[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85991-85994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25080]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-7005; NRC-2024-0164]


Waste Control Specialists LLC; Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact 
(FONSI) in support of the NRC's consideration of a request from Waste 
Control Specialists LLC (WCS) to continue to possess certain 
transuranic waste, which originated from the Los Alamos National 
Laboratory (LANL), without an NRC license under the terms of a 2023 
Order. The 2023 Order exempted WCS from the NRC's regulations 
concerning special nuclear material (SNM). The current action is in 
response to a request by WCS dated May 24, 2024, to extend the 
possession time of certain waste at specific locations at the facility 
in Andrews County, Texas (WCS Site) until December 31, 2026.

DATES: October 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0164 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0164. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f7c5b4e4c56017c4c475a424e41416f415d4c01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="da89aebbb9a3f489b9b2afb7bbb4b49ab4a8b9f4bdb5ac">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information 
Contact section of this document.
    <bullet> 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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#411105136f1324322e34332224012f33226f262e37"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bcecf8ee92eed9cfd3c9cedfd9fcd2cedf92dbd3ca">[email protected]</span></a>. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
    <bullet> NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of

[[Page 85992]]

publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#237367710d7146504c56514046634d51400d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a6a7e6814685f49554f48595f7a544859145d554c">[email protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry Felsher, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6559; email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1850796a6a61365e7d746b707d6a58766a7b367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="afe7ceddddd681e9cac3dcc7caddefc1ddcc81c8c0d9">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion

    The NRC is considering modifying a previously issued order 
condition that would allow Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) to 
continue possessing certain transuranic waste, which originated from 
the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), without an NRC license for 
another two years at its Andrews County, Texas site. WCS possesses the 
transuranic waste at issue under the terms of the 2023 Order. Based on 
the results of the EA that follows, the NRC is issuing a FONSI and, 
therefore, does not need to prepare an environmental impact statement.
    WCS operates a facility in Andrews County, Texas (WCS Site) that is 
licensed to process, store, and perform certain operations with certain 
types of radioactive material contained in low-level waste (LLW) and 
mixed waste. The WCS Site is also licensed to dispose of certain 
radioactive, hazardous, and toxic waste. Under an agreement authorized 
by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, a State can assume 
regulatory authority over radioactive material. In 1963, Texas entered 
into such an agreement and assumed regulatory authority over source 
material, byproduct material, and SNM under critical mass. The WCS Site 
is licensed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for 
possession, treatment/operations, and storage of radioactive waste and 
disposal of LLW under Radioactive Materials License (RML) R04100.
    Section 70.3 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) requires persons who own, acquire, deliver, receive, possess, use, 
or transfer SNM to obtain a license pursuant to the requirements of 10 
CFR part 70. The licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 70 apply to 
persons in Agreement States possessing equal to or greater than 
critical mass quantities. However, pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17(a), ``the 
Commission may . . . grant such exemptions from the requirements of the 
regulations in this part 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.''
    On September 25, 2000, WCS first requested an exemption from the 
licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 70. On November 21, 2001, the NRC 
issued an order to WCS (2001 Order) granting an exemption from certain 
NRC regulations and permitting WCS, under specified conditions, to 
possess waste containing SNM in greater quantities than specified in 10 
CFR part 150, at the WCS Storage and Treatment Facility without 
obtaining an NRC license pursuant to 10 CFR part 70. The 2001 Order was 
published in the Federal Register on November 15, 2001. The NRC issued 
superseding Orders to WCS in 2004 (i.e., modified list of reagents), 
2009 (i.e., modified sampling requirements), 2014 (i.e., modified to 
include storage of LANL Waste), and 2023 (i.e. modified to allow 
certain movement of LANL Waste, to allow certain preparation for 
shipment operations with LANL Waste, to update storage of LANL Waste) 
that modified the conditions in the 2001 Order. In addition, WCS' 
authorization to possess the LANL waste was previously extended in two-
year increments in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022.
    On February 14, 2014, a radiation release event occurred at the 
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) 
Facility (WIPP Incident). In response, the DOE suspended operations at 
the WIPP Facility. In April 2014, WCS began receiving some specific 
waste from DOE that both WCS and DOE understood to meet both the U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT) shipping requirements and the 
conditions in the 2009 Order. WCS began storing that waste at the 
Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) (previously known as 
Storage and Treatment Facility) on the WCS Site, identified as the 
Storage and Processing Facility in RML R04100, which is the WCS TCEQ-
issued license. The waste was DOE transuranic waste that originated at 
LANL that was destined to be disposed of at the DOE WIPP Facility 
(i.e., ``LANL Waste''). In June 2014, WCS received information from DOE 
that some of the LANL Waste being temporarily stored at the TSDF may be 
of concern as the waste is similar to the waste that caused an incident 
at WIPP. In response, WCS moved some of the LANL Waste from the TSDF to 
the WCS' Federal Waste Facility (FWF) Disposal Cell for temporary 
storage.
    By letter dated June 30, 2022, WCS requested a superseding NRC 
order to: (1) move the DOE LANL Waste from the FWF Disposal Cell to the 
TSDF Bin Storage Area-1 (BSA-1) Enclosure, (2) prepare the LANL Waste 
in the TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure for shipment, and (3) temporarily store the 
LANL Waste in the TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure until the DOE ships the LANL 
Waste off the WCS Site to a DOE determined location. By letter dated 
May 22, 2023, the NRC approved the WCS request and issued the 
superseding 2023 Order.
    By letter dated May 24, 2024, WCS requested that the effectiveness 
of its exemption from NRC requirements in 10 CFR part 70 be extended 
with the modification of Condition 9.B.4 of the 2023 Order to extend 
the timeframe for temporarily allowing possession of the LANL Waste at 
the WCS Site to ``until December 31, 2026.'' That proposal is the 
subject of this EA.

