October 9, 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 OCTOBER 1 PUBLIC MEETING IN ROCKVILLE, 

MARYLAND, TO RECEIVE COMMENTS ON THE WASTE 

CONFIDENCE DRAFT GENERIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

STATEMENT AND PROPOSED RULE 

On Tuesday, October 1, 2013, members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

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

purpose of the meeting was to provide an overview of the Waste Confidence draft generic 

environmental impact statement (DGEIS) and proposed rule, and to accept public comments on 

the documents. Participants had an opportunity to ask questions about the NRC’s 

environmental review and rulemaking process. The meeting was viewable online via live 

webcast, and a moderated teleconference line was available for remote participants to ask 

questions and present comments. 

The NRC conducted an open house beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT where members of the public 

could meet informally with NRC staff and ask questions related to the DGEIS and proposed 

rule. The public meeting began at 2:00 p.m. EDT and concluded at 5:15 p.m. EDT. The 

meeting began with an introduction of NRC staff and a review of meeting ground rules, followed 

by a presentation on the Waste Confidence DGEIS and proposed rule. The majority of the 

meeting was the presentation of comments from members of the public. 

The staff's slide presentation is available in the NRC's Agencywide Document Management and 

Access System (ADAMS) under Accession No. ML13273A339. The transcript for the meeting is 

available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML13277A455. NRC handouts and posters displayed 

during the open house can be accessed at ML13279A003 and ML13279A004, respectively. 

CONTACT: Sarah Lopas, WCD/CPRB 

 (301) 287-0675 

 
A. Imboden - 2 - 

The ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/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 1-800-397-4737, or via e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. 

Video archive of the meeting can be found on the NRC's website at http://video.nrc.gov, is dated 

October 1, 2013, and is titled, "Public Meeting to Receive Comments on the Waste Confidence 

Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Rule." For convenience, web 

links to the staff’s presentation materials, the video archive, and the meeting transcript are also 

available on the Waste Confidence Directorate’s website at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuelstorage/wcd/pub-involve.html. 

Approximately 125 people participated in the meeting, both in-person and remotely using the 

teleconference line. Meeting participants included members of the public, representatives from 

the U.S. Department of Energy, representatives of the Prairie Island Indian Community, and 

industry and public advocacy groups. A list of meeting participants is included as Attachment 1. 

Questions asked during the question and answer period included how the NRC calculated the 

risk of spent fuel pool fires and what types of spent nuclear fuel are considered in the DGEIS. 

Topics and concerns discussed during the public comment period included: the definition of 

Waste Confidence; whether the proposed rule and DGEIS take into account the political and 

social acceptance of siting a permanent geologic repository; the NRC's assumptions regarding 

the timing of repository availability; support for continuing the NRC's current halt on licensing 

and relicensing; support for phasing out nuclear power and replacing it with renewable energy 

and energy efficiency; general opposition to nuclear power; concern that the DGEIS does not 

fully account for the costs, risks, and impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel; the DGEIS should 

consider impacts of the entire nuclear cycle; support for expedited transfer of spent fuel from 

fuel pools to hardened onsite storage (HOSS); concerns about accidents similar to Fukushima; 

the NRC's assumption in the DGEIS that dry casks would be replaced every 100 years; the cost 

analysis of alternatives in the DGEIS; a critique of the purpose and need of the DGEIS; concern 

that the NRC is rushing the environmental review and rulemaking process; concern about cyber 

attacks on spent fuel storage; opposition to the NRC's generic approach to the rulemaking and 

support for analyzing Waste Confidence on a site-specific basis; support for analyzing "worst 

case scenarios," especially in the context of accidents; critique of the spent fuel pool fire 

analysis in the DGEIS; support for the timely completion of the Waste Confidence rulemaking; 

and the NRC's process of reviewing comments and finalizing the GEIS. 

