N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 §§ 383-2.1

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 383-2.1 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Part, the definitions in Part 382 of this Title are applicable except as otherwise indicated, and the following terms shall have the following meanings when used in this Part.

(1)Acceptance of waste means the acceptance of waste for disposal after receipt and completion of inspection and examination of the waste and a determination of compliance with applicable regulations and the permit.

(2)Alert means a situation in which events may occur, are in progress, or have occurred on the disposal site that could lead to a release of radioactive materials, but that the release is not expected to require a response by off-site emergency responders to protect individuals off the site.

(3)Applicant means the person applying for a permit under this Part and must be the owner of the proposed land disposal facility.

(4)Associated facilities means common support facilities in addition to the disposal units that are located at the disposal site and are necessary for the construction, operation, closure, and/or post-closure monitoring and maintenance of the land disposal facility.

(5)Becquerel means the unit of radioactivity equal to one disintegration per second.

(6)Borehole means an exploratory hole drilled to determine subsurface conditions at a particular location.

(7)Byproduct material means any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear material.

(8)CFR means the Code of Federal Regulations.

(9)Chelating agent means amine polycarboxylic acids ( e.g., EDTA, DTPA), hydroxy-carboxylic acids, and polycarboxylic acids (e.g., citric acid, carbolic acid, and glucinic acid).

(10)Closure period means the period of time after the operation period during which facility closure is carried out and site closure and stabilization is completed.

(11)Commencement of construction means any clearing of land, excavation, or other substantial action that would adversely affect the existing environment of a proposed site for a land disposal facility. The term does not mean site exploration, necessary roads for site exploration, borings to determine foundation conditions, or other preconstruction monitoring or testing to establish background information related to the suitability of a site or the protection of environmental values.

(12)Construction means any physical modification to the site at which a potential or proposed land disposal facility is to be located, including, but not limited to, site preparation (e.g.,clearing, grading, and excavation).

(13)Custodial agency means an agency of the government designated to act on behalf of the government owner of the disposal site.

(14)Design basis major phenomena means the technical and engineering assumptions and values utilized in the development of calculations for the land disposal facility considering the anticipated natural or man-made events that could occur. The phenomena include earthquakes, floods, fires and explosions.

(15)Disposal unit closure means those measures that are undertaken to close and stabilize the disposal unit when no more waste is to be placed in it. Disposal unit closure includes closing entrances and exits, emplacing or constructing any required intruder barriers, and, for disposal units used for belowground disposal, constructing the earthen cover over the disposal unit. Disposal unit closure occurs at intervals during the operational period, as each disposal unit is filled or when a decision is made to place no more waste in a disposal unit, and is part of site closure and stabilization.

(16)Facility closure means that part of site closure and stabilization that is undertaken when no more waste is to be accepted for disposal at the land disposal facility. Facility closure includes any needed decontamination of the site and structures, removal of equipment that is no longer needed, dismantlement and removal of unneeded structures or conversion of those structures to other uses, and stabilization of the disposal site to prepare it for institutional control and to provide reasonable assurance that it will remain stable and will not need ongoing active maintenance.

(17)Generator means any person who produces, generates or possesses low-level radioactive waste in the course of or as an incident to manufacturing, power generation, processing, medical diagnosis and treatment, research, other industrial or commercial activity or who consolidates LLRW shipments for transport, or whose act first causes a low-level radioactive waste to be subject to regulation. For the purposes of this Part, the operator or owner of a land disposal facility shall not be considered the generator of any waste that it accepts for disposal at that facility.

(18)Geologic unit means a stratigraphic unit of rock, sediments or soils grouped together for description, mapping, correlation or similar purposes.

(19)Government agency means any office, department, board, commission, bureau, division, council, authority, corporation, agency, or instrumentality of the State of New York.

(20)Groundwater means water below the land surface in the saturated zone of the soil or rock. This includes perched water separated from the main body of groundwater by an unsaturated zone.

(21)Groundwater table means the seasonally high surface of groundwater at which it is subjected to atmospheric pressure. Groundwater table does not include the potentiometric head level in a confined aquifer.

(22)Hazardous waste means those hazardous wastes identified or listed as hazardous by Part 371 of this Title.

(23)Incinerator means an enclosed device using controlled flame combustion to thermally break down low-level radioactive waste to an ash residue that contains little or no combustible material.

(24)Including means including but not limited to.

(25)Licensed engineer means an individual who is licensed or otherwise authorized under article 145 of the Education Law to practice engineering in the State of New York.

