Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Kunia Substation, Kunia, HI: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment, 37122-37124 [E6-10265]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 125 / Thursday, June 29, 2006 / Notices
given to comments received after this
date.
John A. Asalone, Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs (3150–0039),
NEOB–10202, Office of Management
and Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to
John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395–
4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda
Jo. Shelton, 301–415–7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd
day of June, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E6–10264 Filed 6–28–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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Activities: Submission for the Office of
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Review; Comment Request
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
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ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of
information collection and solicitation
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently
submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby
informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and
that a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it
displays a current valid OMB control
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1. Type of submission, new, revision,
or extension: Revision.
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collection: 10 CFR part 150,
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Authority in Agreement States and in
Offshore Waters under Section 274.’’
3. The form number if applicable: Not
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4. How often the collection is
required: 10 CFR 150.16(b), 150.17(c),
and 150.19(c) require the submission of
reports following specified events, such
as the theft or unlawful diversion of
licensed radioactive material. The
source material inventory reports
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be submitted annually by certain
licensees.
5. Who is required or asked to report:
Agreement State licensees authorized to
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17:03 Jun 28, 2006
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possess source or special nuclear
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persons engaging in activities in nonAgreement States, in areas of exclusive
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6. An estimate of the number of
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8. The number of hours needed
annually to complete the requirement or
request: 35 hours.
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3507(d), Public Law 104–13 applies: Not
applicable.
10. Abstract: 10 CFR part 150
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regulations for persons in Agreement
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OMB Desk Officer, Office of Information
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and Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
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telephone at (202) 395–3087.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda
Jo. Shelton, 301–415–7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day
of June 2006.
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For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E6–10266 Filed 6–28–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030–06839]
Hawaii Agriculture Research Center,
Kunia Substation, Kunia, HI: 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 for License
Amendment.
AGENCY:
D.
Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., Chief, Fuel Cycle
and Decommissioning Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region IV,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400,
Arlington, TX 76011. Telephone: (817)
860–8100; e-mail: dbs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of an amendment to Material
License No. 53–00515–01, as requested
by the Hawaii Agriculture Research
Center (the Licensee), to authorize
release of the Kunia Substation at
Kunia, Hawaii, for unrestricted use. The
Licensee is authorized to possess
radioactive material for conducting
tracer studies in plants and soils and for
laboratory analysis of samples. On
December 2, 2005, the Licensee
requested that NRC release the facility
for unrestricted use. The Licensee
conducted radiological surveys of the
facility to demonstrate that the site
meets the license termination criteria
specified in Subpart E to 10 CFR part 20
for unrestricted release.
The NRC has prepared an
Environmental Assessment (EA) in
support of this proposed action in
accordance with the requirements of
Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), part 51 (10 CFR part 51). Based
on the EA, the NRC has concluded that
a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) is appropriate with respect to
the proposed action. The amendment
will be issued to the Licensee following
the publication of this FONSI and EA in
the Federal Register.
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 125 / Thursday, June 29, 2006 / Notices
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action: The
proposed action is to remove the Kunia
Substation 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 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: The Kunia Substation
is a 4,000 ft2 (372 m2) building that
housed a 300 ft2 (28 m2) radiologically
restricted area. The licensee used
carbon-14, a long-lived low energy beta
radiation emitter, at this location
between 1975–1998. The licensee
possessed a total of 11.5 millicuries
(4.26E+8 becquerels) of carbon-14 for
experiments. At the conclusion of these
experiments, the contaminated soil and
plant material were either radiologically
sampled and free-released or shipped
offsite for disposal.
By letter dated December 2, 2005, the
licensee requested amendment of its
license to remove Kunia Substation as a
location of use. Attached to the request
was a report of a final status survey that
was conducted during 2005. The survey
included scan surveys for fixed/total
contamination and swipe sampling for
removable contamination. The response
and operability of the instrumentation
used were verified using carbon-14
check sources. Scan survey results were
indistinguishable from background
levels. Most swipe sample results were
below the instrument’s minimum
detectable activity level of 17.3
disintegrations per minute (0.288
becquerels per minute) per swipe
sample. The highest sample result was
24 disintegrations per minute per swipe
(0.4 becquerels per minute per swipe).
Regulation 10 CFR 20.1402,
Radiological Criteria for Unrestricted
Use, states in part that a site will be
considered acceptable for unrestricted
use if the residual radioactivity that is
distinguishable from background
radiation results in a total effective dose
equivalent not to exceed 25 millirems
(0.25 mSv) per year to an average
member of the critical group. The NRC’s
NUREG–1757, Volume 1, Revision 1,
‘‘Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
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17:03 Jun 28, 2006
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Guidance,’’ Table B.1 provides
screening values for building surface
contamination that are equivalent to 25
millirems (0.25 mSv) per year. The
NRC-approved screening value for
carbon-14 is 3.7E+6 disintegrations per
minute (6.18E+4 becquerels)/100 cm2.
