In the Matter of Safety Light Corporation, Bloomsburg, PA; Order Suspending License (Effective Immediately), 3070-3072 [05-987]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2005 / Notices
services 1,2,3 for the years 2001, 2002,
and 2003. As stated in section 260.5(c),
the Copyright Office then is required to
publish a notice in the Federal Register
within thirty days of receipt of the filing
announcing an interested party’s intent
to conduct an audit.
In accordance with this regulation the
Office is publishing today’s notice to
fulfill this requirement with respect to
SoundExchange’s notices of intent to
audit.
Dated: January 13, 2005
Tanya M. Sandros,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05–1037 Filed 1–18–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410–33–S
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION
SAFETY BOARD
Sunshine Act Meeting Notice
9:30 a.m., Tuesday,
January 25, 2005.
TIME AND DATE:
PLACE: NTSB Board Room, 429 L’Enfant
Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20594.
STATUS:
The one item is Open to the
Public.
7686
Railroad Accident Report—Derailment
of Canadian National Freight Train
M33371–08 and Subsequent Release of
Hazardous Materials in Tamaroa,
Illinois, February 9, 2003.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:
Telephone: (202)
314–6100.
Individuals requesting specific
accommodations should contact Ms.
Carolyn Dargan at (202) 314–6305 by
Friday, January 21, 2005.
The public may view the meeting via
a live or archived Web cast by accessing
a link under ‘‘News & Events’’ on the
NTSB home page at https://
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NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
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D’Onofrio, (202) 314–6410.
Dated: January 14, 2005.
Vicky D’Onofrio,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–1138 Filed 1–14–05; 1:26 pm]
BILLING CODE 7533–01–M
1 A copy of the Notice of Intent to Audit DMX
Music, Inc. will be posted on the Office website at
https://www.copyright.gov/carp/dmxlnotice.pdf.
2 A copy of the Notice of Intent to Audit Muzak
LLC will be posted on the Office website at http:/
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Choice will be posted on the Office website at http:/
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 030–05980, 030–05982]
[License Nos. 37–00030–02, 37–00030–08,
EA–04–148]
In the Matter of Safety Light
Corporation, Bloomsburg, PA; Order
Suspending License (Effective
Immediately)
Safety Light Corporation (the Licensee
or SLC) is the holder of two Byproduct
Material Licenses issued by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part
30 for the facility at 4150–A Old
Berwick Road near Bloomsburg,
Pennsylvania. License No. 37–00030–02
authorizes the Licensee to characterize
and decommission its contaminated
facilities, equipment, and land. License
No. 37–00030–08 authorizes, among
other things, the Licensee to
manufacture self-luminous signs and
foils using tritium. The licenses were
last renewed on December 28, 1999, and
are due to expire on December 31, 2004.
On December 28, 1999, License Nos.
37–00030–02 and 37–00030–08 were
renewed. As part of these renewals,
License Conditions were included that
exempted the Licensee from certain of
the Commission’s financial assurance
requirements and required the Licensee
to develop plans which would address
the License Termination Rule (10 CFR
part 20, subpart E). This exemption was
granted in response to the Licensee’s
request to the Commission to exempt
the Licensee from the financial
assurance decommissioning
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 30.32
and 10 CFR 30.35, based on the lack of
sufficient funds available at the time to
assure that adequate financial ability
existed to decommission the facility. In
lieu of complying with 10 CFR 30.35,
the Licensee committed to (1) develop a
schedule and plan, for NRC review and
approval, for additional site
characterization and to develop revised
cost estimates including strategies for
site decommissioning that would
comply with the criteria specified in the
license termination rule, 10 CFR 30.36,
and (2) contribute specified monthly
payments ($7,000 per month in 2000;
$8,000 per month in 2001 and 2002; and
$9,000 per month in 2003 and 2004) to
a decommissioning trust fund over the
life of the license to support
decommissioning activities. The NRC
specifically approved an exemption, in
Condition 16 of Amendment No. 51 for
License 37–00030–02 and Condition
20.A of Amendment No. 13 for License
37–00030–08, provided that the licensee
make the specified monthly payments
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Sfmt 4703
into a decommissioning trust fund. The
NRC granted the renewal of the two
licenses based on the Licensee’s
continued ability to provide sufficient
remediation funding and adequate
security of radioactive materials at the
facility.
