Preliminary Site Requirements and Considerations for a Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility

In the November 1989 Report to Congress on Reassessment of the Civilian
Radioactive Waste Management Program (DOE/RW-0247), the Secretary of Energy
announced an initiative for developing a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility
that is to start spent-fuel acceptance in 1998. This facility, which will be licensed by
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), will receive spent fuel from
commercial nuclear power plants and provide a limited amount of storage for this
spent fuel. When a geologic repository starts operations, the MRS facility will also
stage spent-fuel shipments to the repository. By law, storage at the MRS facility is to
be temporary, with permanent disposal provided in a geologic repository to be
developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, which authorized the DOE
to site, construct, and operate an MRS facility, establishes two alternative paths for
siting the facility: (1) siting by a DOE-directed survey-and-evaluation process and (2)
siting through the efforts of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator, whose office was established
for that purpose. The Negotiator is to seek to negotiate a proposed agreement with a
State or Indian Tribe willing to site an MRS facility at a technically qualified site.
Examination of the applicable Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and DOE
orders and experience with comparable facilities suggest that many places within the
contiguous United States would be technically suitable.

Siting through negotiation is the path preferred by the DOE. To provide guidance
in assessing whether potential sites would be suitable, the DOE prepared this report.
It presents preliminary site requirements and considerations that are intended as
guidance in siting the MRS facility. It has been reviewed by the NRC staff, which
stated that this document is suitable for "guidance in making preliminary determinations
concerning MRS site suitability." The preliminary requirements and considerations are
not dependent on the approach to MRS development or on details of design and
hence should be applicable to a range of design options and concepts for storing and
handling spent fuel. There are several proven concepts for handling and storage that
could be used at the MRS facility. The concept that is chosen will depend on safety,
licensing, cost, and schedule considerations and the preferences of the volunteer host.
The preliminary site requirements are based on specific requirements in the
applicable Federal statutes and regulations, including the site-evaluation factors in the regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that will be applied to the MRS facility (Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 72 (10 CFR Part 72), Subpart E). Unless they are met, these requirements exclude areas from further consideration.

The preliminary site requirements cover the following:
• Colocation with a geologic repository
• Site size
• Single-use protected lands
• Coastal barriers
• Critical habitat for endangered or threatened species
• Hazardous wastes

If a site meets the site requirements, then it should be technically suitable. The next
step is to apply the preliminary site considerations, which identify the enhancing and
favorable attributes of technically qualified sites—attributes that would enhance the ease
with which compliance with applicable Federal regulations can be demonstrated. The
preliminary site considerations, which are based on Federal statutes and regulations
(including Subparts E and F of 10 CFR Part 72) and program preferences, identify
conditions that are preferable, rather than mandatory. They should be especially useful
to a host considering multiple sites for potential negotiations.
The preliminary site considerations are divided into five groups: (1) geologic and
other hazards, (2) environmental factors, (3) socioeconomic factors, (4) transportation,
and (5) cost and development time. They cover the following:

• Geologic and other hazards
Natural seismic hazards
Induced seismicity
Surface faulting
Floodplains
Ground stability
Volcanism
Other extreme natural phenomena
Human activities
• Environmental factors
Wetlands and coastal zones
Preservation of ground-water quality
Preservation of air quality
Protected species
Historical, cultural, or archaeological resources
• Socioeconomic factors
- land use and ownership
• Transportation
• Cost and development time

The preliminary site requirements and considerations are not currently part of the
DOE's technical baseline of requirements and are not intended to fully cover all
regulatory requirements or to cover requirements for the license application that will be
submitted to the Commission. They are intended to provide guidance and have wide
applicability. Their purpose is to permit a reasonable determination, on the basis of
available information without extensive analysis, that a site is potentially suitable for an
MRS facility. However, if sufficient data are not available for analysis, then it may be
necessary to gather additional data.

Once a potential MRS site is negotiated, a detailed analysis of the regulatory
requirements will be completed to support the design and licensing of the facility.
Before the submittal of a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
the conditions and characteristics of the site will be determined to demonstrate
compliance with 10 CFR Part 72.