13766 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 47 / Thursday, March 10, 2022 / Notices 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 70–1151; NRC–2022–0047] 

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: Environmental assessment and 

finding of no significant impact; 

issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing an 

environmental assessment (EA) and 

finding of no significant impact (FONSI) 

related to a request for alternate 

disposal, exemptions, and associated 

license amendment for the disposition 

of waste containing byproduct material 

and special nuclear material (SNM) 

from the Westinghouse Electric 

Company, LLC’s (WEC) Columbia Fuel 

Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in Hopkins, 

South Carolina, under License Number 

SNM–1107. The material would be 

transported to and disposed of at the US 

Ecology, Inc. (USEI) disposal facility 

located near Grand View, Idaho, 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. The NRC is also considering the 

related action of approving 

corresponding exemptions to USEI, 

allowing them to accept and dispose the 

material on their site. Approval of the 

alternate disposal request from WEC, 

the exemptions requested by WEC and 

USEI, and a conforming license 

amendment to WEC would allow WEC 

to transfer specific waste from CFFF for 

disposal at USEI. 

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in 

this document are available March 10, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2022–0047 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–2022–0047. Address 

questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 

telephone: 301–415–0624; email: 

Stacy.Schumann@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. For the 

convenience of the reader, instructions 

about obtaining materials referenced in 

this document are provided in the 

‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents, 

by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR, 

Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland 20852. To make an 

appointment to visit the PDR, please 

send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov 

or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415– 

4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. 

(ET), Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jenny Tobin, Office of Nuclear Material 

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415– 

2328, email: Jennifer.Tobin@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

By letter dated November 5, 2021, as 

corrected by letter dated December 1, 

2021, WEC requested exemptions and 

an associated license amendment to 

License Number SNM–1107, issued for 

the operation of the CFFF located in 

Hopkins, South Carolina pursuant to 

section 20.2002 of title 10 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), 

‘‘Method for obtaining approval of 

proposed disposal procedures.’’ By 

letter dated November 5, 2021, USEI 

incorporated the supplemented WEC 

application in its request for 

corresponding exemptions. The requests 

are for NRC authorization for an 

alternate disposal of NRC-licensed 

byproduct and SNM from the CFFF. As 

required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC 

conducted an EA. Based on the results 

of the EA that follows, the NRC has 

determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 

51.31, preparation of an environmental 

impact statement for the exemption 

request is not required and, pursuant to 

10 CFR 51.32, issuance of a FONSI is 

appropriate. 

WEC submitted a 10 CFR 20.2002 

alternate disposal request (ADR) on May 

8, 2020 with a corresponding exemption 

request from USEI on May 11, 2020. The 

NRC staff reviewed and approved the 

request on December 9, 2020, along with 

the corresponding exemptions for USEI. 

Following approval, WEC determined 

that the volume of material considered 

was incorrect. To resolve the issue WEC 

submitted a second request, dated 

February 8, 2021. The NRC staff 

reviewed and approved the second 

request and issued an updated safety 

evaluation report (SER) evaluating both 

requests as well as a new exemption to 

USEI on March 11, 2021. On June 1, 

2021, WEC submitted another ADR for 

the disposal of additional material from 

CFFF. On September 14, 2021, in a 

response to an NRC staff request for 

additional information (RAI), WEC 

supplemented and narrowed its June 1, 

2021, request to consider only the 

disposal of calcium fluoride (CaF2) 

sludge containing byproduct material 

and SNM. WEC stated that the other 

waste material types discussed in the 

June 1, 2021, request would be 

addressed in the response to the NRC 

staff’s RAI. The NRC staff approved the 

request to dispose of CaF2 sludge at 

USEI on October 12, 2021. 

This ADR seeks approval to dispose of 

volumetrically contaminated and 

surface-contaminated wastes using 

bounding dose calculations and 

corresponding volume and radionuclide 

concentration limits that are based upon 

the annual USEI worker exposure limit 

of 5 millirem per year (mrem/yr). 

