ML19332D182
| ML19332D182 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/24/1989 |
| From: | Miller V NRC OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS (GPA) |
| To: | Bangart R, Treby S NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS), NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19332D179 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-WM-3 NUDOCS 8911300118 | |
| Download: ML19332D182 (5) | |
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October 24, 1989 j
1 (2 33h RicharhBI'gart, Director MEMORANDUM FOR:
n Division of Low Level Waste Management and Decommissioning Stuart A. Treby, Assistant General Counsel for-Rulemaking and Fuel Cycle Office of the General Counsel FROM:
Vandy L. Miller, Assistant Director 4
for State Agreements Program State, Local and Indian Tribe Programs
SUBJECT:
RESPONSE FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE'(TN)
TO NRC REGARDING TN PROHIBITION OF TN WASTE
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PROCESSORS FROM HANDLING WASTE FROM STATES NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH LLRWPAA t
Enclosed is a response from the State of Tennessee dated September 29, 1989 to our letter dated September 14, 1989 regsrding the State of i
Tennessee's actions regarding low-level waste processed in Tennessee from l
States not in compliance with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA).
The State maintains that the actions taken were pursuant to their charge to protect the health of citizens and environment of Tennessee.
The State is requesting that NRC assist Tennessee in assuring that NRC licensees do not create additicnal problems of waste storage for Tennessee from those States that are not in compliance with LLRWPAA.
We would appreciate your comments by November 3,1989.
We have enclosed copies of previous correspondence on this matter.
If you have any questions, please contact Kathleen Schneider at extension 20320.
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Enclosures:
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K MEMORANDUM,FOR: Vandy L. Miller, Assistant Director
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tor State Agreements Program 1
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~ State, Local and Indian Tribe Programs s
0ffice of Governmental and Public Affairs I
FROM:
Richard L. Bangart, Director i
Division of Low. Level Waste Management
\\ and Decomunissioning l
Office of Ndelear Material Safet Safeguards l
SUBJECT:
RESPONSE TO TENNESSEE (TN) REGARDING PROHIBITION OF TN PROCES50RS FROM HANDLING LLW FROM STATES NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH LL AA l
Enclosed per your request are our comments on the letter from i
Mr. Michael Mobley, Director f the Division of Radiological Health in the i
Tennessee Department of Health, n the above subject. For your convenience, we l
have put our comments in the form f a draft letter in response to Mr. Mobley, j
We recommend, however, that appropr ate representatives of our Offices and the Office of the General Counsel discuss this issue with Mr. Mobley before sending
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him any written response.
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Richard L. Bangart, Director Division of Low. Level Waste Management and Dec mmissioning, NKSS i
Enclosure:
As stated Distribution: Central File # 414.6 (TICKET LLWM89115)
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SUB.1ECT ABSTRACT:
PROPOSED TENNESSEE PROHIBIT 10Nj0N L W PROCESSORS j
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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
f s-L LLWM INPUT TO RESPONSE TO TENNESSEE REGARDING OUT-OF-SLATE LLW AT TENNESSEE-LICENSED PROCESSING SITES i
Dear Mr. Mobley,
y I am writing in response to your letter of Septes6er 29,1989, asking the Nuclear Regulatory Regulatory Consission (NRC) to "become very proactive in the ongoin)RC licensees do not create additional problems for Tennessee." evolution of th that "N As we understand your concern, these additional problems could arise because substantial quantities of low-level wastes (LLW) from states not in compliance with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA) - and therefore not acceptable for timely disposal - could accumulate for indefinite long-term storage at waste processing sites licensed by Tennessee.
We are uncertain, however, as to what actions you believe NRC should take in this matter.
If for example, you are proposing that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), attempt to prohibit all licensed waste generators from shipping wastes to another state or compact region for processing if the state i
in which the generators are licensed has been found to be out of compliance with the LLRWPAA, you should know that there are significant limits on both our statutory authority and our resources for this. Neither the LLRWPAA nor the I
Atomic Energy Act, as amended, enables NRC to impose health and safety regulatory requirements for the effective purpose of assuring timely l
implementation of the LLRWPAA.
For the same reason, NRC has no authority to require Agreement States to apply such measures as a matter of compatibility with federal requirements.
Even if such authorities were available, we doubt that NRC or Agreement State resources would be best employed to establish and enforce at a multitude of sites measures to avert potential problems that can most effectively be addressed at the few sites where the problems might arise.
NRC can, however, directly assist your own efforts to address potential storage problems at State-licensed LLW processing sites. As an Agreement State.
Tennessee has the )rimary responsibility for assuring the protection of radiological healti and safety at these installations. We believe that the State's existing authorities are adequate for this purpose.
If your object is to assure that wastes that cannot be shipped for disposal af ter processing do not accumulate in hazardous quantities at processing sites, we believe Tennessee has available to it ample regulatory alternatives to a general ban on the processing or storage of wastes generated in out-of-compliance states.
These alternatives might include:
license conditions providing that pre-treatment storage of wastes from out-of-compliance states be no longer than the time needed for orderly processing; conditions requiring treatment of such wastes as soon as practicable given the facility's treatment batching schedule at the time of their receipt; conditions limiting post-treatment storage or
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requiring assurances from generators or other responsible authorities in out-of-compliance states to accept treated wastes that cannot be shipped for disposal, or some combination of these. We would be pleased to discuss these alternatives with you in more detail if you believe this kind of NRC assistance would be useful.
We appreciate your commitment to identifying and seeking timely solutions to a potential regulatory problem with national waste management implications. We also share your desire to avoid impediments to the safe and efficient of LLW across state and regional borders.
I hope this clarification of our views helps you to focus Tennessee's regulatory efforts.
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