ML20196E882
| ML20196E882 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/19/1988 |
| From: | Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20150E008 | List:
|
| References | |
| FOIA-88-514 NUDOCS 8812120122 | |
| Download: ML20196E882 (14) | |
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.. NVCLEAR REGULATORY Co m!SSION 10 CFR Part 40 Custody and Long Term Care of Uranium Mill Tailings Sites AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. l ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, i
SumARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering general licenses that would permit NRC to license the custody and long-term care of decommissioned uranium or thorium mill tailings sites after remedial actions under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act have been completed.
Commission action is needed to provide a procedure that ensures the mainte-nance of closed sites in a manner sufficient to protect the public health and safety and the environment. This action is necessary to meet the requirements <
of Titles I and !! of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act. Although this notice is being published as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking i (ANFRM), the full text of a proposed rule is included and a proposed rule may l not be necessary.
DATE: Comment r .*iod expires October 24, 1988. Comments received ;
af ter this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commis- l sion is able to assure consideration only for cossents received on or before !
this date, t
ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Washington 0.C. 20555 Attention: Docketing and Service Branch.
Deliver comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.i. and 4:15 p.m.
0812120122 001202 PDR FOIA FELTON88-514 PDR
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Title I of UMTRCA defines the statutory authority and roles of the Department of rnergy (00E) and the NRC with regard to the renedial action program for inactive uranium mill tailings sites. Title ! requires thti, upon completion of the remedial action program by 00E, these sites be maintair:ed by
- the DOE, or other Federal agency designated by the President. under a license
! issued by the Comission. Title !! of UMTRCA contains similar requirements for NRC licensing of presently active uranium or thorium mill tailings sites following their closure and operating license termination. These sites would be l licensed by the Consnission upon their transfer to the Federal Government or the l State in which they are located, at the option of the State. These prcposed regulations will complement other UMTRCA required regulations which have been i completad and cover activities through closure.
!!. Proposed Action The regulatory additior.s being considered to Part 40 would provide for two new general licenses. The general licenses in 140.27 and $40.28 would ,
l correspond to Title ! and Title !! of UMTRCA. respectively. The provisions in (
I40.27 would apply to inactive sites and the provisions in 140.28 would apply l to active sites. Although the requirements in 140.27 and 140.28 would differ (
sMat due to the differences in Title ! and Title !! of the Act, the f criteria for determining what constitutes adequate monitoring, maintenance, j
and emergency measures for long-term custodial care are the same, The regulations being considered deal only with uranium or thorium mill l tailings sites after remedial actfons have been completed. Upon satisfactory l reclamation (by 00E for Title !. or an NRC or Agressent State licensee for l Title 11) to applicable closure standards, the NRC would receive a detailed l surveillance and maintenance plan (SMP) from DOE or an appropriate State. The SMP will discuss ownership (whether Federal or State) and custody (agency (
responsible) of the site, site conditions, the surveillance program, required follow-up inspections, and now and when custodial maintenance and emergency repairs will be accomplished. (See the section entitled 'The Surveillance and Maintenance Plan".) The general license would become effective for each. [
individual Title ! or Title !! site upon NRC receipt of an SMP that meets the l requireme.its of the general license. ;
5 The rulemaking being considered would issue a general license to govern-mental bodies for possession and maintenance of uranium or thorium mill tail-
. ings sites after closure, pursuant to statute. Therefore, this rulemaking has no impact upon the private sector. NRC could choose to license these sites with a general license or by issuing separate specific licenses for each site.
The licensing basis would be the same. The use of general licenses (one for Title I and one for Title II) is the most efficient use of resources and administrative 1y more convenient. Each site to which the general license would eventually apply, will have undergone full environmental and technical review in conjunction with remedial action for Title I or license termination ,
for Title !!. The general license being considered by the Commission can ,
accommodate site-specific ratters through the site specific surveillance and maintenance plans and future orders. It is also equally as enforceable as a i
specific license.
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!!!. The Stabilization and Long-Term Care Program Although the end result for custodial care licensing for Title I or Title
!! sites would be similar, the processes leading up to closure of Title I or Title !! sites are different. The following provides background on these processes, as well as some of the differences between Title I and Title !!
licensing.
Title I (24 sites)
WiTRCA charged the EPA with the respon:,1bility for promulgating recedial action standards for inactive uranium mill sites. The purpose of these standards is to protect the public health and safety and the environment frem radiological and non-radiological hazards associated with radioactive saterials at th) sites. The final stancards were promulgated with an effective date of
, March 7, 1983 (48 FR 602; January 5, 1983). See 40 CFR Part 192 Health and Environrental Protection for Uranium Hill Tailings Subparts A, B, and C.
The Department of Energy (D05) will select and execute a plan of remedia) action that will sw. '/ the EPA standards and other applicable laws and regulations. All remedial actions rust be selected and perferired with the
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The third phase is the licensing phase. The general license would not apply until (1) NRC concurrence in the DOE determination that the site has been l I. properly reclaimed and (2) the surveillance and maintenance plan ($MP) has been rectid.? '/ NRC. The SMP should be submitted within 4 months of the NRC j ,
concurrence in completion. Certification indicates that the site has been ;
i etabilized in accordance with EPA standards. Current plans also include a Federal Register notice of NRC's receipt of the SMP an:i public meetings to inform the local public of the future plans for the site and to provide an opportunity for public comments. There is no termination date for the general t license being considered.
The final phase of the program is surveillance, monitoring, and l maintenance and begins after NRC receives the SMP. In this phase DOE and NRC l periodically inspect the site to ensure its integrity. The survet11ance and I maintenance plan would require the DOE to make repairs, if needed.
l l One of the requiret ants in the EPA standards is tha'. control of the l
) tailings should be effective for up to 1000 yeErs without active maintenance.
] Thus, although the NRC license will require repairs as necessary, the design (,f l
) the stabilized pile is such that this should be minimized. In the eient that
- significant repairs are ever necessary, a determination will h ude as to the t need for additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) actions, g i
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l According to recent schedules presented to the Commission, Title ! sites l l should be eligible for NRC licensing this calendar year. DOE has already l l submitted certification reports for NRC review and concurrence for two sites, !
Once NRC concurs in DOE's certification that remedial actions are completed, l ;
i the sites are ready for site transfer and licensing. Four additional sites Are I
scheduled for completion by the end of fiscal year (FY) 1989, two in FY 1990, I four in FY 1991, seven in FY 1992, and the remaining five in early FY 1993, i i NRC cannot license these sites under 10 CFR Part 40 as now written since 10 CFR l 40.1(a) states that "The regulation in this part do not estabitsh procedures
) and criteria for the issuance of licenses for saterials covered under Title
!..." Consequently, proept action by the Coenission is needed for orderly {
l licensing.
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- 4. All surface and subsurface rights for a Title I site must be in
- Federal custody (except when on Indian land). For a Title II site the Commission may take into account the status of ownership and
, rights to the land, and the ability of a licensee to transfer title and custody to the United States or a State.
- 5. There is an additional Title II requirement when an operating license in an Agreement State is terminated and the site transferred to the United States for long-term custodial care. All funds collected by the State for long-term monitoring and maintenance will be transferred to the United States. This requirement has already been codified in Part 150 and is not part of this rulemaking.
- 6. Title I covers designated inactive uranium mill tailings sites.
Title II covers sites licensed as of January 1, 1978 and new uranium and thorium mill tailings sites.
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- Licensees at the Title II sites also need the framework in place for the long-term care of sites. The long-term care programs to be conducted by the DOE or States need to be factored into remedial action plans and decommission-ing plans so that engineering, monitoring, data, and financial considerations can be included. As a measure of the urgency, 10 of the 20 conventional mills licensed by NRC have made corporate decisions to no longer use the sites or keep them in standby condition. They plan to decommission them and are seeking license termination. Activities at these 10 sites are in various stages of design, planning and decommissioning.
IV. The Surveillance and Maintenance Plan DOE, or the appropriate State, would submit a site-specific surveillance and maintenance plan to the NRC after site closure has been satisfactorily completed. The NRC would review the SMP and supporting documentation to ensure
'that the ownership of land and materials is adequately documented, and that the proposed surveillance and maintenance provides the necessary conditions for that site.
. 11 The need to monitor ground-water conditions should be determined on a site-specific basis. If it is determined that grounc.'. water monitoring is required, then it should be conducted in two phases, screening monitoring and evaluative monitoring. Screening monitoring would be designed to detect changes in ground-water quality attributable to the tailings. If a significant change is apparent, evaluative monitoring should be initiated. Evaluative monitoring would be more extensive and would quantify the rate and magnitude of the change of conditions.
Initial surveillances sho11d include the acquisition and interpretation of aerial photography. The principal purposes of a W al photography are to aid inspectors in the field and to provide a permt ':a1 rer +1 of site conditions. Color infrared stereo photos, h- r. l i a o.. ints, and low oblique, natural color photographs should be taken at .. .
n of remedial sction.
Follow-up aerial photography would only be done if tne Pnase I of Phase II -
inspections identified a need for this.
Custodial maintenarce such as grass mowing or fence repair may be required at some sites. Extreme natural events or purposeful intrusion may occur at a l site which would require imediate emergency measures. When compared with con-tingency (or emergency) repair, custodial maintenance will be less costly, smaller in scale, and more frequent in occurrence. In contrast, contingency (or emergency) repairs are very unlikely to be needed; however, repair costs may be substantial.
V. Future Uses of the Disposal Site l
l UMTRCA provides for potential future uses of the disposal site. For a l
Title I site, it provides that the Secretary of the Interior, with the concur-rence of both the Secretary of Energy and the NRC, may dispose of any subsur-face mineral rights. If this occurs, the NRC will issue a specific lictnse to the Secretary of the Interior to assure that the tailings are not disturbed, or f
if disturbed are restored to a safe and environmentally sound condition.
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13 manageme of byproduct material located on or derived from inactive uranium nroces Ing sites is conducted in a manner that protects the public health and safety and the environment from the radiological and nonradiological hazards associated with uranium mill tailings.
Whether the original petition is granted or not, the petitioner also requests that the NRC establish requirements to govern the management of byproduct material, not subject to licensing under section 81 of the Atcmic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2111), comparable to the requirements applicable to similar materials under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended (42 U.S.C.
6901 et seq.). In the alternative, the petitioner suggests that NRC extend the coverage of the requirements in 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, which are now ,
applicable only to licensed byproduct material, to byproduct material not subject to licensing. In addition, the petitioner requests that NRC issue regulations that would require a person exempt from licensing to conduct monitoring activities, perform remedial work, or take any other action neces-sary to protect health and safety and the environment.
One of the purposes of the rulemaking being considered is to arovide a licensing procedure for custodial care of inactive sites. Although this is not what the petitioner requested, the end result would direr.tly address their concerns. Inactive sites would be licensed and would be managed to ensure their long-term integrity.
Another concern of the petitioner is that until DOE completes remedial actions, the tailings will be unregulated. While it is true that the sites are unregulated in a legal sense, they have not been ignored by 00E. DOE has proceeded with its remedial action program. DOE's program is oriented toward completing high priority sites first. High priority sites are those generally closest to population centers. There are eight high priority sites. Reclama-tion activities at four are completed or underway and activities for the other four are in active planning or design phases. The activities for medium and low priority sites are in various phases - initial planning has been completed for ell, and activities for several have progressed into the construction phase. In addition. DOE monitors the sites before and during remedial actions.
- 15 involved in this post-disposal period. Such prolonged tir.e periods will require Congressional action to extend DOE's authority and fur' ding to conduct such activities. Accordingly, EPA should take into account tnst legislative changes may be neeoed to implement the 1:ng-tem uspects of the proposed standards.
There is an uncertainty in the licensing of the Department of Energy es custodian of a reclaimed tailings millsite on Indian land (that is, reservation land where the title is held in trust by the United States for the benefit et the Indian tribe). Under Section 104(f) of UMTRCA, the NRC will license DOE as to any processing site or disposal site used.for the disposal of Title I tail-ings. These sites are to be acquired by the State and transferred to the United States for permanent custody. On Indian lands the situation is somewhat different. Under Section 105(b) the NRC will license DOE if the disposal site is a site to which the tailings have been removed from the processing site. If the tailings are stabilized in place, the statute is silent on the licensing of DOE, if DOE is the long-term custodian.
The Cooperative Agreement between the Navaho Nation and the DOE recognizes this quirk in the law. It distinguishes between two types of disposal sites, a depository site and a millsite. A depository site is a site to which material is removed for disposal, and she Tribe agrees to assist DOE in securing all property interests. Such a site is recognized as subject to licensing. A millsite equates to stabilization in place. The Tribe agrees to assist DOE, to the extent necessary, to acquire or extinguish individual Indian interests.
Issues of long-term custody are deferred to resolution on a site specific basis for millsites.
Only if DOE becomes the long-term custodian of a millsite on Indian land is licensing an issue. If any other Government agency, such as the Department of the Interior, or the Tribe, becomes the custodian it may be subje',; to licensing under the Atomic Energy Act as in possession of bypro tet material.
Even if DOE becomes the r.ustodian, but not a licensee, it is still subject to NRC oversite under Section 84b of the Atomic Energy Act, as amended, and Section 105(a)(3) of UMTRCA. Thus, NRC say impose the requirements of the general license on DOE, by order, if necessary to assure long-tertn monitoring and maintenance of tailings on an Indian land millsite.
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rulemaking when for good cause it can find that such notice and puilic procedure
(, are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to public interest 111 public i
comment by interested persons on the general licenses published in this advance notice may make a second round of coment unnecessary, unless the public coment leads to substantial revision of the proposal.
IX. Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact: Availability The Comission has detennined under the National Envircranental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Comission's regulations in Subpart A of 10 CFR Part 51, that this rule, if adopted, would not be a major Federal action signi-ficantly affecting the quality of the human environment and, therefore, an environmental impact statement is not required. The rulemaking being c'onsidered would establish general licenses for custodial care of uranium or thorium mill '
tailings sites by another Federal agency or State. The licensing action would be done after remedial actions are completed, and would ensure that sites remain in good condition. If unexpected repairs are ever required, the licensee would be responsible to make the necessary repairs. Therefore, the actions required under these regulations being considered would be preventative of adverse environmental impacts.
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact on which f
this determination is based are available for inspection at the NRC Public Document Room, 1717 H Street, NW, Washington, DC. Single copies of the envi-f ronmental assessment and finding of no significant impact are available from l Mark Haisfield, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, DC 20555, Mail Stop NL/S-260. Telephone (301)492-3877.
X. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement This rule being considered does not contain a new or amended infonnation collection requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.3501etseq.). Existing requirements were approved by the Office of Management and Budget approval number 3150-0020.
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PART 40 - DOMESTIC LICENSING OF SOURCE MATERIAL
- 1. The table of contents for Part 40 is amended by adding entries for 5S40.27 and 40.28 to read as follows:
GENERAL LICENCES A A A R A 40.27 General license for long-term care of DOE remedial action sites.
40.28 General license for long-term care of uranium or thorium byproduct tailings sites.
- 2. The authority citation for Part 40 continues to read as follows:
AUTHORITY: Secs. 62, 63, 64, 65, 81, 161, 182, 183, 186, 68 Stat.
932, 933, 935, 948, 953, 954, 955, as amended, secs. 11e(2), 83, 84, Pub.
L.95-604, 92 Stat. 3033, as amended, 3039, sec. 234, 83 Stat. 444, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2014(e)(2), 2092, 2093, 2094, 2095, 2111, 2113, 2114, 2201, 2232, 2233, 2236, 2282); secs. 274, Pub. L.86-373, 73 Stat. 688 (42 l U.S.C. 2021); secs. 201, as amended, 202, 206, 88 Stat. 1242, as amended, l 1244, 1246 (42 U.S.C. 5841, 5842, 5846). Sec. 275, 92 Stat. 3021, as amended by Pub. L.97-415, 96 Stat. 2067 (42 U.S.C. 2022).
Section 40.7 also issued under Pub. L.95-601, sec.10, 92 Stat. 2951 (42 U.S.C. 5851). Section 40.31(g) also issued under sec. 122, 68 Stat.
939 (42 U.S.C. 2152). Section 40.46 also issued under sec.184, 68 Stat.
954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2234). Section 40.71 also issued under sec. 187, 68 Stat. 955 (42 U.S.C. 2237).
For the purposes of sec. 223, 68 Stat. 958, as amended (42 U.S.C.
2273); $$40.3, 40.25(d)(1)-(3), 40.35(a)-(d), 40.41(b) and (c), 40. ?o, l
40.51(a) and (c), and 40.63 are issued under sec. 161b, 68 stat. 948, as l afnended, (42 U.S.C. 2201(b)); and $540.5, 40.25(c) and (d)(3) and (4),
40.26(c)(2), 40.35(e), 40.42, 40.61, 40.62, 40.64, and 40.65 are issued under sec. 161o, 68 Stat. 950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2201(o)).
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- 5. Section 40.3 is revised to read as follows:
. $40.3 License requirements. ,
I A person subject to the regulations in this part may not receive ,
title to, own, receive, possess, use, transfer, provide for long-term custodial care, deliver byproduct material or residual radioactive mate-rial as defined in this part or any source material' after removal from its place of deposit in nature, unless authorized in a specific or general license issued by the Commission under the regulations in this part.
