The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering an application for a 40-year license extension for operation of the independent spent fuel storage installation at the decommissioned Rancho Seco nuclear power plant in Herald, Calif.
Like other nuclear power operators around the country, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is waiting for the Department of Energy to meet its congressional mandate to find an off-site location for its spent nuclear reactor fuel. Until interim storage or permanent disposal is available, SMUD and its peers must manage that radioactive waste.
Rancho Seco closed in 1989 after just over 14 years of operation. The NRC terminated its operational license in 2009 upon completion of decommissioning. The dry fuel storage pad holds 493 used fuel assemblies in 21 canisters, plus another canister of Greater-Than-Class-C waste. That is the entirety of used fuel generated at the plant, a SMUD spokesman said.
The current ISFSI license expires on June 30, 2020. If the license renewal is approved, SMUD would be authorized to “possess, transfer, and store spent fuel” from the facility for an additional four decades. The spokesman confirmed that it plans no changes at the ISFSI.
The NRC began its technical review of the license renewal application in July. The agency will approve the license renewal application if it determines that the application meets the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the NRC’s regulations. These findings will be documented in a safety evaluation report.”
Stakeholders have until Oct. 22 to request a hearing or intervention in the license application, according to an Aug. 16 Federal Register notice, posted to the NRC website last week. The NRC expects to rule on the application in June 2019.
In total, the agency is presently reviewing four license renewal applications for independent spent fuel storage installations.
