[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33946-33947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13665]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Elimination of the Site Decommissioning Management Plan and
Management of All Sites Undergoing Decommissioning Under a
Comprehensive Decommissioning Program; Information Notice
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Information notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has decided to
eliminate the Site Decommissioning Management Plan (SDMP) designation
for sites and manage the SDMP sites as ``complex sites,'' under a
comprehensive decommissioning program. Elimination of the SDMP
designation and the discontinuance of the SDMP as a separate site
listing is appropriate, because the original intent of the SDMP and
SDMP Action Plan (i.e., to achieve closure on cleanup issues so that
cleanup could proceed in a timely manner) has been achieved. The SDMP
sites have been incorporated into a comprehensive decommissioning
program that facilitates the cleanup of
[[Page 33947]]
routine and complex sites in a manner that is consistent with the goals
of the SDMP and SDMP Action Plan.
Viewed in the context of this comprehensive decommissioning
program, which includes routine decommissioning sites, formerly
licensed sites, SDMP sites, non-routine/complex sites, fuel cycle
sites, and test/research and power reactors, the continued use of the
SDMP does not provide the same benefits that it did when it was first
developed. The staff believes the cleanup of these sites is managed
more effectively as part of this larger program. As the SDMP sites will
be managed as complex sites under this comprehensive program, the level
of safety currently in place at SDMP sites will not be diminished. In
addition, as sites are identified and managed as complex sites, and as
more sites are evaluated pursuant to the comprehensive decommissioning
program, common problematic technical issues should be identified more
easily, and resolutions to these issues should be implemented in a more
consistent manner.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Daniel M. Gillen, Mail Stop: T-7F27,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Telephone: (301) 415-7295; Internet: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The SDMP was developed by the staff, in response to the
Commission's direction to develop a comprehensive strategy for NRC to
deal with a number of contaminated sites, so that closure on cleanup
issues could be attained in a timely manner. In 1992, the staff
developed the SDMP Action Plan to: (1) Identify criteria that would be
used to guide the cleanup of sites; (2) state the NRC's position on
finality; (3) describe the NRC's expectation that cleanup would be
completed within 3-4 years; (4) identify guidance on site
characterization; and (5) describe the process for timely cleanup on a
site-specific basis.
Discussion
Since development of the SDMP Action Plan, the staff has addressed
the issues identified in the Action Plan, as follows. The criteria for
site cleanup and NRC's position on finality were codified in 10 CFR
part 20, subpart E [License Termination Rule (LTR)]. NRC's expectations
regarding the completion of site decommissioning have been codified in
10 CFR 30.36, 40.42, 70.38, and 72.54. Issues associated with site
characterization have been addressed in the Multi-Agency Radiation
Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) (NUREG-1575, Rev. 1,
August 2000) and in Volume 2: Characterization, Survey, and
Determination of Radiological Criteria, of the Consolidated NMSS
Decommissioning Guidance (NUREG-1757, Vol. 2, September 2003). The
process for timely cleanup on a site-specific basis is addressed in
NUREG-1757, Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance.
In addition, the NRC staff tracks significant decommissioning
issues in its operating plan, and resolution of an issue is integrated
with the work being done at the site and with other activities in the
decommissioning program. The staff has also developed a standard review
plan (NUREG-1727, NMSS Decommissioning Standard Review Plan, September
2000) and has completed its efforts to consolidate, risk-inform, and
performance-base the policies and guidance for its decommissioning
program, with the issuance of a three-volume NUREG report (NUREG-1757,
Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance). This guidance addresses
compliance with the radiological criteria for license termination of
the LTR, and it incorporates the risk-informed and performance-based
alternatives of the rule. The guidance provides NRC staff with the
evaluation and acceptance criteria for use in reviewing decommissioning
plans, allowing NRC staff to determine if the decommissioning could be
conducted such that the public health and safety are protected and the
facility could be released in accordance with NRC's requirements.
Dated at Rockville, MD, this 7th day of June, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel M. Gillen,
Deputy Director for the Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-13665 Filed 6-16-04; 8:45 am]
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