ML22053A349
| ML22053A349 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/10/2022 |
| From: | Christopher Hanson NRC/Chairman |
| To: | Parker M City of Fort Worth, TX, Mayor |
| John Nguyen NMSS/DFM?STL 301-415-0262 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22053A349:ML22049A033 | List: |
| References | |
| CORR-22-0018, NRC-2016-0231 | |
| Download: ML22053A349 (2) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 CHAIRMAN March 10, 2022 The Honorable Mattie Parker, Mayor City of Fort Worth 200 Texas Street Fort Worth, TX 78768-2910
Dear Mayor Parker:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your January 4, 2022, letter related to the Interim Storage Partners, LLC (ISP) license application to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel in Andrews County, Texas.
Waste Control Specialists (WCS) submitted its application to the NRC in April 2016, and ISP (a joint venture between WCS and Orano USA) later revised the application in June 2018.
On September 13, 2021, after completing a detailed safety, security, and environmental review of the proposed facility, the NRC staff issued a license to ISP authorizing construction and operation of the WCS CISF (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML21188A101, ML21209A955, and ML21188A099). The license was issued pursuant to the NRC's authority under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA) based on the determination that ISP's license application met the standards and requirements of the AEA and the NRC's regulations, including the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Regarding your concerns about transportation of spent nuclear fuel, the license issued to ISP does not approve transportation of spent nuclear fuel to the facility or determine the routes that may be used in future transportation of spent nuclear fuel. However, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, the NRC staff in its Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the WCS CISF licensing decision did evaluate potential impacts of transporting spent nuclear fuel to WCS using a bounding representative route. This route included urban and suburban areas and rural towns that would be characteristic of potential railway routes to the facility. The NRC staff evaluated the radiological and non-radiological health impacts to workers and the public from spent nuclear fuel transportation for this project, considering both incident-free and accident conditions. The NRC's previous safety evaluations demonstrate that packages required to transport spent nuclear fuel are highly resilient. From these evaluations, the NRC staff determined in its Final EIS that there would likely be no radiological health effects to the public in the event of an accident.
In addition, the NRC coordinates with multiple Federal agencies, principally the U.S.
Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, regarding the oversight of commercial spent nuclear fuel transportation in the United States. Specific shipment routes are determined following interactions among the commercial shippers and carriers and these agencies. Additionally, States, participating Tribes, and local governments
are notified about spent nuclear fuel shipments across their jurisdictions. Information about the roles and responsibilities for each of these Federal agencies is available in the NRC's recently issued "Regulatory Readiness for Oversight of Large-Scale Commercial Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel" report (ADAMS Accession No. ML21298A164). This report includes references to multiple studies by the NRC that address the risks associated with such shipments. Spent nuclear fuel has been packaged and transported in the U.S. for decades without incident.
Continued coordination among Federal agencies ensures that future shipments of spent nuclear fuel can also be completed safely, securely, and in compliance with the applicable regulations.
We appreciate your interest in and concerns about this project. If you have any questions or need any additional information, have your staff contact Shana Helton, Director of the Division of Fuel Management, at (301) 287-9104.
Sincerely, Christopher T. Hanson