ML20252A189
| ML20252A189 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Westinghouse |
| Issue date: | 08/28/2020 |
| From: | Diaz-Toro D, Antoinette Walker-Smith Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | Mitchum M Pine Hill Indian Community |
| References | |
| Download: ML20252A189 (5) | |
Text
WEC_CFFF_EIS Resource From: WEC_CFFF_EIS Resource Sent: Friday, August 28, 2020 3:09 PM To: 'pinehillndn'
Subject:
RE: RE: Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility - Columbia, SC - Lower Richland County Chief Michelle Mitchum, The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the license renewal application from Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (Westinghouse) for its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina.
On July 31, 2020, the NRC staff published a notice of intent, in the Federal Register (85 FR 46193), to prepare an EIS for Westinghouses license renewal request and announced the beginning of the scoping process. The NRC is conducting the scoping process in accordance with section 10 CFR 51.29. The purpose of the scoping process is to determine the appropriate scope of the EIS, including significant environmental issues to be analyzed in depth, as well as those that should be eliminated from detailed study because they are peripheral or are not significant. After the close of the scoping comment period, the NRC staff will prepare a concise summary of its scoping process in accordance with 10 CFR 51.29(b). The scoping summary report will be sent to each participant in the scoping process for whom the staff has a physical or email address.
In the FRN, the NRC staff invited the public, local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies to participate in the environmental scoping process by submitting written comments during the scoping comment period, which ends on August 31, 2020, via:
Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC20150039, Email comments to: WEC_CFFF_EIS.resource@nrc.gov, or Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN7A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 205550001.
Background
In 2014, NRC received the Westinghouse license renewal application to operate CFFF for an additional 40 years.
Westinghouse updated their application in March 2018. If the NRC approves the license renewal request, the facility would continue making fuel assemblies for commercial nuclear power plants for an additional 40 years.
In October 2019, the NRC staff published a draft environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for public review and comment (see 84 FR 57777). In November 2019, the NRC staff conducted a public meeting in Columbia, SC to gather comments on the draft EA. The draft EA documented the environmental impacts of additional 40 years of CFFF operation on the following resource areas: land use, geology and soils, water, historic and cultural, socioeconomics, environmental justice, waste management, air quality, noise and visual, public and occupational health, transportation, and aquatic and terrestrial species.
In March 2020, Westinghouse provided additional information to the NRC staff regarding its investigation into water and soil contamination. This information is documented in Westinghouses February 2020 Interim Remedial Investigation Data Summary Report submitted to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) in accordance with the Consent Agreement signed between Westinghouse and SCDHEC. The new information revealed uncertainty about the source and extent of contamination onsite and the potential future migration pathways offsite, which precluded the NRC staff from making a finding of no significant impact or FONSI through the EA and, necessitated 1
the NRC prepare an EIS in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), section 51.31(a). The NRC informed Westinghouse of its decision to prepare an EIS in June 2020.
With respect to historic and cultural resources, the draft EA documented the NRC staffs assessment of impacts to historic and cultural resources. In the draft EA, the NRC explained that Westinghouse would be conducting further investigation into water and soil contamination, including installation of groundwater monitoring wells and sampling in previously undisturbed areas of the site. Installation of the new groundwater wells would be conducted by Westinghouses contractor who would follow procedures to address inadvertent discoveries and to avoid subsurface objects (e.g., human remains, underground utilities) and, thus, should be able to avoid digging in an area that might have remains or artifacts.
Next Steps Because a FONSI could not be reached for the Westinghouse license renewal request, the preparation of an EIS is the next step in the NRCs environmental review process. The EIS will address impacts to historic and cultural resources. As discussed, the NRC staff is currently soliciting comments on the scope of the EIS and will publish a concise summary of its scoping process after the close of the scoping comment period. The NRC staff will accept and consider comments received after the scoping comment due date, to the extent practicable. Once the draft EIS has been prepared, the NRC staff will publish it for public review and comment in accordance with 10 CFR 51.73.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Diana DiazToro at (301) 4150930 or via email at Diana.Diaz Toro@nrc.gov.
From: pinehillndn <pinehillndn@yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2020 1:07 AM To: WEC_CFFF_EIS Resource <WEC_CFFF_EIS@nrc.gov>; Diaz Toro, Diana <Diana.DiazToro@nrc.gov>
Cc: Delores Dacosta <ddacosta@cfma.sc.gov>; Al (Scott) Jenkins <al_jenkins@scott.senate.gov>; Rep. Jerry Govan
<jerrygovanhd95@gmail.com>; Chief Bill Harris <bill.harris@catawbaindian.net>; Chris Judge <judgec@email.sc.edu>;
Elizabeth Johnson <EJohnson@scdah.sc.gov>
Subject:
[External_Sender] RE: Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Columbia, SC Lower Richland County Good morning, and thank you for your denial to our Tribe's request for an extension of time to comment considering we only learned about this matter one week ago.
