ML20059N697

Forwards NMSS Policy & Procedures Ltr 1-41 Re Decommissioning Rule Implementation.Ltr Establishes Responsibilities & Procedures for Implementation of NMSS Decommissioning Program

ML20059N697
Person / Time
Issue date:	10/15/1990
From:	Bernero R NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
References
REF-WM-3 NUDOCS 9010170157
Download: ML20059N697 (7)

Text

MEMORANDUM.FOR: -Division Direct:rs, Deputy Directors, Branch Chiefs, and Secticn Leaders OCT i s 1000 Office of Nuc1 car Material Safety and Safeguards FROM:

Robert M. Bernero, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

SUBJECT:

NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY AND SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) POLICY AND PROCEDURES LETTER 1-41, DECOMMISSIONING RULE IMPLEMENTATION The enclosed NMSS Policy and Procedures Letter 1-41 establishes responsibilities and procedures for implementation of the NMSS decommissioning program. This guidance is consistent with, and made necessary by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) final rule on decommissit,ning, published.in the Federal Register on June 27, 1988 (" General Requirements for Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities"), and the recent transfer of regulatory responsibility for the decomunissioning(of nuclear power reactors from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation NRR) to NMSS. Additionally, this guidance is 'necessary to define the respective decommissioning roles and responsibilities, for

.non-reactor-licensees, of the Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety Division and the Low-Level Waste Management and Decommissioning Division.

GWned) Robert M. Bernero Robert M. Bernero, Director Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Enclosure:

NMSS Policy and Procedures Letter 1-41 i

cc: Regional Administrators DISTRIBUTION: Central' File f NM55 r/f RLBangart PLohaus JJSurmeier JGreeves JAustin JLepre r/f LAltoft r/f NMSS Dir. Ofc. r/f TCJohnson CJHaughney GSjoblom RECunningham WBBrown LLRB r/f PDR Yes: /X/

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L SS P&P L SUSMcT ABSTRACT:

NM R 1-41, DECOMMISSIONING RULE IMPLEMENTATION

• SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCE

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r NMSS Policy and Procedures Letter 1 **

-October 15, 1990 NUCLEARMATERIALSAFETYAND' SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)'

POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NMSS DECOMMISSIONING PROGRAM I.

Purpose These procedures provide guidance for the NMSS staff carrying out NMSS

.1 decomissioning responsibilities. These responsibilities include:

1) implementation of the Site Decomissioning Management Plan (SDMP)

SECY-90-121);(2) implementation of the final rule on decomissioning,.

" General Requirements for Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities," published in the Federal Req 1 ster June 27,1988;and(3)executionofNMSS responsibilities *or the regulation of nuclear y

decomissioning (see SECY-88-128, May 10,1988) power reactorThis policy and l

procedures letter does not address routine facility decontamination i

activities that have minimal environmental concerns, but might involve routine waste disposal ~(in terms of volume, waste form, or method of disposal). This procedure covers proposals for waste disposal by onsite 3

burial, stabilization in p(lace, or by means other than use of a 10'CFR.

Part 61 disposal facility orequivalent).

II. Objective The overall objective of the NHSS decomissioning program is to ensure that i

'decomissioning activities adequately protect the health and safety of -

workers and the public, protect the environment, and are conducted in a L

timely and effective manner, consistent with all pertinent regulatory L

requirements.

III. Non-Reactor Facilities A.

Program Management i

L In general, overall responsibility for the decomissionng program 3

that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission (NRC) conducts for NMSS licensed facilities rests with the Division of Low-Level Waste a

Management and Decomissioning (LLWM). This responsibility includes an oversight role, which helps provide information, to ensure that licensees, etc. are approaching similar problems the same way, and which helps identify program direction and guidance needs. LLWM will have lead responsibility, working with the Division of Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety (IMNS) and other offices, for the evaluation of generic decomissioning issues and for the coordination of issue.

resolution. This aforementioned lead responsibility includes:

. developing decomissioning guidance; i

developing resource estimates for NMSS and regional work; assisting in inspections, as needed; tracking decomissioning status; coordinating with other divisions and offices, as needed, to identify necessary NRC actions; 0-

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• . providing informational oversight of all facility onsite n

decommissioning activities; managing SDMP and associated comitments; and performing the regional program review for the decomissioning program.-

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a Consistent with overall decomissioning program management C

responsibilities, LLWM will coordinate all guidance development for programs' primarily addressing decossissioning.

