[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31829-31832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10645]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-7005; NRC-2022-0093]
Waste Control Specialists LLC
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) in support of the NRC's consideration of a June 30, 2022, Waste
Control Specialists LLC (WCS) request for a superseding Order to its
current (2014) NRC Order (as supplemented by subsequent NRC letters to
WCS from 2016 to 2022). In its letter, WCS requested authorization to
(1) move the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Los Alamos National
Laboratory (LANL) Waste at the WCS Site from its current location at
the WCS Federal Waste Facility (FWF) disposal cell to another location
at the WCS Site, the WCS Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility
(TSDF) Bin Storage Area (BSA)-1 Enclosure, (2) prepare the LANL Waste
in the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure for shipment (e.g., replace lifting
straps for Standard Waste Boxes (SWBs), replace filter vents in SWBs,
perform borescope in SWBs, take air samples from head space in SWBs),
and (3) temporarily store the LANL Waste in the WCS TSDF BSA-1
Enclosure until the DOE ships the LANL Waste off the WCS Site to a
future DOE determined location, which is currently expected to be
either the DOE LANL or the DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
Facility.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
May 18, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0093 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain publicly available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0093. Address
questions about Docket IDs to Stacy Schumann; telephone: 301-415-0624;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Park, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6954; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
WCS operates a site in Andrews County, Texas, that is licensed to
process and store certain types of radioactive material contained in
low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) and mixed waste (MW) (waste that is
both hazardous waste and LLRW). The WCS Site also disposes of hazardous
and toxic waste. Under an Agreement authorized by the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954, as amended (AEA), the NRC can relinquish, and a state can
assume, regulatory authority over radioactive material specified in an
Agreement with NRC. In 1963, Texas entered into such an Agreement with
the NRC's predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, and assumed
regulatory authority over source material, byproduct material, and
special nuclear material (SNM) under a critical mass. In 1982, the NRC
and Texas amended the Agreement to permit Texas to continue to regulate
byproduct material as defined in section 11e.(2) of the AEA (uranium
mill tailings) in conformance with the requirements of section 274o. of
the AEA.
On November 30, 1997, the State of Texas Department of Health (TDH)
issued WCS a radioactive materials license (RML) to possess, treat, and
store LLRW (RML R04971). In 1997, WCS began accepting Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Toxic Substance Control Act
wastes for treatment, storage, and disposal. Later that year, WCS
received a license from the TDH for treatment and storage of MW and
LLRW. The MW and LLRW streams may contain quantities of SNM. In 2007,
RML R04971 was transferred to the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ). In September 2009, TCEQ issued RML R04100 to WCS for
disposal of LLRW. In May 2013, R04971 was merged into license R04100 in
amendment 22 to license R04100.
Section 70.3 of title 10 of Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
``License requirements,'' requires persons who own, acquire, deliver,
receive, possess, use, or transfer SNM to obtain a license pursuant to
the requirements of 10 CFR part 70, ``Domestic Licensing of Special
Nuclear Material.'' The licensing requirements in 10 CFR part 70 apply
to persons in Agreement States possessing greater than critical mass
quantities (Agreement States can regulate material below this quantity
under their agreement), as defined in 10 CFR 150.11, ``Critical Mass.''
Pursuant to 10 CFR 70.17(a), ``the Commission may, upon application of
any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant such exemptions
from the requirements of the regulations in this part as it determines
are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the
common defense and security and are otherwise in the public interest.''
In September 2000, WCS requested an exemption from the licensing
requirements in 10 CFR part 70. On November 21, 2001, the NRC issued an
[[Page 31830]]
Order to WCS (2001 Order) granting an exemption to WCS from certain NRC
regulations and authorizing WCS, under specified conditions, to possess
waste containing SNM in greater quantities than specified in 10 CFR
part 150, ``Exemptions and Continued Regulatory Authority in Agreement
States and in Offshore Waters under Section 274,'' at the WCS storage
and treatment facility without obtaining an NRC license pursuant to 10
CFR part 70. The 2001 Order was published in the Federal Register on
November 15, 2001 (66 FR 57489). Subsequent superseding orders were
issued in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The 2014 Order is currently in effect.
The 2014 NRC Order to WCS contains conditions that allow WCS to
possess and temporarily store DOE LANL Waste at two locations at the
WCS Site, the FWF disposal cell and the WCS TSDF,\1\ without obtaining
an NRC part 70 license. The LANL Waste is transuranic waste with SNM
that originated from LANL and was destined for disposal at the DOE
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Facility in New Mexico. The conditions in
the 2014 Order were modified by five NRC letters to WCS dated September
23, 2016, September 26, 2017, December 19, 2018, December 7, 2020, and
June 8, 2022.