There were also comments and questions about how the government shutdown would impact 

the upcoming Waste Confidence public meetings and the public comment period. Due to a lack 

of an appropriation and the government shutdown, to date, the NRC has postponed the 

following Waste Confidence public meetings: October 7 in San Luis Obispo, California; October 

9 in Carlsbad, California; October 15 in Perrysburg, Ohio; October 17 in Minnetonka, Minnesota, 

and October 24 in Oak Brook, Illinois. Other meetings scheduled for future dates are subject to 

postponement if the shutdown continues. The Waste Confidence Directorate will update its 

Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd.html, the NRC's Public Meeting 

Web site at http://meetings.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg, and will send e-mails from WCOutreach@nrc.gov

or OPA.Resources@nrc.gov regarding the status of the remaining public meetings and new 

dates for postponed meetings. 
A. Imboden - 3 - 

To subscribe to our e-mail updates, send an e-mail with the word “Subscribe” in the subject line 

to WCOutreach@nrc.gov. You can also sign up for automatic e-mail alerts whenever the Waste 

Confidence Web site is updated using GovDelivery: 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNRC/subscriber/new. Under Subscriber Preferences 

you can choose the Waste Confidence Decision (WCD) pages for which you would like to 

receive updates. 

Enclosure: Meeting Attendees List 

cc: See next page 
A. Imboden - 3 - 

To subscribe to our e-mail updates, send an e-mail with the word “Subscribe” in the subject line 

to WCOutreach@nrc.gov. You can also sign up for automatic e-mail alerts whenever the Waste 

Confidence Web site is updated using GovDelivery: 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNRC/subscriber/new. Under Subscriber Preferences 

you can choose the Waste Confidence Decision (WCD) pages for which you would like to 

receive updates. 

Enclosure: Meeting Attendees List 

DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC 

NMSS_WCD_Distribution 

TCampbell (OGC) 

LLondon (OGC) 

Miriam Juckett (mjuckett@swri.org) 

 

ADAMS Accession No.: ML13282A611

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

NAME SLopas TCampbell(NLO) AImboden 

DATE 10/7/13 10/9/13 10/9/13 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
 Enclosure 

