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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION |
| Office of Public Affairs |
Telephone: 301/415-8200 |
| Washington, DC 20555-001 |
E-mail: opa@nrc.gov |
No. 96-106 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Tuesday, July 30, 1996)
NRC REVISES REQUIREMENTS FOR
DECOMMISSIONING NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations for
decommissioning nuclear power plants to bring increased efficiency and
uniformity to the process. The revisions also clear up ambiguities in
NRC's regulations, codify practices that have been used on a case-by-case
basis, and increase public participation.
The primary change allows no major decommissioning activities to be
undertaken, once a reactor permanently ceases operation, until after
certain information has been provided to the NRC and the public. After
that, if NRC has no objections, decommissioning may begin.
A proposed rule published for comment last July resulted in these
final requirements:
A licensee must certify to the NRC that the reactor has ceased
operations permanently and that the nuclear fuel has been permanently
removed from the reactor vessel. The licensee also must submit a
post-shutdown decommissioning activities report within two years after
expressing intent to cease operations.
This report must describe the licensee's planned decommissioning
activities, detailed schedule, and cost estimate, as well as a statement
as to whether environmental impacts of decommissioning have been covered
in previous environmental impact statements or reports. If not, a
license amendment is required to address environmental concerns.
A 90-day hold is required on the post-shutdown decommissioning
report to allow NRC review, together with public discussion of the
licensee's plans, at a meeting to be held near the plant. Afterwards, if
NRC has no objections, the licensee may begin major decommissioning
activities. These may include permanent removal of the reactor vessel,
steam generators, and large pumps, valves, and piping systems, without
specific NRC approval.
The revised regulations require that before completing
decommissioning, the licensee must submit an application to the NRC to
terminate the license. The application must be accompanied by a plan
that describes any radioactivity on the site; remaining dismantlement
activities; site cleanup plans and final radiation survey; updated cost
analysis; planned end-use of the site; and any new environmental
information.
NRC will publish the license termination plan for public comment,
hold a public meeting near the plant to discuss the licensee's plans, and
provide an opportunity for a public hearing.
Revisions to the regulations also allow licensees to use up to 23
percent of their decommissioning trust funds for legitimate
decommissioning activities provided that there are sufficient funds to
maintain the reactor in a safe storage condition and that such use does
not inhibit the licensees's ability to fund ultimate release of the site
and termination of the license. The new rule further specifies that an
expired license cannot be terminated until the NRC notifies the licensee
in writing.
Some of the changes in the final regulations also apply to
university research reactors and other non-power reactors.
Details of the final regulations are contained in a notice in the
July 29 edition of the Federal Register.
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