RAE-42157-002-1

Rev. 1  –  Draft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SITING EVALUATION REPORT (SiER)

 

FOR PROPOSED DISPOSAL UNDER URCR R313-25-3

OF CLASS B & C LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

AT ENVIROCARE OF UTAH, INC.

 

 

 

 

March 16, 2000

 

 

 

 

Rogers & Associates Engineering Unit

Dames & Moore Inc.

515 East  4500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84107

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

Page No.

 

 

1    INTRODUCTION                                                                                             1

 

FINDINGS

 

EU-S01                                                                                                        3

EU-S02                                                                                                        4

EU-S03                                                                                                        5

EU-S04                                                                                                        6

EU-S05                                                                                                        7

EU-S06                                                                                                        8

EU-S07                                                                                                        9

EU-S08                                                                                                       10

EU-S09                                                                                                       11

EU-S10                                                                                                       12

EU-S11                                                                                                       13

EU-S12                                                                                                       14

EU-S13                                                                                                       15

EU-S14                                                                                                       17

EU-S15                                                                                                       18

EU-S16                                                                                                       19

EU-S17                                                                                                       20

EU-S18                                                                                                       21

EU-S19                                                                                                       22

EU-S20                                                                                                       23

EU-S21                                                                                                       24

EU-S22                                                                                                       25

EU-S23                                                                                                       27

EU-S24                                                                                                       28

EU-S25                                                                                                       29

EU-S26                                                                                                       30

EU-S27                                                                                                       31

EU-S28                                                                                                       32

EU-S29                                                                                                       33

EU-S30                                                                                                       34

EU-S31                                                                                                       35

EU-S32                                                                                                       36

EU-S33                                                                                                       38

EU-S34                                                                                                       39

EU-S35                                                                                                       40

EU-S36                                                                                                       41

EU-S37                                                                                                       42

EU-S38 & EU-S39                                                                                       43

EU-S40                                                                                                       44

EU-S41                                                                                                       45

EU-S42                                                                                                       46

EU-S42a                                                                                                     47

EU-S43                                                                                                       48

EU-S44                                                                                                       49

EU-S45                                                                                                       50

EU-S46                                                                                                       51

 

REFERENCES                                                                                               52

 

APPENDIX A:    UTAH RADIATION CONTROL RULES                                 A1

R313-25-3 Siting Criteria and Pre-Licensing

Plan Approval for Commercial Radioactive

Waste Disposal Facilities                                                                                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  INTRODUCTION

 

 

Section 105 of the Utah Radiation Control Act (the Act) provides that no person may construct a new commercial radioactive waste treatment or disposal facility until, among other things, the requirements of Section 104 of the Act have been satisfied.  By authority of Section 104 of the Act, the Utah Radiation Control Board has established criteria for siting commercial low-level waste treatment or disposal facilities.  These regulations are contained in the Utah Radiation Control Rules (URCR), Section R313-25-3 entitled “Siting Criteria and Pre-licensing Plan Approval for Commercial Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities.”  The requirements of URCR R313-25-3 address site-related topics such as:

 

·           Land Use Designations;

·           Geology;

·           Groundwater Hydrology;

·           Surface Water Hydrology;

·           Transportation Systems;

·           Emergency Response Plans; and

·           Projected Risks of Facility Operation.

 

The complete text of the R313-25-3 regulation is presented in Appendix A of this SiER.

 

Envirocare of Utah, Inc. (Envirocare) has commenced the process of obtaining the necessary approvals to construct and operate a new disposal cell for containerized Class A, B, and C low-level radioactive wastes at its existing facility in Section 32, T1S, R11W, SLBM in Tooele County, Utah.  In response to the requirements of URCR Section R313-25-3, Envirocare submitted its “Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application for a License Amendment Allowing Disposal of Class B & C Low-Level Radioactive Waste” (Env00a) on January 5, 2000. 

 

Under provisions and authority of the Act, the Utah Division of Radiation Control (the Division) has reviewed Envirocare’s application.  The Division employed its contractor, the Rogers & Associates Engineering Unit of Dames & Moore, Inc. for technical assistance with the review.  The Division followed the following approach for review of the application:

1.   Prepare draft and final Regulatory Findings that must be addressed in the review of the Application.

2.   Review the Envirocare Application.

3.   Prepare Interrogatories, as necessary, to obtain further information or clarify information in the Application.

4.   Review Interrogatory responses, assuming that all required information is contained in either the initial submittal or responses to the first round of Interrogatories.

5.   Prepare draft and final Siting Evaluation Report (SiER).

6.   Attend and support the Division in related Public Hearings.

7.   Review and prepare draft and final responses to technical comments received during Public Comment.

 

As the work was carried out, the Division and its contractor prepared and transmitted one round of interrogatories to Envirocare.  Envirocare prepared and submitted responses and revised text for the interrogatories (Env00b).  The Division and its contractor reviewed and evaluated Envirocare’s responses to the interrogatories and found most of them to be adequate for a positive finding.  Several required additional documentation, however, which was addressed in a teleconference call between the Division, its contractor, and Envirocare.  Envirocare responded to the remaining items (Env00c) and these responses were found to be adequate by the Division and its contractor.  Envirocare submitted a revised “Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application for a License Amendment Allowing Disposal of Class B & C Low-Level Radioactive Waste” (Env00d) on March 15, 2000. 

