84348 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 22, 2024 / Notices 

1TRU waste is defined as waste containing more 

than 100 nano-curies per gram of alpha-emitting 

radioactive isotopes, with half-lives greater than 

twenty years and atomic numbers greater than 92. 

2 61 FR 5224–5245 (February 9, 1996). 

Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental 

Analysis March 2025 

o. Final amendments to the 

application must be filed with the 

Commission no later than 30 days from 

the issuance date of the notice of ready 

for environmental analysis. 

Dated: October 15, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24379 Filed 10–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0309; FRL–12263–01– 

OAR] 

Planned Change Request for Waste 

Isolation Pilot Plant Replacement 

Panels 11 and 12; Reopening of Public 

Comment Period 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability with 

request for public comment; reopening 

of public comment period. 

SUMMARY: On July 16, 2024, the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 

or the Agency) announced for public 

comment the availability of a Planned 

Change Request (PCR) recently 

submitted by the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) to modify the Waste 

Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The 

proposed change will involve adding 

two additional waste panels west of the 

current repository to replace lost 

disposal capacity resulting from the 

2014 radiological incident and resulting 

ground control issues. A 60-day 

comment period was provided for the 

PCR that expired on September 16, 

2024. A request for an extension to the 

comment period was received from 

several stakeholders, most recently at 

the Agency’s informal public meetings 

held in New Mexico in late August. EPA 

is reopening the comment period to seek 

public input on both DOE’s application 

and on what EPA should consider in its 

evaluation. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

the notice published July 16, 2024 at 89 

FR 57887, has reopened on October 22, 

2024. It will remain open until the 

Agency publishes a future notice in the 

Federal Register that specifies the end 

of the public comment period. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2024–0309, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method). Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov. 

Include Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2024–0309 in the subject line of the 

message. 

• U.S. Postal Service Mail: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

Docket Center, Air and Radiation 

Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20460. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Docket 

Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 

1301 Constitution Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20004. The Docket 

Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 

a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except 

Federal Holidays). 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2024–0309. Comments 

received may be posted without change 

to https://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. For detailed instructions on 

sending comments, see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. A copy of the DOE’s 

2024 PCR is linked on EPA’s WIPP 

website (https://www.epa.gov/system/ 

files/documents/2024-03/24-0168-wipppcr-panels-letter-enclosures.pdf). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray 

Lee, Radiation Protection Division, 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Mail 

Code 6608T, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (202) 343–9463; email address: 

lee.raymond@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Submit 

your comments, identified by Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0309, at 

https://www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method), or the other methods 

identified in the ADDRESSES section. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from the docket. EPA 

may publish any comment received to 

its public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e., 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, the full EPA public comment 

policy, information about CBI or 

multimedia submissions, and general 

guidance on making effective 

comments, please visit https://

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. 

Tips for preparing your comments. 

When submitting comments, remember 

to: 

• Identify the document by docket 

number, subject heading, Federal 

Register date, and page number. 

• Provide a brief description of 

yourself and your role or organization. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

• Illustrate your concerns with 

specific examples and suggest 

alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

• Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

I. Background 

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 

(WIPP) is a transuranic (TRU) 

radioactive waste disposal system 

developed by the DOE that is located 

near Carlsbad in southeastern New 

Mexico. TRU radioactive waste is 

emplaced about 650 meters (2,150 feet) 

underground in an ancient layer of salt 

that will eventually ‘‘creep,’’ 

encapsulate, and isolate the waste from 

the surrounding environment. The 1992 

WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (Pub. L. 

102–579) (LWA) limits radioactive waste 

disposal in the WIPP to TRU radioactive 

wastes generated by defense-related 

activities.1 The WIPP LWA provides 

EPA with authority to oversee and 

regulate the WIPP. The WIPP must meet 

EPA’s generic radioactive waste 

disposal standards at 40 CFR part 191, 

subparts B and C. These standards limit 

releases of radioactive materials from 

disposal systems for radioactive waste 

and require implementation of measures 

to provide confidence for compliance 

with the radiation release limits. 

Additionally, the regulations limit 

radiation doses to members of the 

public and protect ground water 

resources by establishing maximum 

concentrations for radionuclides in 

ground water. 

In 1996, the Agency issued the WIPP 

Compliance Criteria, which are located 

at 40 CFR part 194, as mandated by 

WIPP LWA, section 8(c).2 DOE 

submitted the initial WIPP Compliance 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 22, 2024 / Notices 84349 

3 87 FR 26126 (May 3, 2022). 

4For a discussion of the 2014 incidents at the 

WIPP, see EPA’s third recertification determination. 

82 FR 33106, 33107 (July 19, 2017). 

5 Knerr, R. (DOE/CBFO), Dunagan, S. (NWP LLC). 

Class 3 Permit Modification Request [Letter to 

Maestas, R. (NMED)] (July 30, 2021). 

6 Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0309 

(https://www.regulations.gov). 

7https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wippnews#WIPP-PCR. 

Certification Application (CCA) in 1996. 

The Agency then issued the certification 

decision on May 18, 1998, determining 

that the WIPP met the standards for 

radioactive waste disposal. Since the 

1998 certification decision, EPA has 

conducted ongoing independent 

technical reviews, certification/ 

recertifications, and inspections of all 

WIPP activities related to compliance 

with the Agency’s disposal regulations. 

