ZCAP ZION STATION COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AT THE NEW TECH HIGH/ZION-BENTON HIGH SCHOOL
Present: Brent Paxton, Chairman John Lewis, Deputy Chairperson Craig Dyke Audrey Liddle Linda Sittig Doug Ower Kent McKenzie Larry Booth
Absent: Sheri Jesiel Joel Brumlik Cynthia Johnson Craig Mason
Item 1: Call to Order
The Deputy Chairman called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.
Item 2: Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve October 26, 2015 meeting minutes was accepted, seconded and approved by all.
Item 3: Chairman’s Remarks
None.
Item 4: ZionSolutions Presentations
Decommissioning Status Update by John Sauger, General Manager
Mr. Sauger showed the ZS 2015 video, a slide show and gave an update as to where we are on the project and various contracts and subcontracts.
1 Disbursements and Balances
ZionSolutions Nuclear Decommission Trust Balance Roll Forward – Cash Basis As of September 30, 2015
($ millions) Beginning Balance 801.4 Earnings – Net of taxes and fees 119.2 Disbursements (698.0) Ending Balance 222.6
Majority of Expenses incurred as follows:
Project Management Procurement of casks and canisters for dry fuel storage Waste disposal Planning and preparation for spent fuel storage Unit 1 and 2 internals segmentation ISFSI pad design and construction Plant maintenance and security Asbestos remediation Unit 1 and 2 containment preparation and support Fuel transfer operations Unit 1 and 2 reactor vessel segmentation and disposal
Item 5: Comments, Questions and Answers
Panel Comment and Questions
Q: How is the trust fund balance tracking? A: It is doing well. Last year we moved from the stock market to commercial paper. We did not lose anything last year, we just did not make as much as we did in 2014.
Q: Do you think the funding is sufficient to complete the project? A: Yes.
Q: What is ASA66? A: The contract with Exelon has specific milestones that are tied to our access to the trust fund. ASA66 is the next biggest one that is coming up at the end of February. It basically means that all the steam generators, the reactors, the reactor cooling pumps, the reactor cooling system piping has to be removed from the containments in order to meet that milestone. The next one after that is ASA82 which means we have to have the Turbine Building gone.
2 Q: What are Turbine Building unconditional release surveys? A: Before we knock anything down, we have to make sure that it is not contaminated. We already know that the Aux. Building and the Reactor Buildings are contaminated but the Turbine Building should not have much contamination. Sometimes (when the plant was operating) you will get a leak or a valve will bypass and you will get radionuclides that go into the Turbine Building. They typically will collect in the sump of the condenser below the turbine and low points in drains. We will survey all buildings on site to find out if there is any residual radioactivity and how we will deal with it. We found one drain line in the Turbine Building that has contamination in it. That has been painted orange and sealed. When the building is knocked down it will be separated and shipped as contaminated waste.
Q: Is that the only contamination that has been found? A: It is the only contamination that has been found that has exceeded our limits.
Q: Can you tell me about the structure of the containment buildings and how they will be demolished? A: The containments are called post-tension concrete. They pour concrete on tendon tunnels. As the concrete settles around the thousands of tendons, it gives the concrete the ability to hold against any seismic activity. The environmental laws state that we have to make a best effort to get rid of the paraffin-type wax around the tendons. We spent $9M to remove the tendons and collect the grease/wax.
Q: Going back to the waste operations for 2015 regarding Class A, B&C waste and the B&C disposal that has been complete – the A waste disposal of the 404,000 lbs. that has already been shipped out of the 3.2 million, will the remainder or a portion of that be shipped out in 2016? A: We have a waste curve that shows when all the waste is going. The decommissioning project – if it’s eight years long – 60% of the waste goes out in the last two years. All the waste comes from knocking down the buildings (concrete and the stuff that’s left in the buildings) is low activity. We will just fill rail car after rail car. Q: Do you have an overhead picture of the footprint of the property with buildings labeled? A: We will forward one for you.
Q: Will the landscape be dramatically changed in the next four to five months? A: The biggest building on site (The Turbine Building) will be gone.
Q: Where do you see the project being fully complete? A: Fully complete means we have transferred the license back to Exelon. Physical work on the site is scheduled to complete in June of 2018. We will then submit the final paperwork to the NRC. It will take the NRC up to a year to review the paperwork and say you are done.
3 Public Comment and Questions
Q: I have questions on the letter that I sent to the committee last week. A: The letter has been forwarded as requested and we can address any questions.
Q: When will the steam generators be shipped? A: The first four will ship out in the next two weeks.
Q: Are they shipped on special rail cars? A: Yes, they have sixteen axles.
Q: Interior samples were taken, can you share the results? A: We were not given the results. That was an independent study.
Q: Regarding expenditures, is that by fiscal or calendar year? A: Calendar year.
Q: What is the status of the letter or credit? A: The letter of credit is still in effect. We are working with Exelon to drop the line of credit now that all the major stuff is done.
Q: Could you tell more about the packaging of the waste? How thick are the waste liners? A: The waste is characterized as to how radioactive it is, what the dose rate is at 3 feet, 6 feet. We then design a waste pack. Each reactor vessel took 12 special waste boxes to ship to Utah. Each waste liner is 3 1/2 to 4 inches thick.
Q: How will the steam generators be shipped? A: The steam generators are not radioactive. They can go on a regular rail car.
Q: Please explain the classes of waste. A: Class A waste is very low radioactivity/containment levels. Class B&C waste is the area around where the fuel was in the reactor vessel. Greater than Class C and the fuel is what is stored in the casks at the ISFSI.
Q: How long will the greater than Class C stay on site? A: Until the US Government fulfills its’ contractual obligations.
Q: Has the fuel pool been destroyed? A: Yes.
Q: What township in Texas does the B&C waste go to? A: Andrews County in northwest Texas.
Q: Can you update the website to include historical data and contact information? A: Yes.
Q: Could you upload draft minutes on the website? Also, I has submitted a list of questions that included questions to Exelon and the committee regarding what will be done with the property when the license is transferred back to Exelon. A: When ZionSolutions turns over the property, this committee will be disbanded.
4 Q: Are there any recent environment reports available to be listed on the website? A: We will provide links on the website to the reports.
Q: Has the NRC approved the charges for the letter of credit as being a qualifying decommissioning cost? A: We do not know that answer to that.
Q: Can you provide a trustees statement? A: The most recent audit (2014) was provided.
Q: You indicate that the beginning balance was $801M. According to the NRC, it was more than that. Can you explain the discrepancy? A: We are not aware of any difference.
Q: I am requesting an actual copy of the actual trustee’s statement. A: We will make the request.
Q: Can you explain the water that is dumped into Lake Michigan? A: It is pure water that is tested by our company. It goes through a bunch of monitors. We have a NPDES permit issued by the EPA that we have to operate within. We have never come close to violating the permit requirements.
Q: Will you notify anyone when you release water to Lake Michigan? A: Water is released all day long. Water is processed and we have limits that we have to be within to be able to discharge to the lake. When the plant was operating, it would run a couple hundred thousand gallons a minute through the plant. Right now, our typical discharge is two gallons per minute.
Q: Could you give a little more detail regarding the work force? A: Typically at the Exelon plants, they use the local IBEW. Most of their workers are in- house Exelon employees. During decommissioning, we are using local labor.
Item 6: Old Business
None.
Item 7: New Business
None.
Item 8: Adjournment
The next scheduled meeting will be June 13, 2016. The Chairman entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was carried unanimously by the Panel. The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 pm.
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