PROCESS BY WHICH THE NRC IS REVIEWING THE LICENSE APPLICATION FOR A REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA

Disposal of high-level nuclear waste requires a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license. The NRC has developed regulations and procedures to conduct a licensing review of a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in a technically defensible, legally sound, and transparent manner. Part 63 under Title 10 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (i.e., 10 CFR 63) prescribes rules governing the licensing (including issuance of a construction authorization) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed repository. Subpart J of 10 CFR 2 contains the rules of practice for the licensing proceeding. Findings of fact and conclusions of law are the basis for deciding contested issues admitted into the adjudicatory proceeding.

DOE submitted its license application on June 3, 2008. NRC’s docketing of the application on September 8, 2008, initiated the NRC review along two concurrent processes. The first process is the technical licensing review by the NRC staff to assess the technical merits of the repository design and performance, and formulate a position on whether to issue a construction authorization for the repository. During its independent review, the NRC staff has requested additional information from DOE to help clarify the application on over 400 specific items. At the completion of its technical review, the NRC staff will issue a Safety Evaluation Report containing its findings. The second process is the adjudicatory hearings before the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, which will hear challenges to the technical and legal aspects of the DOE application. A total of 319 contentions were filed by 12 groups petitioning to become parties to the hearing. Based on the results of the licensing review and the hearings, the Commission will determine whether to authorize construction of the Yucca Mountain repository. Information on the DOE license and the NRC license review is available at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/yucca-lic-app.html. The NRC staff views expressed herein are preliminary and do not constitute a final judgment or determination of the matters addressed or of the acceptability of a license application for a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain.