September 10, 2015 

 

MEMORANDUM TO: James Rubenstone, Acting Director 

Yucca Mountain Directorate 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

FROM: Christine Pineda, Project Manager /RA/ 

 Yucca Mountain Directorate 

 Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF SEPTEMBER 3 PUBLIC MEETING ON THE NRC 

STAFF’S DRAFT SUPPLEMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 

ENERGY’S EIS FOR THE PROPOSED REPOSITORY AT YUCCA 

MOUNTAIN, NEVADA 

On Thursday, September 3, 2015, members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

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

purpose of the meeting was to provide an overview of the NRC staff’s draft supplement to the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s environmental impact statements for the proposed high-level 

waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and to accept public comments on the document. 

Participants had an opportunity to ask clarifying questions about the NRC’s environmental 

review process. The meeting was viewable online via live webcast, and a teleconference line 

was available for remote participants to ask questions and present comments. 

The public meeting began at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time and concluded at approximately 5:00 p.m. 

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

followed by a presentation on the draft supplement. Meeting attendees were then given the 

opportunity to ask clarifying questions and present their comments. The NRC staff's slide 

presentation is available in the NRC's Agencywide Document Management and Access System 

(ADAMS) at Accession No. ML15246A197. The transcript for the meeting is available in ADAMS 

at Accession No. ML15253A669. The handouts provided at the meeting are available at 

ML15251A533 and ML15251A537, respectively. 

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. A video archive of the meeting 

can be found on the NRC's website at http://video.nrc.gov, under “Archived Videos.” The video 

is dated September 3, 2015, and titled, "Public Meeting on Draft Supplement to Environmental 

Impact Statement for Proposed High-Level Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada." 

Approximately 55 people participated in the meeting, both in person and remotely using the 

teleconference line. Meeting attendees included members of the public, members of federal, 

state and local government organizations, and members of industry and public advocacy 

groups. A list of meeting attendees is attached to this summary. 
J. Rubenstone - 2 - 

Questions that were asked included: how the NRC staff accounted for changes in the repository 

inventory, including high-burnup spent nuclear fuel, in its analysis in the supplement; a request 

for clarification regarding when the NRC would issue a record of decision under the National 

Environmental Policy Act; requests for clarification concerning the NRC’s adjudicatory process 

and the role of the NRC staff; whether a location other than Yucca Mountain had ever been 

investigated as a possible repository site; requests to extend the comment period beyond the 

announced 31 day extension; requests for the transcripts and meeting materials; and whether 

the NRC staff had plans in place in the event of a government shutdown. 

Topics and concerns that were raised during the comment period included: the scope of the 

supplement; the accuracy of the supplement given several events that have occurred or 

decisions that have been made since the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted its 

license application in 2008; the supplement’s reliance on DOE’s model of repository 

performance; and whether the supplement would be peer-reviewed. Comments also concerned 

the potential for the proposed repository to leak contaminants into the groundwater and to 

contribute to cumulative groundwater impacts; the risks of transporting spent nuclear fuel; 

potential impacts on tribal populations and on low-income populations; the assumptions in the 

supplement concerning high-burnup spent fuel; concerns about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 

and the Hanford site; spent nuclear fuel storage canisters and the potential for stress corrosion 

cracking. 

The NRC staff also received comments concerning the risks of radiation, especially to children 

and women; the credentials of the NRC staff; the potential and need to plan for accidents; calls 

to put the Yucca Mountain repository process on hold; concerns about not holding public 

meetings in California; the need for quality assurance in the NRC staff’s review; destructive 

effects of radiation on human tissue; and concerns about the NRC staff’s level of expertise 

available at the meeting. 

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

to YMEIS_supplement@nrc.gov. 

Enclosure: Meeting Attendees List 

CONTACT: Christine Pineda, NMSS/YMD 

 (301) 415-6789 
J. Rubenstone - 2 - 

Questions that were asked included: how the NRC staff accounted for changes in the repository 

inventory, including high-burnup spent nuclear fuel, in its analysis in the supplement; a request 

for clarification regarding when the NRC would issue a record of decision under the National 

Environmental Policy Act; requests for clarification concerning the NRC’s adjudicatory process 

and the role of the NRC staff; whether a location other than Yucca Mountain had ever been 

investigated as a possible repository site; requests to extend the comment period beyond the 

announced 31 day extension; requests for the transcripts and meeting materials; and whether 

the NRC staff had plans in place in the event of a government shutdown. 

