ML21082A115
| ML21082A115 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 05/07/2021 |
| From: | Patricia Holahan Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs |
| To: | Daniels C NorthStar Nuclear Decommissioning Company |
| Jack Parrott, 301-415-6634 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML21077A272 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML21082A115 (4) | |
Text
May 7, 2021 Corey R. Daniels, ISFSI Manager NorthStar Nuclear Decommissioning Co., LLC Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station 320 Governor Hunt Road Vernon, VT 05354
SUBJECT:
VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION - REQUEST FOR 10 CFR 20.2002 ALTERNATE DISPOSAL AT US ECOLOGY IDAHO (EPID No. L-2020-D20-0000)
By letter dated May 20, 2020 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML20157A123), as supplemented by letter dated September 21, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20290A492) and e-mail dated March 15, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21075A144), NorthStar Nuclear Decommissioning Co., LLC (NorthStar or the licensee) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a request for alternate disposal of approximately 2,000,000 gallons of wastewater. The water is associated with the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY) and contains low concentrations of fission and activation products resulting from VY operations.
NorthStar plans to dispose of this material at the U.S. Ecology Idaho (USEI) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C hazardous disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho. USEI is not an NRC-licensed facility. NorthStar made this request under the alternate disposal provision contained in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 20.2002 (10 CFR 20.2002), which permits a licensee to request NRC approval for alternate disposal procedures.
On May 4, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20174A590), USEI submitted a request for an exemption from the licensing requirements of 10 CFR 30.3 to allow for the transfer of the waste containing byproduct material to USEI and the processing and disposal of the byproduct material at the USEI facility. Specific exemptions to the licensing requirements of 10 CFR 30.3 are provided for under 10 CFR 30.11.
To obtain approval for 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal, the NRC requires that the licensee demonstrate that doses will be maintained as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and within the applicable public and occupational dose limits. The NRC has determined that the ALARA standard requires a licensee to demonstrate that the dose to a member of the public (including all exposure groups) is no more than a few millirem per year per SECY-07-0060, Basis and Justification for Approval Process for 10 CFR 20.2002 Authorizations and Options for Change (ADAMS Accession No. ML062050587). The NRC has evaluated the potential doses associated with waste handling and disposal as a part of its review of NorthStars 10 CFR 20.2002 request. The NRC determined that the projected doses to individual USEI
C. Daniels workers have been appropriately estimated and are demonstrated to meet the NRCs alternate disposal dose requirement of not more than a few millirem per year. Independent review of the post-closure and intruder scenarios at USEI confirmed that the maximum projected dose over a period of 1,000 years is also not more than a few millirem per year as described in the enclosed safety evaluation report (SER) (Enclosure 1).
The SER documents the basis for the acceptability of the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal request. The staff also evaluated the environmental impacts of the approval and exemption and determined that granting them would not result in any significant environmental impacts. For this action, an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact were prepared (Enclosure 2) and was published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2021 (86 FR 24675).
Accordingly, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002, the request for alternate disposal of the approximately 2,000,000 gallons of wastewater material at the USEI Grand View, Idaho disposal facility, as described in the licensees and USEIs submittals, is granted and effective immediately.
A copy of our related Safety Evaluation is enclosed. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Sincerely, Signed by Holahan, Patricia on 05/07/21 Patricia K. Holahan, Director Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 50-271 License No. DPR-028
Enclosures:
As stated cc w/enclosures:
Vermont Yankee ListServ Ms. June Tierney, Commissioner Vermont Department of Public Service 112 State Street - Drawer 20 Montpelier, VT 05602-2601
C. Daniels Ms. Natalie Creed, Hazardous Waste Bureau Chief Waste Management and Remediation Division Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 1410 N Hilton Street Boise, ID 83706 Mr. Joseph J. Weismann, CHP Vice President, Radiological Programs U.S. Ecology, Inc.
251 E. Front St., Suite 400 Boise, ID 83702
Ltr ML21082A115
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NAME JParrott JP CMcKenney CM BWatson BW AGendelman AG DATE Mar 24, 2021 Mar 25, 2021 Mar 25, 2021 Apr 28, 2021 OFFICE NMSS/DUWP NAME PHolahan PH DATE May 7, 2021