[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23229-23230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-955]
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DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 050-206, 050-361, and 050-362]
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact for an Exemption From Certain Control and
Tracking Requirements in 10 CFR Part 20 Appendix G Section III.E for
the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego County, CA
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of an exemption from certain control and tracking requirements
in 10 CFR part 20 for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
(SONGS). The SONGS site consists of two operating reactors and a
permanently shutdown nuclear reactor facility located in San Diego
County, California. Inherent to the decommissioning process, large
volumes of slightly contaminated rubble and debris are generated and
require disposal. On January 26, 2004, Southern California Edison (the
licensee) requested an exemption from the requirements in 10 CFR part
20, appendix G section III.E to investigate and file a report to the
NRC if shipments of low-level radioactive waste are not acknowledged by
the intended recipient within 20 days after transfer to the shipper.
This exemption would extend the time period that can elapse during
shipments of low-level radioactive waste before the licensee is
required to investigate and file a report to the NRC from 20 days to 35
days. The exemption request is based on a statistical analysis of the
historical data of low-level radioactive waste shipment times from the
licensee's site to the disposal site using rail or combination truck/
rail shipping methods. The NRC staff has prepared an environmental
assessment (EA) in support of this action, in accordance with the
requirements of 10 CFR part 51. The conclusion of the EA is a Finding
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed action.
II. EA Summary
The proposed action would grant an exemption to extend the 20-day
investigation and reporting requirements for shipments of low-level
radioactive waste to 35 days. Since 1999, the licensee has made over
150 shipments of low-level radioactive waste as part of the
decommissioning efforts at the facility. MHF Logistical Solutions (MHF)
is the rail broker company used by the licensee to perform these
shipments. MHF
[[Page 23230]]
Logistical Solutions has a tracking system that monitors the progress
of the shipments from their originating point at SONGS until they
arrive to their final destination at Envirocare in Clive, Utah. The
shipments are made by either rail or combination truck/rail. According
to the licensee, the transportation time alone by either rail or
combination truck/rail took over 16 days on average, with one shipment
taking 57 days to arrive at Envirocare.
In addition to this time, administrative procedures at Envirocare
and mail delivery could add up to 11 additional days. Based on
historical data and estimates of the remaining waste at SONGS Unit 1,
the licensee could have to perform over 100 investigations and reports
to the NRC during the next five years if the 20-day shipping criteria
is maintained. The licensee affirms that the low-level radioactive
waste shipments will always be tracked throughout transportation until
they arrive at their intended destination. The licensee believes that
the need to investigate, trace, and report to the NRC on the shipment
of low-level radioactive waste packages not reaching their destination
within 20 days does not serve the underlying purpose of the rule and it
is not necessary. As a result, the licensee states that granting this
exemption will not result in an undue hazard to life or property.
The NRC has examined the licensee's proposed exemption request and
concluded that it is procedural and administrative in nature. There are
no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with this
exemption, and it will not result in significant nonradiological
environmental impacts.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
NRC has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of the
licensee's application for an exemption request. On the basis of the
environmental assessment, 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. Further Information
The EA and the documents related to this proposed action, including
the request for the exemption, are available for inspection at the NRC
Public Electronic Reading Room at the following address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/pdr.html. The ADAMS accession number for the
licensee's exemption request letter dated January 26, 2004 is
ML040330945. The ADAMS accession number for the EA is ML040780782.
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or
301-415-4737. They can also be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Documents may also be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC
PDR, located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
MD 20852. Any questions with respect to this action should be referred
to Mr. William C. Huffman, Division of Waste Management and
Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards. He can be reached at (301) 415-1141.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of April, 2004.
Daniel M. Gillen,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E4-955 Filed 4-27-04; 8:45 am]
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