Assuming a loose/removable
contamination fraction of 10-percent,
the removable surface contamination
screening value is 3.7E+5
disintegrations per minute (6.18E+3
becquerels)/100 cm2. In summary, the
licensee’s final status survey results
were well below the NRC-approved
screening values.
A second method to demonstrate
compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402 is the
use of dose modeling. The licensee
conducted dose modeling to estimate
potential doses to members of the public
from carbon-14 radioactivity in soil. The
licensee conservatively assumed that all
11.5 millicuries (4.26E+8 becquerels) of
carbon-14 were dispersed into the area
soil resulting in a soil activity of 26
picocuries (57.7 becquerels) per gram.
Using Version 6.3 of the RESRAD
modeling code with all default
parameters, including the default
carbon-14 activity of 100 picocuries
(222 becquerels) per gram, the model
calculated a peak dose of 132 millirems
(1.32 mSv) per year. The peak dose
occurs at 4.28 years. The licensee
discontinued use of carbon-14 at Kunia
Substation in 1998. Dose modeling
further demonstrates that by the seventh
year (2005), the annual dose drops to
below 0.03 millirems (3E=4 mSV) per
year. Through dose modeling of
potential soil contamination, the
licensee conservatively demonstrated
that the annual total effective dose
equivalent is currently less than the 25millirem (0.25 mSv) regulatory limit.
The NRC staff reviewed docket file
records to identify any radiological or
non-radiological hazards that may have
impacted the environment. Records
indicate that two plots of land located
at the Kunia Substation were previously
used for land application of radioactive
material. In the first instance, an activity
of approximately 10 millicuries (3.7E+8
becquerels) of a carbon-14 labeled
compound was applied to a 3750 ft2
(348 m2) plot during 1984. This plot was
decommissioned, and the NRC released
the property from the license in May
1993. In the second instance, on two
occasions (1979 and 1982), seeds treated
with a carbon-14 compound were
planted in a 1600 ft2 (149 m2) plot. This
plot was also decommissioned, and the
NRC released the property from the
license in April 1996. No incidences
involving spills or releases of
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37123
radioactive material were documented
to have occurred at Kunia Substation.
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 use) or
§ 20.1404 (alternate release criteria).
However, the NRC’s analysis of the final
status survey data confirmed that the
survey results and dose modeling meet
the § 20.1402 radiological criteria for
unrestricted use, which is the preferred
alternative.
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 finds that the
proposed action will result in no
significant 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
Hawaii State Historic Preservation
Officer or the local U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service because licensed activities being
considered by this EA occurred only
within the confines of the Kunia
Substation. Other than the two land
applications that were previously
reviewed and released by the NRC, no
other use or release of radioactive
material outside of the building was
identified. Accordingly, there were no
identified impacts to the cultural
resources, endangered species, or
critical habitats. The Hawaii Department
of Health was consulted about this EA.
The State informed the NRC by letter
dated May 30, 2006, that it had no
objections to the draft EA or to the use
of the EA for NRC decisionmaking.
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37124
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 125 / Thursday, June 29, 2006 / Notices
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared an EA in
support of the proposed license
amendment to release Kunia Substation
for unrestricted use. On the basis of this
EA, NRC has concluded that no
significant environmental impacts will
result 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.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
D. Blair Spitzberg,
Chief, Fuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch,
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region
IV.
[FR Doc. E6–10265 Filed 6–28–06; 8:45 am]
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. Whalen, Stephanie, Hawaii
Agriculture Research Center, Response
to NRC Information Notice 96–47,
October 31, 1996 (ML060890606).
2. 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).
3. NRC, ‘‘Consolidated NMSS
Decommissioning Guidance,’’ NUREG–
1757, Volume 1, Revision 1, September
2003 (ML053260027).
4. Whalen, Stephanie A., Hawaii
Agriculture Research Center, License
Amendment Request, December 2, 2005
(ML060120252).
5. Takata, Russell, S., Response to
Request for Comments on Draft
Environmental Assessment for
Decommissioning of Kunia Substation
at Hawaii Agriculture Research Center,
May 30, 2006 (ML061630274).
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 the 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.
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact Related to Issuance
of Amendment No. 52 to Materials
License No. SNM–00033,
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
Hematite Former Fuel Fabrication
Facility Located in Festus, MO, Site
(TAC No. L52641)
Dated at Arlington, Texas this 16th day of
June 2006.