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\1\ For the purposes of the EA and FRN, ``WCS TSDF'' refers to
the area on the WCS Site in Andrews County, Texas where WCS intends
to perform the prepare for shipment activities and temporarily store
the LANL Waste.
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By letter dated June 30, 2022, as supplemented by clarification
calls, WCS requested a superseding order to: (1) move the DOE LANL
Waste from the FWF to the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure, (2) prepare the
LANL Waste in the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure for shipment (e.g., replace
lifting straps for SWBs, replace filter vents in SWBs, perform
borescope in SWBs, take air samples from head space in SWBs), and (3)
temporarily store the LANL Waste in the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure until
the DOE ships the LANL Waste off the WCS Site to a DOE determined
location, which is currently expected to be either the DOE LANL or the
DOE WIPP Facility.
To begin the activities necessary to move the LANL Waste from the
FWF disposal cell to the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure, WCS would dismantle
the shade structure in the FWF and remove the temperature monitoring
leads to the 35 Modular Concrete Canisters (MCCs) that contain the 74
SWBs. Then to access the MCCs, WCS would use heavy equipment (e.g.,
back-hoe, dump truck) to remove the bulk of the sand layer covering the
MCCs. After negative confirmatory radiation surveys, WCS would remove
the remaining sand around the MCC lids by hand. As the MCCs are
exposed, WCS would also perform inspections and radiation surveys of
the exterior surfaces of the canisters. If the survey results are
favorable, WCS next would remove the MCC covers, and perform another
radiation survey of the exposed surfaces. Should the radiological
surveys reveal contamination, WCS would halt excavation of the MCC and
determine next steps pursuant to the draft Documented Safety Analysis
in the WCS request.
Once the MCC lid is removed, WCS would take the temperature of the
pea gravel within the MCC. Temperatures above 37.8 degrees Celsius (100
degrees Fahrenheit) would be considered for additional monitoring, with
temperatures above 57.2 degrees Celsius (135 degrees Fahrenheit)
indicating that an exothermic reaction could be occurring. WCS next
would check for the presence of water above the level of the pea gravel
within each MCC. WCS would remove any water found and take it to the
WCS TSDF to be sampled, treated, and disposed as appropriate.
With these activities completed, WCS would remove the MCCs from the
FWF disposal cell, one at a time, using Kalmar lifting and handling
equipment that has been specifically adapted to WCS's needs. With the
MCC lid removed, the Kalmar connects to the MCC via lifting cables that
attach to the interior rim of the canister. The Kalmar then would
transport each MCC to the top of the FWF disposal cell, where the MCC
would be loaded on a Goldhofer remote-controlled transport trailer for
transfer to the BSA-1 Enclosure. The Goldhofer can transport two MCCs
at a time. The MCC lids would be replaced for the transfer.
In the draft Documented Safety Analysis provided in WCS's request,
the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure would be the primary control measure and
barrier in the event of an unlikely release of radioactive material
once the material is emplaced there. As such, it is an enclosed
containment structure equipped with a high efficiency particulate air
(HEPA) ventilation system to maintain the structure at a negative
pressure and with a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
system to keep the Enclosure temperature-controlled during the
movement, inspection, and handling of the SWBs and material within. To
meet these needs, WCS would construct a polyvinyl chloride
Architectural Membrane Tent within the WCS TSDF; the Bin Storage Area 1
Enclosure.
On arrival at the WCS TSDF BSA-1, WCS would either (1) move the
Goldhofer into the Enclosure or (2) move each MCC from the Goldhofer to
another WCS vehicle and move that vehicle into the Enclosure, where
continuous air monitors would be used to sample the air. WCS again
would remove the MCC lid, and a vacuum system equipped with a HEPA
filtration system would be used to remove the pea gravel and any water
found in the MCC.
WCS would sample the sand removed in the FWF from around the MCCs,
any water found within an MCC, and the pea gravel removed from the
MCCs. Depending on the sampling results, WCS would either dispose of
these secondary wastes in the onsite RCRA Subtitle C landfill, if
appropriate, (the water would need to be solidified before doing so) or
request TCEQ approval for disposal in the FWF.
As the SWBs within the MCC are exposed, WCS would perform a visual
inspection for any damage or defects and check the temperature of the
SWB for elevated readings. Once the pea gravel has been removed to the
extent practicable around the top tier of SWBs, WCS would replace, as
needed, the original lifting straps that had been used to emplace the
SWBs in the MCC with new straps. WCS would next remove the SWBs in turn
from each MCC, using a hoist in the overhead gantry system and then
move them to a temperature-controlled laydown area where they would be
radiologically surveyed and inspected. In the laydown area, WCS would
replace and/or add, as needed, the filter vents on each of the SWBs.