II. Environmental Assessment 

Description of the Proposed Action 

WEC and USEI requested NRC 

approval for a 10 CFR 20.2002 ADR, 

exemptions to 10 CFR part 70.3 and 10 

CFR 30.3, and a conforming WEC 

license amendment to allow WEC to 

package, ship, and dispose of specific 

volumetrically contaminated and 

surface-contaminated waste at the USEI 

disposal facility. The volumetrically 

contaminated waste includes CaF2

sludge dredged from the disposal 

lagoons and the Sanitary Lagoon located 

on the site, contaminated soil from 

under and adjacent to the Sanitary 

Lagoon, and soil associated with the 

demolition of the CaF2 storage pad. The 

surface-contaminated waste being 

considered for disposal includes 

obsolete uranium hexafluoride (UF6) 

shipping cylinders and debris 

associated with demolition and removal 

of the CaF2 pad and Sanitary Lagoon. 

The waste being considered originates 

from processes associated with the 

chemical conversion of UF6 to uranium 

dioxide (UO2) performed at CFFF and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 47 / Thursday, March 10, 2022 / Notices 13767 

are contaminated with isotopic uranium 

(U–234, U–235, and U–238) and 

technicium-99 (Tc-99). 

As proposed, this waste would be 

transported from CFFF in Hopkins, 

South Carolina, to the USEI facility near 

Grand View, Idaho. The USEI facility is 

a RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste 

disposal facility permitted by the State 

of Idaho. The USEI site has both natural 

and engineered features that limit the 

transport of radioactive material. The 

natural features include a low 

precipitation rate [i.e., 18.4 cm/year (7.4 

in./year)] and a long vertical distance to 

groundwater (i.e., 61-meter (203-ft) thick 

on average unsaturated zone below the 

disposal zone). The engineered features 

include an engineered cover, liners, and 

leachate monitoring systems. Because 

the USEI facility is not licensed by the 

NRC, this proposed action requires the 

NRC to exempt USEI from the Atomic 

Energy Act of 1954, and NRC licensing 

requirements with respect to USEI’s 

requested receipt and disposal of this 

material. 

Need for the Proposed Action 

The need for the proposed action is to 

authorize a safe and appropriate method 

for disposing of the volumetrically 

contaminated and surface-contaminated 

waste as part of remediation activities 

currently being performed at the CFFF 

in accordance with Consent Agreement 

19–02–HW between WEC and the South 

Carolina Department of Health and 

Environmental Control. The proposed 

action would also 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. 

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed 

Action 

The NRC staff reviewed the 

information provided by WEC to 

support their 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate 

disposal request and for USEI’s specific 

exemptions from 10 CFR 30.3 and 10 

CFR 70.3 in order to dispose of the 

volumetrically contaminated and 

surface-contaminated waste. Under the 

10 CFR 20.2002 criteria, a licensee may 

seek NRC authorization to dispose of 

licensed material using procedures not 

otherwise authorized by NRC 

regulations. The licensee’s supporting 

analysis must show that the radiological 

doses arising from the proposed 10 CFR 

20.2002 disposal will be as low as 

reasonably achievable and within the 10 

CFR part 20 dose limits. 

As documented in the SER, the NRC 

staff concluded that the requested 

alternate disposal is acceptable under 10 

CFR 20.2002. Details provided in this 

request, in combination with past 

reviews considering similar material 

from the same site, provide an adequate 

description of the waste and the 

proposed manner and conditions of 

waste disposal. The use of maximum 

annual volumes and radionuclide 

concentration limits ensures that 

potential doses to members of the 

public, including transportation workers 

and USEI workers involved in 

processing and disposing of the waste 

upon its arrival at USEI, are minimal 

and within the ‘‘few mrem’’ per year 

criteria that the NRC established (see 

NUREG–1757, Volume 1, Revision 2). 

As USEI is a RCRA Subtitle C hazardous 

waste landfill permitted by the Idaho 

Department of Environmental Quality, 

these disposals are also subject to the 

RCRA regulations for the site, which 

includes a site-specific waste 

acceptance criteria. 