Topics and concerns that were raised during the comment period included: the scope of the 

supplement; the accuracy of the supplement given several events that have occurred or 

decisions that have been made since the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted its 

license application in 2008; the supplement’s reliance on DOE’s model of repository 

performance; and whether the supplement would be peer-reviewed. Comments also concerned 

the potential for the proposed repository to leak contaminants into the groundwater and to 

contribute to cumulative groundwater impacts; the risks of transporting spent nuclear fuel; 

potential impacts on tribal populations and on low-income populations; the assumptions in the 

supplement concerning high-burnup spent fuel; concerns about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 

and the Hanford site; spent nuclear fuel storage canisters and the potential for stress corrosion 

cracking. 

The NRC staff also received comments concerning the risks of radiation, especially to children 

and women; the credentials of the NRC staff; the potential and need to plan for accidents; calls 

to put the Yucca Mountain repository process on hold; concerns about not holding public 

meetings in California; the need for quality assurance in the NRC staff’s review; destructive 

effects of radiation on human tissue; and concerns about the NRC staff’s level of expertise 

available at the meeting. 

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

to YMEIS_supplement@nrc.gov. 

Enclosure: Meeting Attendees List 

DISTRIBUTION:

PUBLIC 

NMSS/YMD Distribution 

CSafford (OGC) 

AGendelman (OGC) 

Miriam Juckett (mjuckett@swri.org) 

ADAMS Accession No.: ML15253A663

OFFICE NMSS/YMD OGC NMSS/YMD 

NAME CPineda AGendelman 

via email

JRubenstone 

via email 

DATE 9/9/2015 9/10/2015 9/10/2015 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
 Enclosure 

 

List of Attendees 

Public Meeting on the NRC Staff’s Draft Supplement to the 

Department of Energy Environmental Impact Statements for the 

Proposed Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada 

September 3, 2015; 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

First Name Last Name Organization or Affiliation (if known) 

1 William Boyle U.S. Department of Energy 

2 Richard Button U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

3 Wei-Wu Chao Taiwan Atomic Energy Council 

4 Kathy Cortopassi Closed Caption 

5 Anne Cottingham Nuclear Energy Institute 

6 Alan Denko U.S. Navy 

7 Jeremy Dillon Exchange Monitor 

8 Pat Dostie State of Maine 

9 Gwen Dubois Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility 

10 Charles Fitzpatrick Citizen 

11 Angela Foster U.S. Department of Energy 

12 Kenneth Freelain International Definition 

13 Donna Gilmore San Onofre Safety 

14 Paula Gotsch Grandmothers, Mothers & More for Energy Safety 

15 Erica Gray Citizen 

16 Andrew Griffith U.S. Department of Energy 

17 Maureen Headington Stand Up Save Lives Campaign 

18 Ace Hoffman Nuke Free North County 

19 Greg James Inyo County, Nevada 

20 Abigail Johnson Eureka County, Nevada 

21 Kevin Kamps Beyond Nuclear 

22 Michael Keegan Don't Waste Michigan 

23 William Kinsella North Carolina State University 

24 Phil Klevorick Clark County Nuclear Waste Division 

25 John LaForge Nukewatch 

26 Tony Leshinskie State of Vermont 

27 Bret Leslie Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board 

28 Marvin Lewis Citizen 

29 Marty Malsch Egan, Fitzpatrick, Malsch & Lawrence 

30 Dennis Nelson Support and Education for Radiation Victims 

31 David O'Leary Sierra Club Maryland Chapter 

32 Mary Olson Nuclear Information and Resource Service 

33 Daniel Perez Technician 

34 Suzanne Rhodes League of Women Voters of South Carolina 

35 Marthea Rountree U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

36 Gary Sachs Safe & Green Campaign 
2

First Name Last Name Organization or Affiliation (if known) 

37 David Schultz Bloomberg BNA 

38 Barbara Stevens Volunteer, Nuclear Information and Resource Service 

39 Ellen Thomas Women’s International League For Peace & Freedom 

40 Ruth Thomas Environmentalists, Inc. 

41 Bob Walker U.S. Department of Energy 

42 Heather Westra Prairie Island Indian Community 

43 Chip Cameron Zero Gravity Group 

44 Miriam Juckett Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses 

45 John Stamatakos Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses 

46 David Decker Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

47 Randall Fedors Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

48 Adam Gendelman Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

49 Jack Gwo Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

50 Dave McIntyre Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

51 Nicholas McMurray Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

52 Nicole Noëlliste Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

53 Christine Pineda Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

54 James Rubenstone Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

55 Mike Weber Nuclear Regulatory Commission