Enclosure 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monthly Status Report 

Activities Related to the Yucca Mountain Licensing Action 

Report for April 2014 

Background 

On August 13, 2013, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 

issued its decision in the case In re Aiken County directing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) to “promptly continue with the legally mandated licensing process” for the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) application to construct a geologic repository for highlevel waste at Yucca Mountain, NV. The NRC promptly began taking steps to comply with the 

court’s direction following the issuance of the decision. On November 18, 2013, the 

Commission approved a Memorandum and Order, which set a course of action for the Yucca 

Mountain licensing process that is consistent with the Appeals Court decision and with the 

resources available. The Commission also issued a related Staff Requirements Memorandum 

(SRM) on November 18, 2013. The Commission provided further direction in an SRM dated 

January 24, 2014. 

Accomplishments and Ongoing Work 

NRC staff in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, with the support of the 

Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, continues to make significant progress toward 

completion of the four volumes of the safety evaluation report (SER). Attached is the task 

tracking tool, “Status of Safety Evaluation Report (SER) Chapters and Volume Tasks,” which 

has been updated to include work completed through April 30, 2014. Staff is working diligently, 

completing many chapter milestones ahead of the due date. Staff completed eight chapters in 

April, including four ahead of schedule. Any chapters that do not meet the projected schedule 

receive further management attention. 

The agency completed activities necessary to make the Licensing Support Network (LSN) 

document collection accessible and searchable in a nonpublic library of NRC’s Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) for use by the staff in completing the 

SER. This project was completed within the projected schedule and budget. 

As noted in the March 2014 report, the Department of Energy deferred preparation of an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) supplement to the NRC and committed to providing an 

update to a July 2009 technical report that will “provide the NRC with substantially all of the 

technical information necessary to inform a draft EIS.” On April 7, 2014, NRC staff met with 

DOE staff in a public meeting to discuss DOE’s revision of this report, entitled, Analysis of 

Postclosure Groundwater Impacts for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear 

Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. During the 

meeting, DOE stated that: no material physical changes at the site have happened since 2009; 

nothing has been learned that would invalidate any of the numerical models that were used; the 

input data used in the numerical modeling were conservative in 2009 and still are; and, that 

there are no significant differences from the previous report. DOE indicated that the revised 

report will be sent to the NRC by the end of June. NRC staff provided the Commission with 

information on developing an EIS supplement and is awaiting further Commission direction. 

Agency attorneys provided support to the staff and the Commission on project activities and 

participated in ongoing Federal court litigation related to Yucca Mountain. As part of this 
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litigation, the agency agreed to settle for $59,000 a claim for attorneys’ fees, pursuant to the 

Equal Access to Justice Act, of one of the Aiken County petitioners. Agency attorneys also 

advised staff on issues related to SER development and continued reviewing draft chapters of 

the SER. 

Schedule and Cost for Remaining Activities 

Completion of the SER is scheduled to take approximately 12 months, ending in January 2015. 

To date, no unforeseen technical or process issues have arisen that would affect the completion 

date. SER activities are proceeding within budget estimates. 

In accordance with the January 2014 SRM, the agency gathered information on the cost, 

schedule, and availability of funding for making publicly accessible the documents now loaded 

in the ADAMS internal LSN library. The Commission has been advised of this analysis and will 

provide further direction. 

Staff provided to the Commission information on schedule and budget regarding a path forward 

for the EIS supplement in light of DOE’s independent decision not to prepare the supplement. 

The Commission is deliberating and will provide direction to the staff. 

In September 2013, NRC staff estimated the cost of completing the remaining SER volumes to 

be approximately $8.3 million. To date, this figure remains on target. The agency estimate in 

September 2013 to complete the loading of LSN documents into a nonpublic ADAMS library 

was $700,000. This project was completed in April at an estimated cost of $350,000, 

substantially under budget. Expenditures for this project will be updated and included in future 

reports as contract payments are finalized. Staff’s estimate from September 2013 of $625,000 

for reviewing and reaching an adoption determination regarding an EIS supplement issued by 

the DOE is being reevaluated in light of the DOE decision that it will not prepare the EIS 

supplement. In addition, staff estimates that related activities such as the work performed by 

NRC attorneys on Federal court litigation following the issuance of the mandamus order, 

monthly reporting, and other support efforts will require approximately $750,000 over the course 

of the project.1

 Therefore, the projected cumulative expenditures are approximately $10 million, 

pending potential revision of costs associated with further actions under Commission 

consideration. 

