ML12244A098

Letter to Edward Halpin of Pacific Gas and Electric Company Approval of Humboldt Bay Request for 20-2002 Alternate Disposal and 10 CFR 30.11 Exemption

ML12244A098
Person / Time
Site:	Humboldt Bay
Issue date:	12/19/2012
From:	Camper L NRC/FSME/DWMEP
To:	Halpin E Pacific Gas & Electric Co
Hickman J
Shared Package
ML12244A084	List: ML12244A098 ML12244A100
References
Download: ML12244A098 (3)

Text

December 19, 2012 Mr. Edward D. Halpin Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Pacific Gas and Electric Company P. O. Box 56 Mail Code 104/6 Avila Beach, CA 93424

SUBJECT:

HUMBOLDT BAY POWER PLANT UNIT 3 - REQUEST FOR 10 CFR 20.2002 ALTERNATE DISPOSAL APPROVAL AND 10 CFR 30.11 EXEMPTION FOR PLANT WASTE DISPOSAL AT US ECOLOGY IDAHO (TAC NO. J00369)

By letter dated May 2, 2012, as supplemented by email dated July 16, 2012, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, the licensee) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a request for alternate disposal of approximately 100,000 ft3 of hazardous waste, soil, and debris and 50,000 ft3 of water containing low-activity radioactive material generated during the demolition of structures and remediation activities at Humboldt Bay Unit 3. PG&E plans to dispose of this material at the U.S. Ecology Idaho (USEI) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho. USEI is not an NRC-licensed facility. PG&E made this request under the alternate disposal provision contained in 10 CFR 20.2002, which permits a licensee to request NRC approval for alternate disposal procedures. Additionally, PG&E requested exemptions on behalf of USEI pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17 to allow USEI to receive and possess radioactive materials without an NRC license. USEI endorsed this request by electronic correspondence to the NRC on October 31, 2012. These exemptions are addressed in a separate correspondence to USEI.

To obtain approval for 20.2002 alternate disposal, the NRC requires that the licensee demonstrate that doses will be maintained as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The NRC has determined that this limit requires a licensee to demonstrate that the dose to a member of the public (including all exposure groups) is no more than a few millirem per year The NRC has evaluated the potential doses associated with transportation, waste handling, and disposal as a part of its review of PG&Es 20.2002 request. The NRC determined that the projected doses to individual transportation and USEI workers have been appropriately estimated and are demonstrated to meet the NRCs alternate disposal dose requirement of not more than a few millirem per year. Independent review of the post-closure and intruder scenarios at USEI confirmed that the maximum projected dose over a period of 1,000 years is also within a few millirem per year. Therefore, the potential cumulative dose from the waste in this disposal request plus the dose from the waste in the previous disposal requests is also within a few millirem per year.

E. Halpin The enclosed Safety Evaluation documents the basis for the acceptability of the alternate disposal request. The staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the approval and exemption and determined that granting them would not result in any significant impacts. For this action, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared and published in the Federal Register. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, the approval to use alternative disposal is granted and effective immediately.

A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, a copy of this letter will be available for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Larry W. Camper, Director Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs Docket No. 50-133

Enclosure:

Safety Evaluation cc w/enclosure: Humboldt Bay Service List

E. Halpin The enclosed Safety Evaluation documents the basis for the acceptability of the alternate disposal request. The staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the approval and exemption and determined that granting them would not result in any significant impacts. For this action, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared and published in the Federal Register. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, the approval to use alternative disposal is granted and effective immediately.

A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, a copy of this letter will be available for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Larry W. Camper, Director Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs Docket No. 50-133

Enclosure:

Safety Evaluation cc w/enclosure: Humboldt Bay Service List DISTRIBUTION: DCD r/f OGC ACRS/ACNW Blair Spitzberg, RIV ML12244A084 OFFICE DWMEP DWMEP DWMEP DWMEP OGC DWMEP DWMEP NAME JHickman CHolston BWatson CMcKenney TCampbell APersinko LCamper DATE 9/6/2012 9/6/2012 9/6/2012 9/6/2012 10/31/2012 12/12/2012 12/19 /12 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3 Service List cc:

Mr. Edward D. Halpin Redwood Alliance Senior Vice President and P.O. Box 293 Chief Nuclear Officer Arcata, CA 95521 Pacific Gas and Electric Company P. O. Box 56 Mail Code 104/6 Dr. Rich Ferguson, Energy Chair Avila Beach, CA 93424 Sierra Club California 1100 11th Street, Suite 311 James Becker Sacramento, CA 94814 Vice President - Diablo Canyon Operations and Station Director Mr. Gary Butner, Acting Radiation Program Diablo Canyon Power Plant Director PO Box 56 Radiologic Health Branch Avila Beach, CA 93424 Dept. of Health Services, MS-7610 PO Box 997414 Paul J. Roller Sacramento, CA 95899-7414 Director and Plant Manager Humboldt Bay Nuclear Stephen Hsu, M.S., Senior Health Physicist Pacific Gas & Electric Company Radiological Assessment Unit 1000 King Salmon Avenue Radioactive Material Licensing Section Eureka, CA 95503 Radiologic Health Branch Dept. of Health Services, MS-7610 Jennifer K. Post PO Box 997414 Law Department Sacramento, CA 95899-7414 Pacific Gas and Electric Company 77 Beale Street, B30A Commissioner San Francisco, CA California Energy Commission 1516 Ninth Street Chairman, Humboldt County Board Sacramento, CA 95814 of Supervisors County Courthouse Deputy Attorney General 825 Fifth Street State of California Eureka, CA 95501 110 West A Street, Suite 700 San Diego, CA 92101 Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-8064 California Public Utilities Commission 505 Van Ness, Room 4102 San Francisco, CA 94102