Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 16, 2020 / Notices 81525 

Public Comments Invited: Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB’s clearance of this 

information collection. 

Dated: December 10, 2020. 

Kim Miller, 

Senior Grants Management Specialist, 

Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27605 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7036–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Request for Information: 

Interdisciplinary Frontiers of 

Understanding the Brain 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation seeks public input on new 

scientific opportunities at the interface 

of neuroscience and other science and 

engineering disciplines. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted no later than March 31, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments via web 

form at https://

www.surveymonkey.com/r/LQBPS6S. 

Email comments to brain-frontiers@

nsf.gov. Send written submissions to Dr. 

Edda Thiels, Division of Integrative and 

Organismal Systems, National Science 

Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 

Alexandria, VA 22314. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Edda Thiels at brain-frontiers@nsf.gov 

or (703) 292–8167. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exciting 

new opportunities at the interface of 

neuroscience and other science and 

engineering disciplines, catalyzed by 

transformative new discoveries and 

technologies, are poised to reshape 

brain research and its applications. 

Advances at these interdisciplinary 

frontiers depend on dialogue across 

many areas of scholarship, including 

behavioral, biological, cognitive, 

computing, educational, engineering, 

mathematical, and physical sciences 

research, as well as fields and subfields 

that have not traditionally been linked 

to neuroscience. The National Science 

Foundation seeks community input that 

illuminates these interdisciplinary 

opportunities, from theory to 

applications, and points to how they 

might best be realized. 

Further information and instructions 

to submitters may be found at https://

www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_

summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf21031 (NSF 21– 

31). 

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1861.) 

Dated: December 11, 2020. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27671 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Request for Information; Strategic Plan 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Request for information; 

correction. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) published a 

document in the Federal Register of 

December 10, 2020, concerning a 

request for public comment on the 

2022–2026 Strategic Plan for the 

National Science Foundation. The 

notice was published without links to 

the document under review as well as 

the current strategic plan. This notice 

now includes those links. The 

Government Performance and Results 

Act (GPRA) and GPRA Modernization 

act of 2010 requires federal agencies to 

publish their strategic and performance 

plans in pursuit of their missions. 

Through this Request for Information 

(RFI), the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) seeks public comment on the key 

elements of the strategic plan—the 

Vision, Core Values, Strategic Goals, 

and Strategic Objectives—and high-level 

questions that will guide the 

development of the 2022–2026 NSF 

Strategic Plan. 

DATES: Please send comments on or 

before January 22, 2021. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

Send comments to the address below. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the 

strategic planning website, https://

www.nsf.gov/od/oia/strategicplan/ 

feedback.jsp. Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1.800.877.8339, 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days 

a year (including Federal holidays). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1.0 Background 

NSF was created ‘‘to promote the 

progress of science; to advance the 

national health, prosperity, and welfare; 

to secure the national defense . . .’’ 

(1950, as amended). Looking ahead, 

NSF aims to advance the frontiers of 

research into the future and secure 

global leadership in science and 

engineering, while ensuring 

accessibility and inclusivity. To meet 

these aims, NSF expands knowledge in 

science, engineering, and learning, and 

advances the capability of the nation to 

meet current and future challenges, 

while continuing to enhance its 

performance. 

2.0 Request for Information 

Through this Request for Information 

(RFI), the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) seeks comment from a broad array 

of stakeholders regarding the 2022–2026 

Strategic Plan. Comments should be 

submitted to the strategic plan website, 

https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/ 

strategicplan/feedback.jsp, and should 

reference the previous NSF Strategic 

plan for FY 2018–2022 which can be 

found here, https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/ 

2018/nsf18045/nsf18045.pdf. We 

welcome comments on the key elements 

of the strategic plan, including Vision, 

Core Values, Strategic Goals, and 

Strategic Objectives, and answers to the 

following questions: 

1. What are the interests, values and 

emergent science and policy issues that 

the Strategic Plan should recognize? 

2. How can NSF help maintain US 

leadership in an evolving global 

research and education landscape? 

3. How can the plan best underscore 

the importance to the Nation of 

fundamental research and its broader 

impacts? 

Dated: December 11, 2020. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27672 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 70–1151; NRC–2020–0265] 

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC; 

Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility; and 

US Ecology, Inc.; Idaho Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act 

Subtitle C Hazardous Disposal Facility 

Located Near Grand View, Idaho 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: License amendment and 

exemption; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing an 

exemption and associated license 

amendment related to a request from 

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC 

(WEC) from NRC regulations with 

respect to a request for alternate 

disposal and exemption for specified 

low-activity radioactive waste from the 

Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility 


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81526 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 16, 2020 / Notices 

(CFFF) in Hopkins, South Carolina for 

waste containing byproduct material 

and special nuclear material (SNM) 

under License Number SNM–1107. 

Additionally, the NRC is taking the 

related action of approving exemptions 

to US Ecology, Inc. (USEI) from the 

applicable licensing requirements to 

allow USEI to receive and possess the 

material from CFFF without an NRC 

license. The USEI disposal facility, 

located near Grand View, Idaho, is a 

Subtitle C Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste 

disposal facility permitted by the State 

of Idaho to receive low-level radioactive 

waste and is not licensed by the NRC. 

Approval of the alternate disposal 

request from WEC, the exemptions and 

license amendment requested by WEC 

and associated exemptions for USEI 

would allow WEC to transfer the 

specific waste from CFFF for disposal at 

USEI. 

DATES: This exemption is effective on 

December 9, 2020. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2020–0265 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information regarding this document. 

You may obtain publicly available 

information related to this document 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking website: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2020–0265. Address 

questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; 

telephone: 301–287–9127; email: 

Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical 

questions, contact the individual listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly 

available documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For 

problems with ADAMS, please contact 

the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) 

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 

415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@

nrc.gov. The Request for Alternate 

Disposal Approval and Exemption for 

Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication 

Facility Waste (License No. SNM–1197, 

Docket No. 70–1151) is available in 

ADAMS under Package Accession No. 

ML20129J934. The Response to Request 

for Additional Information—Alternate 

Disposal Approval and Exemptions for 

Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication 

Facility Waste (License No. SNM–1107, 

Docket No. 70–1151) dated September 

22, 2020 is available in ADAMS under 

Accession No. ML20266G551. The 

Response to Request for Additional 

Information—Alternate Disposal 

Approval and Exemptions for Specific 

Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility 

Waste (License No. SNM–1107, Docket 

No. 70–1151) dated October 13, 2020 is 

available in ADAMS under Accession 

No. ML20287A545. The staff’s Safety 

Evaluation Report dated November 30, 

2020 is available in ADAMS under 

Package Accession No. ML20329A352. 

• Attention: The PDR, where you may 

examine and order copies of public 

documents is currently closed. You may 

submit your request to the PDR via 

email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1– 

800–397–4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 

4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Tiktinsky, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–8740, email: David.Tiktinsky@

nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC 

(WEC) is the holder of a Special Nuclear 

Materials (SNM) License SNM–1107 

under part 70 of title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which 

authorizes the fabrication of nuclear fuel 

at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication 

Facility (CFFF). The US Ecology, Inc. 

(USEI) disposal facility near Grand 

View, Idaho is a Subtitle C Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 

hazardous waste disposal facility 

permitted by the State of Idaho to 

receive radioactive waste that is not 

licensed or exempted from licensing by 

the NRC. 

II. Request/Action 

The proposed action would approve 

the alternate disposal request and 

provide exemptions to 10 CFR 70.3 and 

10 CFR 30.3, and an associated WEC 

license amendment, allowing WEC to 

transfer and USEI to receive and dispose 

specific wastes. 

The East Lagoon is a treatment/ 

settling pond that is approximately 160′ 

× 130′. The East Lagoon receives liquid 

inputs such as effluent from the 

Deionized Water Building (primarily 

from regeneration water from resin 

beds) and rainwater from containment 

areas such as the chemical tank farm. 

