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Title: Management Plan for the Development of the License Application for a High Level Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Rev. 0

Abstract

If the Yucca Mountain Site is recommended and approved for development as a repository, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to file a License Application (LA) with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to 10 CFR 60, Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes in Geologic Repositories. The NRC, in accordance with 10 CFR 60, will evaluate DOE's application and adopt, to the extent practicable, the accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in connection with the issuance of an authorization to construct the proposed geologic repository. The NRC can issue a license to DOE under 10 CFR 60 only after construction of the geologic repository operations area is substantially complete and the initial LA has been updated in accordance with 10 CFR 60.24. In accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the NRC is, by rule, to modify its technical requirements and criteria as necessary to be consistent with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new site-specific standards. The NRC staff has proposed to achieve this by drafting a new, separate, site-specific part of the Code of Federal Regulations to be promulgated as 10 CFR 63. While adopting the definitions, administrative, preclosure, retrievability, and quality assurance portions of 10 CFR 60,more » the NRC staff's proposal for this new part would focus on total-system performance and place no quantitative requirements on the performance of individual subsystems or their components. When the NRC issues a final rule, the DOE will modify its licensing strategy and LA development efforts to conform to the new requirements. Until that time, the applicable repository licensing requirements are those in 10 CFR 60, and the DOE will continue to plan to these requirements. DOE management will, as deemed appropriate, undertake activities to prepare for the eventual issuance of new regulations. The first draft of the LA may be developed to show compliance with the draft regulations prepared by the NRC staff as draft 10 CFR Part 63. This document provides guidance for managing the process for developing an LA under 10 CFR 60, or draft 10 CFR Part 63, that will enable the NRC to issue DOE a construction authorization pursuant to 10 CFR 60.31.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, Nevada (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
763065
Report Number(s):
YMP/97-02
TRN: US0108847
DOE Contract Number:
AC08-91RW00134
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 10 Jan 1997
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES; LICENSE APPLICATIONS; PROGRAM MANAGEMENT; QUALITY ASSURANCE; YUCCA MOUNTAIN; RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES; RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL

Citation Formats

Brocoum, Stephan J. Management Plan for the Development of the License Application for a High Level Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Rev. 0. United States: N. p., 1997. Web. doi:10.2172/763065.
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Brocoum, Stephan J. Management Plan for the Development of the License Application for a High Level Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Rev. 0. United States. doi:10.2172/763065.
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Brocoum, Stephan J. Fri . "Management Plan for the Development of the License Application for a High Level Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Rev. 0". United States. doi:10.2172/763065. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/763065.
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@article{osti_763065,
title = {Management Plan for the Development of the License Application for a High Level Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Rev. 0},
author = {Brocoum, Stephan J.},
abstractNote = {If the Yucca Mountain Site is recommended and approved for development as a repository, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to file a License Application (LA) with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to 10 CFR 60, Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes in Geologic Repositories. The NRC, in accordance with 10 CFR 60, will evaluate DOE's application and adopt, to the extent practicable, the accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in connection with the issuance of an authorization to construct the proposed geologic repository. The NRC can issue a license to DOE under 10 CFR 60 only after construction of the geologic repository operations area is substantially complete and the initial LA has been updated in accordance with 10 CFR 60.24. In accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the NRC is, by rule, to modify its technical requirements and criteria as necessary to be consistent with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new site-specific standards. The NRC staff has proposed to achieve this by drafting a new, separate, site-specific part of the Code of Federal Regulations to be promulgated as 10 CFR 63. While adopting the definitions, administrative, preclosure, retrievability, and quality assurance portions of 10 CFR 60, the NRC staff's proposal for this new part would focus on total-system performance and place no quantitative requirements on the performance of individual subsystems or their components. When the NRC issues a final rule, the DOE will modify its licensing strategy and LA development efforts to conform to the new requirements. Until that time, the applicable repository licensing requirements are those in 10 CFR 60, and the DOE will continue to plan to these requirements. DOE management will, as deemed appropriate, undertake activities to prepare for the eventual issuance of new regulations. The first draft of the LA may be developed to show compliance with the draft regulations prepared by the NRC staff as draft 10 CFR Part 63. This document provides guidance for managing the process for developing an LA under 10 CFR 60, or draft 10 CFR Part 63, that will enable the NRC to issue DOE a construction authorization pursuant to 10 CFR 60.31.},
doi = {10.2172/763065},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 1997},
month = {Fri Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 1997}
}
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Technical Report:
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DOI:  10.2172/763065
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  • No abstract prepared.

