nuclear-news

USA to get another “Waste Confidence Rule”?

The Appeals Court ruled that the NRC should have considered the potential environmental effects in the event a permanent repository for disposing of spent fuel …. is never built

NRC staff to review nuclear reactor waste storage rules http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/us-utilities-nrc-waste-idUSBRE88515T20120906  by Scott DiSavino, Sep 6, 2012  (Reuters) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) directed its staff on Thursday to start an environmental review into the temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel, following a court ruling that led the agency to stop issuing new reactor licenses.

The NRC did not say when it would start issuing new reactor licenses again. The NRC has more than a dozen reactor operating license renewal applications and a dozen new reactor license applications pending.

The NRC said it told its staff to develop an environmental impact statement and a revised waste confidence decision and to rule on the temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel.

The environmental statement and rule, which are in response to a June 8 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, are to be completed within 24 months, the NRC said.

The Appeals Court ruled that the NRC should have considered the potential environmental effects in the event a permanent repository for disposing of spent fuel – like the long-delayed Yucca Mountain proposal – is never built, among other things.

“Resolving this issue successfully is a Commission priority,” NRC
Chairman Allison Macfarlane said in a statement. “Waste confidence
plays a core role in many major licensing actions, such as new
reactors and license renewals,” she said.

The NRC said “waste confidence” means that spent nuclear fuel can be
safely stored for decades beyond the licensed operating life of a
reactor, without significant environmental effects. It enables the NRC
to license reactors or renew their licenses without examining the
effects of extended waste storage for each individual site pending
ultimate disposal.

On August 7, the Commission issued an order that the NRC will not
issue licenses dependent on the waste confidence rule – such as new
reactors and renewal of existing reactor operating licenses – until
the Court’s demand is appropriately addressed.

September 7, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes