Source: http://llwforum.org/nrc-schedules-public-meeting-re-part-61-regulatory-analysis-update-and-alternative-disposal-request-guidance-revision-200-500-p-m-edt-on-october-19-2017/
Timestamp: 2019-07-19 12:51:05
Document Index: 754352939

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 61', 'art 61', 'art 61', 'arts 20', 'art 61', 'art 61', 'art 61', 'art 61', 'art 61', 'art 61', 'art 20', 'art 61', 'ART 61', 'ART 61']

NRC SCHEDULES PUBLIC COMMENT MEETING RE PART 61 REGULATORY ANALYSIS UPDATE AND ALTERNATIVE DISPOSAL REQUEST GUIDANCE REVISION (2:00 – 5:00 p.m. EDT on October 19, 2017) – Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum, Inc.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the regulatory analysis for the 10 CFR Part 61 final rule entitled, “Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal” and the revised guidance for alternative disposal requests entitled, “Guidance for the Reviews of Proposed Disposal Procedures and Transfers of Radioactive Material Under 10 CFR 20.2002 and 10 CFR 40.13(a).”
The meeting is scheduled from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. EDT on October 19, 2017. It will be held at the agency’s headquarters in the auditorium of NRC Two White Flint North, which is located at 11545 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland.
For planning purposes, please note that this is two days following the conclusion of the upcoming fall 2017 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum (LLW Forum) meeting that will be held in Alexandria, Virginia on October 16-17, 2017. Additional information about the LLW Forum meeting—including the meeting bulletin, registration form and agenda—can be found on the organization’s website at www.llwforum.org.
The public is invited to participate in the NRC meeting by discussing regulatory issues with the agency at designated points identified on the agenda. Interested stakeholders may also participate via conference call or webinar.
For additional information on the NRC public meeting, please contact Gregory Suber, Chief of the Low-Level Waste Branch in the NRC’s Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs, at (301) 415-8748 or at gregory.suber@nrc.gov.
A link to the meeting details, which is filed under ADAMS Accession Number ML17269A347, can be found at https://www.nrc.gov/pmns/mtg?do=details&Code=20171203.
The following is the published agenda for the NRC public meeting:
1:45 – 2:00 pm: Registration
2:00 – 2:10 pm: Facilitator Opening Comments (NRC)
2:10 – 2:20 pm: NRC Welcome/Opening Remarks (NRC)
2:20 – 3:30 pm: Part 61 Regulatory Analysis Update and public comments/questions (NRC/Public)
3:30 – 5:00 pm: Alternative Disposal Request Guidance and public comments/questions (NRC/Public)
5:00 pm: Closing Remarks/Adjourn (NRC)
Teleconference and Webinar Logistics
The following is the teleconference and webinar logistics to participate in the NRC public meeting:
Teleconference: Participate via bridge number (877) 521-2306 using access code 6557074.
Webinar: Participate via webinar using link https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5144425076390125825, Meeting Number 877-521-2306 and Password 6557074.
Release of SRM re SECY-16-0106
On September 8, 2017, NRC issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) in response to SECY-16-0106, which sought Commission approval to publish a final rule in the Federal Register that would amend Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Parts 20, “Standards for Protection Against Radiation,” and Part 61, “Licensing Requirements for Land Disposal of Radioactive Waste.”
The SRM states that the associated guidance documents should be revised and should be made publicly available, concurrent with the comment period on the supplemental proposed rule.
The Commission also directed that the revised Federal Register notice prepared as a result of the direction in the SRM should be provided to the Commission for its information no later than 10 business days prior to its transmittal for publication.
Finally, the SRM notes that the timing for the staff to prepare a regulatory basis for the disposal of Greater-than- Class C (GTCC) waste as directed in SRM-SECY-15-0094, “Historical and Current Issues Related to Disposal of Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste,” should be changed from the previous direction of within six (6) months of the completion of the ongoing 10 CFR Part 61 rulemaking to six (6) months after the publication of the supplemental proposed rule.
SECY-16-0106 Overview On October 3, 2016, NRC published SECY-16-0106. (See LLW Notes, September/October 2016, pp. 1, 32-38.) Subsequently, at the request of the Subcommittee on Radiation Protection and Nuclear Materials of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), the agency published the staff’s draft final Part 61 guidance document (Guidance for Conducting Technical Analyses for 10 CFR Part 61) to support a public meeting with the full ACRS that was held on November 3, 2016. (See LLW Notes, September/October 2016, p. 27) In addition, NRC published a redline/strikeout version of the draft final rule language.
In releasing the documents, NRC stressed that the comment period on the rulemaking was closed and that the staff was not soliciting comments on the draft final guidance and the draft final rule language.
Summary: As issued in October 2017, SECY-16-0106 recommended that the final 10 CFR Part 61 rule would do the following:
Discussion: In SECY-16-0106, NRC staff proposed amendments to 10 CFR Part 61 to:
require low-level radioactive waste disposal licensees and license applicants to conduct updated and new technical analyses, as well as develop site-specific low-level radioactive waste acceptance criteria;
add new definitions and concepts; and,
introduce amendments to facilitate implementation and better align the requirements with current health and safety standards (i.e., 10 CFR Part 20 requirements).
The technical analyses required by the amendments would include:
an updated analysis to demonstrate protection of the general population (i.e., performance assessment), which would use a defined compliance period;
a new analysis to demonstrate protection of inadvertent intruders (i.e., inadvertent intruder assessment), which would also use a defined compliance period; and,
a new performance period analysis, to evaluate how the disposal system could mitigate the risk from the disposal of significant quantities of long-lived radionuclides after the compliance period.
The technical analyses would also need to be periodically reviewed and updated (e.g., at each renewal, with any application to amend the license for closure, and as necessary to update waste acceptance criteria). In addition, the rule would add a new description of safety case and incorporate a new requirement to identify defense-in-depth protections and describe their capabilities.
For detailed information regarding the contents and provisions of SECY-16-0106, please see LLW Notes, September/October 2016, pp. 1, 32-38.
The NRC received 2,401 comment letters (including approximately 2,300 form letters) representing individuals, public interest groups, Native American Tribal Governments, industry groups, licensees, and state and federal agencies. The comments encompassed a wide variety of viewpoints that are summarized and responded to in Section IV, “Public Comment Analysis,” of the Federal Register notice for the final rule (Enclosure 1).
The NRC staff briefed the ACRS Radiation Protection and Nuclear Materials Subcommittee and full committee eight times before publication of the proposed rule. The staff is scheduled to brief the ACRS subcommittee in October 2016 and the full committee in November 2016 on the final rule. (The ACRS requested that the meetings occur after the draft final rule would be publicly available in order to keep the meetings open to the public.) Shortly after the November 2016 meeting, the ACRS provided a letter report with recommendations and conclusions directly to the Commission.
Categories: 10 CFR Part 61, Announcements, Meetings and Conferences, NRC Rulemaking
| Tags: 000 year compliance period, 1, grandfather provision, Historical and Current Issues Related to Disposal of Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste, long-lived radionuclides, low-level radioactive waste disposal, quantitative performance assessment, site-specific criteria, Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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