ML15162A879
| ML15162A879 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Sequoyah  |
| Issue date: | 07/31/2015 |
| From: | Kenneth Kalman Reactor Decommissioning Branch |
| To: | Ellis J Sequoyah Fuels Corp |
| Kalman K | |
| References | |
| Download: ML15162A879 (4) | |
Text
July 31, 2015 John H. Ellis, President Seqyoyah Fuels Corporation P.O. Box 610 Gore, OK 74935
SUBJECT:
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STAFF DETERMINATION THAT LICENSE AMENDMENT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL OF ALTERNATE ROCK SOURCE FOR THE SEQUOYAH FUELS CORPORATION SITE IN GORE, OKLAHOMA
Dear Mr. Ellis:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff reviewed your e-mail dated April 30, 2015, and disagrees with Sequoyah Fuels Corporations (SFCs) determination that no license amendment is needed to approve new rock sources for the disposal cell cover material.
As discussed in our May 28, 2015, telephone conversation with Robert Johnson, in accordance with License Condition 54 (c), a license amendment is required for this action because the change that SFC is proposing is not consistent with NRCs basis and analyses supporting its conclusions regarding the first rock source that we reviewed and approved in the SFC reclamation plan. Furthermore, the NRC considers that durable rock is a key component of the cover design and absolutely essential for ensuring long-term erosion protection and stability of the total cover system. The use of these alternative rock sources represents a significant design change requiring a complete evaluation of the rock sources that must be documented by SFC and independently reviewed and approved by NRC in order to have confidence in the long term protection of the cover system.
The new rock sources SFC is proposing to use have different durability and petrographic data, different scoring, and potentially other features that could negatively affect the durability of the rock and thus affect the long-term erosion protection that the rock provides as a cover for the disposal cell. Also, SFC needs to develop and submit QA/QC production procedures for the alternative rock sources for the NRCs approval because they are different rock types and are being extracted from different quarries from the previously approved rock source. We have previously indicated the importance of obtaining and documenting, in your submittal, that representative samples for both rock sources have been obtained and that potential adverse features, such as bedding planes or shale units, are described so that these features can be avoided and not adversely impact the size of the rock produced or its durability.
J. Ellis 2 None of these issues were discussed in the information SFC provided, although NUREG-1623 notes that these issues need to be considered in evaluating rock quality/durability. Therefore, the NRC staff requests that you respond, by letter, as to when you will submit a license amendment request for the NRCs approval of alternate rock sources.
In addition, the NRC staff understands that you are now planning to emplace raffinate sludge in the disposal cell. We also understand that the raffinate sludge will be emplaced in a different part of the cell from what was described in the reclamation plan that NRC approved and that there may be other changes to the design of the cell. Our initial reaction is that these actions also constitute a significant design change and will also require a license amendment under provision of License Condition 54(c).
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 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 Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
If you have any questions concerning the above, please contact me at (301) 415-6664 or via email at kenneth.kalman@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Kenneth Kalman, Project Manager Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Management Programs Division of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
J. Ellis 2 None of these issues were discussed in the information SFC provided, although NUREG-1623 notes that these issues need to be considered in evaluating rock quality/durability. Therefore, the NRC staff requests that you respond, by letter, as to when you will submit a license amendment request for the NRCs approval of alternate rock sources.
In addition, the NRC staff understands that you are now planning to emplace raffinate sludge in the disposal cell. We also understand that the raffinate sludge will be emplaced in a different part of the cell from what was described in the reclamation plan that NRC approved and that there may be other changes to the design of the cell. Our initial reaction is that these actions also constitute a significant design change and will also require a license amendment under provision of License Condition 54(c).
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 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 Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
If you have any questions concerning the above, please contact me at (301) 415-6664 or via email at kenneth.kalman@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Kenneth Kalman, Project Manager Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Management Programs Division of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards DISTRIBUTION:
R. Johnson Z. Cruz ML15162A879 OFC DUWP DUWP OGC (NLO) DUWP DUWP NAME KKalman CHolston JOlmstead MNorato KKalman DATE 6/25/15 6/25/15 7/28/15 7/31/15 7/31/15 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation Craig Harlin Bureau of Indian Affairs Director of Regulatory Affairs Eastern Oklahoma Region P.O. Box 610 Charles L. Head, Acting Regional Director Gore, OK 74435 P.O. Box 8002 Muskogee, OK 74402 Pat Gwin Cherokee Nation Will Focht 22361 Bald Hill Road Stanley Tubbs Memorial Library Tahlequah, OK 74464 101 E. Cherokee Sallisaw, OK 74995 Jim Harris U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alvin Gutterman 1645S 101 E. Avenue Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP Tulsa, OK 74128-4609 1800 M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036-5869 Rita Ware U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Saba Tahmassebi Region 6 Department of Environmental Quality 1445 Rose Avenue, Suite 1200 P.O. Box 1677 Mail Code: 6ENHX Oklahoma City, OK 73101-1677 Dallas, TX 75202-2733 Kelly Burch Michael Broderick Environmental Protection Unit Chief Oklahoma Department of Office of the Attorney General Environmental Quality 4545 N. Lincoln Blvd Radiation Department Oklahoma City, OK 73105 P.O. Box 1677 Oklahoma City, OK 73101 Dixie Bounds, Field Supervisor Oklahoma Ecological Services Kim Winton Field Office U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 202 Northwest 66th Street 9014 East 21st Street Building 7 Tulsa, OK 74129-1428 Oklahoma City, OK 73116 William Andrews Jeannine Hale U.S. Geological Survey Senior Assistant Attorney General 202 Northwest 66th Street Cherokee Nation Building 7 Office of Attorney General Oklahoma City, OK 73116 P.O. Box 948 Tahlequah, OK 74465 Troy Poteete Cherokee Nation P.O. Box 948 Tahlequah OK 74465