INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT States have the authority to inspect shipments of spent fuel and high-level waste that enter their jurisdictions. For truck shipments, the CVSA Level VI inspection program is well established, and most states are able to honor the CVSA Level VI decal that is applied at the point of origin. This results in shipments being allowed to pass through without the need for en route inspections, except in states that have laws or policies requiring a state inspection. There is no rail equivalent to the CVSA Level VI inspection program. Because OCRWM has announced its intention to use “mostly rail” as the preferred mode of transport, it is important to establish a reciprocal rail inspection program to provide states with the same level of confidence in point-of-origin inspections as the CVSA Level VI program does for truck shipments. DOE’s TEC/WG developed a prototype for an acceptable reciprocal rail inspection program. OCRWM did not advance the proposed procedures beyond the developmental stage. In 2009, the Midwestern states led the effort to carry this program forward to the pilot testing phase and, ultimately, to identify the appropriate organization to finalize the work that started with the TEC/WG. In the 1986 Transportation Institutional Plan , OCRWM acknowledged the need for federal agencies to come together with states and tribes to resolve concerns related to“inspection-and-enforcement activities for shipments of radioactive waste” (DOE 1986c, p. A-6). OCRWM further observed that “issue resolution could be greatly assisted by the development of a standardized, cooperative inspection system” (ibid.). Toward that end, OCRWM announced its intention to“contract with an organization having expertise in State safety inspections for highway transportation to assist in the development of a proposal for a uniform inspection system” (ibid.). Tasks identified for this organization included working to “gain consensus and approval …from appropriate State and Tribal authorities” as well as providing“support [to] OCRWM in briefing State and Tribal authorities on the proposed uniform system” (ibid.). For rail shipments, OCRWM had a less aggressive plan to “support the definition of Federal, State, and Tribal inspection and enforcement roles for rail shipments…through the formation of a study group and workshops” (ibid., A-50). OCRWM’s plans for action reflected the concerns raised by stakeholders at the OCRWM Transportation Institutional Plan Workshop held in November 1985. According to the Transportation Institutional Plan , some participants had identified the need for OCRWM to work with other federal agencies to review“the need to develop guides for uniform State-to-State inspection procedures and eventually standards for inspection and training for and by State inspection officials” (ibid., p. A-47). A reciprocal program, whereby states would honor the inspections done in previous states, would reduce the need for shipments to stop for additional
inspections along the way to their destination. Stakeholders also identified the need to “coordinate existing Federal, State, and private training programs” (ibid., p. A-48). OCRWM indicated that a “comprehensive inspection-and-enforcement program for NWPA transportation is expected to be defined in 1993 and will be addressed as an element of the transportation plan” (ibid., p. A-49). OCRWM’s plans for truck shipments ultimately resulted in the development of the CVSA Level VI Inspection Procedures and Out-of-Service Criteria. From 1986 through 1999, the program funded CVSA’s development of the Level VI program. Through the agreement, CVSA conducted a pilot study “to evaluate the soundness of the procedures” and performed inspections, which allowed the collection of data on inspections for analysis (CVSA 2005, p. 1). Finally, the agreement funded the development of a training curriculum and sessions to train state inspectors in the use of the new procedures (ibid.). OCRWM ceased its support of the agreement in the late 1990s as part of the general scaling back of transportation activities. Fortunately, DOE’s Carlsbad Office picked up the work in 1997 to support the transportation safety program that was moving shipments of transuranic waste toWIPP. As a result of DOE’s continued financial support, the CVSA Level VI inspection program eventually became established in DOT regulations. As of January 1, 2005, “all vehicles and carriers transporting Highway Route Controlled Quantities (HRCQ) of radioactive material [must] pass a CVSA Level VI Inspection, prior to the shipment being allowed to travel in the U.S.” (CVSA 2008, p. 2). Furthermore, shipments entering the U.S. must also pass a Level VI inspection“either at the shipment’s point of origin or when the shipment enters the U.S.” (ibid.). The DOE Manual requires inspections of truck shipments of spent fuel, high-level waste, tritium- bearing reactor components, and transuranic waste to“be conducted in accordance with the CVSA Enhanced (Level VI) North American Standard Inspection Procedures” (DOE 2008f, p. 36). Many states viewed OCRWM’s early support for the CVSA Level VI inspection program as a model for what the program should aspire to achieve for a reciprocal rail inspection program, as well. The need for a reciprocal program became especially pronounced when OCRWM made the decision to use “mostly rail” as its preferred mode of shipping spent fuel and high-level waste to the repository. States were concerned about the apparent disparity between the standards for inspection of truck shipments compared to rail and the lack of transparency regarding rail inspections. 19 The DOE Manual, for example, requires shipments to undergo a rigorous CVSA Level VI inspection – a well-document process that is understandable not just to duly trained state inspectors but to other state personnel, as well, thanks to CVSA making its detailed inspection procedures publicly available. For rail shipments of spent fuel and high-level waste, however, the DOE Manual is much less specific, requiring that inspections at the “origin facility…be performed by Federal, State, or carrier inspectors and…be conducted to ensure conformity with
19 The FRA maintains a Safety Compliance Oversight Plan that many cite as the federal government’s requirements for inspections of rail shipments (FRA 1998). The plan, howev- er, specifies the steps the FRA or its state-certified inspectors must take in preparation for a shipment or shipping campaign involving spent fuel or high-level waste. It does not specify the steps inspectors must follow when they inspect rail shipments.
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