ML20211C654

Staff Requirements Memo Re SECY-99-202, Changes to Require- Ments for Environ Review for Renewal of NPP Operating Licenses (10CFR51). Commission Approved Publication & Implementation of Final Rule Subj to Encl Changes

ML20211C654
Person / Time
Issue date:	08/24/1999
From:	Vietticook A NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
To:	Travers W NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
References
REF-10CFR9.7 M990824, SECY-99-202-C, NUDOCS 9908260061
Download: ML20211C654 (10)

Text

- . .

% , REi. EASED TO THE PDR :

i Jln{W i y'

n.,

UNITED STATFS NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

. m mf i a o a w e . , , , , ,, , , ,, , , c;'

g WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 IN RESPONSE, PLEASE g ,

...../

SECRETARY August 24,1999 MEMORANDUM FOR: William D. Travers Executive Director for Operations FROM: Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary i g-

SUBJECT:

STAFF REQUIREMENTS - AFFIRMATION SESSION,2:00 P.M.,

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24,1999, COMMISSIONERS' ,

CONFERENCE ROOM, ONE WHITE FLINT NORTH, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND (OPEN TO PUBLIC ATTENDANCE)

1. SECY-99-202 - Final Rule "Chanaes to Reauirements for Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operatina Licenses (10 CFR Part 51)

The Commission (with all Commissioners agreeing) approved a final rule which amends 10 CFR Part 51 to eliminate the requirement that license renewal applicants address the generic and cumulative environmental impacts associated wnn transportation operations in the vicinity of a high-level waste repository site. This final rule also considers the potential impacts of more {

highly enriched and high burnup fuel. The rule also addresses local traffic impacts attributable '

to continued operation of the plant during the license renewal term.

The Commission approved the publication and implementation of this final rule subject to the changes indicated in Attachment 1. j l

Following incorporation of the changes, the Federal Renister notice should be reviewed by the Rules Review and Directives Branch in the Office of Administration and forwarded to the Office of the Secretary for signature and publication. I The Commission also approved the press release and Congressionalletters subject to the changes indicated in Attachments 1 and 2.

Attachments: 1. Comments and Changes to the Final Rule in SECY-99-202, including the Federa/ Register Notice, Notice of Availability, NUREG-1437, Vol.1, Addendum 1, Press Release, and l Congressional Letters

]

2. Changes to Congressional Letters o'I

-g? )g g" J D_ 3 b

" g q)$ <f$\ l 9908260061 990824 PDR 10CFR PT9.7 PDR L  ;

F

=2

. cc: . Chairman Dicus

~ Commissioner Diaz Commissioner McGaffigan Commissioner Merrifield ,

EDO '

OGC CIO CFO OCAA OCA-

~ OlG

.OPA ONice Directors, Regions, ACRS, ACNW, ASLBP (via E-Mail)

PDR - Advance '

. DCS - P1-17 4

L ,g Attachment 1

_ Comments and Changes to the Final Rule in SECY-99-202 -

General Commen.1 l I

1. - Where edits have been made to either the FRN or Addendum, the staff should ensure that conforming changes are made to ensure consistency between the documents, particularly the " comment and response" sections.

Comments on FederalReaister Notice 2,- The following text should be inserted on page 2, as the last paragraph ~of the +

SUMMARY

" section

' in analyzing the_ environmental,irppactA transportenkspegt fuel;atul wastehMvicinity

' ofWeingle repoeltmytthe NRC_ evaluated the impact initheyicinity;ofYucca Mountain . '

and specifically.the impactsJn,theyicinity.of 1.asyegas;NVCThellRQeloctedjo

- eysiuste the; impacts;in the vicinity of yucca Moune becauseXuoceplountain Ja the only location currently bemo evaluated for a reposilmy underfe Nuclearydestefolicy AatnThe..NRQ s analysis'of the impacts.in theyicinity.ctJucco Mountain;in_this_ instance does;not prejudge the eventual licensing ofyucca: Mountain .as's.repoeltory;LRatherl_lt reflects NRC's existing license renewal process by reflecting cupent repository activities and policies.11f aniapplication is filed by the Department of Energy,(DOE),_ tite; licensing proosss;.for a repository in the vicinity.of,Yuoca Mountain will constitute av) entirely separate regulatory action from the proposed Mnal rule.iFurthermoreElfl bened on technical or, national policy considerations,;some. site other thanJucca Niountain is selected.ir) the, future for _ study as a repository,' the NRC will evaluatet the; applicability of the ~genericienvironmental impact statem,ent for the. license ~ renewal process to other proposed repository sites. ,

I

3. . Revise page 5, last paragraph, third sentence, as follows:

Although the NRC did not extend the public comment period,-Tthe NRC staff did, hc;;c'act, consider comments dated as late as June 25,1999, and received as late as early July 1999.

4. Revise page 6, second full paragraph, eighth line, as follows: delete "ever" after "If an application is" '

. 5. Revise page 11, last paragraph, third sentence, as follows:

c While thainotice's title ldid not include thel specific term;" transportation,"3-Tthe titles define

. the subject matter cf ...

6. l Revise page 12, first full paragraph: delete the last sentence that begins " Consequently, the NRC believes" i

O  ;

F 1, .

7, k

, . Revise the sentence which starts at the bottom of page 13 and continues onto page 14, as follows:

p

Before HLW is actually transported to Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the State, local Govemments, Indian Tribes, and the public hav.ef.;"l h;;; the opportunity to

provide input.eemmerton site-specific transportation impacts by .commenteg onh DOE's M::; hee its draft EIS for the proposederepository at the Yucca Mountain site.1which was. made available for a ,180-day commont period beginning.on August 13n1999 (http;//www.ymp. gov);-

8.' Revise page 15, last (partial) sentence on the page: replace "the U.S. Department of r - Energy" with " DOE". '

9. - Revise page 17, first paragraph, last sentence, as follows:

{

However, these' revised dose estimates eersmairlwell,below regulatory llin}lts for members of the public:and,small compared to natural.bsckground and other sources of

- radiation exposure.

10.- Revise the page 18 " Response:"- section, as follows:

' Make the current last paragraph the new second sentence of the first paragraph and

- change " Finally," to *However,"

Combine the rest of the current first paragraph (sentences two and three) that begins with "To a limited extent, " with the current second paragraph to form a new second paragraph.

11.  :

Revise page 20, first full paragraph', sixth sentence: insert " traditionally" between *NRC"

- and " considers"

12. , Revise page 22, first line, as follows: delete'" "

L 13. Revise page 23, first partial paragraph, by adding the following sentence:

its sysilability_will be noticed in.the Federal Rooister.

14.' Revise'page 24, first line, as follows: change " anticipated" to " included"

15. = Revise page 24, last sentence, as follows:

- The NRC staff notes that DOEwill addresses transportation ..-."

11'6.  : Revise page 26, second paragraph of issue 7 response, as follows: delete first "be" of "be'still be acceptably small" -

4 6

i I I

17i Revise page 30, last paragraph, second sente. ice: correct capitalization of "The"

18. Revise page 31, as follows: add an "of" before "SNF"

19. Revise page 33, first partial paragraph, second complete sentence, as follows:

The NRC notes that DOE whaddresses transportation impacts, mitigation measures, and alternative transportation modes in its EIS for the proposed action to develop a repository at Yucca Mountain.

20l Revise page 37, first full paragraph, last line, as follows: correct spelling of" adjust"

21. , Revise page 37, " Comment:" paragraph, as follows: add " schedule" after " DOE is behind"

22. The following text should be inserted at the bottom of page 41:

~ Onjune 22 1999, the Nevada: Attorney General filed a. petition _with,the Commission which muested the,NRC to; amend _ regulations govoming safeguards;for shiprpents of spent nuclear fuel.against; sabotage and terrorism..~and to initiateAcomprehensive assessmentdin particular, the petition indicatedM.NRCLehould factor mintoJts regulations the changing _ nature'of threats pose 2by; domestic tenortsts, thejnorseded avalistmity atedvanced weaponry and the greatetvulnerability;of targetshippintcasks trayelirig;across the:countryElflas a retutt of reviewing this~petitionithe_NRC reaches conclusions..that are inconsistent with the_ results or_ assumptions in the;preser!t tulemeldng,1the:Cognmission will need.to ' revisit the analysis presented here.

Comments on Notice of Availability-Revise first paragraph, as follows:

23.

Changes to Requirements for_ Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses, tojnclude Consideration of Certain Transportation impacts, and_ Availability of Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

- Comments on NUREG-1437. Vol.1. Addendum 1 24J Revise page 5, second line, as follows: delete "and" before "Section 2.4 discusses" 25.'- Revise page 5, Section 2.1, last line, as follows: change "only c. sing" to "using only"

' 26. ' Revise page 6, end of first paragraph, by adding the following sentence after "its final EIS until 2000."

