1. Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)
NRC’s Low-Level Radioactive Waste Regulatory Program: Update of Emerging Issues
April 13, 2016
LLW Forum Meeting Park City, Utah
John Tappert, Director
Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs (DUWP)
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS)

2. Objective
To discuss the NRC’s Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) Program with a focus on:
Management Changes
Ongoing Part 61 Rulemaking
Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) and Transuranic Waste
Byproduct Financial Assurance Scoping Study
Project AIM 2

3. Management Changes Marc Dapas, Director, NMSS (June 2016)
John Tappert, Director, DUWP (January 2016)
Andrea Kock, Deputy Director, DUWP (March 2016)
Gregory Suber, Chief, Low-Level Waste Branch

4. Overview LLRW Program Uniform Waste Manifest Next Part 61 Rulemaking?
GTCC/Trans-uranic Waste
Programmatic Assessment
LLRW Program
CA BTP Implementation
Byproduct Material Financial Assurance Scoping Study
Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR)
International 4

5. 10 CFR Part 61 Rulemaking

6. Rulemaking Process 2/12/14 3/26/15 5/30/16
Proposed Rule and Associated Draft Guidance Issued
Commission Approved Proposed Rule
Final Rule Due to Commission

7. Public Participation Received over 2,400 comment letters
Addressed comments gathered during public meetings
Comments from industry, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Agreement States, licensees, public interest groups, and others
Over 850 comments identified and binned

8. Significant Comments Three tiered approach is too complicated
Recommended moving to Compatibility Category C for many of the primary rule changes
Proposed rule should not apply to sites that don’t plan to accept new unanalyzed waste
Re-classification of depleted uranium should be done before the current rule is finalized
Backfit analysis should be developed

9. GTCC and Transuranic Waste

10. Activities Related to GTCC and Transuranic Waste Disposal
February 18, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Disposal of GTCC and GTCC-Like Waste
January 30, Texas Letter
July 17, SECY
December
23, Commission’s Direction in SRM-SECY-
February 25,
Final EIS for the Disposal of GTCC and GTCC-Like Waste

11. Next Steps Complete Ongoing Part 61 Rulemaking
Prepare Regulatory Basis with Public Workshops
Possible Part 61 Rule for GTCC and Transuranic Waste Disposal

12. Byproduct Material Financial Assurance Scoping Study

13. Public Participation Federal Register Notice (FRN) issued on
August 3, 2015
Public Meeting held on October 7, 2015
Comment Period closed on October 19, 2015

14. Significant Comments
Financial assurance should be required for all Category 1, 2, and 3 sealed sources
Financial assurance requirements should be based on cost estimates that are periodically reevaluated
Fixed dollar amounts established by regulation are not desirable – each situation is unique
Need to be careful in defining “end-of-life”, particularly for applications that may require periodic use of sources
Cost of disposal should be borne by the entity that receives the economic benefit

16. Objective
Making smart changes in a proactive manner that will position the agency to effectively and efficiently implement its mission now and in the future

17. Project Aim Tasks
In January 2015, NRC staff sent a proposal to the Commission
Right-sizing the agency to retain skill sets needed to accomplish its mission
Streamlining agency processes to use resources more wisely
Improving timeliness in regulatory decision-making and responding quickly to changing conditions
Promoting unity of purpose with clearer agencywide priorities

18. Prioritization and Re-baselining - Process
Evaluated work against mission, principles, and values
Identified the work beyond the point of diminishing returns
Considered suggested efficiencies from staff and stakeholders
Identified unnecessary process burdens to be eliminated

19. Proposed Shed, De-prioritization, Reduced Resource
Sheds
Item #
Proposed Shed, De-prioritization, Reduced Resource
Item $K
Item FTE 5
Terminate the current rulemaking activity to change 10 CFR Part 20
$10
1.0 12
Reduce resources for travel for conference and non-critical events
$300
0.0 75
Reduce Agreement State travel and training funds
$125
141
Reduce WIR Travel
$25
142
Reduce WIR Mission Related Training
$15

20. Additional Steps March 18, 2016 - Commission received:
List of long-term process improvements for efficiencies in FY 2018 and beyond
Known changes in workload through 2020
Continue implementation of tasks
For more info:

21. Questions?