 

1

 This total does not include any potential agency liabilities from external litigation. 
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Nuclear Waste Fund Expenditures 

During the month of April, the NRC expended $940,960 of NWF funds on its actions in direct 

response to the court’s decision. Cumulative expenditures since the August 13, 2013, U.S. 

Court of Appeals decision are $3,169,272. 2 The August 13, 2013, balance of $13,549,315 of 

unexpended NWF funding, less the $3,169,272, results in a remaining unexpended balance of 

$10,380,043. Total unobligated NWF funds remaining as of April 30, 2014, are $7,920,896. 

The following table provides further details regarding NRC’s expenditure of NWF funds since 

August 13, 2013. 

Table 1 Status of NRC NWF Funds Since the August 13, 2013, Court Decision 

Yucca Mountain Licensing Activities Cost 

Estimate 

April 

Expenditures 

Cumulative 

Expenditures

Completion of the safety evaluation report $8,310,000 $849,442 $2,393,593

Loading of Licensing Support Network 

documents into nonpublic ADAMS* $350,000 $17,210 $190,416

Adoption of the environmental impact statement 

supplement** $625,000 $26,928 $47,258

 Program planning and support 

$750,000

$42,983 $239,723 

 Response to the August 30, 2013, 

 Commission Order $0 $137,518 

 Federal court litigation $4,397 $86,287 

 Support/Advice in NRC proceedings $0 $35,535 

Subtotal, other support costs chargeable to 

NWF funds $47,380 $499,063

Adjustments to close out contracts funded by 

previous NWF appropriations $0 $38,942

Total $10,035,000 $940,960 $3,169,272

* Revised cost estimate based on completion of project. Expenditures will be updated and included in 

future reports as contract payments are finalized. 

** Estimate will be reevaluated in light of the February 28, 2014, letter from DOE and pending 

Commission direction. 

The unexpended NWF fund balance of $10,380,043 includes $254,348 of previously 

appropriated NWF funds that remain unexpended but obligated on contracts with the Center for 

Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses. 

Staff has estimated the expenses necessary to complete the SER and related activities directed 

by the Commission. Figure 1 on page 4 shows the cumulative projected and actual 

expenditures. Projected expenditures include cost estimates shown in Table 1. The actual 

cumulative expenditures reflect costs through April 30, 2014, as given in Table 1.

 

2

 This amount does not include the cost of the agency’s agreement to settle the Equal Access to Justice 

Act claim of one of the Aiken County petitioners. The agency has sought the views of the Comptroller 

General as to whether this payment, which is scheduled to take place in May, is properly paid with NWF 

funds. 
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Figure 1. Nuclear Waste Fund Tracking 

Stakeholder Communications and Interactions 

NRC staff held a public meeting on April 7, with a DOE representative to discuss DOE’s plans 

and schedule for completion of an update to a 2009 technical report on groundwater impacts. 

Eighty-seven attendees, including representatives of Federal, Tribal, and State governments, 

DOE and other Federal agencies, industry, public advocacy and environmental interest groups, 

members of the public, and the NRC, participated either in person or by phone. The meeting 

summary is available through NRC’s public website on the Public Meeting Schedule webpage. 

On April 11, staff participated in a webinar meeting of the Midwest Council of State 

Governments to update legislators and other stakeholders in the Great Lakes region on some 

NRC activities, including current work related to the Yucca Mountain licensing action. 

Approximately 39 stakeholders participated in the webinar. 

On April 28, staff gave an invited presentation at the spring 2014 meeting of the Nuclear Waste 

Strategy Coalition in Washington, DC, on the status of NRC's review of the Yucca Mountain 

license application. The meeting was attended by representatives of Tribal and local 

governments, State commissions, and national associations; consumer advocates; nucleargenerating utilities and utilities with shutdown reactors; and other participants.
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