The WIPP has been recertified four 

times since the initial CCA in 1996, 

with the most recent recertification 

decision occurring in 2022.3

As part of the original design of the 

WIPP repository in the initial CCA, the 

underground waste disposal region at 

WIPP is divided into panels. A panel is 

a group of rooms mined into the salt, 

connected by tunnels called drifts. EPA 

certified the WIPP in 1998 and most 

recently recertified the WIPP in 2022 

based on a planned footprint of 10 waste 

panels. 

On March 14, 2024, EPA received a 

planned change request (PCR) from DOE 

per 40 CFR 194.4(b)(3) that seeks the 

Agency’s approval to add two 

replacement waste panels to the west of 

the current repository. These two 

panels, 11 and 12, are being constructed 

to replace waste disposal volume that 

was lost in panels 7 and 9 due to the 

2014 radiological release that 

contaminated the south end of the 

repository.4 Additionally, panels 1 and 

2 were not completely filled due to 

ground control issues from being kept 

open so long before waste was 

emplaced. DOE has calculated that to 

replace the volume lost, 1.7 panels of 

waste volume will be needed, rounded 

up to 2 panels for construction. 5 DOE 

also states that the waste volume with 

panels 11 and 12 will not exceed the 

LWA waste disposal volume limit. The 

PCR contains a performance assessment 

DOE has conducted to support a 

demonstration that the repository will 

continue to meet the numeric release 

limits of EPA’s disposal regulations for 

the WIPP. As part of the performance 

assessment, DOE calculated releases 

based on a repository design of 19 

panels, which is the anticipated WIPP 

repository configuration at the time of 

closure. With this PCR, DOE is only 

seeking EPA’s approval of the two new 

planned panels and has provided 

documentation to address the two new 

panels within the context of the 19- 

panel design. DOE would have to 

submit a separate request for approval of 

any additional panels beyond panels 11 

and 12. 

II. Request for Comments 

A 60-day comment period provided 

for comments on the PCR ended on 

September 16, 2024. During this 

comment period a request for an 

extension to the comment period was 

received from several stakeholders, most 

recently at the Agency’s informal public 

meetings held in New Mexico in late 

August. 

The Agency is reopening the 

comment period and soliciting public 

comment on DOE’s documentation of its 

PCR to add two new waste panels— 

panels 11 and 12—at the WIPP facility, 

and the demonstration of compliance 

with EPA’s disposal regulations. 

Additional background information 

related to the Agency’s review of DOE’s 

application—including an electronic 

copy of the PCR itself—is available in 

the public docket 6 established for this 

action and on the EPA WIPP website.7

The Agency will continue to accept 

comment until it issues a future Federal 

Register notice that specifies the end of 

the public comment period. Upon 

completion of EPA’s evaluation of the 

PCR, the Agency will announce a 

decision on the proposed two new 

panels along with a response to 

comments document and related 

technical support documents. 

Jonathan D. Edwards, 

Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24450 Filed 10–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–12326–01–R6] 

Clean Air Act Operating Permit 

Program; Order on Petition for 

Objection to State Operating Permit for 

the Nucor Steel Louisiana, LLC, Direct 

Reduced Iron Facility, St. James 

Parish, Louisiana 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of final order on petition. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Administrator signed an 

order dated September 27, 2024, 

granting in part and denying in part a 

Petition dated December 4, 2023, from 

the Myrtle Felton, Barbara Washington, 

Gail Leboeuf, Inclusive Louisiana, and 

Louisiana Bucket Brigade (the 

Petitioners). The Petition requested that 

the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) 

title V operating permit issued by the 

Louisiana Department of Environmental 

Quality (LDEQ) to Nucor Steel 

Louisiana, L.L.C., Direct Reduced Iron 

(DRI) Facility, located in Covent, St. 

James Parish, Louisiana. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Layton, EPA Region 6 Office, 

Air Permits Section, (214) 665–2136, 

layton.elizabeth@epa.gov. The final 

order and petition are available 

electronically at: https://www.epa.gov/ 

title-v-operating-permits/title-v-petitiondatabase. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA 

received a petition from Myrtle Felton, 

Barbara Washington, Gail Leboeuf, 

Inclusive Louisiana, and Louisiana 

Bucket Brigade dated December 4, 2023, 

requesting that the EPA object to the 

issuance of operating permit no. No. 

3086–V10, issued by LDEQ to the Nucor 

Steel Louisiana, L.L.C., DRI Facility in 

St. James Parish, Convent, Louisiana. 

On September 27, 2024, the EPA 

Administrator issued an order granting 

in part and denying in part the Petition. 

The order explains the basis for the 

EPA’s decision. 

Sections 307(b) and 505(b)(2) of the 

CAA provide that a petitioner may 

request judicial review of those portions 

of an order that deny issues in a 

petition. Any petition for review shall 

be filed in the United States Court of 

Appeals for the appropriate circuity no 

later than December 23, 2024. 

Dated: October 16, 2024. 

David Garcia, 

Director, Air and Radiation Division, Region 

6. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24366 Filed 10–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

Designated Reserve Ratio for 2025 

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Notice of Designated Reserve 

Ratio for 2025. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act), the 

Board of Directors (Board) of the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 

designates that the Designated Reserve 

Ratio (DRR) for the Deposit Insurance 

Fund shall remain at 2 percent for 2025. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1