NRC Publishes Waste Confidence Rulemaking

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission formally published its final rule on the Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, formerly known as Waste Confidence, in the Federal Register late last week, beginning the 30 day countdown until the rule becomes official. The rule was posted on Sept. 19, and it will become official 30 days following that date. The NRC’s proposed waste confidence rule, released last year, found that spent fuel can be stored on site for 60 years past a reactor’s licensed life.

 

When the NRC first issued a revised waste confidence rule in 2010, the Commission extended the length of time assumed to be safe for storage of spent fuel at a reactor site from 30 to 60 years. In 2012, though, a federal court found the NRC’s rule deficient and mandated an updated version, along with an environmental impact statement. In response, the NRC based its draft revised rule on a generic environmental impact statement that found the environmental impact of storing spent fuel on-site was small in most categories. This final rulemaking, though, removed language concerning a timeline for the availability of a repository after the Commission determined that was outside the NRC’s regulation jurisdiction.