RIS 2006-20, Guidance for Receiving Enforcement Discretion When Concentrating Uranium at Community Water Systems
| ML112031215 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/14/2011 |
| Revision: | 1 |
| From: | Piccone J NRC/FSME/DILR |
| To: | |
| Comfort G, FSME/DILR/RB-A, 415-8106 | |
| References | |
| RIS-06-020, Rev 1 | |
| Preceding documents: |
|
| Download: ML112031215 (5) | |
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF FEDERAL AND STATE MATERIALS
AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
WASHINGTON D.C. 20555-0001 December 14, 2011 NRC REGULATORY ISSUE SUMMARY 2006-20, Rev. 1 GUIDANCE FOR RECEIVING ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION WHEN
CONCENTRATING URANIUM AT COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS
ADDRESSEES
All community water systems (CWSs) in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
non-Agreement States that, while treating drinking water, may accumulate and concentrate naturally-occurring uranium in media, effluents, and other residuals, above 0.05 percent by weight. All Agreement State and Non-Agreement State Radiation Control Program Directors and State Liaison Officers.
INTENT
The NRC is issuing this regulatory issue summary (RIS) to rescind, in its entirety, RIS 2006-20.
No action or written response is required.
BACKGROUND
On December 7, 2000 (65 FR 76707), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new standards for the uranium content in drinking water. In EPAs final rulemaking, EPA set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 30 micrograms per liter, equivalent to 30 parts per billion, for uranium in drinking water. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, provides the NRC with regulatory authority over source material (which includes uranium and thorium)
after its removal from its place of deposit in nature. The NRC has issued regulations for source material in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 40, Domestic Licensing of Source Material.
In the Federal Register notice for the December 2000 final rule, the EPA estimated that 500
water treatment facilities may be required to remove uranium from drinking water. However, the exact number of affected facilities was uncertain because uranium concentration in drinking water had never been systematically measured. When RIS 2006-20 was issued on September 14, 2006, the staff was concerned that EPAs new regulation, effective at the end of
2007, would result in the need for NRC and the Agreement States to specifically license a large number of water treatment facilities under 10 CFR Part 40. This would result in large resource implications for CWSs and the NRC. To avoid the burden associated with issuing so many new specific licenses while still ensuring public health and safety, the NRC began promulgating a ML112031215
RIS 2006-20, Rev. 1 new general license that would be applicable only to water treatment facilities that removed uranium from drinking water. As a final rule was unlikely to be promulgated before the EPA
implemented its rule, the staff also recommended that the Commission approve the use of enforcement discretion to not cite the failure of a CWS to obtain a specific license until the rulemaking for the new general license was completed. The Commission approved the use of enforcement discretion for CWSs that met specific criteria, and RIS 2006-20 was issued to convey the opportunity for regulatory relief.
SUMMARY OF ISSUE
To date, the NRC has not received any requests by a CWS for enforcement discretion from the specific licensing requirements in 10 CFR Part 40, and the NRC has only issued one specific license for removal of uranium from drinking water. The number of applications for specific licenses is well below the number estimated in 2006 when the staff initially recommended promulgation of a new general license. The unexpectedly low number of specific license applications may be because: (1) the number of water treatment facilities requiring removal of uranium was overestimated, (2) some water treatment facilities may be using alternate sources for drinking water or using technologies that do not concentrate uranium to levels requiring licensing (i.e., they are able to maintain concentration of uranium below 0.05 percent by weight of uranium in accordance with the exemption for unimportant quantities in 10 CFR 40.13(a)), (3)
some water treatment facilities may operate within the constraints of the general license for small quantities of source material in 10 CFR 40.22 (i.e., maintain under 15 pounds of uranium at one time and concentrate less than 150 pounds of uranium per year), and (4) some water treatment facilities may have been allowed to defer treatment of water for uranium removal while technical considerations are worked out with the EPA.
Since the NRC originally announced the initiation of the proposed rulemaking for CWSs in 2006, neither industry nor the Agreement States have urged the NRC to complete the general license rulemaking for CWSs. Based on the limited number of specific license applications received to date, the staff has concluded that promulgation of the new general license rule is unnecessary and has terminated the rulemaking as it appears that most CWSs are able to operate within the confines of the existing general license requirements. Accordingly, the NRC has concluded that there is no longer a reason to continue to offer enforcement discretion to CWSs for the failure to obtain a specific license. There are existing licensing pathways available to CWSs and those that concentrate uranium at levels requiring a specific license are required to apply for a specific license. Based on this determination, the NRC is rescinding RIS 2006-20.
This RIS requires no action or written response. Any action on the part of addressees in accordance with the guidance contained in this RIS is strictly voluntary and, therefore, is not a backfit under any requirement. Consequently, the staff did not perform a backfit analysis.
FEDERAL REGISTER NOTIFICATION
A notice of opportunity for public comment on this RIS was not published in the Federal Register because it is informational and does not represent a departure from current regulatory requirements.
RIS 2006-20, Rev. 1
CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT
This RIS is not a rule as designated by the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 801-886)
and, therefore, is not subject to the Act.
RELATED GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS
NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2006-20, Guidance for Receiving Enforcement Discretion When Concentrating Uranium at Community Water Systems.
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT
This RIS references information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collection requirements were approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0020.