WCS would also conduct a borescope inspection of the SWBs through a
filter hole and take air samples from the head space within the SWB
during the borescope inspection.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is whether to grant the WCS June 30, 2022,
request to modify the conditions of the 2014 Order to reflect the
actions WCS would take in moving the LANL Waste from temporary storage
at the FWF disposal cell to temporary storage in the WCS TSDF BSA-1
Enclosure, preparing the LANL Waste for DOE shipment off the WCS Site,
and storing the LANL Waste in the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure until it is
shipped offsite.
Need for the Proposed Action
WCS is making this request so that a new superseding Order to WCS
would reflect the actions that WCS would take to move, prepare for
shipment, and store
[[Page 31831]]
the LANL Waste at a different location at WCS.
The purpose of this EA is to assess the potential environmental
impacts of the proposed WCS actions. This EA does not approve or deny
the requested action. A separate safety evaluation report is being
prepared in support of the NRC's consideration of this action.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC does not expect significant changes in radiation hazards to
workers as the MCCs containing the LANL Waste are exposed in the FWF
disposal cell and then moved from the FWF disposal cell to the WCS TSDF
BSA-1 Enclosure and as the SWBs are removed from the MCCs and placed in
temporary storage in the BSA-1 Enclosure. WCS has in place a Radiation
Safety Program to ensure every reasonable effort to maintain exposures
to radiation from occupational exposures is as far below the dose
limits as is reasonable (Radiation Safety Program), and that program
serves as a primary confirmation of the adequacy of the active
operational controls and the passive engineering controls for
monitoring and prevention of releases. For example, during the proposed
activities to move the LANL Waste from the FWF disposal cell to the WCS
TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure, WCS would conduct radiological surveys and
inspections to protect workers and to keep potential doses as low as
reasonably achievable (ALARA). Further, the LANL Waste at the WCS Site
is subject to WCS's material control and accounting and security
programs that the NRC staff has previously evaluated and found adequate
to protect against nuclear criticality, or material theft or diversion.
If the WCS exemption request is approved by the NRC staff, then the
NRC would issue a new order that would supersede the 2014 Order. In the
new order, Conditions 1 through 7 would remain the same as in the 2014
Order, new Condition 8 would be created to reflect the NRC letters to
WCS from 2016 to 2022, Conditions 8.A. and 8.B. from the 2014 Order
would be renumbered as new Conditions 9.A. and 9.B reflecting the NRC
letters to WCS from 2016 to 2022, and a new Condition 9.C and 9.D would
be added to address WCS's exemption request. The new Condition 9 would
apply to the LANL Waste stored in either the WCS TSDF or the FWF
disposal cell. Conditions 9, 10, and 11, respectively, in the 2014
Order would be renumbered as Conditions 10, 11, and 12, respectively,
in the new order. WCS would continue to be permitted to possess SNM at
the WCS TSDF that meets the same concentration limits and controls.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed action would result in minor
transportation impacts because movement of the LANL Waste from the FWF
disposal cell to the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure would be restricted to
the WCS Site and would involve the use of on-site equipment (e.g., the
Kalmar and the Goldhofer). In the draft Documented Safety Analysis in
its request, WCS also stated that it would not allow other traffic to
occur on the route from the FWF disposal cell to the WCS TSDF BSA-1
Enclosure while the MCCs are being moved.
The NRC staff considers impacts to other resource areas to be
minimal. Vehicle exhaust and fugitive dust from the equipment used to
remove the existing sand cover for the MCCs and to transport the MCCs
from the FWF to the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure would be short term and
limited to the WCS Site. As a result, air quality impacts and visual
impacts would be minimal. Noise associated with operation of this
equipment would also be short term and limited to the site. Given WCS's
activities under the proposed action, the NRC staff considers that
there would be no impacts to land use, geology and soils, surface and
ground water resources, ecological resources, or socioeconomics.
Additionally, given the expectation that minor impacts would be limited
to the WCS Site, the NRC staff concludes that there would be no
disproportionately high and adverse impacts to minority or low-income
populations.
The NRC staff recognizes that the DOE would be transporting the
LANL Waste from the WCS Site by truck to another location, currently
expected to be either LANL or to WIPP. LANL is located in northeastern
New Mexico approximately 587 kilometers (365 miles) from WCS, while
WIPP is located southeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico, approximately 121
kilometers (75 miles) from WCS. The material would be shipped by DOE
from the WCS Site once the material is approved for transport in
accordance with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered
denial of the WCS's June 30, 2022, request and not authorizing the
requested activities. Under that alternative, WCS would continue to
store the LANL Waste in the FWF disposal cell and not move it to the
WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure. WCS would continue to perform monitoring of
the waste in its current storage location in the FWF disposal cell and
to perform other aspects of its radiation protection program to keep
potential radiological doses to workers and the public ALARA.
