U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver Federal Center, Building 53: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment, 19907-19909 [E6-5702]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 18, 2006 / Notices
of intent to implement 10 CFR 50.48(c)
or other period granted by NRC;
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B. Existing Identified Noncompliances
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(3) It was not willful; and
(4) The licensee submits a letter of
intent by December 31, 2005, stating its
intent to transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c).
After December 31, 2005, as
addressed in (4) above, this enforcement
discretion for implementation of
corrective actions for existing identified
noncompliances will not be available
and the requirements of 10 CFR 50.48(b)
(and any other requirements in fire
protection license conditions) will be
enforced in accordance with normal
enforcement practices. However,
licensees that submit letters of intent to
transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c) with
existing noncompliances will have the
option to implement corrective actions
in accordance with the new
performance-based regulation. All other
elements of the assessment and
enforcement process will be exercised
even if the licensee submits its letter of
intent before the NRC issues its
enforcement action for existing
noncompliances.
Dated at Rockville, MD, this 11th day of
April, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew L. Bates,
Acting Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. E6–5706 Filed 4–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030–04530]
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment for U.S. Department of
Agriculture Facility in Mission, TX
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
hsrobinson on PROD1PC68 with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sattar Lodhi, Materials Security &
Industrial Branch, Division of Nuclear
Materials Safety, Region I, 475
Allendale Road, King of Prussia,
Pennsylvania, 19406, telephone (610)
337–5364, fax (610) 337–5269; or by email: asl@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering the
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15:03 Apr 17, 2006
Jkt 208001
issuance of a license amendment to U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) for
Materials License No. 19–00915–03, to
authorize remediation activities at its
radioactive waste burial site located at
Moore Air Base (MAB) in Mission,
Texas. 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 on the EA, the NRC
has concluded that a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate.
II. EA Summary
The purpose of the proposed action is
to authorize remediation activities at the
licensee’s radioactive waste burial site
at MAB in Mission, Texas. USDA was
authorized initially by the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission in the mid 1950’s
and later by the NRC to use radioactive
materials for research and development
purposes at the site. On May 5, 2005,
USDA requested that NRC authorize
remediation activities at the burial site.
USDA has submitted to the NRC a plan
to remediate the burial site.
The NRC staff has prepared an EA in
support of the license amendment. The
NRC staff has reviewed the information
contained in the licensee’s remediation
plan. Based on its review, the staff has
determined that the licensee has
developed adequate procedures to
ensure that the digging, removing and
transporting the waste from the burial
site will not have a significant impact
on the environment and the workers.
The staff has also determined that no
additional information is necessary to
complete the proposed action.
Therefore, the staff considered the
impact of the remediation activities at
the facility and concluded that a
Finding of No Significant Impact is
appropriate.
19907
Document Access and Management
System (ADAMS), which provides text
and image files of NRC’s public
documents. The ADAMS accession
numbers for the documents related to
this Notice are: USDA’s plan to
remediate the radioactive waste burial
site at MAB (ML051300095), EA in
support of the amendment request
(ML060940281), review of EA by the
State of Texas (ML053120414). Persons
who do not have access to ADAMS or
who encounter problems in accessing
the documents located in ADAMS,
should contact the NRC PDR Reference
staff by telephone at (800) 397–4209 or
(301) 415–4737, or by e-mail to
pdr@nrc.gov. These documents may also
be viewed electronically on public
computers located at the NRC’s PDR,
01F21, One White Flint, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.
The PDR contractor will copy
documents for a fee.
Documents related to operations
conducted under this license not
specifically referenced in this Notice
may not be electronically available and/
or may not be publicly available.
Persons who have an interest in
reviewing these documents should
submit a request to NRC under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Instructions for submitting a FOIA
request can be found on the NRC’s Web
site at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
foia/foia-privacy.html.
Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this
6th day of April, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John D. Kinneman,
Chief, Materials Security & Industrial Branch,
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region
I.
[FR Doc. E6–5715 Filed 4–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared the EA
(summarized above) in support of the
license amendment request. On the
basis of the EA, the NRC has concluded
that there are no significant
environmental impacts from the
proposed action, and has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact
statement for the proposed action.
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action,
including the application for the license
amendment and supporting
documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC’s Electronic
Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/
reading-rm/adams.html. From this site,
you can access the NRC’s Agencywide
AGENCY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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[Docket No. 030–08219]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Denver Federal Center, Building 53:
Issuance of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact.
D.
Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., Chief, Fuel Cycle
and Decommissioning Branch, Division
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
18APN1
19908
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 18, 2006 / Notices
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region IV,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Arlington, Texas 76011. Telephone:
(817) 860–8191; fax number: (817) 860–
8188; e-mail: dbs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
hsrobinson on PROD1PC68 with NOTICES
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an amendment to Material
License No. 05–14892–01, as requested
by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA or the licensee), to
authorize release of Building 53 at
Denver Federal Center, Denver,
Colorado, for unrestricted use. The
licensee has been authorized by NRC to
use radioactive material for instrument
calibration and sample analyses at this
location. On August 9, 2004, EPA
requested that NRC release the facility
for unrestricted use. The licensee
conducted radiological surveys of the
facility and provided information to
demonstrate that the site meets the
license termination criteria specified in
Subpart E to 10 CFR part 20 for
unrestricted release. The amendment
will be issued if NRC determines that
the request meets the standards
specified in 10 CFR Part 20 and related
NRC guidance documents.
II. Environmental Assessment (EA)
Identification of Proposed Action: The
proposed action is to remove Building
53 from License Condition 10 as a
location of use. Once the building is
removed from the license, the licensee
will be free to use the building in any
manner without NRC restriction.
The Need for the Proposed Action:
The licensee no longer conducts
licensed activities in this building. The
EPA has vacated the building and
desires to release the building for
unrestricted use. If the site is properly
decommissioned, the licensee would
then be in compliance with the
Timeliness Rule requirements of 10 CFR
30.36, ‘‘Expiration and Termination of
Licenses and Decommissioning of Sites
and Separate Buildings or Outdoor
Areas.’’
Environmental Impacts of the
Proposed Action: Materials License No.
05–14892–01 authorizes EPA to possess
small quantities of radioactive material,
in both sealed and unsealed form, for
instrument calibration and sample
analysis. By letter dated August 9, 2004,
EPA requested amendment of its license
to remove Building 53 as a location of
use. Radioactive materials were used in
this building from about 1973 until
2003. All radioactive materials were
relocated to Building 25 by August
2003.
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15:03 Apr 17, 2006
Jkt 208001
The licensee conducted a historical
review and concluded that the
radionuclides of concern were
americium-241, strontium-90, natural
uranium, radium-226, and radium-228.
Based on the historical review, the
licensee determined that radioactive
materials were used in eight laboratories
in Building 53.
A final status survey of the building
was conducted during February–March
2004. The final status survey was
conducted in five of the eight
laboratories. Two rooms were excluded
because only sealed sources had been
used in these rooms. A third room was
excluded because only radioactivity at
background levels were stored in this
room. (The NRC’s confirmatory survey
included all eight rooms.) A final status
survey report was completed by the
licensee, and a copy of the report was
attached to the licensee’s August 9,
2004, letter.
The EPA concluded in its report that
‘‘Building 53 meets the criteria for
radiological release * * * thus allowing
the facility to be released for
unrestricted use and to be removed from
the EPA’s NRC Radioactive Material
License.’’ The NRC conducted a
confirmatory survey of the building
during October 2005. None of the
confirmatory sample results exceeded
the proposed derived concentration
guideline levels (DCGLs) provided in
the final status survey report.
In its final status survey report, the
licensee stated that radioactive waste
material from previously licensed
operations in Building 53 was either
transferred to an authorized recipient or
placed into temporary storage. Solid
waste disposal did not include on-site
burial or incineration. Discharges to
sewers were not allowed by the
licensee’s waste disposal program, and
no record of disposal by sewer was
identified by the licensee during its
historical review. Further, no incidents
were recorded involving spills or
releases of radioactive material.
To demonstrate compliance with the
radiological criteria for unrestricted use
as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402, the
licensee developed DCGLs. The NRC
compared the licensee’s proposed
DCGLs to the screening criteria
provided in NUREG–1757,
‘‘Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
Guidance,’’ Volume 2. The NRC
concluded that the proposed DCGLs
were acceptable for use as release
criteria.
In the final status survey report, the
licensee states that radioactive materials
were handled only within the eight
rooms identified in the historical
review. In addition, the licensee did not
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Frm 00060
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
dispose of radioactive material through
the sewer system, and no spills were
documented. Accordingly, there were
no environmental impacts from the use
of radioactive material in Building 53.
The NRC staff reviewed the docket file
records and the final status survey
report to identify any non-radiological
hazards that may have impacted the
environment. No additional hazards or
impacts to the environment were
identified.
Environmental Impacts of the
Alternatives to the Proposed Action:
The licensee seeks NRC approval of the
amendment request. The alternatives to
the proposed action are: (1) The noaction alternative, or (2) to deny the
amendment request and require the
licensee to take some alternate action.
