Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 09-25420-01, for Termination of the License and Unrestricted Release of the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey-BRD Facility In Gainesville, Florida, 78229-78231 [E6-22240]
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<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 2006 / Notices
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
actions taken in response to this Order
shall be maintained until the
Commission determines otherwise.
The Licensee’s response to Conditions
B.1, B.2, C.1, and C.2, above shall be
submitted in accordance with 10 CFR
70.5.
In addition, the Licensee’s submittals
that contain Safeguards Information
shall be properly marked and handled
in accordance with the Order issued on
August 28, 2006, requiring a program for
protecting Safeguards Information.
The Director, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, may, in
writing, relax or rescind any of the
above conditions upon demonstration
by the Licensee of good cause.
IV
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 twenty (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 in which to submit
an answer or request a hearing must be
made in writing to the Director, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards, 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 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,
Office of the Secretary of the
Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC
20555. Copies also shall be sent to the
Director, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, and 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 II,
61 Forsyth Street, SW, Suite 23T85,
Atlanta, GA 30303–8931, and to the
Licensee if the answer or hearing
request is by a person other than the
Licensee. Because of possible
disruptions in delivery of mail to United
States Government offices, it is
requested that answers and requests for
hearing be transmitted to the Secretary
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:03 Dec 27, 2006
Jkt 211001
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.
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 may, in addition to demanding
a hearing, at the time the answer is filed
or sooner, move 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 III above shall be final twenty
(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 III shall
be final when the extension expires if a
hearing request has not been received.
An Answer or a request for hearing
shall not stay the immediate
effectiveness of this Order.
Dated this 20th day of December, 2006.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jack R. Strosnider,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6–22243 Filed 12–27–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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78229
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 03034625]
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 09–25420–01, for
Termination of the License and
Unrestricted Release of the U.S.
Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey—BRD Facility In
Gainesville, Florida
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dennis Lawyer, Health Physicist,
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 1,
475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia,
Pennsylvania; telephone 610–337–5366;
fax number 610–337–5393; or by e-mail:
drl1@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of a license amendment to
Byproduct Materials License No. 09–
25420–01. This license is held by U.S.
Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey—BRD (the Licensee),
for its Florida Integrated Science Center
(the Facility), located at 7920 NW 71st
Street in Gainesville, Florida. Issuance
of the amendment would authorize
release of the Facility for unrestricted
use and termination of the NRC license.
The Licensee requested this action in a
letter dated August 11, 2006. 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.
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve
the Licensee’s August 11, 2006, license
amendment request, resulting in release
of the Facility for unrestricted use and
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 2006 / Notices
the termination of its NRC materials
license. License No. 09–25420–01 was
issued on January 29, 1998, pursuant to
10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended
periodically since that time. This
license authorized the Licensee to use
unsealed byproduct material for
purposes of conducting research and
development activities on laboratory
bench tops.
The Facility is situated on a 28 acre
parcel of land located within a 600 acre
property owned by the University of
Florida. The property is used by the
University’s Fisheries Department and
is surrounded by residential areas.
Within the Facility, use of licensed
materials was confined to Room 15, a
450 square feet room within the 28,000
square feet building, and a 64 square
feet storage shed.
By April 2006, the Licensee had
ceased licensed activities and initiated a
survey and decontamination of the
Facility. Based on the Licensee’s
historical knowledge of the site and the
conditions of the Facility, the Licensee
determined that only routine
decontamination activities, in
accordance with their NRC-approved,
operating radiation safety procedures,
were required. The Licensee was not
required to submit a decommissioning
plan to the NRC because worker cleanup
activities and procedures are consistent
with those approved for routine
operations. The Licensee conducted
surveys of the Facility and provided
information to the NRC to demonstrate
that it meets the criteria in Subpart E of
10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release
and for license termination.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting
licensed activities at the Facility, and
seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility
and the termination of its NRC materials
license. Termination of its license
would end the Licensee’s obligation to
pay annual license fees to the NRC.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The historical review of licensed
activities conducted at the Facility
shows that such activities involved use
of the following radionuclides with halflives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3
and carbon-14. Prior to performing the
final status survey, the Licensee
conducted decontamination activities,
as necessary, in the areas of the Facility
affected by these radionuclides.
The Licensee conducted a final status
survey of the Facility on September 22
and October 24, 2006. The final status
survey report was submitted to NRC
with the Licensee’s letters dated October
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20:03 Dec 27, 2006
Jkt 211001
25 and November 6, 2006. The Licensee
elected to demonstrate compliance with
the radiological criteria for unrestricted
release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402
by using the screening approach
described in NUREG–1757,
‘‘Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
Guidance,’’ Volume 2. The Licensee
used the radionuclide-specific derived
concentration guideline levels (DCGLs),
developed there by the NRC, which
comply with the dose criterion in 10
CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the
maximum amount of residual
radioactivity on building surfaces,
equipment, and materials, and in soils,
that will satisfy the NRC requirements
in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for
unrestricted release. The Licensee’s
final status survey results were below
these DCGLs and are in compliance
with the As Low As Reasonably
Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10
CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that
the Licensee’s final status survey results
are acceptable.
Based on its review, the staff has
determined that the affected
environment and any environmental
impacts associated with the proposed
action are bounded by the impacts
evaluated by the ‘‘Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities’’ (NUREG–
1496) Volumes 1–3 (ML042310492,
ML042320379, and ML042330385). The
staff finds there were no significant
environmental impacts from the use of
radioactive material at the Facility. 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 surrounding the Facility.
No such hazards or impacts to the
environment were identified. The NRC
has identified no other radiological or
non-radiological activities in the area
that could result in cumulative
environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed
release of the Facility for unrestricted
use and the termination of the NRC
materials license is in compliance with
10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review,
the staff considered the impact of the
residual radioactivity at the Facility and
concluded that the proposed action will
not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment.
Environmental Impacts of the
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Due to the largely administrative
nature of the proposed action, its
environmental impacts are small.
Therefore, the only alternative the staff
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Frm 00103
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
considered is the no-action alternative,
under which the staff would leave
things as they are by simply denying the
amendment request. This no-action
alternative is not feasible because it
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d),
requiring that decommissioning of
byproduct material facilities be
completed and approved by the NRC
after licensed activities cease. The
NRC’s analysis of the Licensee’s final
status survey data confirmed that the
Facility meets the requirements of 10
CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release and
for license termination. Additionally,
denying the amendment request would
result in no change in current
environmental impacts. The
environmental impacts of the proposed
action and the no-action alternative are
therefore similar, and the no-action
alternative is accordingly not further
considered.
Conclusion
The NRC staff has concluded that the
proposed action is consistent with the
NRC’s unrestricted release criteria
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Because
the proposed action will not
significantly impact the quality of the
human environment, the NRC staff
concludes that the proposed action is
the preferred alternative.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
NRC provided a draft of this
Environmental Assessment to the
Florida Bureau of Radiation Control for
review on November 20, 2006. On
November 20, 2006, the Florida Bureau
of Radiation Control responded by email. The State agreed with the
conclusions of the EA, and otherwise
had no comments.
The NRC staff has determined that the
proposed action is of a procedural
nature, and will not affect listed species
or critical habitat. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act. The
NRC staff has also determined that the
proposed action is not the type of
activity that has the potential to cause
effects on historic properties. Therefore,
no further consultation is required
under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in
support of the proposed action. On the
basis of this EA, the NRC finds that
there are no significant environmental
impacts from the proposed action, and
that preparation of an environmental
impact statement is not warranted.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 2006 / Notices
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
IV. Further Information
[Docket No. 030–36974]
Documents related to this action,
including the application for 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
Document Access and Management
System (ADAMS), which provides text
and image files of NRC’s public
documents. The documents related to
this action are listed below, along with
their ADAMS accession numbers.
1. NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated
NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;’’
2. Title 10 Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
‘‘Radiological Criteria for License
Termination;’’
3. Title 10, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 51, ‘‘Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions;’’
4. NUREG–1496, ‘‘Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities’’
5. Department of Interior, Termination
Request Letter, dated August 11, 2006
[ML062280486]
6. Department of Interior, Deficiency
Response letter, dated September 19,
2006 [ML062640363]
7. Department of Interior, Deficiency
Response letter, dated October 25, 2006
[ML063050464]
8. Department of Interior, Deficiency
Response letter, dated November 6,
2006 [ML063170366]
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.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
that a Finding of No Significant Impact
is appropriate.
Notice of Availability of Draft
Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact for
Proposed Pa’ina Hawaii, LLC Irradiator
in Honolulu, Hawaii
Dated at Region 1, 475 Allendale Road,
King of Prussia this 19th day of December
2006.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 1.
[FR Doc. E6–22240 Filed 12–27–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability of
opportunity to provide comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the
Pa’ina Hawaii, LLC (Pa’ina or the
applicant) license application, dated
June 27, 2005. The draft EA is being
issued as part of the NRC’s decisionmaking process on whether to issue a
license to Pa’ina, pursuant to Title 10 of
the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
Part 36, ‘‘Licenses and Radiation Safety
Requirements for Irradiators.’’ The
license would authorize the use of
sealed radioactive sources in an
underwater irradiator for the production
and research irradiation of food,
cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.
The proposed irradiator would be
located immediately adjacent to
Honolulu International Airport on
Palekona Street near Lagoon Drive. The
irradiator would primarily be used for
phytosanitary treatment of fresh fruit
and vegetables bound for the mainland
from the Hawaiian Islands and similar
products being imported to the
Hawaiian Islands as well as irradiation
of cosmetics and pharmaceutical
products. The irradiator would also be
used by the applicant to conduct
research and development projects, and
irradiate a wide range of other materials
as specifically approved by the NRC on
a case-by-case basis.
The NRC staff will also hold a public
meeting to present an overview of the
draft EA and to accept oral and written
public comments. The meeting date,
time and location are listed below:
Meeting Date: Thursday, February 1,
2007.
Meeting Location: Ala Moana Hotel,
410 Atkinson Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii
96814, Hotel Telephone number 808–
955–4811.
Informal Open House: 6 p.m.—7 p.m.
NRC Overview Presentation: 7 p.m.—
7:30 p.m.
Question and Answer: 7:30 p.m.—8
p.m.
Comment Session: 8 p.m.—9 p.m.
Prior to the public meeting, the NRC
staff will be available to informally
PO 00000
Frm 00104
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
78231
discuss the proposed Pa’ina project and
answer questions in an ‘‘open house’’
format. This ‘‘open house’’’ format
provides for one-on-one discussions
with the NRC staff involved with the
preparation of the draft EA. The draft
EA meeting officially begins at 7:00 PM
and will include: (1) A presentation
summarizing the contents of the draft
EA and (2) an opportunity for interested
government agencies, organizations, and
individuals to provide comments on the
draft EA. This portion of the meeting
will be transcribed by a court reporter.
Persons wishing to provide oral
comments will be asked to register at
the meeting entrance. Individual oral
comments may have to be limited by the
time available, depending upon the
number of persons who register.
Additionally, the NRC will set up a
toll-free telephone number that
interested members of the public may
use to participate. Details of the toll free
telephone number will be provided in a
public notice prior to the meeting.
Please note that comments do not
have to provided at the public meeting
and may be submitted at any time
throughout the comment period as
described in the DATES and ADDRESSES
sections of this notice.
DATES: The public comment period on
the draft EA begins with publication of
this notice and continues until February
8, 2007. Written comments should be
submitted as described in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Comments submitted by mail should be
postmarked by that date to ensure
consideration. Comments received or
postmarked after that date will be
considered to the extent practical. A
public meeting to discuss the draft EA
will be held as described in the
SUMMARY section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Members of the public are
invited and encouraged to submit
comments to the Chief, Rules Review
and Directives Branch, Mail Stop T6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001. Please note Docket No. 030–36974
when submitting comments. Comments
will also be accepted by e-mail at
NRCREP@nrc.gov or by facsimile to
(301) 415–5397, Attention: Matthew
Blevins.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Matthew Blevins, Environmental Project
Manager, Environmental and
Performance Assessment Branch,
Division of Waste Management and
Environmental Protection, Mail Stop
T7-J8, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC, 20555–
0001. Telephone: (301) 415–7684; email: mxb6@nrc.gov
E:\FR\FM\28DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78229-78231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22240]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 03034625]
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 09-25420-01, for Termination of the License and
Unrestricted Release of the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey--BRD Facility In Gainesville, Florida
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License Amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Lawyer, Health Physicist,
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region
1, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; telephone 610-
337-5366; fax number 610-337-5393; or by e-mail: drl1@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance of a license amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 09-
25420-01. This license is held by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S.
Geological Survey--BRD (the Licensee), for its Florida Integrated
Science Center (the Facility), located at 7920 NW 71st Street in
Gainesville, Florida. Issuance of the amendment would authorize release
of the Facility for unrestricted use and termination of the NRC
license. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated August
11, 2006. 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.
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve the Licensee's August 11, 2006,
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for
unrestricted use and
[[Page 78230]]
the termination of its NRC materials license. License No. 09-25420-01
was issued on January 29, 1998, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has
been amended periodically since that time. This license authorized the
Licensee to use unsealed byproduct material for purposes of conducting
research and development activities on laboratory bench tops.
The Facility is situated on a 28 acre parcel of land located within
a 600 acre property owned by the University of Florida. The property is
used by the University's Fisheries Department and is surrounded by
residential areas. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was
confined to Room 15, a 450 square feet room within the 28,000 square
feet building, and a 64 square feet storage shed.
By April 2006, the Licensee had ceased licensed activities and
initiated a survey and decontamination of the Facility. Based on the
Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of the
Facility, the Licensee determined that only routine decontamination
activities, in accordance with their NRC-approved, operating radiation
safety procedures, were required. The Licensee was not required to
submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker cleanup
activities and procedures are consistent with those approved for
routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys of the Facility and
provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the
criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release and
for license termination.
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility and the
termination of its NRC materials license. Termination of its license
would end the Licensee's obligation to pay annual license fees to the
NRC.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the
Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3 and
carbon-14. Prior to performing the final status survey, the Licensee
conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of the
Facility affected by these radionuclides.
The Licensee conducted a final status survey of the Facility on
September 22 and October 24, 2006. The final status survey report was
submitted to NRC with the Licensee's letters dated October 25 and
November 6, 2006. The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with
the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10
CFR 20.1402 by using the screening approach described in NUREG-1757,
``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. The Licensee
used the radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels
(DCGLs), developed there by the NRC, which comply with the dose
criterion in 10 CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the maximum amount of
residual radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and materials,
and in soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10
CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's final status
survey results were below these DCGLs and are in compliance with the As
Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The
NRC thus finds that the Licensee's final status survey results are
acceptable.
Based on its review, the staff has determined that the affected
environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed
action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities''
(NUREG-1496) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385).
The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from
the use of radioactive material at the Facility. 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
surrounding the Facility. No such hazards or impacts to the environment
were identified. The NRC has identified no other radiological or non-
radiological activities in the area that could result in cumulative
environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of the Facility for
unrestricted use and the termination of the NRC materials license is in
compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff
considered the impact of the residual radioactivity at the Facility and
concluded that the proposed action will not have a significant effect
on the quality of the human environment.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action,
its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative
the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the
staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d), requiring that decommissioning of
byproduct material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC
after licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's
final status survey data confirmed that the Facility meets the
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release and for license
termination. Additionally, denying the amendment request would result
in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental
impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative are
therefore similar, and the no-action alternative is accordingly not
further considered.
Conclusion
The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action is consistent
with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR
20.1402. Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the
quality of the human environment, the NRC staff concludes that the
proposed action is the preferred alternative.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the
Florida Bureau of Radiation Control for review on November 20, 2006. On
November 20, 2006, the Florida Bureau of Radiation Control responded by
e-mail. The State agreed with the conclusions of the EA, and otherwise
had no comments.
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined
[[Page 78231]]
that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action, including the application for
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 Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The documents
related to this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS
accession numbers.
1. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
2. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
3. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions;''
4. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities''
5. Department of Interior, Termination Request Letter, dated August
11, 2006 [ML062280486]
6. Department of Interior, Deficiency Response letter, dated
September 19, 2006 [ML062640363]
7. Department of Interior, Deficiency Response letter, dated
October 25, 2006 [ML063050464]
8. Department of Interior, Deficiency Response letter, dated
November 6, 2006 [ML063170366]
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 Region 1, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia this 19th
day of December 2006.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region 1.
[FR Doc. E6-22240 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
