The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved an agency staff suggestion to combine two ongoing radioactive-waste rulemakings into one in an effort to streamline the process, according to a Wednesday memo.
The commissioners’ unanimous approval means that NRC staff will now re-issue a new proposed rulemaking combining an existing inquiry into a rules change for Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) waste with a previously separate activity related to low-level waste disposal governed under Title 10, Part 61 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Staff recommended the move in an October 2020 report to the commission.
In its report, NRC staff said that combining the two activities would “effectively coordinate internal processes and require fewer resources than conducting separate rulemakings.” Re-proposing the combined rulemaking would also allow the public an opportunity to comment on both efforts at once, staff said.
As part of the contemplated Part 61 low-level waste reforms, NRC would amend the regulation to address disposal of depleted uranium from commercial uranium enrichment operations. That waste stream was left out of Part 61 when the original regulation was promulgated 40 years ago, in 1982. It also would remove transuranic waste from the list of nuclear waste not considered ‘low-level,’ allowing waste streams that include transuranic material to fall under Part 61’s provisions.
Meanwhile, the GTCC rulemaking activity, first started in 2015, would allow states to consent to store that kind of waste in near-surface repositories.
GTCC is a class of low-level waste which includes things like activated metals from power plants and manufacturing waste from radioisotope products. The proposed rulemaking has been the subject of some controversy at NRC, with some staff arguing that disposing of GTCC is the government’s sole responsibility.