1. No-Action Alternative: One
alternative available to the NRC is to
take no action by denying the
amendment request. The no-action
alternative is not feasible because it
conflicts with the NRC’s Timeliness
Rule (10 CFR 30.36) which requires
licensees to decommission their
facilities when licensed activities cease.
2. Environmental Impacts of
Alternative 2: A second alternative is to
deny the licensee’s request in favor of
alternate release criteria as allowed by
§ 20.1403 (criteria for restricted
conditions) or § 20.1404 (alternate
criteria). However, the NRC’s analysis of
the final status survey data confirmed
that the proposed DCGLs meet the
license termination requirements of
§ 20.1402. Accordingly, the NRC has
determined that the second alternative
is not reasonable, and this alternative
action is eliminated from further
consideration.
Conclusion: Based on its review, the
NRC staff concludes that the
environmental impacts associated with
the proposed action do not warrant
denial of the license amendment
request. The staff believes that the
proposed action will result in no
environmental impacts. The staff has
determined that approval of the license
amendment is the appropriate
alternative for selection.
Agencies and Persons Contacted: The
NRC staff did not consult with the
Colorado State Historic Preservation
Officer or the local U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service because licensed activities
occurred only within Building 53. There
was no evidence of use or release of
radioactive material outside of the
building. Accordingly, there was no
impact to the cultural resources,
endangered species, or critical habitats
outside of Building 53. The Colorado
Department of Public Health and
Environment, Radiation Management
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
18APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 18, 2006 / Notices
Unit, was consulted about this EA. The
State informed the NRC by letter dated
March 6, 2006, that it had no comments
on the EA.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in
support of the proposed license
amendment to release Building 53 for
unrestricted use. On the basis of this
EA, NRC has concluded that there are
no significant environmental impacts
from the proposed action, and the
license amendment does not warrant the
preparation of an environmental impact
statement. Accordingly, it has been
determined that a Finding of No
Significant Impact is appropriate.
Reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–
415–4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
These documents may also be viewed
electronically on public computers
located at the NRC’s PDR, O 1 F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR
reproduction contractor will copy
documents for a fee.
Dated at Arlington, Texas, this 30th day of
March, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
D. Blair Spitzberg,
Chief, Fuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch,
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region
IV.
[FR Doc. E6–5702 Filed 4–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
hsrobinson on PROD1PC68 with NOTICES
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action,
including the application for
amendment and supporting
documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC’s Electronic
Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/
reading-rm/adams.html. From this site,
you can access the NRC’s Agencywide
Document Access and Management
System (ADAMS), which provides text
and image files of NRC’s public
documents. The ADAMS accession
numbers for the documents related to
this notice are:
1. NRC, ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement in Support of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for
License Termination of NRC-Licensed
Nuclear Facilities,’’ NUREG–1496, July
1997 (ML042310492, ML042320379,
and ML042330385).
2. NRC, ‘‘Consolidated NMSS
Decommissioning Guidance,’’ NUREG–
1757, Volume 2, September 2003
(ML053260027).
3. Ossinger, Albert, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency,
License Amendment Request, August 9,
2004 (ML042510569, ML042570068,
ML061000701 [Appendix D has been
redacted because it contains
confidential laboratory protocols],
ML042570073, ML042570076,
ML042570077, and ML042570080).
4. NRC Inspection Report 030–08219/
05–001, November 14, 2005
(ML053180267).
5. Tarlton, Steve, Colorado
Department of Public Health and
Environment, ‘‘Request for Comments
on Draft Environmental Assessment For
Decommissioning of Building 53 at
Denver Federal Center,’’ March 6, 2006
(ML060790512).
If you do not have access to ADAMS
or if there are problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, contact
the NRC Public Document Room (PDR)
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:03 Apr 17, 2006
Jkt 208001
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Meeting notice and agenda.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James Smith, Project Manager,
Technical Support Group, Division of
Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20005–
0001. Telephone: (301) 415–6459; fax
number: (301) 415–5370; e-mail:
jas4@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) continues to prepare and issue
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) documents
for fuel cycle facilities. These ISG
documents provide clarifying guidance
to the NRC staff when reviewing
licensee integrated safety analyses,
license applications or amendment
requests or other related licensing
activities for fuel cycle facilities under
10 CFR Part 70. Currently, the NRC has
revised one of these documents, Draft
ISG-FCSS–10, Rev. 2, based on
comments received on Revision 1. The
NRC plans to discuss the resolution of
these comments at a public meeting to
be held April 28, 2006, at the NRC
Headquarters Auditorium in Rockville,
Maryland.