  • Volume 4 provides the DOE plan and cost estimate for the remaining work necessary to proceed from completing this VA to submitting an LA to NRC. This work includes preparing an EIS and evaluating the suitability of the site. Both items are necessary components of the documentation required to support a decision in 2001 by the Secretary of Energy on whether or not to recommend that the President approve the site for development as a repository. If the President recommends the site to Congress and the site designation becomes effective, then DOE will submit the LA to NRC in 2002more » for authorization to construct the repository. The work described in Volume 4 constitutes the last step in the characterization of the Yucca Mountain site and the design and evaluation of the performance of a repository system in the geologic setting of this site. The plans in this volume for the next 4 years' work are based on the results of the previous 15 years' work, as reported in Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of this VA. Volume 1 summarizes what DOE has learned to date about the Yucca Mountain site. Volume 2 describes the current, reference repository design, several design options that might enhance the performance of the reference design, and several alternative designs that represent substantial departures from the reference design. Volume 2 also summarizes the results of tests of candidate materials for waste packages and for support of the tunnels into which waste would be emplaced. Volume 3 provides the results of the latest performance assessments undertaken to evaluate the performance of the design in the geologic setting of Yucca Mountain. The results described in Volumes 1, 2, and 3 provide the basis for identifying and prioritizing the work described in this volume. DOE believes that the planned work, together with the results of previous work, will be sufficient to support a site suitability evaluation for site recommendation and, if the site is recommended and designated, a defensible LA. Volume 4 is divided into seven sections. Section 2 presents a rationale and summary for the technical work to be done to develop the preclosure and postclosure safety cases that will support the compliance evaluations required for the evaluation of site suitability and for licensing. Section 2 also describes other necessary technical work, including that needed to support design decisions and development of the necessary design information. Section 3 presents a more detailed description of the technical work required to address the issues identified in Section 2. Section 3 also describes activities that will continue after submittal of the site recommendation and the LA. Examples include the drift scale heater test in the Exploratory Studies Facility (Section 3.1.4.3) and long-term waste package corrosion testing (Section 3.2.2.9). Section 4 discusses the statutory and regulatory framework for site recommendation and submittal of an LA, and describes the activities and documentation that must be completed to achieve these milestones, including the development of an EIS. Section 5 describes the numerous activities required to support program milestones, including support for completing the testing program, continuing tests as part of the performance confirmation program, and managing information and records to support regulatory and legal review. Sections 6 and 7 provide cost and schedule information for the activities planned.« less

  • This report provides a review and critique of the US Department of Energy (DOE) environmental program plan for site characterization activities at Yucca Mountain which principally addresses compliance with federal and state environmental regulation and to a lesser extent monitoring and mitigation of significant adverse impacts and reclamation of disturbed areas. There are 15 documents which comprise the plan and focus on complying with the environmental requirements of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as amended, (NWPA) and with single-media environmental statutes and their regulations. All elements of the plan follow from the 1986 statutory environmental assessment (EA) required by NWPAmore » which concluded that no significant adverse impacts would result from characterization of the Yucca Mountain site. The lack of appropriate environmental planning and review for site characterization at Yucca Mountain points to the need for an oversight function by the State of Nevada. It cannot be assumed that on its own DOE will properly comply with environmental requirements, especially the substantive requirements that comprise the intent of NEPA. Thus, procedures must be established to assure that the environmental interests of the State are addressed in the course of the Yucca Mountain Project. Accordingly, steps will be taken by the State of Nevada to review the soundness and efficacy of the DOE field surveys, monitoring and mitigation activities, reclamation actions, and ecological impact studies that follow from the DOE environmental program plans addressed by this review.« less

  • ; ;
    This document is an annual report describing investigations of natural groundwater hazards at the proposed Yucca Mountain, Nevada High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository.This document describes research studies of the origin of near surface calcite/silica deposits at Yucca Mountain. The origin of these deposits is controversial and the authors have extended and strengthened the basis of their arguments for epigenetic, metasomatic alteration of the tuffs at Yucca Mountain. This report includes stratigraphic, mineralogical, and geochronological information along with geochemical data to support the conclusions described by Livingston and Szymanski, and others. As part of their first annual report, they take this opportunitymore » to clarify the technical basis of their concerns and summarize the critical geological field evidence and related information. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.« less