On November 21, 2003, the NRC
learned, during telephone conversations
with Licensee management, that the
Licensee had not made all payments
into its decommissioning trust fund, as
required by Condition 16 (License No.
37–00030–02) and Condition 20.A
(License No. 37–00030–08). The
Licensee failed to make several
prescribed deposits into the
decommissioning trust fund over the
period from May 2001 to December
2002. The Licensee made all overdue
payments by February 2003 to address
the deficit that existed at the end of
2002. However, starting in January 2003,
the Licensee again failed to make the
total prescribed payments into the
decommissioning trust fund, resulting
in a deficit of $81,000 by the end of
November 2003.
Upon learning of the foregoing, on
December 19, 2003, the NRC issued a
Demand for Information to SLC which
required the Licensee to submit to the
NRC the following information:
1. Detailed schedule for making all
overdue payments, with interest, to the
decommissioning trust fund;
2. Reasons why the Licensee did not
make the required payments, as
scheduled, to the decommissioning trust
fund;
1. Reasons why the NRC should have
confidence that the Licensee will, in the
future, make the required monthly
deposits to the decommissioning trust
fund;
2. Assurance from the Licensee, that,
should it encounter any difficulty
making required monthly deposits in
the future, it will promptly notify the
NRC that there will be a delay in making
a specific deposit, and provide the
reasons for the delay;
3. Reasons why the NRC should have
confidence that in the future, the
Licensee will adhere to license
conditions and applicable NRC
requirements;
4. Reasons why, in light of the
Licensee’s past failure to make all
required payments to the trust fund,
License Nos. 37–00030–02 and 37–
00030–08 should not be modified,
suspended, or revoked.
On January 16, 2004, the Licensee
responded to the Demand for
Information and indicated, in part, that
the Licensee could not submit a detailed
schedule for making overdue payments
given the Licensee’s inability to
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2005 / Notices
accurately predict future sales and cash
flow. The Licensee also indicated that a
slowdown in the Licensee’s business
activity caused by a general economic
downturn made it impossible to stay
current with the Licensee’s payment
obligations. At the same time, the
Licensee indicated that aggressive
marketing efforts, along with an
improving economy, led to an increase
in order activity which it expected to
translate into an upturn in business.
The Licensee made all of the
prescribed deposits from December
2003 through November 2004. In
addition, the Licensee made payments
of amounts in arrears in December 2003,
February 2004, and October 2004,
resulting in a deficit of $36,000 plus
interest to the decommissioning trust
fund as of November 30, 2004.
The Licensee submitted license
renewal applications for License Nos.
37–00030–02 and 37–00030–08 on April
22, 2004. As noted in the letter
transmitting this Order to the Licensee,
the NRC denied the renewal
applications based on the Licensee’s
failure to demonstrate compliance with
the requirements of 10 CFR 30.35, as
well as the Licensee’s violation of
several conditions of its licenses,
including the failure to make the
required monthly payments into the
decommissioning trust fund.
