CaF2 material (from the previous approval the additional material considered here) would not exceed the previously approved volume of 1428 m3 (50,400 ft3). In addition, the CaF2 from the “Operations” pile is similar to the previously approved material, and the total activity and other parameters for the disposal at USEI will not differ from the initial approval. The CaF2 sludge was generated as a waste from uranium recovery waste treatment process and is contaminated with SNM (low enriched uranium {<5 wt. % U-235}) as well.

    The previously exempted sludge, soil, and debris associated with the closure of the East Lagoon will be shipped with the CaF2 sludge to USEI using a combination of trucks and railcars.

    III. Discussion

    Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the Commission may, upon application of any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 70 and Part 30 respectively, as it determines are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and security and are otherwise in the public interest.

    The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The proposal provides that the material previously described, would be transported in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations to USEI in Idaho, which is a Subtitle C, RCRA hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho. As such, the material will be removed per State and local regulations, will be shipped per existing Federal regulations to a location approved by the State of Idaho to receive the material, and such disposal is not otherwise contrary to NRC requirements, and is therefore authorized by law.

    The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life, Property and Is Consistent With The Common Defense and Security

    NRC staff reviewed the information provided by WEC to support their 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal request and for the specific exemptions from 10 CFR 30.3 and 10 CFR 70.3 and associated license amendment in order to dispose of CaF2 sludge from the “Operations pile” as aggregated waste at Start Printed Page 16241USEI. As documented in the Safety Evaluation Report, the NRC staff concludes that, consistent with 10 CFR 20.2002, WEC provided an adequate description of the materials and the proposed manner and conditions of waste disposal. The NRC staff also concluded that the use of the site-specific dose assessment methodology to evaluate the projected doses associated with the transportation and disposal of the waste streams at USEI are acceptable. The NRC staff reviewed the input parameters included in this modeling and found that they are appropriate for the scenarios considered. The NRC staff also evaluated the potential doses associated with transportation, waste handling, and disposal and found that the projected doses have been appropriately estimated and are demonstrated to meet the NRC's alternate disposal standard of contributing a dose of not more than “a few millirem per year” to any member of the public and are as low as is reasonably achievable. The NRC staff also concluded that the projected doses from the post-closure and intruder scenarios at USEI are also within “a few millirem per year” over a period of 1,000 years. Lastly, because of the presence of SNM, the NRC evaluated potential criticality in its SER, and found no concerns. This subsequent disposal request remains bounded by the parameters of the previous request and approval. Therefore, the NRC concludes that issuance of the exemption is will not endanger life, property, and is consistent with the common defense and security.

    The Exemption Is in the Public Interest

    Issuance of the exemption to WEC and USEI is in the public interest because it would provide for the efficient and safe disposal for the subject waste material, would facilitate the decommissioning of the East Lagoon at the CFFF site, and would conserve low-level radioactive waste disposal capacity at licensed low-level radioactive disposal sites, while ensuring that the material being considered is disposed of safely in a regulated facility. Therefore, based upon the evaluation above, an exemption is appropriate pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17.

    IV. Environmental Considerations

    As required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC performed an environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the environmental impacts of the proposed exemption in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and NRC implementing regulations in 10 CFR part 51. Based on that EA, the NRC staff has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed exemption and has issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI). The EA and FONSI were published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2021 (86 FR 13915).

    V. Conclusions

    Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the exemptions for WEC and USEI and associated WEC license amendment are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, is consistent with the common defense and security, and is in the public interest. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants WEC and USEI exemptions from 10 CFR 70.3 and 10 CFR 30.3 to allow WEC to transfer the specifically identified byproduct material and SNM waste described above from the WEC CFFF for disposal at the USEI disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho, and issues WEC a conforming license amendment.

    Start Signature

    Dated: March 23, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Jacob I. Zimmerman,

    Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

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    [FR Doc. 2021-06301 Filed 3-25-21; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

Document Information

Effective Date:
3/12/2021
Published:
03/26/2021
Department:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
License amendment and exemption; issuance.
Document Number:
2021-06301
Dates:
This exemption is effective on March 12, 2021.
Pages:
16239-16241 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. 70-1151, NRC-2021-0062
PDF File:
2021-06301.pdf
Supporting Documents:
» Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility; and US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility Located Near Grand View, Idaho
» Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility; and US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility Located Near Grand View, Idaho