The East Lagoon also provides extra 

capacity for overflow from other lagoons 

or for containment in the event of a spill 

or emergency. Current East Lagoon 

operations are regulated under 

Westinghouse’s National Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System permit 

for the Columbia site. However, based 

on past wastewater treatment area 

operations and the age of the East 

Lagoon liner, a Wastewater Treatment 

Area Operable Unit was established 

under the South Carolina Department of 

Health and Environmental Control 

(SCDHEC) Consent Agreement signed 

on February 26, 2019. As part of the 

Consent Agreement, the East Lagoon is 

planned for closure and remediation. 

The East Lagoon contains approximately 

3 to 4 feet of radiologically 

contaminated sludge. The East Lagoon 

was originally lined in the early 1980’s. 

While this liner is still in place, WEC 

assumes it may have lost some integrity. 

Therefore, there is the possibility of soil 

contamination under and around the 

East Lagoon due to leaching that would 

also be excavated and disposed of as 

part of this action. Approximately 

45,000 ft3 of sludge, soil and debris will 

be generated from the closure of the East 

Lagoon. The waste from the East Lagoon 

being considered under this request is 

contaminated with SNM (low enriched 

uranium {<5 wt. % U–235}) and the 

fission product Technetium-99 (Tc-99). 

The SNM and Tc-99 contaminated 

wastes were generated from plant 

operations during the fabrication of 

nuclear fuel. Tc-99 is present in the 

process due to uranium feed that 

originated from sources of recycled 

uranium or down-blended high 

enriched uranium. In addition to the 

material generated from the closure of 

the East Lagoon, WEC intends to 

dispose of approximately 1428 m3

(50,400 ft3) of solid CaF2 sludge 

previously dredged from the Calcium 

Fluoride Lagoons and subsequently 

placed in a storage pile. The CaF2 sludge 

was generated as a waste from uranium 

recovery waste treatment process and is 

contaminated with SNM (low enriched 

uranium {<5 wt. % U–235}) as well. 

The sludge, soil, and debris associated 

with the closure of the East Lagoon will 

be shipped with the CaF2 sludge to USEI 

using a combination of trucks and 

railcars. 

WEC also intends to dispose of up to 

526 obsolete UF6 Cylinders, which 

represent a disposal volume of 

approximately 651 m3 (23,000 ft3) prior 

to downsizing. The UF6 Cylinders are 

transportation containers that are no 

longer in service. The UF6 Cylinders are 

solid form (steel), approximately 1.8 m 

(6 ft) in length and 0.76 m (2.5 ft) in 

diameter. The UF6 Cylinders are empty 

and have been through the UF6 Cylinder 

internal wash/rinse process following 

their last use and prior to being placed 

into storage pending disposal. The UF6


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 16, 2020 / Notices 81527 

Cylinders will be downsized to 

eliminate void space prior to packaging 

for shipment offsite for disposal. While 

emptied and cleaned, the UF6 Cylinders 

are still internally contaminated with 

SNM. 

The UF6 Cylinders will be transported 

to the USEI site by trucks, separate from 

the aggregated waste shipments 

described above. 

III. Discussion 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17 and 10 CFR 

30.11, the Commission may, upon 

application of any interested person or 

upon its own initiative, grant such 

exemptions from the requirements of 10 

CFR part 70 and part 30 respectively, as 

it determines are authorized by law and 

will not endanger life or property or the 

common defense and security and are 

otherwise in the public interest. 

The Exemption Is Authorized by Law 

The proposal provides that the 

material described above would be 

transported in compliance with U.S. 

Department of Transportation 

regulations to USEI in Idaho, which is 

a Subtitle C RCRA hazardous waste 

disposal facility permitted by the State 

of Idaho. As such, the material will be 

removed per State and local regulations, 

will be shipped per existing Federal 

regulations to a location approved by 

the State of Idaho to receive the 

material, and such disposal is not 

otherwise contrary to NRC 

requirements, and is therefore 

authorized by law. 