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to modify the 2023 Order Condition 9.B.4 to 
allow WCS to continue to possess the LANL Waste at specific locations 
at the WCS Site until December 31, 2026, without an NRC license.

Need for the Proposed Action

    WCS made the request to continue to possess the LANL Waste while 
the DOE-led Interagency Project Team (including WCS, DOE, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, NRC, the State of Texas, and the State 
of New Mexico) works to recommend a path forward for disposition of the 
LANL Waste. Also, while the DOE WIPP Facility has resumed operations, 
some of the LANL Waste at the WCS Site cannot be shipped off the site 
at this time because it does not meet DOT shipping requirements.
    The purpose of this EA is to assess the potential environmental 
impacts of the WCS request to modify the 2023 Order Condition 9.B.4 to 
allow WCS to possess the LANL Waste at specific locations at the WCS 
Site until December 31, 2026, under the other 2023 Order Conditions. 
This EA does not approve or deny the requested action.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC does not expect changes in radiation hazards to workers or 
to the environment. WCS will continue to be required to ensure that the 
LANL Waste on the WCS Site is possessed safely and securely. WCS will 
continue to be required to notify the NRC of any events

[[Page 85993]]

as appropriate, as set out in the 2023 Order. No changes to its 
handling or associated hazards would occur as a result of granting the 
requested change. Other environmental impacts would be the same as 
evaluated in the EA that supported the 2023 Order, as applicable to the 
activities associated with the continued safe possession of the LANL 
Waste.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff could deny 
the WCS request and, therefore, not issue a modification to the Order 
Condition 9.B.4 that would authorize continued possession of the LANL 
Waste at the WCS Site after December 31, 2024 (i.e., the ``no action'' 
alternative).
    Upon expiration of the timeframe in the 2023 Order Condition 9.B.4, 
WCS would still be required to maintain the material safely. In 
addition, the NRC authorization of any change to the current possession 
of the LANL Waste at the WCS Site would still be required. As a result, 
under this alternative, there would be no environmental impacts 
different from the proposed action, although WCS would be expected to 
secure a license or other regulatory authorization for the possession 
of LANL Waste or potentially be in violation of 10 CFR part 70 upon the 
expiration of the term in the 2023 Order Condition 9.B.4. For the 
reasons noted in this notice, removing the material from the site prior 
to the expiration of the current term is not part of the no-action 
alternative.
    Thus, the ``no action'' alternative would not result in changes to 
the environmental impacts evaluated in the NRC's prior EAs that 
supported the 2023 Order or the previous NRC orders. Those prior EAs 
concluded that there would be no significant radiological or non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the possession of 
LANL Waste at the WCS Site, consistent with the conditions in those NRC 
orders.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    On October 1, 2024, the staff provided a copy of the draft EA to 
the TCEQ for its review and comment. The TCEQ provided its comments on 
October 1, 2024. The NRC staff updated the EA in response to the TCEQ 
comments, as appropriate.
    The proposed action does not involve the development or disturbance 
of additional land. Hence, the NRC has determined that the proposed 
action will not affect listed endangered or threatened species or their 
critical habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under 
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Likewise, the NRC staff has 
determined that the proposed action does not have the potential to 
cause effects on historical properties even if present and no ground 