II. Summary
The purpose of this notice is to
provide the public with a meeting
notice and proposed agenda for a public
Frm 00061
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
meeting scheduled for April 28, 2006, at
the NRC Headquarters Auditorium in
which the NRC will discuss revision of
the draft guidance document, FCSSISG–10, Revision 2, which provides
guidance to NRC staff to determine
whether the minimum margin of
subcriticality is sufficient to provide an
adequate assurance of subcriticality for
safety to demonstrate compliance with
the performance requirements of 10 CFR
70.61(d), and its resolution of comments
received on Revision 1. Revision 2 of
the draft ISG and the ADAMS accession
number for an associated table of
comment resolution were previously
noticed in the Federal Register on
March 20, 2006. The agenda for the
April 28, 2006, meeting is provided
below.
III. Proposed Agenda
Notice of Availability of Meeting Notice
for Discussion of Draft Interim Staff
Guidance Document for Fuel Cycle
Facilities
PO 00000
19909
Public Meeting, Scheduled for April 28,
2006, To Discuss Draft FCSS–ISG–10,
Revision 2, ‘‘Justification for Minimum
Margin of Subcriticality for Safety’’
7:30 am Check in for security badging
@ Two White Flint North, 11545
Rockville Pike
8 a.m. Purpose of workshop,
introductions, agenda, and
discussion process
8:15 a.m. NRC presentation on
context/intent of FCSS-ISG–10
8:30 a.m. NRC summary of major
changes to current version of FCSSISG–10
8:45 a.m. Section-by-section
discussion of comments received
and changes made
11:45 a.m. Meeting wrap-up
12:30 p.m. Adjourn
IV. Further Information
The documents related to this action
are available electronically at the NRC’s
Electronic Reading Room at https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
From this site, you can access the NRC’s
Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS), which
provides text and image files of NRC’s
public documents. The ADAMS
ascension numbers for the documents
related to this notice are provided in the
following table. If you do not have
access to ADAMS or if there are
problems in accessing the documents
located in ADAMS, contact the NRC
Public Document Room (PDR) Reference
staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737,
or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
Interim staff guidance
ADAMS accession No.
Draft FCSS Interim Staff
Guidance-10, Revision 2.
ML060260479
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19907-19909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5702]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-08219]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver Federal Center,
Building 53: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License Amendment
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., Chief, Fuel
Cycle and Decommissioning Branch, Division
[[Page 19908]]
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region IV, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Arlington, Texas 76011. Telephone: (817) 860-8191; fax
number: (817) 860-8188; e-mail: dbs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
issuance of an amendment to Material License No. 05-14892-01, as
requested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the
licensee), to authorize release of Building 53 at Denver Federal
Center, Denver, Colorado, for unrestricted use. The licensee has been
authorized by NRC to use radioactive material for instrument
calibration and sample analyses at this location. On August 9, 2004,
EPA requested that NRC release the facility for unrestricted use. The
licensee conducted radiological surveys of the facility and provided
information to demonstrate that the site meets the license termination
criteria specified in Subpart E to 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted
release. The amendment will be issued if NRC determines that the
request meets the standards specified in 10 CFR Part 20 and related NRC
guidance documents.
II. Environmental Assessment (EA)
Identification of Proposed Action: The proposed action is to remove
Building 53 from License Condition 10 as a location of use. Once the
building is removed from the license, the licensee will be free to use
the building in any manner without NRC restriction.
The Need for the Proposed Action: The licensee no longer conducts
licensed activities in this building. The EPA has vacated the building
and desires to release the building for unrestricted use. If the site
is properly decommissioned, the licensee would then be in compliance
with the Timeliness Rule requirements of 10 CFR 30.36, ``Expiration and
Termination of Licenses and Decommissioning of Sites and Separate
Buildings or Outdoor Areas.''
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action: Materials License No.
05-14892-01 authorizes EPA to possess small quantities of radioactive
material, in both sealed and unsealed form, for instrument calibration
and sample analysis. By letter dated August 9, 2004, EPA requested
amendment of its license to remove Building 53 as a location of use.
Radioactive materials were used in this building from about 1973 until
2003. All radioactive materials were relocated to Building 25 by August
2003.
The licensee conducted a historical review and concluded that the
radionuclides of concern were americium-241, strontium-90, natural
uranium, radium-226, and radium-228. Based on the historical review,
the licensee determined that radioactive materials were used in eight
laboratories in Building 53.
A final status survey of the building was conducted during
February-March 2004. The final status survey was conducted in five of
the eight laboratories. Two rooms were excluded because only sealed
sources had been used in these rooms. A third room was excluded because
only radioactivity at background levels were stored in this room. (The
NRC's confirmatory survey included all eight rooms.) A final status
survey report was completed by the licensee, and a copy of the report
was attached to the licensee's August 9, 2004, letter.
