Agenda - 01-19-1999 - 9b1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM TO: County Commissioners John Link, County Manager FROM: Paul Thames, PE, County Engine DATE: January 19, 1999 SUBJECT: Process for obtaining standing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)in the proceedings for the permitting of expanded storage of waste nuclear fuel rods at Shearon Harris nuclear power plant The federal government's failure to provide permanent storage facilities for the high level radioactive waste, in the form of spent fuel rods, produced by this county's nuclear power plants has caused a number of problems for the nuclear power industry. The industry has faced a particular challenge in finding or developing "temporary" storage facilities for spent fuels rods. Such storage is designated as temporary because, although the period of storage may be measured in years or decades, the federal government retains responsibility for providing permanent storage for this material. The answer for many power companies has been to utilize waste storage technologies designed and developed for short term storage as stopgap measures for a much longer term, though not permanent, waste storage problem. CP &L's Shearon Harris nuclear power plant, located in Wake County, has been storing its waste on site for a number of years in its existing temporary storage pools. These facilities were designed to store the materials for the relatively short period of time between removal of the material from the reactor core and its shipment to permanent storage. The Shearon Harris temporary storage pool facilities have also been used to store the spent fuel rods from CP &L's nuclear plants at Brunswick, NC, and Robinson, SC. Consequently, the storage capacity of the existing facilities at Shearon Harris has been nearly exhausted. CP &L has now proposed to expand the capacity of Shearon Harris facilities to accommodate additional waste storage by completing the construction of two temporary storage pools begun nearly twenty years ago but left uncompleted when the overall capacity of the generating facility - and projected need for temporary storage - was reduced. CP &L has submitted an application to amend its operating permit (to allow the expansion of its temporary storage facilities) to the NRC. NRC staff have reviewed the application and propose to make a finding that the CP &L expansion plan represents no significant increase in hazard over that of currently permitted and approved operational practices. In accordance with standard NRC procedures, the notice of the application and the proposed staff finding of no significant hazard has been published - as of January 13, 1999 - in the Federal Register. The public, again in keeping with standard NRC procedures, is accorded a thirty day period in which to make comments to the NRC relative to the proposed NRC staff finding of no, significant increase in hazard and the permit application and approval. The deadline for public comment is February 12, 1999. Various local individuals, organizations and governments, including Orange County, have expressed reservations about these existing and proposed nuclear waste storage practices and plans. Furthermore, these same individuals and entities have expressed concern about the lack of and process for the providing of public input into the regulatory approval procedures. Some individuals and organizations have