DOEjecently_ issued its. draft EIS for a 180-day public comm.e_nt period _beginning ;on Augustj3r19991

t

27. Revise page 7, second full paragraph, last line, as follows: change "of the order of 75,000" to "on the order of 75,000"

28. The first full paragraph on page 13 is not consistent with the first full paragraph on page

27. The text on page 13 states that the radiation dose to the public from the casks was assumed to consist entirely of gamma radiation for calculation of the incident-free dose.

The text on page 27 states that the increase in the total radiation dose rate due to higher burnup is complicated because the dose rate is the sum of the gamma-ray and the neutron dose rates. Correct or clarify these paragraphs.

29. Revise page 15, section 2.3.1, third paragraph, last three sentences, as follows:

More simply put, the LRFC figures represent the additional number of total potential fatalities assumed within the Clark County population due to the shipment of all of the SNF over the entire life of the transportation. campaign to the repository. Table 4 shows that, using the bounding assumptions for this study, between 2 and 3 excess fatal cancers are predicted. The sum of incident-free and accident risks is 2.592 LRFC for the southern route using the beltway over the entire life of the transportation campaign to the repository; other scenarios have lower estimated risks.

30. Revise page 18, first line, as follows: add "for incident-free transport" after " maximally exposed individual would"

31. Revise page 21, as follows: change "LRCFs" and *LRCF" to "LRFCs" and "LRFC,"

respectively

32. Revise page 21, section 2.5, first paragraph, as follows:

As shown in Table 4, the conservatively estimated LRFC assumed to result from radiation exposure related to transportation of SNF in Clark County over thel entire;40-60 year life of the transportation campaign to.the repository is between 1.6 and 2.6  !

(including the risk due to potential accidents) or.less than 0.05 LRFC/ year. For comparison, it is estimated that there would be about 5700-ERGF LRFC for each year in Clark County from causes unrelated to SNF transport.

33. Revise page 21, section 2.5, second paragraph, fourth line, as follows: add " entire" after "about 2.3 and 2.6 fatalities over the" l

l

34. Revise page 23, second paragraph, first sentence, as follows: add ", even under I accident scenarios." to the first sentence. )

i

35. Revise page 26, second paragraph, sixth line, as follows: add "and, in some cases, as I many as 40 years barlier." after "5 years earlier"

36. The discussion in the first full paragraph on page 26 regarding the "5-year cooling period" for spent fuel should be enhanced to point out that 5 years is an extremely conservative estimate. For example, there is almost 40,000 tons of spent fuel in storage now, some of which has been in storage for decades. At the earlie'st, if Yucca Mountain were found suitable and if DOE were successful in obtaining an NRC license, it will be at I

i 4

l least 11 years from now until Yucca Mountain would be ready to accept spent fuel for storage. It would take many years to work off the backlog of stored spent fuel much less the spent fuel that will be generated in the intervening years.

37. Revise page 26, section 3.2, first paragraph, first sentence, as follows: add ", motivated in part by a desire to minimize spent fuel inventory," after

• irradiated to higher burnup levels"

)

38. Revise page 27, second full paragraph, first line, as follows: change

• half" to

• halve"

39. {

Revise page 39, second full paragraph, first line, as follows: add " conservatively" after "the revised RADTRAN analysis"

40. Revise page 40, first partial paragraph, sixth line, as follows: delete "might" after "Even though these events"

41. Revise page 43, Issue 7, " Response:" section, as follows:

Second line: add " fuel" after " analysis of higher burnup" Eighth line: add ", all other things being equal." after *with radiological releases would also increase"

42. Revise page 43, Issue 9, " Response:" section, first sentence, as follows:

transportation of fuel and waste to and from a nuclear power plant at a repository,such as es4emme-Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which is under consideration as a HLW repository.

43. Revise page 45, fifth paragraph, eighth line, as follows: add "of" before "SNF"

44. Revise page 48, fifth paragraph, fifth line, as follows: correct spelling of " adjust"

45. Revise page 48, seventh paragraph, second line, as follows: add " schedule" after " DOE is behind"

46. Revise page 49, second full paragraph, last sentence, as follows:

Rather than speculate on which transportation option or options will ultimately be selected, the NRC staff has chosen a mode and routes to Yucca Mountain which in its

. judgement will have the greatest potential environmental impacts. In order to. do'a bounding' analysis for the purpose of this rulemaking.