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17:03 Jun 28, 2006
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BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70–0036]
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of
Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy M. Snyder, Senior Project
Manager, Decommissioning Directorate,
Division of Waste Management and
Environmental Protection, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
M.S. T7 E–18, Rockville, MD, 20852–
2738. Telephone: (301) 415–8580; Fax
number: (301) 415–5398; e-mail:
ams3@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering
amending Nuclear Materials License
Number SNM–00033 issued to
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC
(WEC) to authorize the dismantlement
and demolition of Buildings 101, 110,
115, 120, 230, 231, 235, 240, 245, 252,
253, 254, 255, 256, 260, and 261 down
to building slabs and foundations at
grade at the WEC Hematite Former Fuel
Fabrication Facility in Festus, Missouri.
This consideration is being supported
by this Environmental Assessment (EA)
and a separate Safety Evaluation Report
(SER). In a letter dated October 5, 2004
(ML042860234), WEC submitted a
request to NRC to amend Materials
License Number SNM–00033 to obtain
authorization to dismantle and
demolish Buildings 101, 110, 115, 120,
230, 231, 235, 240, 245, 252, 253, 254,
255, 256, 260, and 261 down to building
slabs and foundations at grade. In its
request, WEC noted that it wants the
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Sfmt 4703
flexibility to not demolish all the nonprocess buildings, if it later decides to
keep these buildings for reuse. The
licensee’s October 5, 2004, license
amendment request (ML051310063) was
noticed in the Federal Register on
November 16, 2004 (69 FR 67187). That
Federal Register notice also provided an
opportunity for a hearing on this
licensing action, and no hearing
requests were submitted. NRC has
prepared this EA in support of its
consideration of the amendment request
and in accordance with the
requirements of 10 CFR part 51. This EA
evaluates the potential environmental
impacts of WEC’s request. Based on this
EA, the staff has concluded that a
Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) is appropriate.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
From the mid 1950s until 2001, the
Hematite site was involved in
production and manufacturing of
nuclear fuel. The majority of the
buildings were constructed during 1956
through 1974 with final construction in
1989. There are currently no fuel
manufacturing activities at the site.
Building 101 (Tile Barn) housed the
former Emergency Operations Center
during plant operations and was later
used for the storage of both clean and
contaminated equipment. Building 110
houses the security and some
administrative office spaces. Building
115 housed the plant diesel emergency
generator and fire pumps. Building 120
(Wood Barn) was used for storing both
clean and contaminated equipment.
Building 230 was used for the fuel
assembly operations. The building
surfaces have no known levels of
contamination above the level for
unrestricted use. Building 230 currently
houses administrative offices. Building
231 was used as a warehouse to store
shipping containers. Building 235 was
used as a vault to store depleted,
natural, and enriched uranium. Building
240 contained a laboratory and
maintenance area, a recycle recovery
area, and a waste incinerator. Past
operations in this building also
included the conversion of high
enriched uranium using a wet
conversion process and recovery. A
portion of the building was used for
recycle and recovery operations and
high-enriched material operations.
Another portion of the building was
used for the incinerator and housed
low-enriched powder operations,
including ammonium diurinate and
oxidation/reduction furnaces. Building
245 (Well House) was used for treating
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 125 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37122-37124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10265]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-06839]
Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Kunia Substation, Kunia, HI:
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 License Amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., Chief, Fuel
Cycle and Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region IV, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive,
Suite 400, Arlington, TX 76011. Telephone: (817) 860-8100; e-mail:
dbs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of an amendment to Material License No. 53-00515-01, as
requested by the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (the Licensee), to
authorize release of the Kunia Substation at Kunia, Hawaii, for
unrestricted use. The Licensee is authorized to possess radioactive
material for conducting tracer studies in plants and soils and for
laboratory analysis of samples. On December 2, 2005, the Licensee
requested that NRC release the facility for unrestricted use. The
Licensee conducted radiological surveys of the facility to demonstrate
that the site meets the license termination criteria specified in
Subpart E to 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release.
The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of
this proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 51 (10 CFR part 51). Based on
the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The
amendment will be issued to the Licensee following the publication of
this FONSI and EA in the Federal Register.
[[Page 37123]]
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action: The proposed action is to remove
the Kunia Substation 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 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: The Kunia Substation
is a 4,000 ft\2\ (372 m\2\) building that housed a 300 ft\2\ (28 m\2\)
radiologically restricted area. The licensee used carbon-14, a long-
lived low energy beta radiation emitter, at this location between 1975-
1998. The licensee possessed a total of 11.5 millicuries (4.26E+8
becquerels) of carbon-14 for experiments. At the conclusion of these
experiments, the contaminated soil and plant material were either
radiologically sampled and free-released or shipped offsite for
disposal.
By letter dated December 2, 2005, the licensee requested amendment
of its license to remove Kunia Substation as a location of use.