PUBLIC PROTECTION NOTIFICATION
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for information or an information collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB control number.
CONTACT
This RIS requires no specific action or written response. If you have any questions about this RIS, please contact the technical contact listed below or the appropriate regional office.
/Deborah Jackson RA for/
Josephine M. Piccone, Director Division of Intergovernmental Liaison and Rulemakings Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs
CONTACT
- Gary Comfort, FSME/DILR
301-415-8106 gary.comfort@nrc.gov Enclosure:
List of Recently Issued FSME
Generic Communications
RIS 2006-20, Rev. 1
CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT
This RIS is not a rule as designated by the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 801-886)
and, therefore, is not subject to the Act.
RELATED GENERIC COMMUNICATIONS
NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2006-20, Guidance for Receiving Enforcement Discretion When Concentrating Uranium at Community Water Systems.
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT
This RIS references information collection requirements that are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). These information collection requirements were approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval number 3150-0020.
PUBLIC PROTECTION NOTIFICATION
The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for information or an information collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB control number.
CONTACT
This RIS requires no specific action or written response. If you have any questions about this RIS, please contact the technical contact listed below or the appropriate regional office.
/Deborah Jackson RA for/
Josephine M. Piccone, Director Division of Intergovernmental Liaison and Rulemakings Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs
CONTACT
- Gary Comfort, FSME/DILR
301-415-8106 gary.comfort@nrc.gov Enclosure:
List of Recently Issued FSME
Generic Communications ML112031215 OFC FSME:DILR FSME:DILR FSME:RMSB OE
NAME GComfort JDanna AMcIntosh KDay DATE 7/27/11 8/03/11 8/11/11 9/6/11 OFC OGC-NLO OIS FSME:DILR FSME:DILR
NAME LLondon TDonnell DJackson JPiccone (DJackson for)
DATE 9/7/11 8/22/11 9/8/11 12/14/11 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
RIS 2006-20, Rev. 1 List of Recently Issued Office of Federal and State Material and Environmental Management Programs Generic Communications Date GC No. Subject
Addressees
All academic Type A broad scope licensees; all Notice of Possible Source Leakage medical institutions; all self shielded irradiators
11/19/2010 IN-2010-24 During Non-Routine Maintenance on a less than or equal to 10,000 cues licensees; all Gammacell 40 Irradiator Radiation Control Program Directors and State Liaison Officers.
All holders of irradiator licenses issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under to Reporting Requirement for Heat and Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
04/27/2011 IN-2011-11 Smoke Detector Failures in 10 CFR Part CFR), Part 36, Licensees and Radiation Safety
36 Irradiators Requirements for Irradiators; Agreement State Radiation Control Program Directors and State Liaison Officers All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors and research and test reactors under the provisions of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50,
Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, except those that have ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel and have no spent fuel stored on-site. All U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fuel cycle facilities licensed under 10 CFR Part 40, Domestic Licensing of Source Material or 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material and The Global Threat Reduction Initiative gaseous diffusion plants certified under 10 CFR
(GTRI) Federally Funded Voluntary
01/21/10 RIS-2010-02 Part 76, Certification of Gaseous Diffusion Security Enhancements for High-Risk Plants. All holders of site-specific licenses for Radiological Material independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 72, Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-related Greater than Class C Waste, and all holders of
10 CFR Part 50 licenses with ISFSIs under the general license provisions of 10 CFR Part 72.
All NRC materials licensees authorized to possess Category 1 or Category 2 quantities of radioactive materials, under the provisions of
10 CFR Parts 30, Rules of General Applicability to Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material,
40, and 70.
RIS 2006-20, Rev. 1 List of Recently Issued Office of Federal and State Material and Environmental Management Programs Generic Communications Date GC No. Subject
Addressees
All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors and research and test reactors under the provisions of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50,
Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, except those that have ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel and have no spent fuel stored on-site. All U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fuel cycle facilities licensed under 10 CFR Part 40, Domestic Licensing of Source Material or 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material and gaseous diffusion plants certified under 10 CFR
Monitoring the Status of Regulated Activities
05/25/10 RIS-2010-04 During a Pandemic Part 76, Certification of Gaseous Diffusion Plants. All holders of site-specific licenses for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 72, Licensing Requirements for the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-level Radioactive Waste, and Reactor-related Greater than Class C Waste, and all holders of
10 CFR Part 50 licenses with ISFSIs under the general license provisions of 10 CFR Part 72.
All NRC materials licensees authorized to possess Category 1 or Category 2 quantities of radioactive materials, under the provisions of
10 CFR Parts 30, Rules of General Applicability to Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material,
40, and 70.
All U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Radiation Safety Officers For Medical-Use medical-use licensees, NRC master material
09/10/10 RIS-2010-09 Licenses Under 10 CFR Part 35 licensees, Agreement State Radiation Control Program Directors, and State Liaison Officers.
NRC Policy On Release Of Iodine-131 All U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Therapy Patients Under 10 CFR 35.75 To medical-use licensees, NRC master material
01/25/11 RIS-2011-01 Locations Other Than Private licensees, Agreement State Radiation Control Residences Program Directors, and State Liaison Officers.
Note: This list contains the six most recently issued generic communications, issued by the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME). A full listing of all generic communications may be viewed at the NRC public website at the following address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/index.html