ML17082A581
| ML17082A581 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 06/20/2017 |
| From: | John Tappert Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Wamser C Entergy Nuclear Operations, Vermont Yankee |
| J. Parrott NMSS/DUWP/RDB 415-6634 T-8E47 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17087A147 | List: |
| References | |
| TAC L53116 | |
| Download: ML17082A581 (3) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 June 20, 2017 Christopher J. Wamser, Site Vice President Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 320 Governor Hunt Road Vernon, VT 05354
SUBJECT:
VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - REQUEST FOR 10 CFR 20.2002 ALTERNATE DISPOSAL AT US ECOLOGY IDAHO (TAC NO. L53116)
By letter dated January 14, 2016 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML16029A071), as supplemented by letter dated, June 28, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16182A035), and e-mail dated August 11, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16231A028), Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (ENO) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a request for alternate disposal of approximately 200,000 gallons of waste water. The water is associated with the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY) and contains low concentrations of fission and activation products resulting from VY operations.
ENO plans to dispose of this material at the U.S. Ecology Idaho (USEI) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C hazardous disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho. USEI is not an NRC-licensed facility. ENO made this request under the alternate disposal provision contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 20.2002 (10 CFR 20.2002), which permits a licensee to request NRC approval for alternate disposal procedures.
On January 14, 2016, USEI submitted a request for an exemption from the licensing requirements of 10 CFR 30.3 to allow for the transfer of the waste containing byproduct material to USEI and disposal of the byproduct material at the USEI facility (ADAMS Accession No. ML16021A173). Specific exemptions to the licensing requirements of 10 CFR 30.3 are provided for under 10 CFR 30.11. When evaluating the 10 CFR 30.11 exemption request in conjunction with the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternative disposal request, the NRC applied a similar standard to both reviews. That exemption is addressed in separate correspondence to USEI.
To obtain approval for 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal, the NRC requires that the licensee demonstrate that doses will be maintained as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and within the applicable public and occupational dose limits. The NRC has determined that the ALARA standard 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 per SECY-07-0060, Basis and Justification for Approval Process for 10 CFR 20.2002 Authorizations and Options for Change (ADAMS Accession No. ML062050587). The NRC has evaluated the potential doses associated with transportation, waste handling, and disposal as a part of its review of ENOs 10 CFR 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.
C. Wamser 2
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 not more than a few millirem per year.
The enclosed Safety Evaluation documents the basis for the acceptability of the 10 CFR 20.2002 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 environmental impacts. For this action, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared and published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2017 (82 FR 16239). Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, the approval for alternate disposal of the approximately 200,000 gallons of waste water material at the USEI Grand View, Idaho disposal facility is granted and effective immediately.
A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs 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 NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Sincerely,
/RA/
John R. Tappert, Director Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 50-271 License No. DPR-028
Enclosure:
Safety Evaluation cc w/enclosure: Vermont Yankee ListServ
ML17087A147 OFFICE DUWP DUWP DUWP DWUP OGC-NLO DUWP NAME JParrott CHolston CMcKenney BWatson APessin JTappert DATE 03/28/17 03/29/17 03/30/17 03/31/17 04/26/17 06/20/17