4.1 The standardization of decommissioning plans will provide the nuclear facility owner with a greater assurance that all basic planning elements and requirements have been identified, examined, and addressed.

4.2 In applying the guidance contained in this standard, the nuclear facility owner will address the significant subject areas necessary to describe a comprehensive decommissioning plan. Additional guidance on the planning of decommissioning projects, and the preparation of decommissioning plans can be found in such references as NUREG-1757 on decommissioning standard review plans, and Regulatory Guide 1.179 on the format and content of license termination plans. Recent new guidance on all aspects of decommissioning is contained in an ASME publication titled The Decommissioning Handbook.6

4.3 This decommissioning plan will be developed to serve as the executive document that describes the objectives of the decommissioning program and identifies and defines the elements necessary to accomplish the program.

4.4 A detailed implementation plan describing how the objectives of the decommissioning plan will be met should be prepared. Some of the documents or implementation plans that may be required to support the overall decommissioning program include an engineering plan; a cost, schedule, and financing plan (10 CFR 140 and 170); a field implementation plan; a health and safety plan (29 CFR 1910.120, Guide E1167); a quality assurance plan (10 CFR 50.59 and 10 CFR 830.120); an emergency plan; an environmental monitoring plan (Guide E1819); a radiological protection plan (10 CFR 20, 10 CFR 835, Guide E1167); and a physical security plan (10 CFR 73). These implementation plans shall be separate from and consistent with the decommissioning plan.

1.1 This guide applies to decommissioning plans for any nuclear facility whose operation was (is) governed by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Agreement State license, under Department of Energy (DOE) orders, or whose operation was overseen by another federal, state, or local agency.

1.2 The guide applies to the preparation and content of the decommissioning plan document itself.

1.3 The detailed description and development of implementation plans identified in Section 4 is outside the scope of this guide.

Note 1: Nuclear facilities operated by the U.S. DOE are not licensed by the U.S. NRC, nor are other nuclear facilities which may come under the control of the U.S. Department of Defense or individual agreement states. The references in this guide to licensee, U.S. NRC Regulatory guides, and Title 10 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations are to imply appropriate alternative nomenclature with respect to DOE, DOD, or agreement state nuclear facilities. This distinction should not alter the content of decommissioning plans for nuclear facilities.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.