Delivering Regulatory Consents for Decommissioning and Restoration of the Dounreay Nuclear Licensed Site
- United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Dounreay, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 7TZ, Scotland (United Kingdom)
- Zyda Law Solicitors, Lindum House, 44 Wellington Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 7BX (United Kingdom)
On behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has implemented a strategy to translate the near-term Dounreay restoration plan into a suite of land use documents designed to deliver the necessary planning consents to decommission and restore the Dounreay Nuclear Licensed Site. The legal consents and authorizations required to enable UKAEA to commence major projects and progress the decommissioning of the site are highlighted along with the measures taken to secure political, public and regulatory acceptance at the earliest opportunity. The approach taken by UKAEA is explained, focusing particularly on the critical need to secure planning permission and stakeholder approval well before the onset of construction works. The intention is to realize the benefits of forging a close working relationship with the land use regulator, The Highland Council. UKAEA has taken an approach to suitably inform the planning authority, in particular, the production of the Dounreay Planning Framework (DPF) document. This paper describes the role and need for the DPF, focusing on the key purpose of amending the local development plan to secure supportive planning policies and to set a land use context for the subsequent site decommissioning and restoration. This also has the advantage of securing public acceptance through an established legal process. Strategic milestones subsequent to the Highland Council's adoption of the DPF are highlighted, including the submission of phased planning applications and compliance with environmental legislation generally. The paper describes and underscores the need for early engagement of other regulators in the planning process such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and the safety regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII). It describes the linkages amongst land use consents, Best Practicable Environmental Options (BPEO), radioactive substances authorizations for disposal and compliance with nuclear site license conditions. It concludes with a review of the benefits of 'getting it right', highlighting the program and cost savings to be made particularly with UKAEA now under contract to NDA which took over strategic responsibility in April 2005 for managing UK civil nuclear clean-up. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21208564
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-06035; TRN: US09V0875079351
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 10 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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