ML25105A009
| ML25105A009 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Vallecitos |
| Issue date: | 04/16/2025 |
| From: | Rome M NRC/NMSS/DREFS/ETRB1 |
| To: | Costabile T American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) |
| References | |
| Download: ML25105A009 (1) | |
Text
. Morrison UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Thomas Costabile Executive Director/CEO American Society of Mechanical Engineers Two Park Avenue New York, NY 10016-5990
SUBJECT:
INVITATION TO CONSULT ON SECTION 106 OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT OF 1966, AS AMENDED FOR THE VALLECITOS BOILING WATER REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING AND DEMOLITION, ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (DOCKET NUMBERS: 05000018 AND 05000070)
Dear Thomas Costabile:
By letter dated October 17, 2017 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) ML17279A870) the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff sent a letter to Thomas G. Loughlin, Executive Director of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Thomas H. Fehring, Chair, ASME History and Heritage Committee regarding the decommissioning of the Vallecitos Boiling Water Reactor (VBWR). In the aforementioned letter the NRC committed to consulting with the ASME during the decommissioning of the VBWR.
On September 26, 2024, the NRC received a license amendment request (LAR) pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended and Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50 for the VBWR in Alameda County, California (ML24270A224). In the LAR, the licensee requests NRC review major decommissioning activities, as defined in 10 CFR 50.2, that could diminish the historic integrity (e.g., physical demolition) of select Vallecitos Nuclear Center structures deemed potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The removal, dismantlement, and disposal of contaminated, radioactive mechanical systems and components, as well as the eventual physical demolition of the facility, is imperative to protection of public health and safety and maintaining environmental welfare, and there is no viable alternative to decommissioning that achieves this goal.
The NRC has initiated consultation with the California State Historic Preservation Office and various federal and state Tribes. At this time, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(c)(5), the NRC invites the ASME to participate in the VBWR consultation process for the decommissioning and demolition of the VBWR. Because the VBWR is eligible for listing on the NRHP, the NRC has determined that demolition of the VBWR will have an adverse effect requiring mitigation.
April 16, 2025
T. Costabile 2
If you have any questions or would like to participate in the consultation process on the VBWR, please contact Jean Trefethen of my staff via email at Jean.Trefethen@nrc.gov or via phone at (301) 415-0867. Please respond within 30 days of receipt of this letter.
Sincerely, Michelle Rome, Chief Environmental Technical Review Branch 1 Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Doub, Joseph signing on behalf of Rome, Michelle on 04/16/25
Letter: ML25105A009 OFFICE NMSS/REFS:PM NMSS/REFS:LA NMSS/REFS NMSS/REFS:BC NAME JTrefethen AWalker-Smith BGoldstein MRome DATE 4/15/2025 4/15/2025 4/16/2025 4/16/2025