December 20, 2013 

MEMORANDUM TO: Andy Imboden, Chief 

Communications, Planning, 

 and Rulemaking Branch 

Waste Confidence Directorate 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

FROM: Sarah Lopas, NEPA Communications Project Manager /RA/ 

 Communications, Planning, 

 and Rulemaking Branch 

 Waste Confidence Directorate 

 Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF DECEMBER 9 PUBLIC TELECONFERENCE TO 

RECEIVE COMMENTS ON THE WASTE CONFIDENCE DRAFT 

GENERIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND 

PROPOSED RULE 

On Monday, December 9, 2013, members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

staff held a Category 3 public teleconference at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. The 

purpose of the teleconference was to accept public comments on the Waste Confidence draft 

generic environmental impact statement (DGEIS) and proposed rule. The facilitated 

teleconference began at 1:00 p.m. EST and concluded at 4:00 p.m. EST. NRC staff began the 

teleconference with a brief introduction, and the rest of the teleconference was dedicated to 

receiving comments from members of the public. 

The transcript for the teleconference is available in ADAMS under Accession No. 

ML13345B014. The ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or 

who encounter problems in accessing documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC’s 

Public Document Room reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or via e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. Audio 

archive of the teleconference can be found on the NRC’s Waste Confidence public participation 

website at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd/pub-involve.html. 

Approximately 71 people participated in the teleconference, and 24 participants provided a total 

of 36 comments. Participants included representatives from the Florida Public Service 

Commission; Florida Department of Health; Maine Department of Health and Human Services; 

Nye, Clark, and Churchill Counties, Nevada; the National Conference of State Legislatures; and 

members of industry and public advocacy groups. Commenters called in from Pennsylvania, 

Maine, Georgia, California, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, and 

Nevada. A list of meeting attendees is included as Attachment 1. 

CONTACT: Sarah Lopas, WCD/CPRB 

 (301) 287-0675 
A. Imboden - 2 - 

Topics and concerns raised during the teleconference included: general opposition to nuclear 

power; support for continuing the moratorium on issuance of licenses for facilities that relied on 

the Waste Confidence Rule; opposition to the Waste Confidence rulemaking; opposition to the 

generic approach of Waste Confidence and support for site-specific reviews; calls to withdraw 

the DGEIS; critique of the DGEIS assumption regarding institutional controls; concern about the 

general safety of dry cask storage and spent fuel pools; climate change impacts on the safe 

storage of spent fuel; accidents caused by natural events such as flooding and earthquakes; 

Fukushima; support for expedited transfer of spent fuel from pools to hardened onsite storage 

(HOSS); high-burn-up-fuel; security at nuclear plants; issues specific to facilities including North 

Anna, Limerick, Turkey Point, Crystal River, St. Lucie, Diablo Canyon, San Onofre, Surry, 

Prairie Island, Sequoyah, and Browns Ferry; the decommissioning of Zion; health effects of 

radiation; reprocessing; opposition to centralized interim storage and the transportation of spent 

fuel; boraflex; future costs of storing and handling spent fuel; critique of the Waste Confidence 

public comment process; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review of the DGEIS; support 

for the continued safe storage of spent fuel; and support for the DGEIS and proposed rule. 

Enclosure: Meeting Attendees List 

cc: See next page 
A. Imboden - 2 - 

Topics and concerns raised during the teleconference included: general opposition to nuclear 

power; support for continuing the moratorium on issuance of licenses for facilities that relied on 

the Waste Confidence Rule; opposition to the Waste Confidence rulemaking; opposition to the 

generic approach of Waste Confidence and support for site-specific reviews; calls to withdraw 

the DGEIS; critique of the DGEIS assumption regarding institutional controls; concern about the 

general safety of dry cask storage and spent fuel pools; climate change impacts on the safe 

storage of spent fuel; accidents caused by natural events such as flooding and earthquakes; 

Fukushima; support for expedited transfer of spent fuel from pools to hardened onsite storage 

(HOSS); high-burn-up-fuel; security at nuclear plants; issues specific to facilities including North 

Anna, Limerick, Turkey Point, Crystal River, St. Lucie, Diablo Canyon, San Onofre, Surry, 

Prairie Island, Sequoyah, and Browns Ferry; the decommissioning of Zion; health effects of 

radiation; reprocessing; opposition to centralized interim storage and the transportation of spent 

fuel; boraflex; future costs of storing and handling spent fuel; critique of the Waste Confidence 

public comment process; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review of the DGEIS; support 

for the continued safe storage of spent fuel; and support for the DGEIS and proposed rule. 

