The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to release this week its proposed 10.CFR.61 rulemaking, initiating a 120 day comment period before the introduction of a final rule. The proposed rule will appear in the March 26 edition of the Federal Register, said Steven Dembek, project manager in the NRC Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs. According to Dembrek, the Part 61 proposed rule contains all of the Commission’s direction from last year, including a new three-tiered approach to evaluate performance assessment of a site, a time of compliance of 1000 years, a protective assurance analysis from the end of compliance period through 10,000 years and a qualitative analysis stretching beyond 10,000 years to evaluate long-term risks. The NRC plans to conduct public meetings throughout the 120 day comment period in states that host disposal facilities, although specifics have not been announced yet. Following the comment period, the final rule will go to the Commission for a vote approximately 12 months later. The rule would not go into effect however for a year after the final rule is published, while agreement states will have three years to adopt compatible regulations.
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