ML19224A774
| ML19224A774 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/16/2019 |
| From: | John Lubinski Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Ginsberg E Nuclear Energy Institute |
| Dembek S | |
| References | |
| RIS 2016-011 | |
| Download: ML19224A774 (3) | |
See also: RIS 2016-11
Text
September 16, 2019
Ms. Ellen C. Ginsberg
Vice President, General Counsel
& Secretary
Nuclear Energy Institute
1201 F Street, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20004
SUBJECT:
RESPONSE TO YOUR FEBRUARY 28, 2019, LETTER, COMMENTS ON
REGULATORY ISSUE SUMMARY 2016-11, REQUESTS TO DISPOSE OF
VERY LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 20.2002
Dear Ms. Ginsberg:
I am responding to your February 28, 2019, letter to Ho Nieh and Scott Moore, Comments on
Regulatory Issue Summary 2016-11, Requests to Dispose of Very Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML19086A320), where you requested that the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) rescind Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2016-11.
We have reviewed the information you provided and the history of this issue and determined
that RIS 2016-11 correctly stated that any licensees request for approval to dispose of licensed
material under Title 10 of the Code of Regulations (10 CFR) Section 20.2002, or the equivalent
Agreement State regulations, must be submitted to the regulatory authority that issued the
license for use of the radioactive material. In the case of 10 CFR Part 50 or 52 licensees, this
requirement is based on the NRCs jurisdiction over the operation of nuclear power plants,
which cannot be delegated to an Agreement State.
For Very Low-Level Waste (VLLW) at unlicensed facilities such as Resource Conservation
Recovery Act disposal facilities that have received appropriate exemptions from VLLW disposal
requirements, the NRC staff intends to avoid an unnecessarily complicated approval process.
Therefore, as indicated during a public meeting on September 6, 2019, the staff plans to provide
updated guidance describing a streamlined approach for reviewing 10 CFR 20.2002 requests,
particularly in cases where an Agreement State may have already approved or exempted a
facility that would receive the VLLW that is subject to the 20.2002 request. The NRC staff
envisions an approach that appropriately considers the Agreement States review and approval
in the NRC staffs review. The staff will solicit stakeholder comments before issuing final
guidance on this issue.
For any 10 CFR Part 50 or 52 licensees that have used Agreement State approvals in the past
in lieu of an NRC 10 CFR 20.2002 approval, the NRC staff will consider enforcement discretion
on a case-by-case basis, as appropriate.
E.
Ginsberg
2
In addition to the streamlined approach to 10 CFR 20.2002 reviews for VLLW discussed above,
the NRC staff plans to review the scope of acceptable disposal of VLLW under 10 CFR
20.2001. The staff will also seek public and stakeholder comments as part of this review before
finalizing guidance.
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 https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html
Thank you for submitting your comments. If you have any questions, please contact Stephen
Dembek at stephen.dembek@nrc.gov or 301-415-2342.
Sincerely,
//RA//
John W. Lubinski, Director
Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards
- via email
OFFICE
MSST
SKoenick*
PMichalak*
BPham*
JPeralta*
RPascerelli
DATE
9/12/19
9/12/19
9/11/19
9/11/19
9/11/19*
OFFICE
TECH ED
NAME
BHarris*
CGoode
JLubinski
DATE
9/11/19
9/12/19
9/16/19