ML23027A124
| ML23027A124 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/03/2023 |
| From: | Kevin Williams NRC/NMSS/DMSST |
| To: | State, Agreement States, State, Non-Agreement States |
| References | |
| STC 23-034 | |
| Download: ML23027A124 (4) | |
Text
May 3, 2023 ALL AGREEMENT STATES AND NON-AGREEMENT STATES U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REGARDING REMEDIATION OF UNLICENSED RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL (STC-23-034)
Purpose:
To provide information about the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRCs)
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) regarding DoDs Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) remediation of radium and other unlicensed Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA) material, and to provide the annual update to the current inventory of the sites provided by the DoD.
Background:
In SECY-14-0082, Jurisdiction for Military Radium and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Oversight of U.S. Department of Defense Remediation of Radioactive Material, NRC staff recommended that the Commission approve an MOU with the DoD regarding the DoDs remediation of confirmed radiological contamination at unlicensed sites under the CERCLA process. The MOU avoids dual regulation while ensuring consideration of necessary standards for protection of public health, safety, and the environment.
The Commission directed the NRC staff to pursue an MOU with the DoD and to issue a Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) that clarifies NRCs jurisdiction of radium-226 in the militarys possession (SRM-SECY-14-0082). On April 28, 2016, NRC staff finalized the MOU with the DoD (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML16092A294). The NRC issued RIS 2016-06, NRC Regulation of Radium-226 Under Military Control and for Coordination on CERCLA Response Actions at DoD Sites with Radioactive Materials on May 9, 2016 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15167A324).
Discussion: The MOU has two types of NRC involvement in the DoDs cleanup activities: the stay informed approach and a monitoring approach. Consistent with SECY-14-0082, the NRC staff uses a stay informed approach that relies on the CERCLA process and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory oversight for sites where the EPA has regulatory authority (e.g., sites listed on the National Priority List [NPL]). The NRC has successfully used this approach for the past 14 years at the Navys Alameda Naval Air Station and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, the Air Forces McClellan Air Force Base, as well as others.
The NRC staff stays informed about remedial actions at these sites through a combination of selected document reviews and periodic telephone calls and occasional site visits that involve meetings with representatives of the DoD, EPA Regions, and the State agencies involved with the remediation of these sites. Through these interactions, the NRC staff maintains awareness of the progress and views on important radiological remediation issues as well as completed and planned activities of each organization. This approach does not involve licensing, and the staff does not conduct licensing reviews. The NRC may provide comments to the EPA on the remediation activities should concerns arise about the DoDs remedy meeting the NRCs dose criteria for release to justify continued reliance on the CERCLA process and EPA oversight.
STC-23-034 The second approach, monitoring, applies to sites where there is limited Federal oversight conducted by EPA (e.g., sites not listed on the NPL). The NRC will prioritize these sites and conduct the appropriate type and quantity of monitoring activities for each site based on its priority. Monitoring activities include document and data reviews, site observations (similar to inspections), and confirmatory radiological surveys. Monitoring will provide consistent Federal oversight to confirm DoDs remediation of radioactive contamination using the CERCLA/DERP process and will ensure that the outcome protects public health and safety. As with the stay informed approach, this approach does not involve licensing, and the staff does not conduct licensing reviews. However, under the monitoring approach, the NRC will confirm that DoDs remedy at sites meets the 25-millirem-per-year (0.25-millisievert-per-year) dose criterion in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 20.1402 for sites that will be released for unrestricted use or is consistent with the requirements in 10 CFR Section 20.1403(b) for sites that will be released for restricted use. In addition, for sites subject to five-year reviews required by CERCLA, NRC will review the status of the radiological remedy during the five-year review to ensure that the radiological remedy remains protective.
It is important to note that the scope of the MOU primarily covers radioactive material in DoD possession where there is an overlap between CERCLA/DERP and AEA authorities, and not older material (e.g., gauges) that may have originated from the DoD but are no longer in DoD possession.
To support NRC planning, DoD has provided the NRC staff with the most recent updated inventory of sites covered by the MOU. A listing of the sites is enclosed with this letter. The enclosed list of sites provides the site name, city, state, and NRCs involvement. Depending on the level of activity at each site, the NRC may contact individual Agreement States with sites to begin the coordination process in anticipation of future NRC activities under the MOU, particularly regarding jurisdiction of service provider oversight. NRC staff also publishes a summary of its activities conducted annually under the MOU in its Status of the Decommissioning Program reports available online at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/
decommissioning/program-docs.html.
If you have any questions regarding the correspondence, please contact me at (301) 415-3340 or via e-mail at Kevin.Williams@nrc.gov, or Christopher Grossman at 301-415-0140 or via e-mail Christopher.Grossman@nrc.gov Sincerely, Signed by Williams, Kevin on 05/03/23 Kevin Williams, Director Division of Materials Safety, Security, State, and Tribal Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Enclosure:
As Stated
ML23027A124 *via eConcurrence OFFICE *NMSS/DUWP *NMSS/DUWP *NMSS/MSST NAME GNeslon CGrossman JOHara DATE 01/31/2023 02/07/2023 02/07/2023 OFFICE *NMSS/DUWP *NMSS/MSST *OGC NAME SKoenick BCecere JOlmstead DATE 03/10/2023 03/16/2023 04/04/2023 OFFICE *NMSS/DUWP *NMSS/MSST NAME JMarshall KWilliams DATE 04/18/2023 05/3/2023 Sites Provided by the U.S. Department of Defense Military NRC Branch Installation Name City State Involvement U.S. Army Sharpe Army Depot Sharpe CA Stay Informed U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground Dugway UT Monitoring U.S. Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB) Anchorage AK Stay Informed U.S. Air Force McClellan AFB Sacramento CA Stay Informed U.S. Air Force Hill AFB Ogden UT Monitoring U.S. Air Force Kelly (Lackland) AFB San Antonio TX Monitoring U.S. Navy Alameda Naval Air Station (NAS) Alameda CA Stay Informed U.S. Navy Brunswick NAS Brunswick ME Stay Informed Marine Corp Base U.S. Navy Jacksonville NC Stay Informed Camp LeJeune Hunters Point U.S. Navy San Francisco CA Stay Informed Naval Shipyard (NSY)
U.S. Navy Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Yorktown VA Stay Informed Naval Air Weapons Station U.S. Navy China Lake CA Monitoring China Lake U.S. Navy Long Beach Naval Station (NS) Long Beach CA Monitoring U.S. Navy Mare Island NSY Vallejo CA Monitoring U.S. Navy North Island NAS Coronado CA Monitoring U.S. Navy NS San Diego San Diego CA Monitoring U.S. Navy Treasure Island NS San Francisco CA Monitoring Note: These sites are subject to change based on the activities at each site. Provision 14 of the Memorandum of Understanding addresses annual updates to the site inventory.
Enclosure