I respectfully request, again, information on this matter, especially as it pertains to the past and current Environmental Impact Statements for this facility for review so that we may provide an educated comment on this matter within the very limited time given to us. This area is OUR indigenous area of origin and we should be granted equal access to the requested information to enable us to respond in a mere few days allowed to us. The Catawba clearly only care about OUR human remains and artifacts, although their reservation has always been miles away per their Treaty of Pine Hill Tree giving them a rather small radius of land. WE care about and wish to protect OUR Ancestors remains and artifacts as well as those living humans existing today whom are affected medically, economically and socially by what appears to be poor management practices at Westinghouse and those in Barnwell County where nuclear waste is apparently sent for disposal.
I am asking again for information on this matter, especially as it pertains to the past and current Environmental Impact Statements for this facility as well as recorded violations issued to Westinghouse for review so that we may provide an educated comment on this matter before the mere 5 business days you are giving us to respond expires.
Being denied time and information, as is the current situation, we can only say NO to a renewal of any license being issued to Westinghouse to continue various forms of contamination that knowingly harm and, as one can only presume, kill people in multiple Counties. Blindly agreeing with exception to notification of the exposure of our Ancestors remains 2
and artifacts which you legally have to tell us flies against OUR indigenous tradition and responsibility to respect life and future generations regardless of their ethnicity.
Please forward the requested information immediately.
Chief Michelle Mitchum Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S9, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone Original message From: WEC_CFFF_EIS Resource <WEC_CFFF_EIS@nrc.gov>
Date: 8/21/20 4:45 PM (GMT05:00)
To: pinehillndn <pinehillndn@yahoo.com>
Subject:
RE: Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Columbia, SC Lower Richland County Thank you for your request to extend the scoping comment period for the environmental impact statement (EIS) that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is preparing for the license application from Westinghouse Electric Company, LLCs (Westinghouse) to renew its operating license for its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina. After careful consideration, the NRC has determined that it will not extend the scoping comment period beyond the August 31, 2020 comment due date (see July 31, 2020, Federal Register Notice announcing the beginning of the scoping period, 85 FR 46193). Comments received after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.
The NRC staff has and will continue to provide meaningful public participation opportunities throughout the environmental review process for Westinghouses license renewal application. The EIS is the next step in the NRCs environmental review process. The previous step was the development of the environmental assessment (EA), in which the NRC staff was not able to conclude a finding of no significant impact or FONSI and, therefore, is preparing an EIS. Members of the public had the opportunity to provide written and verbal comments to the NRC staff during the draft EA comment period and the associated public meeting held on November 14, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. Members of the public currently have the opportunity to provide written comments during the EIS scoping process and will have an opportunity to provide written comments during the draft EIS public comment period.
Scoping comments can continue to be provided via the following methods:
o Federal Rulemaking Web Site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0039 o E-mail comments to: WEC_CFFF_EIS.resource@nrc.gov.
o Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
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For further information about the EIS, contact Diana Diaz-Toro at diana.diaz-toro@nrc.gov or 301-415-0930.
From: pinehillndn <pinehillndn@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 9:39 AM To: Diana.Diaz@nrc.gov; WEC_CFFF_EIS Resource <WEC_CFFF_EIS@nrc.gov>; Diaz Maldonado, Marilyn
<marilyn.diazmaldonado@nrc.gov>; Quintero, Jessie <Jessie.Quintero@nrc.gov>
Cc: Delores Dacosta <ddacosta@cfma.sc.gov>; Marcy Hayden <MHayden@cfma.sc.gov>; Al Jenkins
<Al_Jenkins@scott.senate.gov>; Rep. Jerry Govan <jerrygovanhd95@gmail.com>
Subject:
[External_Sender] Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Columbia, SC Lower Richland County Good morning. I am Chief Michelle Mitchum of the Pine Hill Indian Tribe. My Tribe originates during the colonial period at the WatereeCongaree River Basin in Richland County, SC but was removed from our original lands by the US Government for the installation of Fort Jackson. Acknowledgment of one of our Ancestors' original homesite, Site 466, was publicly announced by Fort Jackson in 2013. Colonial records show that Fort Congaree was built for our People in a trade agreement between my People, James Moore and the Commissioners for Indian Trade.
It has been brought to my attention that Westinghouse, operating within our original tribal area, may he prematurely requesting a license renewal and the comment period on this issue ends on August 31st.
I am aware of several violations over the past few years that potentially effect both the environment and human life. I respectfully request information on this matter, especially as it pertains to the past and current Environmental Impact Statements for this facility for review so that we may provide educated comment on this matter.
I have contacted Chief Bill Harris on this matter but we have not yet spoken regarding Westinghouse. Thus, I am also requesting an extension of the August 31st comment deadline to allow our Tribe an opportunity to comment.
Chief Michelle Mitchum Pine Hill Indian Tribe 8036623377 Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S9, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone 4
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