- 6. In 540.4, paragraph (s) is added to read as follows: ,
640.4 Definitions.
A A A A A
(s) "Residual radioactive material" means: (1) Waste (which the Secretary of Energy determines to be radioactive) in the form of tailings resulting from the processing of ores for the extraction of uranium and other valuable constituents of the ores; and (2) other waste (which the Secretary of Energy determines to be radioactive) at a processing site which relates to such processing, including any residual stock of unpro-cessed ores or low grade materials. This term is used only with respect to materials at sites subject to remediation under Title I of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978.
- 7. In 540.7, paragraph (f) is revised to read as follows:
$40.7 Employee protection.
A A A A A (f) The general licenses provided in $$40.21, 40.22, 40.25, 40.27, and 40.28 are exempt from paragraph (e) of this section.
23 (b) The general license in paragraph (a) of this section becomes effective when the Commission receives a site-specific long-term sur-
. veillance and maintenance plan (SMP) that meets the requirements of this section. The Department of Energy, or other Federal agency designated by the President, shall submit the SMP within 120 days following Commission concurrence in the Secretary of Energy's determination of completion of remedial action at ear:h site. The plan may incorporate by reference information contained in documents previously submitted to the Commission if the references to the individual incorporated documents are clear and specific. Each SMP raust include--
(1) A legal description of the site to be licensed, including docu-mentation on whether land and interests are owned by the United States or an Indian tribe. If the site is on Indian land, then, as specified in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, the Indian tribe and any person holding any interest in the land shall execute a waiver releasing the United States of any liability or claim by the Tribe or person concerning or arising from the remedial action and holding the United States harmless against any claim arising out of the performance of the remedial action; (2) A detailed description of the final site conditions, including existing ground-water characterization. This description must be detailed enough so that future inspectors will have a baseline to determine changes to the site and when these changes are serious enough to require main-tenance or repairs. If the site will have continuirg aquifer restoration requirements, then the SMP must provide details on how restoration is to be completed and how contingencies will be resolved; (3) A description of the long-term surveillance program, including proposed inspection frequency and reporting to the Coenission, frequency and extent of ground-water monitoring if required, inspection personnel qualifications, inspection procedures, recordkeeping and quality assurance procedures; (4) A description of the criteria for follow-up inspections based on routine inspections or extreme natural events; and
25 standards promulgated pursuant to section 84 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, for remediated uranium or thorium mill tailings sites under Title II of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, as amended.
The license is available to the Department of Energy, to another Federal agency designated by the President, or to the State where the remediated site is located if the State exercises its option to acquire the site.
The purpose of this general license is to ensure that uranium or thorium mill tailings sites will be main +ained in such a manner as to protect the public health, safety, and the environment af ter closure.
(b) The general license in paragraph (a) of this section becomes effective when the Commission receives a site-specific long-term surveil-lance and maintenance plan (SMP) that meets the requirements of.this section. The intended general licensee shall submit the SMP after the operating licensee has completed remedial action meeting the requirements of Appendix A of this Part or applicable Agreement State requirements.
Tt.s plan may incorporate by reference information contained in documents previously submitted to the Commission if the reference to the individual incorporated documents are clear and specific. Each SMP must include--
(1) A legal description of the site to be licensed. The description must show that the operating licensee has made all reasonable efforts to transfer title and any other interests in the land to the United States or a State. See Appendix A, Criterion 11 of this Part for more detailed criteria regarding land transfer; (2) A detailed description of the final site conditions, including existing ground-water characterization. This description must be detailed enough so that future inspectors will have a baseline to determine changes to the site and when these changes are serious enough to require main-tenance or repairs; P
' 27 8 (i) The proposed action does not endanger the public health, safety, welfare, or the environment; (ii) Whether the proposed action is of a temporary or permanent nature, the site would be maintained and/or restored to meet requirements in Appendix A of this Part for reclaimed sites.
(2) A person receiving a specific Itcense to use the surface or subsurface area of a site shall ensure that the site will be maintained or restored to conditions complying with Appendix A of this Part. On a case-by-case determination, the Commission may require financial arrangements to ensure that the licensed person is able to maintain the site undisturbed, or if disturbed is able to restore the site.to a safe and environmentally sound condition.
DatedatRockville, Maryland,this{T day of pre s[1988.
O For the Nuclear Regulatory Comission i1wh
~ s Samuel . Chilk, Secretary of the Commission i
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