ML12244A098

Letter to Edward Halpin of Pacific Gas and Electric Company Approval of Humboldt Bay Request for 20-2002 Alternate Disposal and 10 CFR 30.11 Exemption

ML12244A098
Person / Time
Site:	Humboldt Bay
Issue date:	12/19/2012
From:	Camper L NRC/FSME/DWMEP
To:	Halpin E Pacific Gas & Electric Co
Hickman J
Shared Package
ML12244A084	List: ML12244A098 ML12244A100
References
Download: ML12244A098 (3)

Text

December 19, 2012

Mr. Edward D. Halpin Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Pacific Gas and Electric Company P. O. Box 56

Mail Code 104/6

Avila Beach, CA 93424

SUBJECT:

HUMBOLDT BAY POWER PLANT UNIT 3 - REQUEST FOR 10 CFR 20.2002 ALTERNATE DISPOSAL APPROVAL AND 10 CFR 30.11 EXEMPTION FOR

PLANT WASTE DISPOSAL AT US ECOLOGY IDAHO (TAC NO. J00369)

By letter dated May 2, 2012, as supplemented by email dated July 16, 2012, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, the licensee) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a request for alternate disposal of approximately 100,000 ft 3 of hazardous waste, soil, and debris and 50,000 ft 3 of water containing low-activity radioactive material generated during the demolition of structures and remediation activities at Humboldt Bay Unit 3. PG&E plans to dispose of this material at the U.S. Ecology Idaho (USEI) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C hazardous disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho. USEI is not an NRC-licensed facility. PG&E made this request under the alternat e disposal provision contained in 10 CFR 20.2002, which permits a licensee to request NRC approval for alternate disposal procedures. Additionally, PG&E requested exemptions on behalf of USEI pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17 to allow USEI to receive and possess radioactive materials without an NRC license. USEI endorsed this request by electronic correspondence to the NRC on October 31, 2012. These exemptions are addressed in a separate correspondence to USEI.

To obtain approval for 20.2002 alternate disposal, the NRC requires that the licensee demonstrate that doses will be maintained as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The NRC has determined that this limit requires a licensee to demonstrate that the dose to a member of the public (including all exposure groups) is no more than "a few millirem per year" The NRC has evaluated the potential doses associated with transportation, waste handling, and disposal as a part of its review of PG&E's 20.2002 request. The NRC determined that the projected doses to individual transportation and USEI workers have been appropriately estimated and are demonstrated to meet the NRC's alternate disposal dose requirement of not

more than "a few millirem per year." Independent review of the post-closure and intruder scenarios at USEI confirmed that the maximum projected dose over a period of 1,000 years is also within "a few millirem per year." Therefore, the potential cumulative dose from the waste in this disposal request plus the dose from the waste in the previous disposal requests is also

within a "few millirem per year."

The enclosed Safety Evaluation documents the basis for the acceptability of the alternate disposal request. The staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the approval and exemption and determined that granting them would not result in any significant impacts. For this action, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared and published in the Federal Register. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, the approval to use alternative disposal is granted and effective immediately.

A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, a copy of this letter will be available fo r public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Sincerely,

/RA/ Larry W. Camper, Director

Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs

Docket No. 50-133

Enclosure:

Safety Evaluation

cc w/enclosure: Humboldt Bay Service List

The enclosed Safety Evaluation documents the basis for the acceptability of the alternate disposal request. The staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the approval and exemption and determined that granting them would not result in any significant impacts. For this action, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared and published in the Federal Register. Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, the approval to use alternative disposal is granted and effective immediately.

A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, a copy of this letter will be available fo r public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Sincerely,

/RA/

Larry W. Camper, Director

Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs

Docket No. 50-133

Enclosure:

Safety Evaluation

cc w/enclosure: Humboldt Bay Service List

DISTRIBUTION: DCD r/f OGC ACRS/ACNW Blair Spitzberg, RIV

ML12244A084 OFFICE DWMEP DWMEP DWMEP DWMEP OGC DWMEP DWMEP NAME JHickman CHolston BWatson CMcKenneyTCampbell APersinko LCamper DATE 9/6/2012 9/6/2012 9/6/2012 9/6/2012 10/31/2012 12/12/201212/19 /12 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit 3 Service List cc:

Mr. Edward D. Halpin Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Pacific Gas and Electric Company P. O. Box 56 Mail Code 104/6

Avila Beach, CA 93424

James Becker Vice President - Diablo Canyon Operations and Station Director

Diablo Canyon Power Plant PO Box 56

Avila Beach, CA 93424 Paul J. Roller

Director and Plant Manager

Humboldt Bay Nuclear Pacific Gas & Electric Company 1000 King Salmon Avenue Eureka, CA 95503

Jennifer K. Post

Law Department Pacific Gas and Electric Company 77 Beale Street, B30A San Francisco, CA

Chairman, Humboldt County Board of Supervisors County Courthouse 825 Fifth Street Eureka, CA 95501

Regional Administrator, Region IV U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-8064

California Public Utilities Commission

505 Van Ness, Room 4102 San Francisco, CA 94102

Redwood Alliance P.O. Box 293

Arcata, CA 95521

Dr. Rich Ferguson, Energy Chair Sierra Club California

1100 11 th Street, Suite 311 Sacramento, CA 94814 Mr. Gary Butner, Acting Radiation Program Director Radiologic Health Branch

Dept. of Health Services, MS-7610 PO Box 997414 Sacramento, CA 95899-7414

Stephen Hsu, M.S., Senior Health Physicist Radiological Assessment Unit Radioactive Material Licensing Section Radiologic Health Branch Dept. of Health Services, MS-7610 PO Box 997414

Sacramento, CA 95899-7414

Commissioner California Energy Commission

1516 Ninth Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Deputy Attorney General State of California 110 West A Street, Suite 700

San Diego, CA 92101