Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation – Public Involvement
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The NRC periodically holds meetings, conferences, and workshops to inform the public or to solicit public input on various topics. NRC also occasionally publishes documents for public comment. This page lists the upcoming opportunities for public input, as well as previous meetings, on NRC activities related to spent nuclear fuel storage and transportation regulation, the extended storage of spent fuel, and the transportation of spent fuel after extended storage periods. Also included on this page are meetings or other input opportunities pertaining to NRC’s proposed Waste Confidence update to identify and account for the impacts of storing spent fuel beyond 120 years. The staff may use information obtained from the public to inform its storage and transportation regulations, guidance, licensing and inspection processes, environmental reviews, or other activities.
Upcoming Opportunities for Public Involvement
The table below lists upcoming public meetings, webinars, and documents available for public comment. For upcoming meetings, also see our Public Meeting Schedule. Information for the meetings is available in the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) if an accession number is given.
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| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| May 2012 |
The report may also be accessed through the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at Accession No. ML120580143. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulates storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from commercial nuclear power plants. An increasing amount of the SNF in storage is in dry storage systems, mostly at current and decommissioned plants. As directed by the Commission, in expectation of continued use of dry storage for extended periods of time, the NRC staff is examining the technical needs and potential changes to the regulatory framework that may be needed to continue licensing of SNF storage over periods beyond 120 years. This report presents the results of NRC staff evaluation of the technical information needs for continued extended dry storage, and for the subsequent transportation of SNF following long-term storage. Staff’s evaluation focuses on the degradation phenomena that may affect dry storage systems, and how these phenomena may affect the ability of the systems to fulfill their regulatory functions. The comment period is 45 calendar days, starting May 4, 2012 and ending June 18, 2012. Please submit comments to ESTOutreach@nrc.gov. You do not need to submit comments through the NRC’s electronic submittals process if you send them to this email address. Alternatively, you may send comments through the U.S mail to:
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| December 2011 | The NRC received a letter on February 16 from eight public interest organizations requesting a 60-day extension on the comment period for the draft report entitled “Background and Preliminary Assumptions for an Environmental Impact Statement—Long-Term Waste Confidence Update.” The original deadline for comments on this report was February 17. The NRC will grant an additional 31 days, extending the deadline to Monday, March 19, 2012. Comments received after March 19 that cannot be considered for the final version of this report will be considered in the coming months as the staff continues to develop the scope of the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the long-term Waste Confidence update. This report is only the first of several opportunities to provide input on the update. In 2013, the staff expects to begin the formal process under the National Environmental Policy Act to develop the EIS and will announce another specific opportunity to provide input on the EIS scope. In the meantime, however, any input may continue to be submitted through WCOutreach@nrc.gov. Draft report for comment: “Background and Preliminary Assumptions for an Environmental Impact Statement—Long-Term Waste Confidence Update”. The report may also be accessed through the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at Accession No. ML11340A141. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has directed agency staff to consider a long-term extension to the Commission’s Waste Confidence decision and rule to account for the storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste for more than 60 years after the licensed life for operation of any commercial nuclear power reactor. As part of this review, the Commission directed the staff to develop an environmental impact statement (EIS). The staff has developed this report as a means to seek public feedback on the agency’s preliminary plans to develop the EIS. The NRC seeks to ensure the preliminary EIS scope described in this report considers the significant factors related to the longer-term storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. The comment period has been extended until March 19, 2012. Christine Pineda, Project Manager |
Public Meeting Archive
