The documents listed on this page have been made available to the Nuclear Regulatory Licensing Support Network as part of the Nuclear Waste Oversight Program in Eureka County, Nevada.
The Licensing Support Network (LSN) responds to a congressional mandate that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reach a determination on the Department of Energy's (DOE's) application for construction authorization for a high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in a three-year time frame. To shorten the time spent on the exchange of documents that may be used as evidence in the NRC licensing proceeding, the parties and potential parties to the hearing on the DOE application will make their documents available via the internet before the DOE license application is submitted to the NRC. The LSN provides a single place where the parties and potential parties to the licensing hearing can search for documents from any/all of those collections in a uniform way. During peak usage, access to the system may be restricted to participants in the licensing process.
.png)
The LSN is codified in 10 C.F.R. 2, Subpart J and their web site is administered by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel of the NRC. The public can search the NRC's website by clicking on this link. NRC's Licensing Support Network
Register, Vo1.73, No. 197, October 9,2008, pages 59551-59570
(73 FR 64933) -180(c) implementation
Mineral Assessment Report - The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed to transport radioactive waste to the
proposed repository at Yucca Mountain in Nye County using “mostly rail.” The
Department estimates that about 90 percent of shipments will be transported by rail,
using a new corridor constructed through Nevada to the repository site. Ten percent of
the waste will be shipped by truck, using the Interstate system.
One of the proposed rail corridors to transport the waste, the “Carlin corridor,”
originates in northern Eureka County and extends approximately 24 miles within the
county near the towns of Beowawe and Crescent Valley. Interstate 80 runs east-west
through the northern part of the county, roughly parallel to the Union Pacific mainline.
One of the potential impacts identified in the County’s Impact Assessment Report was
that activities of the Yucca Mountain repository project could impact mining, which is a
major industry and economic driver in Eureka County. The County is preparing this
mineral assessment report as an update to its Impact Assessment Report to gather
baseline data and information related to the mineral activity and potential within Eureka
County.
First 50 pages (6mb)
Pages 44 - 96 (5.83mb)
Exhibits 1 – location map and map index(2.14mb)
Exhibit 2a — Union Pacific Corridor west (1.6mb)
Exhibit 3b — Interstate 80 Corridor east (1.75mb)
Exhibit 4 — State Route 278 Corridor north (2.53mb)
Exhibit 5 — State Route 278 Corridor central (3.64mb)
References & Appendix - A (177kb)
Photo's Appendices (695kb)
Appendices D - H (233kb)
September 2005
Yucca
Mountain Existing Transportation Corridor Impact Assessment Report:
(2005)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has indicated that transportation of
nuclear waste to the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository will
be conducted with a combination of rail and highway routes. Eureka County
has three federal and state highways that potentially could be used for
truck transport of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.
January 1, 2005
RE: DOE Notice of the Preferred Nevada Rail Corridor
Eureka County is an affected unit of local government under Section 116 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as amended. As provided in Section 116, we are making comments and recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding the above notice which appeared in the Federal Register on December 29,2003.
The above referenced Notice announces that DOE has chosen the Caliente rail corridor as its preferred rail corridor. The Notice indicates that the Department continues to consider the Carlin route as its "secondary preference," and has eliminated from consideration the remaining three routes.
As the potential host for the origination of the Carlin rail route, Eureka County continues to be uninformed regarding the DOE decision-making process that led to this Preference Notice. The county is also striving to understand the meaning of "secondary preference" in relation to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process as described in the Notice ofDecember 29, 2003.
This Emergency Response Impact Assessment is an update to Eureka County's Impact Assessment Report. It studies the requirements and costs of providing a full time, professionally staffed regional emergency response facility in northern Eureka County to provide public health and safety emergency response in the event of an accident related to the proposed Carlin rail spur which would originate in Beowawe. The Report also addresses the required elements for shelter and evacuation planning as part of the description of the emergency planning process.
This 176 page document contains EIS Comments of Eureka County participants, the US. Department of Energy's response comments and Eureka County's responses to DOE's responses. In the County's comments to DOE's responses, areas in which DOE failed to adequately address are highlighted, and requests for further study and consideration are respectfully made.
Socioeconomic Conditions and Trends Update 2003
As a part of efforts to assess the potential impacts upon Eureka County of construction and operation of a Nuclear Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Eureka County wishes to develop and maintain baseline data representing an accurate picture of existing socioeconomic conditions and trends in the county. A previous Socioeconomic Conditions and Trends Report was completed in 1994 using, among other information sources, data from the 1990 U.S. Census. This is an update to that report, using data from the 2000 census and other more current information developed by federal, state, and local agencies. Both reports are divided into five sections: Population and Housing, The Economy; Local Government Fiscal Conditions, Education, and Social Indicators. Together, the two documents present a wide range of information that shows socioeconomic conditions and trends in Eureka County for a period approaching twenty years. The five sections of the report are summarized below, with more detailed information offered in the body of the report.
October 30, 2002
Eureka County Nevada comments on DOE’s Draft Statement of Work for a Transportation Integration Contractor.
April 19, 2002
This letter addresses Eureka County's specific initial comments and concerns regarding the subject FEIS. It supplements the letter to Secretary of Energy from the Board of Eureka County Commissioners, dated April 19, 2002. Given the length of the FEIS and the Site Recommendation Comment Summary Document (DOE, February 2002, "SRCS"), which together total over six thousand pages, these summary comments address only the following list of priority subjects affecting Eureka County
May 21, 2001
Request to Extend Public Review and Comment Period for the Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Geologic depository, the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada
May 21, 2001
Eureka County, Nevada is an affected unit of local government under Section 3-15 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as amended. It its our understanding that DOE intends to conduct public "consideration hearings" in Nevada this summer to solicit public comments regarding the idea of locating a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada, as directed in Section 114 (a) (1) of the Act. On behalf of the Eureka County Board of Commissioners and the residents of Eureka County, I am requesting that the Department of Energy conduct a "consideration hearing" in Crescent Valley, Eureka County, Nevada. Crescent Valley is the second largest community in Eureka County and would be directly affected by the construction of a rail line identified as the "Carlin route" in the Yucca Mountain Draft EIS. The route would be constructed from the Union Pacific tracks in Beowawe, southwest through Crescent Valley, to Yucca Mountain.
August 2001
This report discusses the anticipated impacts on Eureka County from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposal to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste through Eureka County to a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain.
October, 10, 2001
Comments and testimony by Donna Bailey, Vice-Chairman Eureka County Board of Commissioners at the DOE Yucca Mountain Hearing in Crescent Valley, NV, October 2001.
November 20, 2001
Mitigation related to land ownership and the County's economy must address the conversion of private land to public ownership, and must incorporate transfers of federal lands to Eureka County, the Eureka County School District, and private property owners to offset the loss of property taxes and disruption of working ranches. Mitigation related to land owners must also include a fully-funded account, not dependent upon subsequent Congressional action, to compensate all property owners for: (1) private property and property rights taken by the DOE or any other party associated with the action and (2) property rights that are taken by devaluation of real property, during accident-free operations and as the result of an accident mitigation for housing must provide for the relocation, at the DOE's expense, of all persons temporarily or permanently displaced by the proposed action.
January 28, 2000
This letter is in support granting the Petition of the State of Nevada to initiate a rulemaking as requested in the Petition. The County believes that the State of Nevada's petition raises legitimate and substantial issues that, in the public interest, should be fully explored in a notice and comment rulemaking. Leonard J. Fiorenzi, Program Director, Yucca Mountain Information Office
February 28, 2000
Draft EIS Comments of Eureka County, Nevada
Available emergency response services and capabilities along transportation routes, nationwide and in Nevada, including alternative modes and routes; impacts of the transportation of the proposed action on state, local, and tribal emergency response services and resources; Comments on the Environmental Impact Statement for Yucca Mountain High-Level Waste Repository. Required project-specific emergency response planning, capabilities, and services; carrier and shipper procedures and services; and federal resources, capabilities, and response. Since the DEIS is inadequate in so many respects, especially with respect to its transportation elements, the DOE must issue a new, revised DEIS and give the public new opportunities to comment, including public hearings.
August 1, 2000
During the week of September 19-21, 2000, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold its 2Ist meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4255 S. Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89109. The entire meeting will be open to the public and will be documented. A Federal Register Notice will be published well in advance of the meeting and will outline the general topics and the standard rules for participation. Public out-reach sessions will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. Currently, times allotted for interactions with representatives of the state, the affected native American tribes and local governments, the public, and other interested parties are in the process of being finalized.
The Department of Energy should not have released this rule for public comment during the review period for the Yucca Mountain DEIS. As became clear, it resulted in confusion to the public. It also made it appear that DOE was unwilling to subject the proposal to the full scrutiny of the public by releasing the rule during the DEIS review period. It has forced members of the public and interested parties to choose between the EIS process and the review of the proposed guidelines. Both are important, and the public should have had the opportunity to consider each separately at different times. We reiterate our conclusions of January 23, 1997- "The guidelines do not contain criteria on socioeconomic, environmental and transportation factors, all of which are considered important to Eureka County.”
September 29, 2000
Eureka County, Nevada, is an "Affected unit or local Government" under section 1-16 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as amended. Eureka County is under consideration by the US Department of Energy for the construction of a rail line through the county to transport nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. Interstate 80 also cuts through the northern part of the county, and is a potential highway route. In our oversight role to the Yucca Mountain project, we are concerned about actions and potential actions by federal agencies which may affect the conditions under which nuclear waste could be transported in Nevada.
January 8, 1999
Letter to DOE,OCRWM from Judith M. Redding commenting on the revised Carlin Rail Route
Letter to DOE,OCRWM from Judith M. Redding commenting on the revised Carlin Rail Route.