disturbing activities are associated with the proposed action. 
Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC has reviewed the WCS May 24, 2024, request to supplement 
the 2023 Order to extend the possession time of the LANL Waste at 
specific locations at the WCS Site. The NRC has found that effluent 
releases and potential radiological doses to the public are not 
anticipated to change as a result of this action and that occupational 
exposures are expected to remain within regulatory limits and as low as 
reasonably achievable. On the basis of this EA, the NRC concludes that 
the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality 
of the human environment.
    Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental 
impact statement for the proposed action.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

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                                                        Adams accession
                                                         No. / Federal
                 Document description                       Register
                                                            citation
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WCS Request to Extend Possession Timeframe of LANL           ML24149A063
 Waste until December 31, 2026, dated May 24, 2024...
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   88 FR 31829
 Significant Impact for 2023 NRC Order, dated May 15,
 2023................................................
2023 NRC Order, dated May 22, 2023...................        88 FR 34900
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   87 FR 32198
 Significant Impact for 2020 NRC Letter, dated May
 24, 2022............................................
NRC Letter Approving Extending Possession Timeframe,         ML22094A131
 dated June 8, 2022..................................
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   85 FR 77268
 Significant Impact for 2020 NRC Letter, dated
 November 24, 2020...................................
NRC Letter Approving Extending Possession Timeframe,         ML20252A182
 dated December 7, 2020..............................
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   83 FR 64902
 Significant Impact for 2018 NRC Letter, dated
 December 12, 2018...................................
NRC Letter Approving Extending Possession Timeframe,         ML18269A318
 dated December 19, 2018.............................
NRC Letter Approving Extending Possession Timeframe,         ML16097A265
 dated September 23, 2016............................
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   79 FR 65999
 Significant Impact for 2014 NRC Order, dated October
 30, 2014............................................
2014 NRC Order, dated December 3, 2014...............        79 FR 73647
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   74 FR 52981
 Significant Impact for 2009 NRC Order, dated October
 7, 2009.............................................
2009 NRC Order, dated October 20, 2009...............        74 FR 55071
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   69 FR 61697
 Significant Impact for 2004 NRC Order, dated October
 14, 2004............................................
2004 NRC Order, dated November 5, 2004...............        69 FR 65468
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No                   66 FR 56358
 Significant Impact for 2001 NRC Order, dated October
 18, 2001............................................
2001 NRC Order, dated October 30, 2001...............        66 FR 57489
2000 WCS Request for Initial Order, dated September          ML003759584
 25, 2000............................................
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    Dated: October 24, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jane Marshall,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[[Page 85994]]

[FR Doc. 2024-25080 Filed 10-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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