47. The following text should be inserted at the bottom of page 50 (it should appear as the last paragraph to the response on the sabotage comment):

On June 22,1999,.the Nevada Attomey General filed a petition with the. Commission which requested the.NRC to amend regulations governing safeguards for shipments of spent nuclear fuel against sabotage and terrorism and to initiate a comprehensive

.~

assessment.iln particular, the; petition indican that,NRC. should factor into its reguistions the: changing naturogthreats. posed by, domestic, terrorists,;the increased availabilltrof advanced weaponry and the greater, vulnerability ~of larger. shipping _ casks traveling across the; country E lff as a result of reviewing this petition, the NRC reaches condusions that are inconsistent with thelresults_or assumptions in.the~present rulemaidng,;the Commission will need to revisit the analysis presented _here.

Comments on Press Rele_qgg

48. Revise page 1, title of press release, as follows:

NRC AMENDS ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS TO RENEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OPERATING LICENSES TO;lNCLUDE_ CONSIDERATION.OF CERTAIN TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS

49. Revise and rep! ace the page 2, second paragraph, first sentence, as follows:

Regarding the first change, new studies have given the NRC confidence that the expected environmental impact of transporting spent fuel from all plant sites to a repository;such as Yucca Mountain, can be handled-applied. generically - that is, in a fashion that is; equally applicable ;;;y :h;; app ll;; to.each plant within the whole nuclear power industry . . er then feca;;ag en ;;;h This..conclusionfeliminatettheinsed for each licensee to conduct its own specific site eyaluation as part. of et the :lma its license renewal application, i; und;;geing =0 r;^J ;;.. as long .as no new and,significant inforfnetion existsn in its. generic analysis l the_ staff.made,a number offconservatlye" assumptions which means that thel assumptions would lead.to aq overestimate of the actual artvironmental impacts of transporting spent fuel,to a, single,locatior).

50c The following text should be inserted as the penultimate paragraph of the press release:

Jn analyzing the _ environmental impact of transporting spent fuel and. Waste,in.the1 vicinity of a single _ repository;the NRC evaluated the impact in the vicinity;of Yucca Mountain and specifically the 1.mpacts in the. vicinity of,Las ; Vegas; NVCThe.NRCielected to evaluate the impacts in.the vicinity of; Yucca Mountain because Yucca Mountain.ls the only location currently being . evaluated for a repository under the Nuclear Weste Policy ActyThe.NRC's analysis of the impacts in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain in this. instance does not prejudge the _ eventual licensing of, Yucca' Mountain as a repositoryl Rather; it

- reflects NRC's_ existing license renewal process by reflecting current repository. activities and policiesglf an. application is filed by the Department of Energy (DOE), the licensing Processfor_a repository in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain will constitute agentirely separatepegulatory action from the proposed fir al ruleMurthermore,';lffbesed_on i technical or; national _ policy considerations, some site ~other than Yucca _Mounta.in is selected in the futurefor study;as a repository; the NRC,will eyaluate~the. applicabil.ity of the.genenc_ environ.montalimpact. statement for the license, renewal p,rocess_to otter s

proposed repository sites; I q

1. .

]

F. -

Comments on Conaressional Letters 51.' L While the staff adequately explained in the Federal Register Notice that this rulemaking and the supporting addendum to the generic environmental impact statement are not

. related to a decision regarding licensing of Yucca Mountain as a repository,' the letters to Congress should be revised to reflect the same sensitivity. The staff should revise the letters in a manner consistent with attachment 2.

4'

i

+.

f Attachment 2 -

The Honorable James M. Inhofe, Chairman [ Revise letterito RepiBartor(similariy]

Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property and Nuclear Safety -

x Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate

. Washington, D,C; 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to publish in the Federa/ Register 4he;a final rule;" Changes to Requirements for Environmental Review for Renewal of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses," that amends requirement;i;:Pe Osmm:nba's rub in 10 CFR Part 51.-

Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions.