November 19, 1999
Letter to R. Michael Turnipseed, P.E. Re: DOE Water right application for Yucca Mountain Project
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written comments regarding the Department of Energy’s (DOE) application for 430-acre feet of permanent water rights for the Yucca Mountain project. While the Eureka County Commission has not taken a formal position on the Yucca Mountain project. we oppose any acquisition of state mater rights on public lands by the federal government. In this situation, we believe that the State Engineer should not allow DOE to have a permanent water right because DOE has not yet withdrawn the property and is not the legal owner.
We also oppose the DOE’S application because we believe that the Yucca Mountain project may not be in the public interest of the people of Nevada, including those in Eureka County. This is not a simple application for water to conduct a construction project. This is the first step in a long process with potentially detrimental public health and safety ramifications for the entire state. In Eureka County, we are looking at the possibility that DOE might build a rail line through our second largest population area, in order to transport the nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. The impacts of rail construction and operation on our county are numerous.
November 19, 1999
Letter commenting on scheduling of dates for Nevada meetings relating to Modal Study
Recently Eureka County, Nevada, received an invitation to participate in public meetings regarding a study on spent nuclear fuel cask responses to severe transportation accidents. We were aware that the NRC was considering reopening this issue because we participated in an NRC meeting in June in Las Vegas on the proposed NRC Yucca Mountain regulations, where it was announced. At that meeting, Eureka County's nuclear waste advisor, Abby Johnson, commented to the NRC staff that it is important to schedule meetings so that all stakeholders can participate, and that the Department of Energy's Draft Environmental Impact Statement hearings are a top priority for Nevada affected counties.
November 19, 1999
We support EPA’s proposed rule because the radiation standards are consistent with those already adopted and approved by EPA for other repositories, including the Waste Isolation Pilot Project in New Mexico. Specifically, we believe that it is important to have a standard that is not site specific, and that protects public health. We support the separate 4 millirem standard for groundwater, because the repository at Yucca Mountain should be able to comply with existing national standards for groundwater protection. Nevadans should be provided with the same radiation protection as residents of New Mexico or any other state. In essence, the EPA rule as proposed provides that consistency.
Thank you for your letter dated November 19, 1999, regarding your participation in the public meetings focused on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) upcoming study on severe transportation accidents involving spent fuel packages. We value Eureka County’s participation in this project. We regret that you will not be able to attend the December 1999 meetings in Nevada and hope that we can work together to ensure your involvement in this area. We understand that you and your staff are involved in meetings with the U.S. Department of Energy and will be better able to participate in Transportation Package Performance meetings after February 2000.
As discussed with Ms. Abby Johnson of your staff, a contractor report on the recent efforts to evaluate the relative risks for transporting spent fuel is scheduled to be issued around February 2000. As you know, NRC is soliciting input on issues that should be considered in the upcoming study. NRC plans on issuing a contractor report summarizing the issues that the study will address in the Spring of 2000. NRC plans on holding another series of public meetings following publication of these two reports and to open a dialogue on the study content and approach. We will work with Ms. Johnson to coordinate scheduling of these meetings and to ensure that Eureka County will be able to participate in future meetings.
Regarding participation in the public meetings focused on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) upcoming study on severe transportation accidents involving spent fuel packages.
February 11, 1998
Eureka County, Nevada, is one of the affected units of local government under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 as amended. In a May 14, 1997, letter to the Department of Energy, we provided comments on the draft Request for Proposal for privatizing transportation to a repository. We appreciate the opportunity to provide additional comments on the revised draft.
May 15, 1997
Eureka County, Nevada Guideline Comments - January 23. 1997 The Guidelines Changes Transportation Fourteen years ago, I participated in the guidelines hearing in Salt Lake City, the closest hearing for residents of Nevada. I remember commenting on the pre and post closure guidelines. My concern was that potential transportation problems were being minimized because the guidelines emphasized post closure over pre closure. The proposed change eliminates transportation as a factor all together, which is illogical. No matter what the definitions say, total system performance means getting the waste from the point of generation to the repository.
July 6, 1995
The Eureka County Board of Commissioners is concerned about the possible impact of shipment of nuclear waste through the County, as proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), especially as it may affect the safety of Eureka County citizens and their emergency response agencies.
December 1994
Eureka County Nevada Emergency Management Existing Conditions and Needs
Summarization of responses to a survey of emergency service providers in Eureka County, Nevada updating the Eureka County section of a survey done by University of Nevada at Reno which surveyed the needs agencies have.
Issues Identification Report for the Carlin Rail Route Option
This report outlines an initial determination of issues related to the development of a new rail line (the "Carlin route option") through Eureka County to transport high-level nuclear waste to the Yucca Mountain repository. Because of the uncertainties surrounding the development of the repository, and the fact that transportation planning is in an early stage, Eureka County has the opportunity to engage the U.S. Department of Energy in the design and development of the Carlin route option.
Loreen Pitchford
Licensing Support Coordinator
775-771-2252