ML20129E084

Concurs W/Encl Pp of Revised Rulemaking Plan for Amending Requirements for Environmental Repts from U Recovery Licensees at License Termination,Per 10CFR51.60

ML20129E084
Person / Time
Issue date:	10/18/1996
From:	Paperiello C NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	Morrison D NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES)
References
FRN-62FR26730, REF-WM-3 AF65-2-007, AF65-2-7, NUDOCS 9610250261
Download: ML20129E084 (3)

Text

. - - . - . . ._ - --

• October 18, 1996 l l

'MEMOR'ANDUM T0: David L. Morrison, Director Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 1

1 FROM: Carl J. Paperiello, Director I0riginal signed by M. R. Knapp for:)

Office of Nuclear Material Safety

. and Safeguards i

SUBJECT:

NMSS CONCURRENCE ON A RULEMAKING PLAN FOR AMENDING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS FROM URANIUM RECOVERY l LICENSEES AT LICENSE TERMINATION - 10 CFR 51.60 My staff has reviewed the subject rulemaking plan. Attached is a copy of page 5 of the plan with minor clarifying revisions. I concur with the rulemaking plan revised as shown in the attachment. If you have any l 2

questions, please contact the cognizant Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards )

1 staff member, Myron Fliegel at 415-6629. l

Attachment:

Revised page 5.

cc: W. Olmstead, 0GC R. Bangart, OSP proofed /CJ 10/10/96 fl b-l CONTACT: M. Fliegel, NMSS/DWM 415-6629 [J11 -

DISTRIBUTION w/ Encl.:

E Fil e , Center..

NMSS 9600360 1-[lb,i l NMSS r/f DWM r/f URB r/f PUBLIC CCain RIV MBell JAustin MWeber MFederline URB t/f DWM t/f Dir Off r/f CPoland DGillen DOCUMENT NAME: S:\DWM\ URB \MHF\RULEPLN.P51

• see previous concurrence OFC URB

• URB

• DWti[k NMSS ,j, NMSS .,4 r NAME MFliegel JHolonich JhvSs MKna h b CPaph1b DATE 10/8/96 10/8/96 hb/r1/96 10/(T5f96 10/ #96 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY 9(s- / 3h g423gg9;more PDR WIREM M

l l

MEMORANDUM T0:

David L. Morrison, Director ,

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research '

FROM: Carl J. Paperiello, Director l Office of Nuclear Material Safety '

and Safeguards

SUBJECT:

NMSS CONCURRENCE ON A RULEMAKING PLAN FOR AMENDING THE l REQUIREMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS FROM URANIUM REC 0VERY gg y LICENSEES AT LICENSE TERMINATION - 10 CFR 51.60 3

My staff has reviewed the subject rulemaking plan. Attached is a copy of page 5 of the plan with minor clarifying revisions. I concur with the rulemaking plan revised as shown in the attachment. If you have any questions, please contact the cognizant Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards staff member, 1

Myron Fliegel at 415-6629.  !

l l

Attachment:

Revised page 5.

cc: W. Olmstead, 0GC R. Bangart, OSP i

se

{p l CONTACT: M. Fliegel, NMSS/DWM 415-6629 l

DISTRIBUTION w/ Encl.: NMSS 9600360 File Center NMSS r/f DWM r/f URB r/f PUBLIC CCain RIV MBell JAustin MWeber MFederline URB t/f DWM t/f Dir Off r/f CPoland DGillen DOCUMENT NAME: S:\DWM\ URB \MHF\RULEPLN.P51 0FC URB // // URB \s\. DWM NMSS NMSS NAME MFliegek JH M kh JGreeves MKnapp CPaperiello DATE 10 E /96 O 10/2/96 10/ /96 10/ /96 10/ /96 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY

7 h1 sk ah b s awm i.

I. ,

groundwarter restoration; decommission ng of a nonconventional plant involves

! plant dismantling, wellfield restorati , and groundwater restoration. These )

activities are carried out according to lans and cost estimates submitted to l l and approved by NRC or Agreement States. fecomissioning and reclamation are  !

}

followed by transfer of ownership of the site to the United States Government

• or the State where the site is located, who assume responsibility for long-

' term surveillance of the site. These actions must be completed before the NRC license may be terminated. A number of conventional facilities currently are

i. in the process of decommissioning and reclamation. Several licensees have

! dismantled their mills and are engaged in reclamation of tailings and/or

groundwater restoration. Some nonconventional facilities, which typically j i decommission portions of their wellfields while retaining other portions in

{ production, also are decommissioning.

f NRC staff estimate that over the next decade as many as 12 conventional facilities will complete decomissioning. Five mills are expected to complete i decomissioning within the next five years, and one of them is expected to i

complete decommissioning in the relatively near future.AtwMr YV W g" l

i NRChashadlimitedexperiencewithterminya'n of licenses for uranium recovery facilities and tne preparation of (b)(3) type environmental reports. l To date, only one facility, Edgemont, has reached the point,of license I termination. Edgemont ceased operatiod in the early 1970's, and the original i mill and tailic.gs site was decommissVoned. The licer.we, the Tennessee Valley l Authority, conducted cleanup activi 'es at the site from 1984 to 1989, and ,

carried out groundwater monitoring rom 1986 to 1996, and submitted semiannual l l reports to NRC. NRC conducted its Completion Review Report, determining that i reclamation and decommissioning had been acceptably completed, in December

1995, and in January 1996 m tified the TVA of its approval of completion of

the site reclamation and decomissioning. TVA then applied to terminate its l license and transfer ownership of the site to DOE. In support, TVA submitted i a three-page Environmental Report Supplement on April 30, 1996, which

! summarized the steps that had been taken with respect to reclamation, l decommissioning, and monitoring. This report provided a short background j concerning the site; referenced the Decomissioning Plan Environmental Report submitted to NRC in February 1979 and approved by NRC in June of 1982; and j summarized groundwater monitoring and reclamation activities at the mill site

! and tailings disposal site associated with the facility. The Environmental

Report Supplement also referenced the NRC's Completion Review Report, and i provided a short concluding paragraph noting that there are no apparent

! environmental problems at the site, the environmental radiological conditions

! were being met, and no significant environmental changes have occurred since j completion of decommissioning. On June 27, 1996, NRC terminated TVA's license

and placed the site under the custody and long-term care of DOE.

As a means of solving this problem, NRC considered the preparation of a Standard Format and Content Guide for Environmental Reports supporting license j termination. The staff believes that very little could be required in such a i Guide, because at the time of license termination all of the significant 1 environmental issues will have already been addressed by the series of reports

and staff decisions that make up the decommissioning and reclamation process.

l Although one approach to resolving the regulatory problem could be to develop j 5 Attachment y m , , - . . , . v - - --~.--,1 -,-