NRC staff also considered nonradiological impacts associated with the 

proposed action. NRC staff concludes 

that approval of the proposed request 

would not result in significant 

environmental impacts from nonradiological effluents or significantly 

impact air quality or noise because the 

volume of materials to be transported 

for disposal are relatively small, the 

sites where the proposed action would 

occur are already disturbed industrial 

areas which perform these actions on a 

regular basis, and because the proposed 

action would not require the 

development or disturbance of 

additional land. In addition, approval of 

the proposed action will not 

significantly increase the probability or 

consequences of accidents associated 

with the transport and disposal of the 

volumetrically contaminated and 

surface-contaminated waste. 

Considering the small amounts of 

radioactive material and limited 

volumes of material, along with the NRC 

staff’s analyses in the SER, the NRC staff 

finds that the environmental impacts of 

the proposed action are not significant. 

Environmental Impacts of the 

Alternatives to the Proposed Action 

As an alternative to the proposed 

action, the NRC staff considered the noaction alternative in which the NRC 

staff would deny the disposal request. 

Denial of the request would require 

WEC to transport the volumetrically 

contaminated and surface-contaminated 

waste to a licensed low-level radioactive 

processing and disposal facility that is 

authorized to take waste containing 

radioactive material in order to satisfy 

the requirements of the Consent 

Agreement. This action would 

ultimately only change the location of 

the disposal site. All other factors would 

be of similar significance. Therefore, the 

no-action alternative was not further 

considered. 

Agencies and Persons Consulted 

In accordance with its stated policy, 

on February 28, 2022, the staff 

consulted with the South Carolina 

Department of Health and 

Environmental Control and the Idaho 

Department of Environmental Quality 

regarding the environmental impacts of 

the proposed action. The State officials 

concurred with the EA and FONSI. 

III. Finding of No Significant Impact 

The proposed action consists of NRC 

approval of (a) WEC’s and USEI’s 

alternate disposal requests under 10 

CFR 20.2002, (b) WEC and USEI’s 

exemption request under 10 CFR 

30.11(a) and 10 CFR 70.17(a), and the 

issuance of a conforming license 

amendment to WEC. Based on this EA, 

the NRC finds that there are no 

significant environmental impacts from 

the proposed action. Therefore, the NRC 

has determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 

51.31, that preparation of an 

environmental impact statement is not 

required for the proposed action and a 

FONSI is appropriate. 

IV. Availability of Documents 

The documents identified in the 

following table are available to 

interested persons through ADAMS, as 

indicated. 

Document ADAMS accession No. 

Request for Alternate Disposal Approval and Exemption for Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Waste (License No. SNM–1197, Docket No. 70–1151), dated May 8, 2020.ML20129J934 (Package) 

Request for Exemptions under 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17 for Alternate Disposal of Wastes from Columbia 

Fuel Fabrication Facility under 10 CFR 20.2002, dated February 25, 2021.

ML21061A273 

Request for Exemptions under 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17 for Alternate Disposal of Wastes from Columbia 

Fuel Fabrication Facility Under 10 CFR 20.2002, dated May 11, 2020.

ML20280A601 


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13768 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 47 / Thursday, March 10, 2022 / Notices 

Document ADAMS accession No. 

US Ecology Exemption for Alternate Disposal of Specific Waste from the Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication 

Facility under 10 CFR 20.2002, 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17, dated December 9, 2020.

ML20304A341 

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC—Amendment 25 to Material License SNM–1107, Exemption for Alternate 

Disposal of Specific Waste (Enterprise Project Identifier L–2020-Lll-0009), dated December 9, 2020.

ML20302A083 (Package) 

Request for Alternate Disposal Approval and Exemption for Specific Columbia Fuel Fabrication Waste (Docket No. 

70–1151, Material License SNM–1107), dated February 8, 2021.