Enclosure: Meeting Attendees List 

DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC 

NMSS_WCD_Distribution 

TCampbell (OGC) 

LLondon (OGC) 

Miriam Juckett (mjuckett@swri.org) 

 

ADAMS Accession No.: ML13354C057

OFFICE PM: NMSS/WCD/CPRB OGC BC: NMSS/WCD/CPRB 

NAME SLopas TCampbell(NLO) AImboden 

DATE 12/19/13 12/20/13 12/20/13 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
 Enclosure 

List of Participants 

Public Teleconference to Receive Comments on the 

Waste Confidence DGEIS and Proposed Rule 

Rockville, MD - December 9, 2013 - 1:00 – 4:00 PM EST

First Name Last Name Organization or Affiliation 

1 Leslie Allen Balch & Bingham 

2 Sara Barczak Southern Alliance for Clean Energy 

3 Stephen Burdick Morgan Lewis 

4 Mike Carberry Sierra Club 

5 Christopher Charles Nuclear Energy Institute 

6 Walter Clemence Florida Public Service Commission 

7 Dr. Lewis Cuthbert Alliance for a Clean Environment 

8 Chris Dorsey Private Citizen 

9 Patrick Dostie Maine Department of Health and Human Services 

10 Jane Feldman Sierra Club 

11 Erica Gray Private Citizen 

12 Elaine Hiruo Platts 

13 Ace Hoffman Nuke Free North County 

14 Gordon Howard Sierra Club 

15 Eric Howes Main Yankee Atomic Power Company 

16 Gretel Johnston BEST/MATRR 

17 Kevin Kamps Beyond Nuclear 

18 Philip Klevorick Clark County, Nevada 

19 Ray Kuyler Morgan Lewis 

20 Darrell Lacy Nye County, Nevada 

21 Kathy Lewis Florida Public Service Commission 

22 Linda Lewison Sierra Club Nuclear Free Campaign 

23 David Martin Martin Image News 

24 Rex Massey Churchill County 

25 Rod McCullum Nuclear Energy Institute 

26 Katrina McMurrian Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition 

27 Diane Messer Coalition Against Nukes 

28 Steven Mirsky NuScale Power 

29 Jennifer Musgrave AREVA 

30 Susan Myers Coalition Against Nukes 

31 Brooke Oleen National Conference of State Legislatures 

32 Brian Paddock Sierra Club 

33 William Pickett Member of Public 

34 Karen Pontius Private Citizen 

35 Scott Price Alliance for Progressive Values 

36 Darani Reddick Winston & Strawn 

37 Tom Rielly Vista 360 

38 David Schonberger Private Citizen 
2

First Name Last Name Organization or Affiliation 

39 Linda Seeley San Luis Obispo Mother for Peace 

40 Dennis Sewell Georgia Public Service Commission 

41 John Snyder Private Individual 

42 Steven Sondheim Sierra Club 

43 Priscilla Star Coalition Against Nukes 

44 Mike Stephens Florida Department of Health 

45 Laura Swett Morgan Lewis 

46 Stephen Tait DTE Energy 

47 Judy Treichel Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force 

48 Nikohl Vandel Stakeholder 

49 Isabelle Villalon Southern Alliance for Clean Energy 

50 Toby Walter Neal R Gross & Company 

51 Patricia Ware Bloomberg BNA 

52 Laura Wilansky Private Citizen 

53 Greg Wilson Sierra Club 

54 Louis Zeller Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League 

55 Tamara Bloomer Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

56 Chip Cameron Facilitator 

57 Tison Campbell Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

58 Diana Diaz Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

59 Andy Imboden Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

60 Miriam Juckett Southwest Research Institute 

61 Tom Koval Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

62 Lisa London Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

63 Sarah Lopas Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

64 Keith McConnell Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

65 Paul Michalak Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

66 Christine Pineda Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

67 Jessie Quintero Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

68 TR Rowe Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

69 Carrie Safford Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

70 Jean Trefethen Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

71 Susan Wittick Nuclear Regulatory Commission