The On;l rab ;.T.ende requ; ;.T.;r.% the ;;;re putthed in the rederel Reg!;%r en 0;ncr.ber 10,1000 '01 IR 00507), "Cav;reninent: Revi;; for ner.;;;;l cf t'u-:':;r Pc;;;r Ibat Opr ;bg

. Lbr.;n," by ;hbch; hm 10 OIR Pert 51 the requlre. Tent thet 'bnee ren;;;-1. ;ppl Mat a-f dren the gene;i;;nd cumubt;v; envlrenmen% lmped; :::;;bbd ^;4th trenepitth operoth; b tre vbb ti ef ; hlgh-l;;;l ;;% rep;!bri ;l%. O,b '.re: rub ;be 0;n;;dere the pt.. Lllmpect; cf h gher en;iched end h gher bumup fu;l then b current ly ;;sred b 10 OIR 51.02 end b ;upi-arted by te geneck en;ly;b in ite On;l repd of NURCO-1437, '/;l.1, Ad-f 7.dum 1, : bd "Ceneck Cavlrenment;l lmped 0:2; ment for Unnee Ren;;;;l cf t'seb;;

Ibat: ".tl , Rep;t 0;dh 03- 7Tr;nr.pdMM, Tebb 0.1 Oumm;ri of Endbg; en t' CIA issues-for lLene; ren;;;;l c' nu;b;r pc;;;r pbate."

The finalffule: enhances the.ofHciencfof the NRC's license renewal process fotoperating reactorsheliminating the existing requirernent. for individuallicense: renewal applicants #

-- evaluateWenvironmentalimpact of transporting fuel and.wastego supportJhe change,"the NRC.has evaluated ' generically the environmental impacts . associated with transporting spent

- nuclear fuel in the vicinity of a single high level waste repository site 1The_NRC also evaluated generically,the environmental impact associated with the transport of, spent fuel _ with, higher uranlurn enrichrpents and higher burnups than,were assumed lin previous; analyses.%Ihe analysis 'of higher enrichments and bumups. accounts for,the characteristics ofpuryont l Inventories:cf spent fuel and of spent fuel likely to_be generated during.the_ period of extended operationprovided by the license renewal process.

In analyalng the::env.lronmentallmpact of, transporting spentMand, waste;inDoylcinityMa slBglp tepostegMNRCMaluated,the irppactAtheylciDitKcffuoce#ouriteln.and apoolliously1hs.smpacts inmvicinityof LesJeess; NVEDeMC, elected # eeldats#

[mpacts]ggyleinityse(JocceJIountain becauseJucceJWountain#,the:enlyJoostioD currently '

beingiovalugled for a; repository under the NuclearJVaste: Policy ActnThe_Nf?C's;l analysis of the impactsJn theyicinity.ofyucca Mountairtin this instance;does'not prejudge.theleventual licensing of Yucca' Mountain as a repository l Bather llt reflects,NRC't existing licensejenewal processfby,reviectmg current repository activities and policiest lf an application is_ flied.by,the F

L

)

. 1 e  !

j Department of Energy' e JOE)l the licensing proce.ss for a repository,in the; vicinity offucca i

. Mountain wif(constBl* 1 ;en' entirely separate; regulatory action from the' proposed final rule,'  !

Furthemme,'it ties %on. technical op.atamal policy considerations,;some site other then. yucca Nieur?tainAeolectec in the. future f9r study as a repository;the NRC'will evaluate.the {

applicability of the Generic; environ (nontallmpact statement for,the. license; renewal process to -

. Other pmposed repository sites; The NRC, study.,which; supports this final rule is encicRandJs_ entitled _NUREG-143739121., l j

8#endum;12 Generic. Environmental Impact Statement f.ptLicense;Renewalq[Nuclearflants: '

hil9in, Report Section.6.3 M Transportation, Table 91Summag of findsms;on NEPA; issues for liO9nse tegewsl10ueleet power plantsJ Also, this amendment incorporates rule language to be consistent with the findings in NUREG-1437, " Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants" (May 1996), to address local traffic impacts attributable to continued operation of the plant during the

- license renewal term. This issue was identified in NUREG-1437 for inclusion in the rule.

However, the issue was inadvertently omitted from the 1996 rule. The net effect of this action will be to reduce the regulatory burden on licensees without compromising environmental protection. '

Sincerely, Dennis K. Rathbun, Director Office of Congressional Affairs Encloares;,(1) Federal Register Notice DJ(2);NUREG-1437,;Vol;1Mddendum 1, cc w/ enclosure: Senator Bob' Graham Senator Pete Domenici Senator Harry Reid

!