LLWM, in coordination D

with'other NMSS divisions, will have lead resp (onsibility for support-of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research RES)onregulation promulgation, regulatory guidance promulgation, and domestic or international standards-setting activities that primarily address.the NRC decommissioning program.

LLWM is responsible for providing' technical guidance and assistance on groundwater contamination and site stability needed by the licensing and inspection staff to' implementtheNMSSandtheOfficeofNuclearReactorRegulation(NRR) facility decommissioning programs, and for interacting with RES to -

-obtain needed guidance and research support. These roles shall include development of guidance on policy, procedures, technical p

matters, and questions on interpretations of regula".icas and regulatory guidance documents. Guidance to the ins,";ction staff h provided to the-regions as changes to MC 2600 and MC 2800, and to the a

licensing staff as changes to FC Directives.

LLWM will continue to be responsible for uranium and thorium mills and mill tailings, except-for those-cases specifically agreed on.

Lead NMSS responsibility assignments for other activities (such as 10 CFR Part 20 revision, for example), involving decommissioning in a peripheral fashion, are not affected by this policy and procedures n

letter, p

INNS-is the lead division for guidance on safety aspects related to p

licensee operations.

IMNS is technically responsible for providing i

guidance, standard. review plans, inspection procedures, and=other l,

guidance directives, as appropriate, for non-reactor buildings and l

facilities, as well as for radiological closecut surveys, LLWM, in coordination with IMNS, NRR, and the Technical Training L

Center (TTC), shall establish training and qualification requirements and programs to meet these requirements, in order to-ensure that regional and Headquarters licensing and inspection staff are knowledgeable of decomissioning requirements and relevant guidance materials. LLWM will develop, with assistance from INNS, guidance to the Office of. Enforcement (0E), on enforcement of decomissioning matters.

B.

Project. Management and Licensing, Non-Reactor Facilities Af ter termination of operations at any facility, there needs to be a logical transition between the operational project management and

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decommissioning activities.

LLWM, with concurrence of IMNS, will develop and maintain a list of current decommissioning casework and

r assigned organizational responsibilities.- For any specific facility or site, project management responsibility for facility / site-decommissioning may change as a result of changes in the status of decommissioning actions (e.g., after cleaning highly enriched uranium (HEU) out of ducts and elsewhere, regulatory responsibility for the site may pass from IMNS to LLWM).

The project management and licensing responsibilities for the decossissioning of facilities covered under a materials license issued pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 30, 40, or 70 will continue as specified in the delegation and assignment letter to the Regional Administrators, dated October 6, 1987, with the exceptions that 4

follow.

LLWM will, in a timely manner, assume project management and licensing responsibility for those facilities that have ceased

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operations and whose decossissioning activities will be carried out-i over a significant period of time (greater than approximately one-year). Any known significant nuclear process: safety problems, such i

as buildup of HEU in duct work, will be resolved before the-facility is transferred from IMNS to LLWM for project manages:ent of general decommissioning activities, assuming notsite contamination exists i

that is not below regulatory concer:.. This will be similar to the transition of reactor projects tc a possession-only license, once fuel has been-removed from the reactor.

With regard to licenses ter.ninated after 1965, IMNS will be responsible for the review of the adequacy of the termination reviews and site surveys.

IMNS will. coordinate with LLWM on review criteria L

to be used. For'those sites judged to need further review and-surveys, LLWM will include those sites in the SDMP and will track progress on closure.

IMNS will identify, for additional' review, those sites for which it is known that there were onsite burials, and for which there is not a documented review of the disposal.

LLWM will generally have lead project management responsibility for site characterization or relamation and stabilization programs at or site where IMNS has historical responsibility (y' licensed facility formerly licensed facilities / sites., for a formerlfinal regulatory position has been established and decosmissioning has made substantial progress), IMNS will retain lead project management-responsibility, unless the decoenissioning is primarily a waste disposal action occurring over a period'of time greater than approximately one year. Assignment of lead project menagement responsibility, for decosmissioning activities at formerly licensed facilities and sites found to require followup action through coordination between LLWM and IMNS, will be determined on a case-by-case basis and reflected in the list of current deconmissioning casework. Generally, for any facility or site

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.. 1 decommissioning' activity that either is, or is evolving into, primarily a waste disposal action, LLWM will have project uanagement, as'well-as technical review, responsibility.