ML21039A719 

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC—Amendment 26 to Material License SNM–1107, Exemption for Alternate 

Disposal of Specific Waste (Enterprise Project Identifier L–2021–LLA–0013), dated March 11, 2021.

ML21064A225 

U.S. Ecology Exemption for Alternate Disposal of Specific Waste from the Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility under 10 CFR 20.2002, 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17, dated March 11, 2021.ML21061A277 (Package) 

Request for Exemption Associated with Disposal of Specified Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Waste (Docket 

No. 70–1151), dated November 5, 2021.

ML21309A095 

Request for Exemption Associated with Disposal of Specified Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility Waste (Docket 

No. 70–1151), correction dated December 1, 2021.

ML21336A461 

Safety Evaluation Report for Request or Alternate Disposal Approval and Exemptions from Disposal of Columbia 

Fuel Fabrication Facility Waste to the US Ecology Idaho Facility, dated March 4, 2022.

ML22054A045 (Package) 

Request for Exemptions Associated with Disposal and Transportation of Specified Columbia Fuel Fabrication 

Waste dated June 1, 2021.

ML21153A001 

Letter: Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC—Amendment 28 to Material License Snm–1107, Exemption for Alternate Disposal of Specific Waste (Enterprise Project Identifier L–2021–LLA–0101) dated October 12, 2021.ML21214A093 (Package) 

Request for Exemptions under 10 CFR 30.11 and 10 CFR 70.17 for Alternate Disposal of Wastes from Columbia 

Fuel Fabrication Facility under 10 CFR 20.2002, dated November 5, 2021.

ML21351A038 

Letter from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality entitled ‘‘Review of the Draft Environmental Assessment related to an alternative disposal request from Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) for 

disposal of CaF2 Sludge,’’ dated March 3, 2022.

ML22062B349 

Email from Ken Taylor of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control entitled ‘‘Review of 

Draft Environmental Assessment for Westinghouse Columbia alternative disposal request,’’ dated March 3, 2022.

ML22062B355 

NUREG–1757, Volume 1, Revision 2. Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance: Decommissioning Process for 

Materials Licensees.

ML063000243 

Dated: March 4, 2022. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Jacob I. Zimmerman, 

Chief, Fuel Facility Licensing Branch, 

Division of Fuel Management, Office of 

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05030 Filed 3–9–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 50–397; NRC–2022–0062] 

Energy Northwest; Columbia 

Generating Station 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Environmental assessment and 

finding of no significant impact; 

issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is considering 

approval of the continued onsite 

disposal of sediments containing very 

low levels of radioactive materials at the 

Columbia Generating Station 

(Columbia), located in Benton County, 

Washington for Renewed Facility 

Operating License No. NPF–21, held by 

Energy Northwest (EN, the licensee). 

The NRC is issuing an environmental 

assessment (EA) and finding of no 

significant impact (FONSI) associated 

with the proposed action. 

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in 

this document are available on March 

10, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2022–0062 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–2022–0062. Address 

questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 

telephone: 301–415–0624; email: 

Stacy.Schumann@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. For the 

convenience of the reader, instructions 

about obtaining materials referenced in 

this document are provided in the 

‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents, 

by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR, 

Room P1 B35, One White Flint North, 

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland 20852. To make an 

appointment to visit the PDR, please 

send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov 

or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415– 

4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. 

(ET), Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mahesh Chawla, Office of Nuclear 

Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555–0001, telephone: 301–415– 

8371, email: Mahesh.Chawla@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The NRC is considering approval of a 

request dated December 21, 2020, as 

supplemented by letter dated June 23, 

2021, from EN for continued onsite 

disposal of sediments containing very 

low levels of radioactive material at 

Columbia, located in Benton County, 

Washington. Columbia is a single unit 

boiling water reactor. The cooling 

system consists of the circulating water 

system and standby service water 

system, including spray ponds and 

cooling towers. The sediments are 

generated from periodic cleaning of 

cooling towers and standby service 

water system spray ponds at the site. 

The licensee is requesting approval in 


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