The NRC Office of Investigations
conducted an investigation into the
Licensee’s failure to make the required
monthly payments to the
decommissioning trust fund, and
concluded that the Licensee’s
management had deliberately violated
the requirement to make the prescribed
payments to the trust fund. In a July 1,
2004 letter, the NRC informed the
Licensee of this apparent deliberate
violation of the License Conditions and
invited the licensee to a predecisional
enforcement conference to discuss this
matter. At the pre-decisional
enforcement conference held on July 20,
2004, SLC management stated that a
general downturn in business
conditions led to the Licensee’s failure
to make payments. Nonetheless, the
NRC maintains that the violation was
deliberate in that the Licensee admitted
knowledge of the requirement to make
payments to the trust fund, yet failed to
do so. The obligation to make the
specified payments set forth in the
license conditions is unqualified and is
not subject to the state of SLC’s business
conditions, and was material to the
granting of an exemption to the Licensee
in connection with the renewal of its
licenses in 1999. The Licensee’s
deliberate failure to make the required
payments to the trust fund, as required
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15:11 Jan 18, 2005
Jkt 205001
by license conditions 16 and 20.A,
voided the exemption from the financial
assurance requirements of 10 CFR 30.35,
and placed the Licensee in continued
violation of these license conditions and
10 CFR 30.35. This deliberate failure by
the Licensee has significant health and
safety implications in that these
regulatory requirements are intended to
ensure the availability of adequate funds
for characterization, packaging, and
disposal of radioactive waste from the
Licensee’s site.
Based on the Licensee’s willful failure
to make the required scheduled
payments into the decommissioning
trust fund as required by its licenses,
and the resultant implication for public
health and safety, I lack the requisite
reasonable assurance that the Licensee’s
current operations can be conducted
under License Nos. 37–00030–02 and
37–00030–08 in compliance with the
Commission’s requirements and that the
health and safety of the public,
including the Licensee’s employees,
will be protected. Therefore, the public
health, safety, and interest require that
License Nos. 37–00030–02 and 37–
00030–08 be suspended and that the
Licensee must develop a plan for the
orderly shutdown of its licensed
activities. Furthermore, pursuant to 10
CFR 2.202, I find that given the willful
nature of the violation of Conditions 16
and 20.A. of License Nos. 37–00030–02
and 37–00030–08, respectively, and 10
CFR 30.35, as well as the related effect
on public health and safety, this Order
shall be immediately effective.
In accordance with 10 CFR 30.36 (b)
and (c), these licenses will continue in
effect beyond the expiration date with
respect to possession of byproduct
material until the Commission notifies
the Licensee in writing that the licenses
are terminated. During this time, the
Licensee shall limit actions involving
byproduct material to those related to
decommissioning and continue to
control entry to restricted areas until
they are suitable for release in
accordance with NRC requirements. The
Licensee is not authorized to receive
any additional licensed material beyond
the license expiration date but shall
continue to take such actions as are
needed to facilitate the
decommissioning of the site, including
the processing of the existing inventory
of tritium to produce devices for transfer
to authorized recipients. These actions
are described in Section V below.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81,
161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
and the Commission’s regulations in 10
CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR part 30, It is
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3071
hereby ordered, effective immediately,
that:
A. License Nos. 37–00030–02 and 37–
00030–08 are suspended on January 1,
2005, excepting those activities
addressed in the shutdown plan
prepared in accordance with item B.
below and 10 CFR 30.36(b) and (c),
pending further Order.
B. The Licensee shall, by December
20, 2004, submit to the Regional
Administrator, Region I, for approval, a
plan for the orderly shutdown of its
licensed activities over a period
beginning on January 1, 2005, to be
completed by March 31, 2005. This plan
shall include provisions to:
1. Cease receipt of licensed material at
the Licensee’s Bloomsburg,
Pennsylvania site;
2. Process existing inventory of
licensed material into finished products
for transfer to authorized recipients;
3. Transfer, or maintain in secure
storage, the remaining inventory of
tritium at the site;
4. Notify SLC customers of exit signs,
or other devices containing licensed
material, that they may not return these
signs or devices to the licensee’s
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania facility;
5. Provide continued security for the
Licensee’s Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
facility to assure safe conditions at the
site; and
6. Provide continued heating,
electrical power and other utility
service.
The Regional Administrator, Region I,
may, in writing, relax or rescind this
order upon demonstration by the
Licensee of good cause.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the
Licensee must, and any other person
adversely affected by this Order may,
submit an answer to this Order, and
may request a hearing on this Order,
within 20 days of the date of this Order.
