[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 130 (Friday, July 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38675-38676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10624]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Request for Comments on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Low 
Level Radioactive Waste Program

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for comments on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's low 
level radioactive waste program.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting a 
strategic assessment of its low level radioactive waste (LLW) 
regulatory program. The objective of this assessment is to identify and 
prioritize activities that the staff can undertake to ensure a stable, 
reliable and adaptable regulatory framework for effective LLW 
management, while also considering future needs and changes that may 
occur in the nation's commercial LLW management system.

DATES: The public comment period begins with publication of this notice 
and continues for 30 days. Written comments should be submitted as 
described in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Comments submitted 
by mail should be postmarked by that date to ensure consideration. 
Comments received or postmarked after that date will be considered to 
the extent practical.

ADDRESSES: Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit 
comments to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Mail Stop T6-D59, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Comments 
will also be accepted by e-mail at [email protected] or by fax to (301) 
415-5397, Attention: Ryan Whited.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ryan Whited, Chief, Low Level 
Waste Section, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, 
Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Rockville, MD 20852. Telephone: (301) 415-7257; fax number: 
(301) 415-5370; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The NRC last initiated a strategic assessment of its LLW regulatory 
program in August 1995. As part of that effort, in September 1996, the 
NRC staff released an ``Issues Paper'' that identified several options 
the agency could pursue regarding the overall scope and magnitude of 
its LLW regulatory program. [The Issues Paper is available in the NRC's 
Agencywide Document Management System (ADAMS) under accession number 
ML061700297]. In response to that issues paper, and after taking into 
consideration public comments as well as the fact that the new disposal 
facilities that had been anticipated following the 1985 amendment of 
the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 (LLRWPAA) were not

[[Page 38676]]

forthcoming, the Commission decided to simply ``maintain'' the agency's 
LLW program at its then-current level. Due to a number of developments 
in the national system for LLW disposal as well as changes in the 
regulatory environment over the past 10 years, the NRC's LLW program 
now faces new challenges, influences and issues. Among these is the 
fact that several governmental and national technical organizations, as 
well as major stakeholder and industry groups, states and Congress, 
have raised questions or expressed opinions regarding the current 
status of regulation and disposal of radioactive waste in the U.S. 
Though many of these groups want action to be taken on issues of 
concern to them, they do not necessarily hold the same views regarding 
what actions are needed or what issues require the most attention. 
Meanwhile, a number of new technical issues, involving security matters 
as well as protection of public health and the environment, have 
emerged.
    As a result, the NRC staff is conducting a new strategic assessment 
of the agency's LLW regulatory program. The objective of this 
assessment is to identify and prioritize activities that the staff can 
undertake to ensure a stable, reliable and adaptable regulatory 
framework for effective LLW management, while also considering future 
needs and changes that may occur in the nation's commercial LLW 
management system. As part of this assessment, the NRC staff is 
soliciting public comment on what changes, if any, should be made to 
the current LLW program regulatory framework as well as specific 
actions that the staff might undertake to facilitate such changes. The 
staff is requesting that persons consider and address the following 
nine questions as they develop and provide their remarks:

Regarding the Current LLW Disposal Regulatory System

    1. What are your key safety and cost drivers and/or concerns 
relative to LLW disposal?
    2. What vulnerabilities or impediments, if any, are there in the 
current regulatory approach toward LLW disposal in the U.S., in terms 
of their effects on:

    a. Regulatory system reliability, predictability, and adaptability;
    b. Regulatory burden (including cost); and
    c. Safety, security, and protection of the environment?

Potential Alternative Futures

    3. Assuming the existing legislative and regulatory framework 
remains unchanged, what would you expect the future to look like with 
regard to the types and volumes of LLW streams and the availability of 
disposal options for Class A, B, C, and greater-than-class-C (GTCC) LLW 
five years from now? Twenty years from now? What would more optimistic 
and pessimistic disposal scenarios look like compared to your 
``expected future''?
    4. How might potential future disposal scenarios affect LLW storage 
and disposal in the U.S., in terms of:

    a. Regulatory system reliability, predictability, and adaptability;
    b. Regulatory burden (including cost); and
    c. Safety, security and protection of the environment?

Can the Future Be Altered?

    5. What actions could be taken by NRC and other federal and state 
authorities, as well as by private industry and national scientific and 
technical organizations, to optimize management of LLW and improve the 
future outlook? Which of the following investments are most likely to 
yield benefits:

    a. Changes in regulations;
    b. Changes in regulatory guidance;
    c. Changes in industry practices;
    d. Other (name).

    6. Are there actions (regulatory and/or industry initiated) that 
can/should be taken in regard to specific issues such as:

    a. Storage, disposal, tracking and security of GTCC waste 
(particularly sealed sources);
    b. Availability and cost of disposal of Class B and C LLW;
    c. Disposal options for depleted uranium;
    d. Extended storage of LLW;
    e. Disposal options for low-activity waste (LAW)/very low level 
waste (VLLW);
    f. On-site disposal of LLW;
    g. Other (name).

    7. What unintended consequences might result from the postulated 
changes identified in response to questions 5 and 6?

Interagency Communication and Cooperation

    8. Based on your observations of what works well and not-so-well, 
domestically and/or internationally, with regard to the management of 
radioactive and/or hazardous waste, what actions can the NRC and other 
Federal regulatory agencies take to improve their communication with 
affected and interested stakeholders?
    9. What specific actions can NRC take to improve coordination with 
other Federal agencies so as to obtain a more consistent treatment of 
radioactive wastes that possess similar or equivalent levels of 
biological hazard?
    On May 23 and 24, 2006, the NRC's Advisory Committee on Nuclear 
Waste (ACNW) sponsored a public fact-finding meeting with industry 
representatives and stakeholders at NRC headquarters in Rockville, MD, 
to: (a) Provide input to the ACNW regarding areas where NRC's 
regulations for near-surface disposal of LLW in 10 CFR Part 61 might be 
more risk-informed; and (b) provide information for NRC staff to 
consider in its strategic assessment of the LLW regulatory program. The 
transcript of the ACNW meeting is publicly available on the NRC's 
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acnw/tr2006/. The NRC staff intends to utilize the information gathered from 
the ACNW meeting as well as this solicitation to develop a strategic 
assessment of the NRC's regulatory program for low-level radioactive 
waste.

II. Further Information

    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-
mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 29th day of June, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott Flanders,
Deputy Director, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, 
Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of 
Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6-10624 Filed 7-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P