ML26022A180
| ML26022A180 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | PROJ0735 |
| Issue date: | 01/27/2026 |
| From: | Duane White Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Jacob Zimmerman US Dept of Energy, Office of Environmental Management |
| References | |
| Download: ML26022A180 (0) | |
Text
Jack Zimmerman Acting Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management 1000 Independence Ave. SW Washington, D.C. 20585
SUBJECT:
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TECHNICAL EVALUATION REPORT FOR THE DRAFT BASIS FOR SECTION 3116 DETERMINATION FOR CLOSURE OF THE CALCINED SOLID STORAGE FACILITY AT THE IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY SITE (DOCKET NUMBER PROJ0735)
Dear Mr. Zimmerman:
Under Section 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (NDAA), the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), may determine that certain radioactive waste resulting from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is not high-level waste. By letter dated October 20, 2023 (NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML23304A012), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted to the NRC a request to conduct a consultative review of the Draft Basis for Section 3116 Determination for Closure of the Calcined Solids Storage Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. DOE provided the NRC with the Draft Basis document, as well as other supporting documents to assist the NRC in its review. The NRC staff has performed a technical review to determine whether there is reasonable assurance that applicable criteria of the NDAA can be met by the waste management approach proposed in DOEs Draft Basis document. The NRCs assumptions, analysis, and conclusions are presented in the attached Technical Evaluation Report (TER).
Based on information provided by DOE to the NRC, the NRC has concluded that it has reasonable assurance that the DOE can meet the applicable criteria of the NDAA. The NDAA also requires NRC, in coordination with the State of Idaho, to monitor DOE disposal actions to assess DOE compliance with the performance objectives in Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 61 (10 CFR Part 61), Subpart C. During its review of DOEs Draft Basis document, NRC identified factors for NRC to consider when monitoring DOE disposal actions to assess compliance with 10 CFR Part 61, Subpart C (see Section 4.6 of the enclosed TER for additional information).
In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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 Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
January 27, 2026
J. Zimmerman
-2 The NRC staffs conclusions presented in this TER are based on the information provided by DOE. If, in the future, DOE determines it is necessary to revise its assumptions, analysis, design, or waste management approach and those changes are important to meeting the criteria of the NDAA, DOE should engage with NRC. The NRC is providing consultation to DOE as required by the NDAA, and NRC is not providing regulatory approval in this action. DOE is responsible for determining whether the waste is HLW. The NRC staff assessment is a site-specific evaluation and is not a precedent for any future decision regarding non-HLW or incidental waste determinations at INL or other DOE sites. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding this report, then please contact Mr. Gianni Nelson at Gianni.Nelson@nrc.gov or (301) 415-3500.
Sincerely, Duane White, Chief Low-Level Waste and Projects Branch Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. PROJ0735
Enclosure:
- 1. NRC TER for the Draft Basis for Section 3116 Determination For Closure of the Calcined Solids Storage Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory cc: w/
Enclosure:
WIR ListServ Signed by White, Duane on 01/27/26
ML26022A163; Ltr ML26022A180 OFFICE NMSS/DUWP/LLWPB NMSS/DUWP/LLWPB NAME GNelson DWhite DATE Jan 26, 2026 Jan 27, 2026