Where good cause is shown,
consideration will be given to extending
the time to request a hearing. A request
for extension of time must be made in
writing to the Director, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555,
and include a statement of good cause
for the extension. The answer may
consent to this Order. Unless the answer
consents to this Order, the answer shall,
in writing and under oath or
affirmation, specifically admit or deny
each allegation or charge made in this
order and set forth the matters of fact
and law on which the Licensee or other
person adversely affected relies and the
reasons as to why the Order should not
have been issued. Any answer or
request for a hearing shall be submitted
to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
3072
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2005 / Notices
Regulatory Commission, ATTN:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,
Washington, DC 20555. Copies of the
hearing request also should be sent to
the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant
General Counsel for Materials Litigation
and Enforcement at the same address, to
the Regional Administrator, NRC Region
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia,
Pennsylvania, and to the Licensee.
Because of continuing disruptions in
delivery of mail to United States
Government offices, it is requested that
answers and requests for hearing be
transmitted to the Secretary of the
Commission either by means of
facsimile transmission to 301–415–1101
or by e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov
and also to the Office of the General
Counsel either by means of facsimile
transmission to 301–415–3725 or by email to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If a
person other than the Licensee requests
a hearing, that person shall set forth
with particularity the manner in which
his interest is adversely affected by this
Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d).
If a hearing is requested by the
Licensee or a person whose interest is
adversely affected, the Commission will
issue an Order designating the time and
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held,
the issue to be considered at such
hearing shall be whether this Order
should be sustained.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the
Licensee, or any other person adversely
affected by this Order, may, in addition
to demanding a hearing, at the time the
answer is filed or sooner, move the
presiding officer to set aside the
immediate effectiveness of the Order on
the ground that the Order, including the
need for immediate effectiveness, is not
based on adequate evidence but on mere
suspicion, unfounded allegations, or
error.
In the absence of any request for
hearing, or written approval of an
extension of time in which to request a
hearing, the provisions specified in
Section V above shall be final 20 days
from the date of this Order without
further order or proceedings. If an
extension of time for requesting a
hearing has been approved, the
provisions specified in Section V shall
be final when the extension expires if a
hearing request has not been received. A
request for hearing shall not stay the
immediate effectiveness of this order.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated this 10th day of December 2004.
Margaret V. Federline,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 05–987 Filed 1–18–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
authorized for disposal from further
Atomic Energy Act (AEA) and NRC
licensing requirements. The NRC has
prepared an Environmental Assessment
(EA) in support of this proposed action
in accordance with the requirements of
10 CFR part 51. Based upon the EA, the
NRC has determined that a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate.
II. Environmental Assessment
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Background
[Docket No. 50–155]
Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact for
Consumers Energy’s Request To
Modify Existing § 20.2002
Authorization, for Big Rock Point,
License DPR–006, Charlevoix County,
MI
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James Shepherd, Division of Waste
Management and Environmental
Protection, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop
T7E18, Washington, DC 20555–0001.
Telephone: (301) 415–6712; e-mail
jcs2@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering
approval of a request to dispose of
demolition debris contaminated with
polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) in accordance
with Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Section 20.2002
for Facility Operating License No. DPR–
6, issued to Consumers Energy
Company, ((CE) or the licensee), for the
possession of the Big Rock Point (BRP)
Plant, located in Charlevoix County,
Michigan. This authorization will revise
CE’s existing authority to dispose of
low-contamination material in a State of
Michigan Type II landfill in accordance
with 10 CFR 20.2002 by authorizing CE
to dispose of such waste that also has
PCB at a landfill licensed to accept
PCBs. This proposed action would also
exempt the low-contaminated material
On March 14, 2001, in accordance
with 10 CFR 20.2002, the licensee
submitted a request to dispose of lowactivity demolition debris from the Big
Rock Point (BRP) Restoration Site in a
Type II sanitary landfill approximately
100 km (60 mi) from the site, licensed
by the State of Michigan, in accordance
with 10 CFR 20.2002. The licensee later
revised the request on May 18, 2001 and
June 20, 2001. NRC approved the
request in May, 2002, and BRP began
shipping material to the landfill.
