ML20141M662
| ML20141M662 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/21/1996 |
| From: | Morrison D NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES) |
| To: | Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135F257 | List: |
| References | |
| FRN-62FR26730, RULE-PR-51 AF-65-2-3, AF65-2-003, AF65-2-3, NUDOCS 9612120494 | |
| Download: ML20141M662 (1) | |
Text
. - - - . . = . - . - . - - - - . . . . - -
9 s'
b S PBR l 1
June 21, 1996 l
4 l MEMORANDUM T0: James M. Taylor '
l Executive Director for Operations FROM: David L. Morrison, Director /s/ David L. Morrison l l Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research ;
SUBJECT:
INITIATION OF A RULEMAKING PLAN TO ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR MATERIAL LICENSEES {10 CFR 51.60) l l
4 l In accordance with the rulemaking procedures specified in Management Directive l l 6.3, the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) intends to develop a l rulemaking plan to amend 10 CFR Part 51. l 1
This rulemaking is in response to a memorandum from the Office of Nuclear 1 Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) dated April 25, 1996, which requested
! that RES initiate a rulemaking to eliminate an unnecessary requirement for an environmental report in Part 51.
l= The rulemaking plan will be submitted for your approval as soon as the plan is l developed. Questions regarding this rulemaking plan should be forwarded to Joseph J. Mate, Regulatory Development Branch, Division of Regulatory Application, RES, at 415-6202.
I DISTRIBUTION:
l Central f/c RDB r/f RDB s/f PKadambi i l
DOCENT \PART51 *b _
0FC khhDRA RDB:DRA , 1 D:DRA[/_ D:RES //rf I NAME JMate:ayw SBahadu M BMoNsb DMorrisk DATE b/k96 I
b /696 / M /96 /,/W /96 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY ;
RES FILE COPY: i l
D
r ..
}
} M gggq qsy gt y m m w a r+w m p f e } } [ L _
'ihV dp g are "
- y 1 UNITED STATES ;
E E NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION f WASHINGTON, D.C. 20066-0001 8
\ . . . . . ,o April 25, 1996- j 1
i l MEMORANDUM T0: David L. Morrison, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research ,
FROM:~ Carl J. Paperiello, Director 4Q Office of Nuclear Material Safety / :
l and Safeguards
SUBJECT:
REQUEST FOR RULEMAKING The purpose of this memorandum is to request that the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research initiate a rulemaking to eliminate an unnecessary requirement for an environmental report in 10 CFR Part 51. The Office of Nuclear Material Safety and ~ Safeguards (NMSS) views this rulemaking as high priority. The unnecessary requirement is contained in Section 51.60,
" Environmental report - material licenses." Subsection (b) lists the types of l actions for which an applicant shall prepare an environmental report.
l Item (3) identifies " Termination of a license for the possession and use of source material for uranium milling." The requirement for an environmental report at license termination has been in the regulations since before the dissolution of the Atomic Energy Commission, and is unique in that there is'no such requirement at license termination of any other nuclear facility. As
- part of developing its procedure for terminating mill licenses, NMSS found the ;
i requirement, and researched the Statement of Consideration for 10 CFR Part 51 ;
to determine the basis for the requirement. However, NMSS has been unable to ,
find a justification for this requirement or an explanation of its purpose.
NI4SS believes this requirement is unnecessary because of the length of time l involved in terminating;a uranium mill license, and the process of conducting environmental reviews throughout the termination process. In general, when a l licensee submits it's license amendment . application to undertake an activity ;
I such as decommissioning ths mill, ' reclaiming the tailings, or remediating '
l groundwater contamination, the staff will conduct a safety and environmental j review, and issue a Technical Evaluation Report (TER) and an Environmental :
- Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment (EA). In addition, when a '
licensee completes those activities, a second license amendment application i will be submitted requesting that the conditions requiring the work be j eliminated. Similarly, the staff will issue a TER and an EA. This process i j will take many years, and will often occur before the licensee is ready to l terminate its license. As a result, by the time a licensee requests termination of its license, the environmental impacts identified during the l
licensing and amendment process will have been mitigated through compliance j with EPA rules in 40 CFR Part 192 and with NRC rules in 10 CFR Part 40. The '
only conditions that will remain in the license at that time are those that i specify what monitoring the licensee needs to perform. l
Contact:
Myron Fliegel, NMSS I 415-6629
$0W@i& =L99
. - -. _ _ _ _ . _ . _ ._-_- - . . . . . . _ . . ~ _ . - . . . - . . _ _ _
, denDTRFMrmmgemengmummm ,
,4,7 =
. }?r 1 -.-
~
D. Morrison 2 April 26, 1996 Therefore, NMSS consider's an Environmental Report at: license termination a' 1
. useless and unnece:sary reporting requirement.
i l-' In-summary, we request the initiation of a rulemaking to eliminate 1 j 6-51.60(b)(3) from 10 CFR because it is unnecessary.
.j' j
i i
t O
l u
o l
! , I
< I 1
TI i
i l
i
(
l i l :
i
! _ _ _ , _ -__ _ .i