 

Upon resolution of all technical issues to the satisfaction of the reviewers, the Division prepared this Siting Evaluation Report (SiER) to summarize the information Envirocare submitted in its initial submittal and in its responses to interrogatories.  The information summarized in this SiER demonstrates that each individual siting criterion is satisfied.  This SiER is the vehicle by which the Division shows its rationale for concluding whether the applicable regulatory requirements are satisfied and that a particular licensing action is justifiable under provisions of the Act and the regulation (URCR R313-25-2).

 

The Executive Director of the Radiation Control Board is ultimately responsible to determine whether all applicable regulatory requirements are satisfied and to recommend a licensing action to the Radiation Control Board. This required recommendation appears under separate cover.  Copies of this SiER are available to interested parties upon request to the Division.

FINDING:

 

EU-S01:     The pre-licensing plan approval application does adequately demonstrate that the treatment and disposal facilities are not located within a national, state, or county park.  (URCR R313-25-3(3)(a)(i))

 

 

BASIS:

 

The Envirocare of Utah, Inc. Site is located in Section 32, about 2.6 miles south of Interstate-80 and 7.5 miles east of the Knolls interchange on I-80, between Wendover and Salt Lake City.  The application lists and includes the following materials in Appendix A:

 

(A1) a 1998 map of land ownership for a 1-mile distance around the Envirocare site;

(A2) a 1988 USGS 1:500,000 scale topographic map of Utah;

(A3) a 1995 Utah “Official Highway Map” from the Utah Department of Transportation;

(A4) a 1994 1:100,000 scale Bureau of Land Management map, “Bonneville Salt Flats”;

(A5) a 1979 1:100,000 scale USGS topographic map, “Bonneville Salt Flats”;

(A6) sections B-3a(1) and B-3a(2) of Envirocare’s 1990 RCRA Part B permit application; and

(A7) a March 3, 2000 letter from J. Raymond Johnson, P.E., Director of Tooele County Department of Engineering.

 

The 1995 Highway Map (A3) gives adequate authoritative evidence that the subject site in Section 32 is not located within a National Park, based on the map’s lists and locations of National Parks, none of which is at or contiguous with the proposed facility.  The letter from J. Raymond Johnson verifies that the site is also not located within a state or county park, the nearest of which is located more than 35 miles from the Envirocare Property.

 

 

REFERENCES:

 

Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application for a License Amendment Allowing Disposal of Class B & C Low-Level Radioactive Waste, Envirocare of Utah, Inc., January 5, 2000, Section R313-25-3 Siting Criteria.

“Official Highway Map”, Utah Department of Transportation, 1995.  (copy in Appendix A, Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application)

Letter from J. Raymond Johnson, P.E., March 3, 2000, to William Sinclair, DEQ (copy in Appendix A, Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application)

FINDING:

 

EU-S02:     The pre-licensing plan approval application does adequately demonstrate that the treatment and disposal facilities are not located within a national, state, or county monument.  (URCR R313-25-3(3)(a)(i))

 

 

BASIS:

 

The Envirocare of Utah, Inc. Site is located in Section 32, about 2.6 miles south of Interstate-80 and 7.5 miles east of the Knolls interchange on I-80, between Wendover and Salt Lake City.  The application lists and includes the following materials in Appendix A:

 

(A1) a 1998 map of land ownership for a 1-mile distance around the Envirocare site;

(A2) a 1988 USGS 1:500,000 scale topographic map of Utah;

(A3) a 1995 Utah “Official Highway Map” from the Utah Department of Transportation;

(A4) a 1994 1:100,000 scale Bureau of Land Management map, “Bonneville Salt Flats”;

(A5) a 1979 1:100,000 scale USGS topographic map, “Bonneville Salt Flats”;

(A6) sections B-3a(1) and B-3a(2) of Envirocare’s 1990 RCRA Part B permit application; and

(A7) a March 3, 2000 letter from J. Raymond Johnson, P.E., Director of Tooele County Department of Engineering.

 

The 1995 Highway Map (A3) gives adequate authoritative evidence that the subject site in Section 32 is not located within a National Monument, based on the map’s lists and locations of National Monuments, none of which is at or contiguous with the proposed facility.  The letter from J. Raymond Johnson verifies that the site is also not located within a State or County Monument, the nearest of which is located more than 35 miles from the Envirocare Property.

 

 

REFERENCES:

 

Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application for a License Amendment Allowing Disposal of Class B & C Low-Level Radioactive Waste, Envirocare of Utah, Inc., January 5, 2000, Section R313-25-3 Siting Criteria.

“Official Highway Map”, Utah Department of Transportation, 1995.  (copy in Appendix A, Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application)

Letter from J. Raymond Johnson, P.E., March 3, 2000, to William Sinclair, DEQ (copy in Appendix A, Pre-Licensing Plan Approval Application)

FINDING: