Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for Decommissioning for Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation, Newfield, NJ and Opportunity to Request a Hearing, 66986-66987 [E6-19433]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 222 (Friday, November 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66986-66987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19433]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-7102]


Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for Decommissioning 
for Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation, Newfield, NJ and Opportunity 
to Request a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of amendment request and opportunity to request a 
hearing.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by January 16, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Kalman, Project Manager, 
Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and 
Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852. Telephone: (301) 415-6664 fax number: (301) 
415-5398; or e-mail: klk@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
issuance of a license amendment to Source Material License No. SMB-743 
issued to Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation (SMC or the licensee), 
to authorize the decommissioning of its Newfield Facility in Newfield, 
New Jersey. SMC submitted its revised Decommissioning Plan (DP) to NRC 
on June 30, 2006, and by letter to SMC dated October 18, 2006, the NRC 
found the DP acceptable to begin a detailed technical review of its 
adequacy.

II. Background

    SMC has been conducting smelting and alloy production at its 
Newfield site since 1940, including past production of chromium metal, 
ferrovanadium and columbium nickel. Ferroalloy production began in 1955 
and ended in June 1998. The SMC facility processed pyrochlore, a 
concentrated ore containing columbium (niobium), to produce 
ferrocolumbium, an additive/conditioner used in the production of 
speciality steel and super alloy additives. Pyrochlore contains more 
than 0.05 percent by weight thorium and uranium, and this material is 
therefore regulated by the NRC as source material. SMC was licensed by 
the NRC to ship, receive, possess, use and store source material under 
license SMB-743. In August 2001, SMC notified the NRC that it had 
ceased production activities using source material. On August 27, 2001, 
the licensee provided notification of its intent to decommission the 
facility. The license is in timely renewal, and was amended on November 
4, 2002 to authorize only decommissioning activities.
    SMC submitted its initial DP to the NRC on October 21, 2005. The DP 
proposed the use of a possession only license for long term control of 
the site. The NRC staff rejected the initial DP by letter dated January 
26, 2006. The staff met with SMC (in a meeting open to the public) on 
March 9, 2006, to discuss the initial DP's deficiencies and a path 
forward for development of an acceptable DP. Pursuant to comments 
received at the March 2006 meeting, SMC submitted its revised DP by 
letter dated June 30, 2006.
    If the NRC approves the DP, the approval will be documented in an 
amendment to NRC License No. SMB-743. However, before approving the 
proposed amendment, the NRC will need to make the findings required by 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC's regulations. These 
findings will be documented in a Safety Evaluation Report and an 
Environmental Impact Statement.

III. Opportunity to Request a Hearing

    The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on a 
proposed license amendment which would approve SMC's revised DP. In 
accordance with the general requirements in Subpart C of 10 CFR part 2, 
as amended on January 14, 2004 (69 FR 2182), any person whose interest 
may be affected by this proceeding and who desires to participate as a 
party must file a written request for a hearing and a specification of 
the contentions which the person seeks to have litigated in the 
hearing.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(a), a request for a hearing must be 
filed with the Commission either by:
    1. First class mail addressed to: Office of the Secretary, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemakings and Adjudications;
    2. Courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services: Office 
of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays;
    3. E-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, hearingdocket@nrc.gov; or
    4. By facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 
Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, at (301) 415-1101; 
verification number is (301) 415-1966.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b), all documents offered for 
filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all parties to the 
proceeding or their attorneys of record as required by law or by rule 
or order of the Commission, including:
    1. The applicant, Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation, 12 West 
Boulevard, PO Box 768, Newfield, New Jersey 08344-0768. Attention: 
David R. Smith, Radiation Safety Officer;
    2. The NRC staff, by delivery to the Office of the General Counsel, 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, or by 
mail addressed to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Hearing requests 
should also be transmitted 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.
    The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304(b), 
(c), (d), and (e), must be met. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.304(f), a 
document filed by electronic mail or facsimile transmission need not 
comply with the formal requirements of 10 CFR 2.304(b), (c), and (d), 
as long as an original and two (2) copies otherwise complying with all 
of the requirements of 10 CFR 2.304 b), (c), and (d) are mailed within 
two (2) days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b), a request for a hearing must be 
filed by January 16, 2007.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 
2.309, the general requirements involving a request for a hearing filed 
by a person other than an applicant must state:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requester;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding;

[[Page 66987]]

    3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial or 
other interest in the proceeding;
    4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309 (f)(1), a request for hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the 
contentions sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or 
petition must:
    1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted;
    2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;
    3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within 
the scope of the proceeding;
    4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material 
to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is 
involved in the proceeding;
    5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinions which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the 
issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support 
its position on the issue; and
    6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute 
exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. This 
information must include references to specific portions of SMC's 
revised DP (including the applicant's environmental report) that the 
requester/petitioner disputes and the supporting reasons for each 
dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner believes the revised DP fails 
to contain information on a relevant matter as required by law, the 
identification of each failure and the supporting reasons for the 
requester's/petitioner's belief.
    In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions 
must be based on documents or other information available at the time 
the petition is to be filed, such as the revised DP, supporting safety 
analysis report, environmental report or other supporting document 
filed by the licensee, or otherwise available to the petitioner. On 
issues arising under the National Environmental Policy Act, the 
requester/petitioner shall file contentions based on the licensee's 
environmental report. The requester/petitioner may amend those 
contentions or file new contentions if there are data or conclusions in 
the NRC draft, or final environmental impact statement, or any 
supplements relating thereto, that differ significantly from the data 
or conclusions in the licensee's documents. Otherwise, contentions may 
be amended or new contentions filed after the initial filing only with 
leave of the presiding officer.
    Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha 
designation within one of the following groups:
    1. Technical--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Safety Evaluation Report for the 
proposed action.
    2. Environmental--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Environmental Report for the proposed 
action.
    3. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined 
above.
    If the requester/petitioner believes a contention raises issues 
that cannot be classified as primarily falling into one of these 
categories, the requester/petitioner must set forth the contention and 
supporting bases, in full, separately for each category into which the 
requester/petitioner asserts the contention belongs with a separate 
designation for that category.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring 
requesters/petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, 
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that 
wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner 
must do so in writing within ten days of the date the contention is 
filed, and designate a representative who shall have the authority to 
act for the requester/petitioner.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(g), a request for hearing and/or 
petition for leave to intervene may also address the selection of the 
hearing procedures, taking into account the provisions of 10 CFR 2.310.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the revised DP 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:

--Decommissioning Plan dated October 21, 2005: Volume 1 (ML053190220), 
Volume 2 (ML053340210) and Volume 3 (ML053330384).
--U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's letter rejecting the 
Decommissioning Plan dated January 26, 2006 (ML060180551)
--Summary of March 9, 2006 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Meeting with 
Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation (ML061070401)
--Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation Supplement to Decommissioning 
Plan dated June 30, 2006 ( ML061980092)
--U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's letter accepting the 
Decommissioning Plan for technical review dated October 18, 2006 
(ML062580126)

    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 Rockville, Maryland this 9th day of November 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Rebecca Tadesse,
Branch Chief, Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management 
and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and 
Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-19433 Filed 11-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P