Subsequently, debris coated with
polychlorobiphenyl (PCB)-contaminated
paint, mainly structural steel, was
identified during demolition. The State
of Michigan Type II landfill that is
currently accepting the debris
contaminated with residual
radioactivity does not accept PCB bulk
product waste. Therefore, on September
15, 2004, the licensee submitted a
revised request to dispose of about 1.4
million kilograms (three million
pounds) of low-activity PCB bulk
product waste in an alternate landfill,
approximately 445 km (275 mi) from the
site, licensed by the State of Michigan
and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to accept PCBs.
The licensee will continue to ship
low-activity demolition debris that is
not contaminated with PCB to the
original Type II landfill.
A comparison of the estimates of
waste to be disposed and the time for
disposal is given in the table below. As
discussed below, there will be lighter
loads, thus a slightly lower dose rate for
the drivers, but more total shipments
than was estimated in the 2001 request.
Because of the increase in total waste,
there will also be slight increases in
dose rate to the landfill workers and
postulated resident farmer compared to
the 2001 estimates.
TABLE 1.—COMPARISON OF WASTE ESTIMATES
Item
2001
Total Waste .............................................................
Rad Waste (remaining) ...........................................
38.3 million kg (84.5 million lbs) .............................
38.3 million kg 84.5 million lbs) ..............................
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51.3 million kg (113 million lbs).
22.1 million kg (48.7 million lbs).
19JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3070-3072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-987]
=======================================================================
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 030-05980, 030-05982]
[License Nos. 37-00030-02, 37-00030-08, EA-04-148]
In the Matter of Safety Light Corporation, Bloomsburg, PA; Order
Suspending License (Effective Immediately)
Safety Light Corporation (the Licensee or SLC) is the holder of two
Byproduct Material Licenses issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 30 for the facility at
4150-A Old Berwick Road near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. License No. 37-
00030-02 authorizes the Licensee to characterize and decommission its
contaminated facilities, equipment, and land. License No. 37-00030-08
authorizes, among other things, the Licensee to manufacture self-
luminous signs and foils using tritium. The licenses were last renewed
on December 28, 1999, and are due to expire on December 31, 2004.
On December 28, 1999, License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-00030-08 were
renewed. As part of these renewals, License Conditions were included
that exempted the Licensee from certain of the Commission's financial
assurance requirements and required the Licensee to develop plans which
would address the License Termination Rule (10 CFR part 20, subpart E).
This exemption was granted in response to the Licensee's request to the
Commission to exempt the Licensee from the financial assurance
decommissioning requirements set forth in 10 CFR 30.32 and 10 CFR
30.35, based on the lack of sufficient funds available at the time to
assure that adequate financial ability existed to decommission the
facility. In lieu of complying with 10 CFR 30.35, the Licensee
committed to (1) develop a schedule and plan, for NRC review and
approval, for additional site characterization and to develop revised
cost estimates including strategies for site decommissioning that would
comply with the criteria specified in the license termination rule, 10
CFR 30.36, and (2) contribute specified monthly payments ($7,000 per
month in 2000; $8,000 per month in 2001 and 2002; and $9,000 per month
in 2003 and 2004) to a decommissioning trust fund over the life of the
license to support decommissioning activities. The NRC specifically
approved an exemption, in Condition 16 of Amendment No. 51 for License
37-00030-02 and Condition 20.A of Amendment No. 13 for License 37-
00030-08, provided that the licensee make the specified monthly
payments into a decommissioning trust fund. The NRC granted the renewal
of the two licenses based on the Licensee's continued ability to
provide sufficient remediation funding and adequate security of
radioactive materials at the facility.
On November 21, 2003, the NRC learned, during telephone
conversations with Licensee management, that the Licensee had not made
all payments into its decommissioning trust fund, as required by
Condition 16 (License No. 37-00030-02) and Condition 20.A (License No.
37-00030-08). The Licensee failed to make several prescribed deposits
into the decommissioning trust fund over the period from May 2001 to
December 2002. The Licensee made all overdue payments by February 2003
to address the deficit that existed at the end of 2002. However,
starting in January 2003, the Licensee again failed to make the total
prescribed payments into the decommissioning trust fund, resulting in a
deficit of $81,000 by the end of November 2003.
Upon learning of the foregoing, on December 19, 2003, the NRC
issued a Demand for Information to SLC which required the Licensee to
submit to the NRC the following information:
1. Detailed schedule for making all overdue payments, with
interest, to the decommissioning trust fund;
2. Reasons why the Licensee did not make the required payments, as
scheduled, to the decommissioning trust fund;
1. Reasons why the NRC should have confidence that the Licensee
will, in the future, make the required monthly deposits to the
decommissioning trust fund;
2. Assurance from the Licensee, that, should it encounter any
difficulty making required monthly deposits in the future, it will
promptly notify the NRC that there will be a delay in making a specific
deposit, and provide the reasons for the delay;
3. Reasons why the NRC should have confidence that in the future,
the Licensee will adhere to license conditions and applicable NRC
requirements;
4. Reasons why, in light of the Licensee's past failure to make all
required payments to the trust fund, License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-
00030-08 should not be modified, suspended, or revoked.
On January 16, 2004, the Licensee responded to the Demand for
Information and indicated, in part, that the Licensee could not submit
a detailed schedule for making overdue payments given the Licensee's
inability to
[[Page 3071]]
accurately predict future sales and cash flow. The Licensee also
indicated that a slowdown in the Licensee's business activity caused by
a general economic downturn made it impossible to stay current with the
Licensee's payment obligations. At the same time, the Licensee
indicated that aggressive marketing efforts, along with an improving
economy, led to an increase in order activity which it expected to
translate into an upturn in business.
The Licensee made all of the prescribed deposits from December 2003
through November 2004. In addition, the Licensee made payments of
amounts in arrears in December 2003, February 2004, and October 2004,
resulting in a deficit of $36,000 plus interest to the decommissioning
trust fund as of November 30, 2004.
The Licensee submitted license renewal applications for License
Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-00030-08 on April 22, 2004. As noted in the
letter transmitting this Order to the Licensee, the NRC denied the
renewal applications based on the Licensee's failure to demonstrate
compliance with the requirements of 10 CFR 30.35, as well as the
Licensee's violation of several conditions of its licenses, including
the failure to make the required monthly payments into the
decommissioning trust fund.
The NRC Office of Investigations conducted an investigation into
the Licensee's failure to make the required monthly payments to the
decommissioning trust fund, and concluded that the Licensee's
management had deliberately violated the requirement to make the
prescribed payments to the trust fund. In a July 1, 2004 letter, the
NRC informed the Licensee of this apparent deliberate violation of the
License Conditions and invited the licensee to a predecisional
enforcement conference to discuss this matter. At the pre-decisional
enforcement conference held on July 20, 2004, SLC management stated
that a general downturn in business conditions led to the Licensee's
failure to make payments. Nonetheless, the NRC maintains that the
violation was deliberate in that the Licensee admitted knowledge of the
requirement to make payments to the trust fund, yet failed to do so.
The obligation to make the specified payments set forth in the license
conditions is unqualified and is not subject to the state of SLC's
business conditions, and was material to the granting of an exemption
to the Licensee in connection with the renewal of its licenses in 1999.
The Licensee's deliberate failure to make the required payments to the
trust fund, as required by license conditions 16 and 20.A, voided the
exemption from the financial assurance requirements of 10 CFR 30.35,
and placed the Licensee in continued violation of these license
conditions and 10 CFR 30.35. This deliberate failure by the Licensee
has significant health and safety implications in that these regulatory
requirements are intended to ensure the availability of adequate funds
for characterization, packaging, and disposal of radioactive waste from
the Licensee's site.
