ML16287A557
| ML16287A557 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | San Onofre  |
| Issue date: | 12/15/2016 |
| From: | John Tappert Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Prosser A Let Laguna Vote |
| M. Vaaler NMSS/DUWP/RDB 415-3178 T-8I06 | |
| References | |
| Download: ML16287A557 (4) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 December 15, 2016 Audrey Prosser Let Laguna Vote 9382 Sunridge Drive Huntington Beach, California 92646
SUBJECT:
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION RESPONSE TO A PETITION FROM LET LAGUNA VOTE REGARDING DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVITIES AT THE SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION
Dear Ms. Prosser:
Thank you for forwarding the Let Laguna Vote petition, titled Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): Keep Us Safe From San Onofre Nuclear Waste, regarding the decommissioning activities underway at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS); and more specifically, the impact the long term storage of spent nuclear fuel at the facility has on the surrounding communities.
The Let Laguna Vote petition makes the following requests of the Commission:
- 1. Tell Southern California Edison (SCE, the licensee) to work with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to create a secure interim location - perhaps on a military base or in some other sparsely populated area - to store the radioactive waste from SONGS, and require that the waste be moved and safely stored there before decommissioning funds are depleted on site restoration activities.
- 2. Hold SCE responsible for safety and security at SONGS as long as nuclear waste remains at the site located near San Clemente, California.
After reviewing the petition and the additional comments provided by some of the signatories of the document, the NRC staff would like to offer a response to the specific requests made of the NRC in the petition, as well as provide additional information regarding the overall decommissioning process and the specific activities applicable to SONGS.
In regard to SCEs responsibility for the safety and security of SONGS, as long as SCE remains the licensee for the SONGS facility, including the independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI), they will retain responsibility for the maintenance and oversight of all nuclear materials remaining at the site. As such, although the NRC license for the remainder of the site (besides the ISFSI) will be terminated at the end of decommissioning, SCE will maintain responsibility for the safety and security of all the spent nuclear fuel and any other radiological waste stored in the ISFSI dry cask storage systems. This responsibility will continue, and be verified by routine NRC inspection activities and other oversight, until the fuel is permanently removed from the site and possession is assumed by DOE or another licensee.
As for the request that the NRC require SCE to work with DOE and/or DOD to establish an interim radiological waste facility in a sparsely populated area for the storage of SONGS spent
A. Prosser fuel and other nuclear materials, the staff notes that the NRC, as an independent regulator, maintains independence from other Federal agencies in the siting process for waste storage facilities and only reviews applications for such facilities. Therefore, the NRC does not have the authority to mandate that SCE attempt to establish an interim waste storage facility.
Finally, there are NRC regulations that govern the maintenance of spent fuel and other radiological waste during the decommissioning process. The licensee is required (by 10 CFR 50.54(bb)) to submit the spent fuel management program to the NRC for review within two years following permanent shutdown. SCE submitted the SONGS Irradiated Fuel Management Plan (IFMP) on September 23, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14269A032).
Based on its review of SCE's submittal, the NRC staff found that the SONGS program to manage and provide funding for the management of all irradiated fuel is adequate and provides sufficient detail regarding the associated funding mechanisms. Further, the staff determined that the elected actions within the program are consistent with NRC requirements for licensed possession of irradiated nuclear fuel and that these actions will be implemented on a timely basis. This determination is documented in an NRC letter and safety evaluation dated August 19, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15182A256).
In accordance with 10 CFR Part 2, "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure," 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 the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Thank you again for your perspective on the ongoing decommissioning activities at the SONGS site. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Marlayna Vaaler, the SONGS Project Manager at 301-415-3178, or via email at marlayna.vaaler@nrc.gov, to facilitate further discussions.
Sincerely,
/RA/
John Tappert, Director Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos.: 50-361 and 50-362 License Nos.: NPF-10 and NPF-15
Based on its review of SCE's submittal, the NRC staff found that the SONGS program to manage and provide funding for the management of all irradiated fuel is adequate and provides sufficient detail regarding the associated funding mechanisms. Further, the staff determined that the elected actions within the program are consistent with NRC requirements for licensed possession of irradiated nuclear fuel and that these actions will be implemented on a timely basis. This determination is documented in an NRC letter and safety evaluation dated August 19, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15182A256).
In accordance with 10 CFR Part 2, "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure," 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 the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Thank you again for your perspective on the ongoing decommissioning activities at the SONGS site. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Marlayna Vaaler, the SONGS Project Manager at 301-415-3178, or via email at marlayna.vaaler@nrc.gov, to facilitate further discussions.
Sincerely,
/RA/
John Tappert, Director Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos.: 50-361 and 50-362 License Nos.: NPF-10 and NPF-15 DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC RDB RF RidsNMSS Resource ADAMS Accession No. ML16287A557 *by e-mail OFFICE NMSS/RDB/PM NMSS/RDB/LA NMSS/SFLB/BC NMSS/RDB/BC OGC NMSS/DUWP/D NAME MVaaler CHolston JMcKirgan* BWatson ACoggins* JTappert DATE 10/11/2016 10/17/2016 11/30/2016 10/18/2016 11/29/2016 12/15/2016