NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS ON WASTE CONFIDENCE RULE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced late last week a series of 12 meetings across the United States to discuss with the public the NRC’s new proposed Waste Confidence rule and environmental impact study. The proposed rule and study will be released on Sept. 13, and a 75-day public comment period will follow. According to a NRC statement, “The goal of these meetings is to ensure that the NRC’s review is comprehensive, open, and inclusive and will inform the next phase of the agency’s work.”

The proposed rule and study come in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2012 that overturned the NRC’s 2010 Waste Confidence Determination that stated that spent nuclear fuel could be safely stored without environmental impact at closed reactor sites for 60 years after the end of the licensed life of a nuclear power plant. The court ruled that this determination lacked support from a generic environmental impact study. The meeting locations and dates are scheduled to be held:

• Oct. 1 at NRC headquarters, Rockville, Md;
• Oct. 3 in Denver;
• Oct. 7 in San Luis Obispo, Calif;
• Oct. 9 in Carlsbad, Calif;
• Oct. 15 in Perrysburg, Ohio;
• Oct. 17 in Minnetonka, Minn;
• Oct. 28 in Chelmsford, Mass’
• Oct. 30 in Tarrytown, N.Y.;
• Nov. 4, Charlotte, N.C;
• Nov. 6 in Orlando, Fla.; and
• Nov. 14, NRC headquarters, Rockville, Md.