Based on the Licensee's willful failure to make the required
scheduled payments into the decommissioning trust fund as required by
its licenses, and the resultant implication for public health and
safety, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that the Licensee's
current operations can be conducted under License Nos. 37-00030-02 and
37-00030-08 in compliance with the Commission's requirements and that
the health and safety of the public, including the Licensee's
employees, will be protected. Therefore, the public health, safety, and
interest require that License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-00030-08 be
suspended and that the Licensee must develop a plan for the orderly
shutdown of its licensed activities. Furthermore, pursuant to 10 CFR
2.202, I find that given the willful nature of the violation of
Conditions 16 and 20.A. of License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-00030-08,
respectively, and 10 CFR 30.35, as well as the related effect on public
health and safety, this Order shall be immediately effective.
In accordance with 10 CFR 30.36 (b) and (c), these licenses will
continue in effect beyond the expiration date with respect to
possession of byproduct material until the Commission notifies the
Licensee in writing that the licenses are terminated. During this time,
the Licensee shall limit actions involving byproduct material to those
related to decommissioning and continue to control entry to restricted
areas until they are suitable for release in accordance with NRC
requirements. The Licensee is not authorized to receive any additional
licensed material beyond the license expiration date but shall continue
to take such actions as are needed to facilitate the decommissioning of
the site, including the processing of the existing inventory of tritium
to produce devices for transfer to authorized recipients. These actions
are described in Section V below.
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR part 30, It is hereby ordered,
effective immediately, that:
A. License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-00030-08 are suspended on
January 1, 2005, excepting those activities addressed in the shutdown
plan prepared in accordance with item B. below and 10 CFR 30.36(b) and
(c), pending further Order.
B. The Licensee shall, by December 20, 2004, submit to the Regional
Administrator, Region I, for approval, a plan for the orderly shutdown
of its licensed activities over a period beginning on January 1, 2005,
to be completed by March 31, 2005. This plan shall include provisions
to:
1. Cease receipt of licensed material at the Licensee's Bloomsburg,
Pennsylvania site;
2. Process existing inventory of licensed material into finished
products for transfer to authorized recipients;
3. Transfer, or maintain in secure storage, the remaining inventory
of tritium at the site;
4. Notify SLC customers of exit signs, or other devices containing
licensed material, that they may not return these signs or devices to
the licensee's Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania facility;
5. Provide continued security for the Licensee's Bloomsburg,
Pennsylvania facility to assure safe conditions at the site; and
6. Provide continued heating, electrical power and other utility
service.
The Regional Administrator, Region I, may, in writing, relax or
rescind this order upon demonstration by the Licensee of good cause.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this
Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within 20 days of the
date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be
given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for
extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555,
and include a statement of good cause for the extension. The answer may
consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this Order, the
answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation, specifically
admit or deny each allegation or charge made in this order and set
forth the matters of fact and law on which the Licensee or other person
adversely affected relies and the reasons as to why the Order should
not have been issued. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be
submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear
[[Page 3072]]
Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,
Washington, DC 20555. Copies of the hearing request also should be sent
to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for
Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, to the
Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of
Prussia, Pennsylvania, and to the Licensee. Because of continuing
disruptions in delivery of mail to United States Government offices, it
is requested that answers and requests for hearing be transmitted to
the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile
transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov and
also to the Office of the General Counsel either by means of facsimile
transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If
a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that person shall
set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d).
If a hearing is requested by the Licensee or a person whose
interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order
designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held,
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order
should be sustained.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee, or any other
person adversely affected by this Order, may, in addition to demanding
a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move the
presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the Order
on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate
effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion,
unfounded allegations, or error.
In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions
specified in Section V above shall be final 20 days from the date of
this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of
time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions
specified in Section V shall be final when the extension expires if a
hearing request has not been received. A request for hearing shall not
stay the immediate effectiveness of this order.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dated this 10th day of December 2004.
Margaret V. Federline,
Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 05-987 Filed 1-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