List of Attendees 

Public Meeting to Receive Comments on the 

Waste Confidence DGEIS and Proposed Rule 

Rockville, MD - October 1, 2013 - 2:00 – 5:15 PM EDT 

 First Name Last Name Organization 

1 Kensaku Arai Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization 

2 Dean Baker Tennessee Valley Authority 

3 Sara Barczak Southern Alliance for Clean Energy 

4 Michael Benjamin Share New York 

5 David Blee U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council 

6 Jerry Bonanno Nuclear Energy Institute 

7 Rick Buckley Entergy Nuclear, Jackson, MS 

8 Andrew Burgess Ameren Missouri 

9 Michael Callahan Governmental Strategies Inc. 

10 Chip Cameron Facilitator 

11 Mike Carberry Sierra Club Nuclear Free Campaign 

12 Lora Chamberlain Nuclear Free Illinois 

13 Wei-Wu Chao Atomic Energy Council 

14 Christopher Charles Nuclear Energy Institute 

15 Jeremy Cohn Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems 

16 Christopher Cummings Nuclear Energy Institute 

17 Diane D'Arrigo Nuclear Information Resource Service 

18 Ed Davis Pegasus Group 

19 David Echel Private Citizen 

20 Richard Emch ADSTM 

21 Allison Fisher Public Citizen 

22 Carol Gantt Private Citizen 

23 Ellen Ginsberg Nuclear Energy Institute 

24 Joyce Good Nuclear Energy Information Service 

25 Patrick Gorman Department of Energy 

26 Erica Gray Private Citizen 

27 Doug Guarino National Journal Group 

28 Jeffry Guido UA MD Pipe Trades Association 

29 Eric Harvey ERIN Engineering 

30 Maureen Headington The Standup/Save Lives Campaign 

31 Ace Hoffman Nuke Free North County San Diego 

32 Ruth Horton Tennessee Valley Authority 

33 Tom Iaccarino Spectrum Environmental 

34 Jay Jones Department of Energy 

35 Miriam Juckett Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis 

36 Timothy Judson Nuclear Information Resource Service 

37 Kevin Kamps Beyond Nuclear 

38 Kenneth Kirton Clean and Safe Energy Coalition 
 

2

First Name Last Name Organization 

39 Phil Klevorick Clark County Nevada 

40 Evan Lapiska Clean and Safe Energy Coalition 

41 Patrick LaPlante Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis 

42 Justin Legrande Coalition Against Nukes 

43 Don Leichtling DAB Safety Team 

44 Marvin Lewis Private Citizen 

45 Justino Lopez Clean and Safe Energy Coalition 

46 Philip Mahowald Prairie Island Indian Community 

47 Leslie March Sierra Club 

48 David Martin Martin Images News 

49 Tim Matthews Morgan Lewis & Bockius 

50 Rod McCullum Nuclear Energy Institute 

51 Alfred Meyer Physicians For Social Responsibility 

52 Dennis Nelson SERV 

53 Tara O'Neil Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

54 Janet Phelan Kotra Private Citizen 

55 Darani Reddick Winston & Strawn LLP 

56 Tom Rielly Vista 360 

57 David Robillard PSEG 

58 Don Safer Tennessee Environmental Council 

59 Beverly Silverberg BRS Communications 

60 Andrew Smith Private Citizen 

61 Gail Snyder Nuclear Energy Information Service 

62 Steven Sondheim Sierra Club Nuclear Free 

63 Gene Soult South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff 

64 John Stamatakos Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analysis 

65 Paula Sunde Office of Congresswoman McCollum 

66 Diane Szesuil Coalition Against Nukes 

67 Tammy Thompson Private Citizen 

68 Don Treeves Private Citizen 

69 Dale Troll Maryland Pipe Trades 

70 Kendra Ulrich Friends Of The Earth 

71 Niki Vandel Stakeholder 

72 Heather Westra Prairie Island Indian Community 

73 Barry Zalcman Private Citizen 

74 Thomas Zimmer Private Citizen 

75 Tae Ahn NRC 

76 Jeannette Arce NRC 

77 David Brooks NRC 

78 Dave Brown NRC 

79 Margaret Bupp NRC 
 

3

 First Name Last Name Organization 

80 Tison Campbell NRC 

81 Sheldon Clark NRC 

82 David Cylkowski NRC 

83 Jennifer Davis NRC 

84 Diane Diaz NRC 

85 Robert Einziger NRC 

86 Anita Gray NRC 

87 Catherine Haney NRC 

88 Robert Hoffman NRC 

89 Merri Horn NRC 

90 Andy Imboden NRC 

91 Rolonda Jackson NRC 

92 Banad Jagannath NRC 

93 Yong Kim NRC 

94 Lawrence Kokajko NRC 

95 Lisa London NRC 

96 Sarah Lopas NRC 

97 James Maltese NRC 

98 Timothy McCartin NRC 

99 Keith McConnell NRC 

100 David McIntyre NRC 

101 Paul Michalak NRC 

102 Michelle Moser NRC 

103 Alicia Mullins NRC 

104 Christine Pineda NRC 

105 David Pstrak NRC 

106 Jessie Quintero NRC 

107 Wendy Reed NRC 

108 TR Rowe NRC 

109 James Rubenstone NRC 

110 Carrie Safford NRC 

111 Leah Salisbury NRC 

112 Jen Schwartzman NRC 

113 Mollie Semmes NRC 

114 Jill Shepard Vladimir NRC 

115 Alexa Sieracki NRC 

116 King Stablein NRC 

117 Andrew Stuyvenberg NRC 
 

4

 First Name Last Name Organization 

118 Rebecca Tadesse NRC 

119 Sandy Talley NRC 

120 Jean Trefethen NRC 

121 Michael Walters NRC 

122 Michael Weber NRC 

123 Michael Wentzel NRC 

124 Susan Wittick NRC