Attached to the request was a report of a final status survey that was
conducted during 2005. The survey included scan surveys for fixed/total
contamination and swipe sampling for removable contamination. The
response and operability of the instrumentation used were verified
using carbon-14 check sources. Scan survey results were
indistinguishable from background levels. Most swipe sample results
were below the instrument's minimum detectable activity level of 17.3
disintegrations per minute (0.288 becquerels per minute) per swipe
sample. The highest sample result was 24 disintegrations per minute per
swipe (0.4 becquerels per minute per swipe).
Regulation 10 CFR 20.1402, Radiological Criteria for Unrestricted
Use, states in part that a site will be considered acceptable for
unrestricted use if the residual radioactivity that is distinguishable
from background radiation results in a total effective dose equivalent
not to exceed 25 millirems (0.25 mSv) per year to an average member of
the critical group. The NRC's NUREG-1757, Volume 1, Revision 1,
``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Table B.1 provides
screening values for building surface contamination that are equivalent
to 25 millirems (0.25 mSv) per year. The NRC-approved screening value
for carbon-14 is 3.7E+6 disintegrations per minute (6.18E+4
becquerels)/100 cm\2\. Assuming a loose/removable contamination
fraction of 10-percent, the removable surface contamination screening
value is 3.7E+5 disintegrations per minute (6.18E+3 becquerels)/100
cm\2\. In summary, the licensee's final status survey results were well
below the NRC-approved screening values.
A second method to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402 is
the use of dose modeling. The licensee conducted dose modeling to
estimate potential doses to members of the public from carbon-14
radioactivity in soil. The licensee conservatively assumed that all
11.5 millicuries (4.26E+8 becquerels) of carbon-14 were dispersed into
the area soil resulting in a soil activity of 26 picocuries (57.7
becquerels) per gram. Using Version 6.3 of the RESRAD modeling code
with all default parameters, including the default carbon-14 activity
of 100 picocuries (222 becquerels) per gram, the model calculated a
peak dose of 132 millirems (1.32 mSv) per year. The peak dose occurs at
4.28 years. The licensee discontinued use of carbon-14 at Kunia
Substation in 1998. Dose modeling further demonstrates that by the
seventh year (2005), the annual dose drops to below 0.03 millirems
(3E=4 mSV) per year. Through dose modeling of potential soil
contamination, the licensee conservatively demonstrated that the annual
total effective dose equivalent is currently less than the 25-millirem
(0.25 mSv) regulatory limit.
The NRC staff reviewed docket file records to identify any
radiological or non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the
environment. Records indicate that two plots of land located at the
Kunia Substation were previously used for land application of
radioactive material. In the first instance, an activity of
approximately 10 millicuries (3.7E+8 becquerels) of a carbon-14 labeled
compound was applied to a 3750 ft\2\ (348 m\2\) plot during 1984. This
plot was decommissioned, and the NRC released the property from the
license in May 1993. In the second instance, on two occasions (1979 and
1982), seeds treated with a carbon-14 compound were planted in a 1600
ft\2\ (149 m\2\) plot. This plot was also decommissioned, and the NRC
released the property from the license in April 1996. No incidences
involving spills or releases of radioactive material were documented to
have occurred at Kunia Substation.
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 use) or Sec.
20.1404 (alternate release criteria). However, the NRC's analysis of
the final status survey data confirmed that the survey results and dose
modeling meet the Sec. 20.1402 radiological criteria for unrestricted
use, which is the preferred alternative.
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 finds that
the proposed action will result in no significant 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 Hawaii State Historic Preservation Officer or the local U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service because licensed activities being considered by this
EA occurred only within the confines of the Kunia Substation. Other
than the two land applications that were previously reviewed and
released by the NRC, no other use or release of radioactive material
outside of the building was identified. Accordingly, there were no
identified impacts to the cultural resources, endangered species, or
critical habitats. The Hawaii Department of Health was consulted about
this EA. The State informed the NRC by letter dated May 30, 2006, that
it had no objections to the draft EA or to the use of the EA for NRC
decisionmaking.
[[Page 37124]]
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared an EA in support of the proposed license
amendment to release Kunia Substation for unrestricted use. On the
basis of this EA, NRC has concluded that no significant environmental
impacts will result 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. Whalen, Stephanie, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Response
to NRC Information Notice 96-47, October 31, 1996 (ML060890606).
2. 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).
3. NRC, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' NUREG-1757,
Volume 1, Revision 1, September 2003 (ML053260027).
4. Whalen, Stephanie A., Hawaii Agriculture Research Center,
License Amendment Request, December 2, 2005 (ML060120252).
5. Takata, Russell, S., Response to Request for Comments on Draft
Environmental Assessment for Decommissioning of Kunia Substation at
Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, May 30, 2006 (ML061630274).
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 the 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 16th day of June 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
D. Blair Spitzberg,
Chief, Fuel Cycle & Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear
Materials Safety, Region IV.
[FR Doc. E6-10265 Filed 6-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