(26)Licensed landscape architect means an individual licensed, or otherwise authorized under article 148 of the Education Law, to practice landscape architecture in the State of New York.

(27)Maximum credible earthquake (MCE) is the largest magnitude earthquake that can reasonably be expected to occur under the current tectonic framework at a potential earthquake source. The MCE for each potential facility is defined by magnitude or intensity, focal depth, and epicentral distance relative to the disposal facility. Properties such as fault length, size of seismic source zone, and rates of historical seismicity, in conjunction with appropriate scaling relations, may be used in estimating the MCE.

(28)Mixed waste means mixed low-level radioactive and hazardous waste.

(29)Nonroutine releases means the release of any contaminant to the environment which is not regulated or approved by a permit and which does not occur as part of the normal operations of the land disposal facility.

(30)NYCRR means the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.

(31)On-site environmental monitor means an employee of the department assigned to monitor and inspect a facility to determine whether it is complying with the applicable laws and regulations and the permit.

(32)Operation period means the period of time from initial receipt of waste at the land disposal facility until the closure period begins.

(33)Operator means the person who is in charge of a land disposal facility and has the responsibility, authority, and knowledge to make and implement decisions regarding operating conditions at the land disposal facility.

(34)Owner means the person who owns a land disposal facility.

(35)Performance objectives means the performance objectives defined in sections 382.11 through 382.15 of this Title.

(36)Permit means a permit for a land disposal facility issued pursuant to this Part and the terms and conditions of that permit.

(37)Permittee means the person who has been issued a permit pursuant to this Part. During the operation, closure, and post-closure periods, the permittee is the owner of the land disposal facility). During the institutional control period, the permittee is the custodial agency.

(38)Polymeric sheet membrane means an essentially impermeable manufactured membrane used as an integral part of a structure or system designed to limit the movement of liquid or gas in the system.

(39)Post-closure period means the period of time after completion of facility closure and before the beginning of the institutional control period during which the permittee maintains control of the land disposal facility and carries out a program of monitoring and maintenance as required by Subpart 383-9 of this Part to ensure that the land disposal facility is stable and ready for institutional control.

(40)Quality control means the application of standards and procedures to measure and regulate the characteristics of an item or service to contractual and regulatory requirements. Quality control includes those actions taken during site characterization, design, construction, operation, and closure to ensure that the materials and/or workmanship comply with department-approved quality control plan, engineering plans, reports, and specifications.

(41)Radioactive materials licensee means the holder of a license to possess radioactive material issued by the New York State Department of Health, New York City Department of Health, New York State Department of Labor, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or licensing agency of an agreement state as defined in section 381.4 of this Title.

(42)Receipt of waste means the receipt of waste at the land disposal facility for the purpose of inspection to determine whether or not it is acceptable for disposal.

(43)Shaft means a passage used to provide access and/or ventilation from the ground surface to an underground mined repository.

(44)Site area emergency means a situation in which events may occur, are in progress, or have occurred on the disposal site that could lead to a significant release of radioactive material and that could require a response by off-site emergency responders to protect individuals off the site.

(45)Site-specific engineering properties means engineering information and test results obtained directly from the geologic and hydrogeologic units in which the underground mined repository is to be constructed or in the area where another type of land disposal facility is to be constructed.

(46)Source material means:

(46)

(i) uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form; or

(46)

(ii) ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0.05 percent) or more of:

(46)

(a) uranium;

(46)

(b) thorium; or

(46)

(c) any combination thereof.

Source material does not include special nuclear material.

(47)Special nuclear material means:

(47)

(i) plutonium, uranium-233, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235 and any other material which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, pursuant to the provisions of section 51 of the Atomic Energy Act, determines to be special nuclear material; or

(47)

(ii) any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing.

(48)Standard engineering (and/or construction) practice(s) means a standard of competent performance imposing the degree of care and skill that a reasonably prudent, skilled and qualified person would have exercised under the same circumstances, including but not limited to application of all pertinent rules, regulations, ordinances, statutes, codes and applicable engineering standards.

(49)State warning point means the 24-hour notification number and communication network maintained by the New York State Emergency Management Office that receives notification of incidents from all sources and then contacts the appropriate state agencies depending on the type of incident.

(50)Underground opening means any underground excavation including tunnels, shafts, passageways, and the disposal units of an underground mined repository.

(51)Waste minimization certification means a statement made by the permittee certifying to the department that a waste minimization program is in effect.

(52)Waste packages means the discrete containers of radioactive waste within a radioactive waste shipment that can be individually identified and handled.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 §§ 383-2.1