Under this alternative, the activities identified in WCS's June 30,
2022, request that are needed to prepare the LANL Waste for shipment by
DOE off the WCS Site would not occur. The NRC staff considers it
reasonable to expect that DOE and WCS would seek an alternate approach
to prepare the LANL Waste for shipment off the WCS Site and to request
NRC approval of that approach. Thus, the environmental impacts of the
no-action alternative would be very similar to those of the proposed
action.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
On March 20, 2023, the NRC staff provided a copy of the draft EA to
the TCEQ, for its review and comment. The TCEQ provided its comments on
April 12, 2023. The NRC staff updated the EA in response to TCEQ's
comments, as appropriate.
The proposed action does not involve the development or disturbance
of additional land, as the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure is within an
existing structure. Hence, the NRC has determined that the proposed
action will not affect listed endangered or threatened species or their
critical habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Likewise, the NRC staff has
determined that the proposed action does not have the potential to
cause effects on historic properties even if present. The LANL Waste
stored in the FWF disposal cell would be moved to temporary storage in
the WCS TSDF BSA-1 Enclosure using existing WCS Site roads, and no
ground disturbing activities are associated with the proposed action.
Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC has reviewed WCS's June 30, 2022, request for a superseding
order. The NRC has found that effluent releases and potential
radiological doses to the public are not anticipated to change as a
result of this action and that occupational exposures are expected to
remain within regulatory limits and ALARA. Based on the EA, 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
[[Page 31832]]
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed
action.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through ADAMS.
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Document description ADAMS accession No.
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NRC letter to WCS, Letter to William Dornsife, ML030130085.
WCS, from Thomas Essig, NRC, enclosing the
Order to Exempt Waste Control Specialists,
LLC, from Requirements of 10 CFR part 70,
dated November 21, 2001.
Issuance of Environmental Assessment and ML043020614.
Finding of No Significant Impact for
Modification of Exemption from Certain NRC
Licensing Requirements for Special Nuclear
Material for Waste Control Specialists, LLC.,
Andrews County, Texas, October 14, 2004.
Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Final ML092460509.
Finding of No Significant Impact for
Modification of Exemption from Certain NRC
Licensing Requirements for Special Nuclear
Material for Waste Control Specialist, LLC.,
Andrews County, Texas, dated October 7, 2009.
Issuance of Environmental Assessment and ML14238A208.
Finding of No. Significant Impact for
Modification of Exemption from Certain NRC
Licensing Requirements for Special Nuclear
Material for Waste Control Specialist, LLC
Andrews, dated October 30, 2014''.
NRC letter to WCS, ``Response to Request for ML16097A265.
Possession Time Extension in the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission Exemption Order
Condition 8.B.4 at Waste Control Specialists
LLC (CAC No. L00904),'' dated September 23,
2016.
NRC letter to WCS, ``Closeout of NRC Review of ML17234A415.
WCS Exemption Request dated December 4, 2014
(CAC NO. L00904),'' dated September 26, 2017.
NRC letter to WCS, ``Response to the August ML18269A318.
30, 2018, WCS Request to Extend the
Possession Time in the NRC Special Nuclear
Material Exemption Order Condition 8.B.4 to
WCS,'' dated December 19, 2018.
NRC letter to WCS, ``Response to the August ML20252A182.
24, 2020, WCS Request to Extend the
Possession Time of LANL Waste in the
Exemption Order Condition 8.B.4 until
December 23, 2022,'' dated December 7, 2020.
NRC letter to WCS, ``Response to the March 18, ML22094A131.
2022, WCS Request to Extend Possession Time
of LANL Waste in the Exemption Order
Condition 8.B.4 until December 31, 2024,''
dated June 8, 2022.
WCS request, ``2022b-06-30-2022 Public WCS ML22200A046.
Request for Superseding NRC Order for SNM,''
dated June 30, 2022.
NRC note to file, ``Summary of NRC ML22257A219.
Clarification Calls with WCS,'' dated
September 14, 2022.
NRC email to TCEQ attaching Draft EA for ML23129A311.
review and comment, dated March 20, 2023.
TCEQ email to NRC providing comments on Draft ML23129A263.
EA, dated April 12, 2023.
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Dated: May 15, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert Sun,
Acting Chief, Environmental Review Materials Branch, Division of
Rulemaking, Environmental and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-10645 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
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