ML22304A147
| ML22304A147 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 11/17/2022 |
| From: | John Marshall Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Bartels T, Petit L Ulster County, NY, Legislature |
| References | |
| LTR-22-0296-1 | |
| Download: ML22304A147 (4) | |
Text
ATTN: L. Petit and T. Bartels Ulster County Legislature Of the State of New York P.O. Box 1800 Kingston, NY 12402
SUBJECT:
LAURA PETIT, DISTRICT 8, CHAIR, PUBLIC WORKS AND CAPITAL PROJECTS, ET AL., ULSTER COUNTY LEGISLATURE, LETTER RE: MATTER 21-01188 DECOMMISSIONING OF INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Dear Laura Petit and Tracy Bartels:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your October 17, 2022, letter to Chairman Hanson (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML22297A201). In that letter, you shared your concerns regarding potential discharge of liquid effluent from Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant (Indian Point) by Holtec Decommissioning International (Holtec) into the Hudson River. In addition, you asked the NRC, among other regulatory bodies, to ensure all appropriate environmental safeguards are in place and strictly enforced, specifically regarding the potential impact on the drinking water for the surrounding communities.
The release of effluent discharges at nuclear power plants are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the NRC. The NRCs regulations and licensing reviews for nuclear power plants, like Indian Point, consider the controlled release of effluent discharges as part of the agencys safety and environmental assessments, protecting the public health and safety and the environment. The same NRC limits that apply to effluent discharges at operating plants also apply during the decommissioning of those plants.
Therefore, any liquid discharges from Indian Point during previous operation and now continuing through decommissioning are required to remain within the prescribed limits, be processed through filters, and be sampled prior to being released. The NRC inspects the actions and the records of its licensees to ensure that compliance with environmental radiation standards is maintained. Further, licensees are required to have an environmental monitoring program that includes environmental sampling and to submit an annual report to the NRC. The annual reports are publicly available at the webpage: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/tritium/plant-info.html.
As part of the decommissioning process, the NRC requires its licensees to submit a post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) before or within two years after cessation of operations. Holtec submitted a PSDAR for Indian Point in December 2019 (ML19354A698), as supplemented in February 2022 (ML22034A788), which included a discussion of the impacts of Holtecs planned decommissioning activities at the Indian Point site on the environment, including the Hudson River. The PSDAR determined that the impacts of planned decommissioning activities at Indian Point would be small and bounded by the Decommissioning Generic Environmental Impact Statement (Decommissioning GEIS) and NUREG-1437, Supplement 38, Volumes 1-5, Generic Environmental Impact Statement for November 14, 2022
L. Petit and T Bartels License Renewal of Nuclear Plants: Regarding Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3 (License Renewal SEIS) (ML103280072, ML13162A616, and ML18107A759); and other previous NRC environmental reviews. Notably, Section 5.1.8.2 of the Indian Point PSDAR finds that radiation dose to the public during decommissioning, including that from liquid and gaseous effluent releases, would be maintained within regulatory limits, and below comparable levels when Indian Point was operating, through the continued application of radiation protection and contamination controls, combined with the reduced source term available in the facility. The NRC found that Holtecs PSDAR contained the information required by NRC regulation.
(ML22082A220).
If, in the future, Holtec plans to perform decommissioning activities that were not previously addressed or bounded by prior environmental reviews, Holtec would have to comply with the NRCs regulations in this area. The Commissions regulations at 10 CFR 50.82(a)(6),
Termination of license, state that licensees in decommissioning, such as Holtec, shall not perform any decommissioning activities that, among other things, result in significant environmental impacts not previously reviewed in an environmental impact statement. If a licensee were to consider a proposed decommissioning activity that may result in significant environmental impacts not previously reviewed, then prior to undertaking that activity the licensee could submit a request for a license amendment or an exemption request, decide not to perform the proposed activity, or modify the proposed activity so that the unreviewed significant environmental impact does not occur. If the licensee chose to submit a license amendment or exemption request, then the request would trigger NRC responsibilities under environmental statutes, including potential consultation requirements. In addition, prior to performing a decommissioning activity that is inconsistent with the PSDAR, Holtec must publicly notify the NRC in writing or propose an update to the PSDAR, with a copy to the affected States, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(a)(7).
The NRC will continue to monitor and inspect the decommissioning activities at Indian Point to ensure compliance with NRCs regulations. In response to similar public concerns at another nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning activities, the NRC has developed a set of Frequently Asked Questions about liquid discharges, which can be found at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactors/pilg/faq-discharge.html.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, Public inspections, exemptions, requests for withholding, of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
I appreciate your interest in the decommissioning of Indian Point. If you have any additional questions or would like to schedule a meeting with my staff to discuss this topic further, please contact Karl Sturzebecher, Project Manager, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of
L. Petit and T Bartels 3
Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, at (301) 415-8534, or via email to Karl.Sturzebecher@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Jane E. Marshall, Director Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket Nos.50-003, 50-247 and 50-286 Signed by Marshall, Jane on 11/14/22
ML22304A147 OFFICE NMSS/DWUP/RDB NMSS/REFS*
NMSS/DUWP/RDB OGC/GCRPS
/HLWFCNS/NLO*
NAME KSturzebecher TSmith SAnderson ACoggins DATE Oct 31, 2022 Nov 2, 2022 Nov 9, 2022 Nov 9, 2022 OFFICE NMSS/DUWP NAME JMarshall DATE Nov 14, 2022