The Exemption Will Not Endanger Life, 

Property and Is Consistent With the 

Common Defense and Security 

NRC staff reviewed the information 

provided by WEC to support their 10 

CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal request 

and for the specific exemptions from 10 

CFR 30.3 and 10 CFR 70.3 and 

associated license amendment in order 

to dispose of aggregated waste and UF6

Cylinders at USEI. As documented in 

the Safety Evaluation Report, the NRC 

staff concludes that, consistent with 10 

CFR 20.2002, WEC provided an 

adequate description of the materials 

and the proposed manner and 

conditions of waste disposal. The NRC 

staff also concluded that the use of the 

site-specific dose assessment 

methodology to evaluate the projected 

doses associated with the transportation 

and disposal of the waste streams at 

USEI are acceptable. The NRC staff 

reviewed the input parameters included 

in this modeling and found that they are 

appropriate for the scenarios 

considered. The NRC staff also 

evaluated the potential doses associated 

with transportation, waste handling, 

and disposal and found that the 

projected doses have been appropriately 

estimated and are demonstrated to meet 

the NRC’s alternate disposal standard of 

contributing a dose of not more than ‘‘a 

few millirem per year’’ to any member 

of the public and are as low as is 

reasonably achievable. The NRC staff 

also concluded that the projected doses 

from the post-closure and intruder 

scenarios at USEI are also within ‘‘a few 

millirem per year’’ over a period of 

1,000 years. Lastly, because of the 

presence of SNM, the NRC evaluated 

potential criticality in its SER, and 

found no concerns. Therefore, the NRC 

concludes that issuance of the 

exemption is will not endanger life, 

property, and is consistent with the 

common defense and security. 

The Exemption Is in the Public Interest 

Issuance of the exemptions to WEC 

and USEI is in the public interest 

because it would provide for the 

efficient and safe disposal for the 

subject waste material, would facilitate 

the decommissioning of the East Lagoon 

at the CFFF site consistent with the 

consent agreement between CFFF and 

SCDHEC, and would conserve low-level 

radioactive waste disposal capacity at 

licensed low-level radioactive disposal 

sites, while ensuring that the material 

being considered is disposed of safely in 

a regulated facility. Therefore, based 

upon the evaluation above, an 

exemption is appropriate pursuant to 10 

CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17. 

IV. Environmental Considerations 

As required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC 

performed an environmental assessment 

(EA) that analyzes the environmental 

impacts of the proposed exemption in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 

NRC implementing regulations in 10 

CFR part 51. Based on that EA, the NRC 

staff has determined not to prepare an 

environmental impact statement for the 

proposed exemption and has issued a 

finding of no significant impact 

(FONSI). The EA and FONSI were 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 9, 2020 (85 FR 79228). 

V. Conclusions 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 

70.17 and 10 CFR 30.11, the exemptions 

for WEC and USEI and associated WEC 

license amendment are authorized by 

law, will not present an undue risk to 

the public health and safety, is 

consistent with the common defense 

and security, and is in the public 

interest. Therefore, the Commission 

hereby grants WEC and USEI 

exemptions from 10 CFR 70.3 and 10 

CFR 30.3 to allow WEC to transfer the 

specifically identified byproduct 

material and SNM waste described 

above from the WEC CFFF for disposal 

at the USEI disposal facility located near 

Grand View, Idaho, and issues WEC a 

conforming license amendment. 

Dated: December 10, 2020. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Damaris Marcano, 

Acting Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, 

Division of Fuel Management, Office of 

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27608 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket No. PI2021–1; Order No. 5777] 

Public Inquiry 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is revisiting 

the methodology it uses to estimate the 

value of the Postal Service’s universal 

service obligation (USO), which the 

Commission last considered in 2008. 

This document informs the public of 

this proceeding and the technical 

conference, invites public comment, 

and takes other administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: March 15, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit 

comments electronically should contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by 

telephone for advice on filing 

alternatives. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Background 

III. Discussion 

IV. Comments 

V. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

In this docket, the Commission 

intends to revisit the methodology it 

uses to estimate the cost of the Postal 

Service’s universal service obligation 

(USO), which the Commission last 


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