IMNS, or the regions,= depending on the ty)e of facility, will have project management and licensing responsi)111ty for-those facilities that have continuing operations and are concurrently decomissioning a portion of their facility. The NMSS division or the region with lead project management responsibility for decommissioning will provide copies of ali decomissioning-related documents to other involved or interested NMSS divisions and the responsible regional office, as appropriate.

INNSisresponsibleforregulatingGreaterThanClass.C-(GTCC) sealed sources, until.that point where the Department of Energy (DOE) takes possession of them.

LLWM is responsible for ensuring that commercial-GTCC sources and other GTCC wastes are. tracked by DOE, so that-the sources and other GTCC wastes are eventually disposed of at a licensed disposal facility.

C.

Technical Support. Roles and Responsibilities LLWM will provide technical support to IMNS and the regions, on groundwater or other environmental site-related issues.. This LLWM technical support will be agreed to in writing on a case-by-case a

basis, and will normally relate to groundwater issues, site stability, cleanup criteria, and methods of disposal.. Generally, disposal of radioactive waste at any time, including time of decomissioning, by burial onsite, stabilization in place, or by any means other than disposal in a Part 61 facility, will require a LLWM technical review.

For those facilities with ongoing' operations and' deconsnissioning programs, where the submittal of a decommissioning plan is required, LLWM will review the plan'in the role of providing technical support.

The regions and IMNS will coordinate with LLWM on all 10 CFR 20.302 burial requests, to assess the potential for groundwater-impacts.

When an IMNS or regional, project-managed facility has site contamination, LLWM will provide technical support to IMNS or to the regions, to have expert technical review of actual or potential-groundwater impacts.

IMNS will provide technical support to LLWM or to the regions on health physics issues, as needed.

4 The regions have a key responsibility to provide information about current facility / site status and past events that have occurred at a given site, and to periodically conduct inspections in support of the Agency's total regulatory program.

IV. Responsibilities and Authorities. Power Reactors LLWM shall be responsible for carrying out all aspects of the NMSS

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decomissioning program for power reactors..This includes conducting' licensing reviews of. decomissioning plans.and preliminary (decosuissioning EAs)and plans,andpreparingsupporting)environmentalassessments safety evaluation: reports (SERs. LLWM is responsible for the project i

managament of power reactors, after approval of decomissioning plans, issuance of possession-only licenses, review of emergency plan modifications, and changes to technical specifications.

In its project management role, LLWM will review and respond to routine licensee submittals, manage and provide oversight of the regional inspection program, establish needed HMSS licensing guidance, ensure the maintenance of appropriate agency records (e.g., docket f.iles), and interact with NRR, OE, and RES, as needed.

V.

Generic Reactor and Non-Reactor Responsibilities A.

Inspections-1 Ins)ections related to decomissioning will be conducted consistent wit 1 the current delegation of regulatory responsitility. The regions will normally perform inspections with assistance from NMSS, if necessary. The regions will continue to perform routine close-out surveys for those facilities under regional control and not on the list of current decomissioning casework for licensing action.

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detailed site or building surveys are required, these may be-conducted by the lead NMSS division responsible for the specific project or conducted by a technical assistance contractor under the i

technical direction of the responsible region or the NMSS division with project management responsibility. Project management-responsibility for the technical assistance contractor, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (0RAU), performing radiological evaluations, as well as characterizations and surveys, is the responsibility of i

IMNS.

IMNS will coordinate regional and LLWM use of this contractor.

B.

Regional Oversight and Annual Program Review LLWM is responsible for providing oversight of regionalized licensing and inspection activities, in implementing the decomissioning program.

This will be accomplished on an ongoing basis, as well as by participation with NRR and IMNS at the time of general national program review activities.

C.

Interfaces LLWM will establish and maintain a list of appropriate LLWH staff for-regional and INNS and NRR staff to contact for technical assistance on decomissioning projects and topics covered by this document.

Regional questions and problems requiring new policy, technical, or legal determinations, or interpretation of the regulations, should be conveyed, in writing, to the Director, LLWM. All policy determinations shall be made in writing.

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Interfaces with!1icensees and applicants shall. be the responsibiliti-j of the~ project manager organizations, as described in Subsection-III.B.

Requests for technica1'information from licensees or other discussions.

4 with licensees will be closely coordinated with the project manager.

External interfaces with industry groups and the public on j

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- decommissioning issues will be coordinated among INNS, LLWM, NRR, and the regions.

IMNS will continue to manage and maintain the i

licensee information and planning systems [1.e., Licensing Tracking'.

System (LTS)) and will modify the system, as needed, to address-decommissioning information needs, i

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