ML12299A056

Letter to Joseph J. Weismann, of Us Ecology Idaho, Approval of Exemptions for 20.2002 Disposal of Waste from Humboldt Bay

ML12299A056
Person / Time
Site:	Humboldt Bay
Issue date:	12/19/2012
From:	Camper L NRC/FSME/DWMEP
To:	Weisman J U.S. Ecology
Hickman J
Shared Package
ML12299A051	List: ML12299A056
References
Download: ML12299A056 (4)

Text

December 19, 2012 Mr. Joseph J. Weismann Radiation Program Manager U.S. Ecology, Inc.

300 E. Mallard Dr., Suite 300 Boise, ID 83706

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR 10 CFR 20.2002 ALTERNATE DISPOSAL APPROVAL AND EXEMPTIONS FROM 10 CFR 30.11 AND 10 CFR 70.17 FOR HUMBOLDT BAY PLANT WASTE DISPOSAL AT US ECOLOGY IDAHO

Dear Mr. Weismann:

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. Additionally PG&E requested exemptions on behalf of U.S. Ecology Idaho (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 has confirmed by email dated October 31, 2012, that it would like an exemption from the NRCs regulations in 10 CFR Parts 30 and 70 to allow disposal of this material at its site. PG&E requested NRC approval under 10 CFR 20.2002 to dispose of these materials at the USEI Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho. USEI is not an NRC-licensed facility. The alternate disposal provision contained in 10 CFR 20.2002 permits a licensee to request NRC approval for alternate disposal procedures.

To obtain approval for 20.2002 alternate disposals, 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.

When a licensee obtains approval to send radioactive material to a non-licensed disposal facility, the disposal facility must either obtain a license or an exemption from the NRCs licensing requirements. In accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17, "The Commission may, upon application by an interested person or upon its own initiative, grant

J. Weismann such exemptions from the requirements of the regulations ... 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." As detailed in the enclosed Safety Evaluation, to the extent that the material authorized for disposal in this 20.2002 request is otherwise licensable, the staff concludes that the material is exempt from further Atomic Energy Act and NRC licensing requirements.

The enclosed safety evaluation report concludes that the exemptions 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 staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the exemptions and determined that granting these exemptions 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 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17, the exemptions are 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 electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC=s 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

J. Weismann such exemptions from the requirements of the regulations ... 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." As detailed in the enclosed Safety Evaluation, to the extent that the material authorized for disposal in this 20.2002 request is otherwise licensable, the staff concludes that the material is exempt from further Atomic Energy Act and NRC licensing requirements.

The enclosed safety evaluation report concludes that the exemptions 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 staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the exemptions and determined that granting these exemptions 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 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17, the exemptions are 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 electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC=s 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, 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 ML12299A051 DWMEP DWMEP DWMEP OGC DWMEP DWMEP OFFICE JHickman CHolston BWatson TCampbell APersinko LCamper NAME 10/ 25 /12 10/ 25 /12 10/ 25 /12 10/31/12 12/12/12 12/19/12 DATE OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3 Service List cc:

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