UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 

March 9, 2016 

Mr. Charles W. Maguire, Division Director 

Radioactive Materials Division 

Office of Waste 

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality 

P.O. Box 13087 

Austin, TX 78711-3087 

SUBJECT: TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY’S LETTER ON 

AUTHORITY AND JURISDICTION REGARDING GREATER-THAN-CLASS C 

TYPE WASTE STREAMS 

Dear Mr. Maguire: 

I am responding to your January 30, 2015, letter requesting clarification of the State of Texas’s 

jurisdiction to license the disposal of Greater-than-Class C (GTCC), GTCC-like (i.e., U.S. 

Department of Energy generated or owned low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) that may also 

contain transuranic (TRU) wastes with characteristics similar to GTCC), and TRU waste. 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has reviewed this matter and has provided 

direction to the NRC staff in Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM)-SECY-15-0094 

(Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. 

ML15356A623), which is discussed below. The definition of LLRW currently found in Title 10 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 61 excludes TRU waste. Accordingly, waste 

streams with concentrations of TRU radionuclides greater than 100 nanocuries per gram cannot 

be disposed of in a Part 61 disposal facility at this time. 1 However, in accordance with 

Commission direction in SRM-SECY-15-0094, staff will consider addressing transuranic waste 

in an amendment to § 61.2. 

Because 10 CFR Part 61 does not contain general criteria for disposal of GTCC waste and 

because TRU waste is currently excluded from the definition of LLRW in Part 61, the NRC will 

take additional steps to inform a generic decision regarding disposal of GTCC and TRU wastes 

before disposal activities take place. In SRM-SECY-15-0094, the Commission instructed the 

NRC staff to prepare a regulatory basis for the disposal of GTCC waste. A regulatory basis is 

an analysis that addresses why a current regulation or policy needs to be changed and 

proposes different approaches to resolve any outstanding issues. The regulatory basis for a 

possible rulemaking to address the disposal requirements for GTCC waste would analyze 

whether, in accordance with section 274c.(4) of the Atomic Energy Act, disposal of GTCC waste 

presents a hazard such that the NRC should retain authority over its disposal, and will inform 

the NRC’s final determination regarding Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s 

(TCEQ’s) jurisdictional questions. As directed by the Commission, the regulatory basis will be 

completed within six months of the completion of the ongoing Part 61 rulemaking. The staff 

plans to conduct a public workshop during the development of the regulatory basis to engage 

 

1 Under 10 CFR § 61.55(a)(3)(ii) TRU waste streams with concentrations under 100 nanocuries per gram 

can be managed as LLRW. 
C. Maguire - 2 - 

interested stakeholders. The NRC will also conduct a public workshop with TCEQ staff, and we 

look forward to receiving your valuable comments on the regulatory basis. 

If the NRC staff concludes, as a result of its analysis, that some or all GTCC waste is potentially 

suitable for a 10 CFR Part 61 disposal facility, the staff will proceed with the development of a 

proposed rule to include disposal criteria for licensing the disposal of such waste under 

10 CFR Part 61. 

As discussed in SECY-15-0094, 10 CFR § 61.55(a)(2)(iv) provides a mechanism by which 

GTCC waste may be disposed of in a LLRW facility licensed pursuant to 10 CFR Part 61, 

subject to Commission approval of the disposal. The case-by-case review contemplated in 

10 CFR § 61.55(a)(2)(iv) is available to parties who seek to dispose of GTCC waste in the near 

term. 

Should you have any questions or comments concerning this response, please contact 

Melanie Wong at (301) 415-2432. 

Sincerely, 

/RA J. Munday for/ 

Scott W. Moore, Acting Director 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

cc: Chairman Burns 

Commissioner Svinicki 

Commissioner Ostendorff 

Commissioner Baran 

SECY 

OGC 

EDO 
C. Maguire - 2 - 

interested stakeholders. The NRC will also conduct a public workshop with TCEQ staff, and we 

look forward to receiving your valuable comments on the regulatory basis. 

If the NRC staff concludes, as a result of its analysis, that some or all GTCC waste is potentially 

suitable for a 10 CFR Part 61 disposal facility, the staff will proceed with the development of a 

proposed rule to include disposal criteria for licensing the disposal of such waste under 

10 CFR Part 61. 

As discussed in SECY-15-0094, 10 CFR § 61.55(a)(2)(iv) provides a mechanism by which 

GTCC waste may be disposed of in a LLRW facility licensed pursuant to 10 CFR Part 61, 

subject to Commission approval of the disposal. The case-by-case review contemplated in 

10 CFR § 61.55(a)(2)(iv) is available to parties who seek to dispose of GTCC waste in the near 

term. 

Should you have any questions or comments concerning this response, please contact 

Melanie Wong at (301) 415-2432. 

Sincerely, 

/RA J. Munday for/ 

Scott W. Moore, Acting Director 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

 and Safeguards 

cc: Chairman Burns 

Commissioner Svinicki 

Commissioner Ostendorff 

Commissioner Baran 

SECY 

OGC 

EDO