The EPA concluded in its report that ``Building 53 meets the
criteria for radiological release * * * thus allowing the facility to
be released for unrestricted use and to be removed from the EPA's NRC
Radioactive Material License.'' The NRC conducted a confirmatory survey
of the building during October 2005. None of the confirmatory sample
results exceeded the proposed derived concentration guideline levels
(DCGLs) provided in the final status survey report.
In its final status survey report, the licensee stated that
radioactive waste material from previously licensed operations in
Building 53 was either transferred to an authorized recipient or placed
into temporary storage. Solid waste disposal did not include on-site
burial or incineration. Discharges to sewers were not allowed by the
licensee's waste disposal program, and no record of disposal by sewer
was identified by the licensee during its historical review. Further,
no incidents were recorded involving spills or releases of radioactive
material.
To demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for
unrestricted use as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402, the licensee developed
DCGLs. The NRC compared the licensee's proposed DCGLs to the screening
criteria provided in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
Guidance,'' Volume 2. The NRC concluded that the proposed DCGLs were
acceptable for use as release criteria.
In the final status survey report, the licensee states that
radioactive materials were handled only within the eight rooms
identified in the historical review. In addition, the licensee did not
dispose of radioactive material through the sewer system, and no spills
were documented. Accordingly, there were no environmental impacts from
the use of radioactive material in Building 53. The NRC staff reviewed
the docket file records and the final status survey report to identify
any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the environment. No
additional hazards or impacts to the environment were identified.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action:
The licensee seeks NRC approval of the amendment request. The
alternatives to the proposed action are: (1) The no-action alternative,
or (2) to deny the amendment request and require the licensee to take
some alternate action.
1. No-Action Alternative: One alternative available to the NRC is
to take no action by denying the amendment request. The no-action
alternative is not feasible because it conflicts with the NRC's
Timeliness Rule (10 CFR 30.36) which requires licensees to decommission
their facilities when licensed activities cease.
2. Environmental Impacts of Alternative 2: A second alternative is
to deny the licensee's request in favor of alternate release criteria
as allowed by Sec. 20.1403 (criteria for restricted conditions) or
Sec. 20.1404 (alternate criteria). However, the NRC's analysis of the
final status survey data confirmed that the proposed DCGLs meet the
license termination requirements of Sec. 20.1402. Accordingly, the NRC
has determined that the second alternative is not reasonable, and this
alternative action is eliminated from further consideration.
Conclusion: Based on its review, the NRC staff concludes that the
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action do not
warrant denial of the license amendment request. The staff believes
that the proposed action will result in no environmental impacts. The
staff has determined that approval of the license amendment is the
appropriate alternative for selection.
Agencies and Persons Contacted: The NRC staff did not consult with
the Colorado State Historic Preservation Officer or the local U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service because licensed activities occurred only within
Building 53. There was no evidence of use or release of radioactive
material outside of the building. Accordingly, there was no impact to
the cultural resources, endangered species, or critical habitats
outside of Building 53. The Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment, Radiation Management
[[Page 19909]]
Unit, was consulted about this EA. The State informed the NRC by letter
dated March 6, 2006, that it had no comments on the EA.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed
license amendment to release Building 53 for unrestricted use. On the
basis of this EA, NRC has concluded that there are no significant
environmental impacts from the proposed action, and the license
amendment does not warrant the preparation of an environmental impact
statement. Accordingly, it has been determined that a Finding of No
Significant Impact is appropriate.
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action, including the application for
amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide
Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for
the documents related to this notice are:
1. NRC, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-1496, July 1997 (ML042310492,
ML042320379, and ML042330385).
2. NRC, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' NUREG-1757,
Volume 2, September 2003 (ML053260027).
3. Ossinger, Albert, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, License
Amendment Request, August 9, 2004 (ML042510569, ML042570068,
ML061000701 [Appendix D has been redacted because it contains
confidential laboratory protocols], ML042570073, ML042570076,
ML042570077, and ML042570080).
4. NRC Inspection Report 030-08219/05-001, November 14, 2005
(ML053180267).
5. Tarlton, Steve, Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment, ``Request for Comments on Draft Environmental Assessment
For Decommissioning of Building 53 at Denver Federal Center,'' March 6,
2006 (ML060790512).
If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
These documents may also be viewed electronically on public
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction
contractor will copy documents for a fee.
Dated at Arlington, Texas, this 30th day of March, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
D. Blair Spitzberg,
Chief, Fuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear
Materials Safety, Region IV.
[FR Doc. E6-5702 Filed 4-17-06; 8:45 am]
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