Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a License Amendment to By-product Material License No. 21-05199-02, for Unrestricted Release of Former Facilities for the State of Michigan, Department of Environmental Quality, Lansing, MI, 42440-42442 [E7-15040]
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42440
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 148 / Thursday, August 2, 2007 / Notices
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marc L. Dapas,
Deputy Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7–15046 Filed 8–1–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50–293]
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.;
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station; Notice
of Availability of the Final Supplement
29 to the Generic Environmental
Impact Statement for License Renewal
of Nuclear Plants, Regarding the
License Renewal of Pilgrim Nuclear
Power Station
Notice is hereby given that the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC,
Commission) has published a final
plant-specific supplement to the
‘‘Generic Environmental Impact
Statement for License Renewal of
Nuclear Plants (GEIS),’’ NUREG–1437,
regarding the renewal of operating
license DPR–35 for an additional 20
years of operation for the Pilgrim
Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim). Pilgrim
is located on the western shore of Cape
Cod in the Town of Plymouth,
Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It is
38 miles southeast of Boston,
Massachusetts, and 44 miles east of
Providence, Rhode Island. Possible
alternatives to the proposed action
(license renewal) include no action and
reasonable alternative energy sources.
As discussed in Section 9.3 of the
final Supplement 29, the
recommendation of the staff is that the
Commission determine that the adverse
environmental impacts of license
renewal for Pilgrim are not so great that
preserving the option of license renewal
for energy-planning decision makers
would be unreasonable. The
recommendation is based on: (1) The
analysis and findings in the GEIS; (2)
the Environmental Report submitted by
Entergy; (3) consultation with Federal,
State, and local agencies; (4) the staff’s
own independent review; and (5) the
staff’s consideration of public
comments.
The final Supplement 29 to the GEIS
is publicly available at the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR), located at One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, or
from the NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS). The ADAMS Public
Electronic Reading Room is accessible at
https://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/
dologin.htm. The Accession Numbers
for the final Supplement 29 to the GEIS
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are ML071990020 Volume 1 and
ML071990027 Volume 2. Persons who
do not have access to ADAMS, or who
encounter problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, should
contact the NRC’s PDR reference staff by
telephone at 1–800–397–4209, or 301–
415–4737, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov.
In addition, the final supplement will be
available at the following libraries for
public inspection: the Plymouth Public
Library, 132 South Street, the Duxbury
Free Library, 77 Alden Street, and the
Kingston Public Library, 6 Green Street.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Ms.
Alicia Williamson, Environmental
Branch B, Division of License Renewal,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Mail Stop O–11F1, Washington, DC
20555–0001. Ms. Williamson may be
contacted by telephone at 1–800–368–
5642, extension 1878 or via e-mail at
arw1@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day
of July, 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Rani L. Franovich,
Branch Chief, Environmental Branch B,
Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E7–15051 Filed 8–1–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030–07188]
Notice of Environmental Assessment
Related to the Issuance of a License
Amendment to By-product Material
License No. 21–05199–02, for
Unrestricted Release of Former
Facilities for the State of Michigan,
Department of Environmental Quality,
Lansing, MI
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William Snell, Senior Health Physicist,
Decommissioning Branch, Division of
Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois
60532; telephone: (630) 829–9871; fax
number: (630) 515–1259; or by email at
wgs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
is considering the issuance of an
amendment to NRC By-product
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Materials License No. 21–05199–02,
which is held by the State of Michigan,
Department of Environmental Quality
(licensee). The amendment would
authorize the decommissioning and
unrestricted release of the licensee’s
former facilities located at 3423 and
3500 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.,
Lansing, Michigan (the facilities). The
NRC has prepared an Environmental
Assessment in support of this action in
accordance with the requirements of 10
CFR Part 51. Based on the
Environmental Assessment, the NRC
has determined that a Finding of No
Significant Impact is appropriate. The
amendment to the State of Michigan’s
Department of Environmental Quality
license will be issued following the
publication of this Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact.
I. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve
the State of Michigan’s Department of
Environmental Quality request to
amend its license and release the
facilities for unrestricted use in
accordance with 10 CFR Part 20,
Subpart E. The proposed action does not
pertain to the licensee’s radiological
laboratory at 815 Terminal Road, in
Lansing, Michigan, where licensed
activities will continue. The proposed
action is in accordance with the
licensee’s request to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend
its license by letter dated February 28,
2007 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML070590426). The State of Michigan’s
Department of Environmental Quality
was first licensed to use by-product
materials at its facilities at 3500 N.
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (formerly
3500 N. Logan) on June 30, 1964, and
at 3423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
on February 21, 1997. The licensee is
authorized to use by-product materials
for activities involving instrument
calibration and for analysis of
environmental samples. The licensee
was authorized to use sealed sources at
the facilities containing cesium-137,
cobalt-60, americium-241, nickel-63,
and strontium-90. Isotopes that were
authorized for use at the facilities in an
unsealed form included any by-product
material up to a maximum of 100
millicuries at any one time.
At the 3500 N. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. address, the licensee used byproduct materials in two buildings. The
licensee analyzed environmental and
special samples in its Nuclear Counting
Facility in Building 44, and stored
radiological materials in its Radioactive
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 148 / Thursday, August 2, 2007 / Notices
Material Storage Bunker in Building 20.
The licensee ceased using the Nuclear
Counting Laboratory and moved all
calibration standards, environmental
samples and special samples to its new
radiological laboratory at 815 Terminal
Road, Lansing, Michigan, prior to
conducting final status surveys in
November 2000 to verify that the 3500
N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. facility
could be released for unrestricted use.
In October 2000, the Michigan
Department of Public Health requested
the NRC terminate its SUB–1385
license, which also authorized the use
of radioactive material in the
Radioactive Material Storage Bunker in
Building 20. The Michigan Department
of Public Health provided a Final Status
Survey Report that documented that the
Radioactive Material Storage Bunker in
Building 20 had been surveyed for
residual contamination in 1998 and was
acceptable for unrestricted use. In
January 2001, the NRC terminated the
SUB–1385 license and released the
Radioactive Material Storage Bunker in
Building 20 for unrestricted use. The
licensee stated in a July 11, 2007,
telephone conference, that it had not
used the Radioactive Material Storage
Bunker in Building 20 since it had been
released for unrestricted use by the NRC
in 2001.
At the 3423 N. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. address, the licensee maintained a
facility for the calibration of portable
radiation survey instruments and the
storage of radioactive material. The
licensee ceased using the calibration/
storage facility and moved all radiation
sources and environmental samples to
its new calibration facility at 815
Terminal Road, Lansing, Michigan,
prior to conducting final status surveys
in November 2000 to verify that the
3423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
facility could be released for
unrestricted use.
The licensee conducted surveys of the
facilities as part of its decommissioning
activities and provided this information
to the NRC to demonstrate that the
radiological condition there is
consistent with radiological criteria for
unrestricted use in 10 CFR Part 20,
Subpart E. The licensee was not
required to submit a decommissioning
plan to the NRC since any
decommissioning activities and
procedures implemented were
consistent with those approved for
routine operations. No radiological
remediation activities are required to
complete the proposed action.
the facilities, and is conducting licensed
activities at another location. The NRC
is fulfilling its responsibilities under the
Atomic Energy Act to make a decision
on the proposed action for
decommissioning that ensures that
residual radioactivity is reduced to a
level that is protective of the public
health and safety and the environment,
and allows the facilities to be released
for unrestricted use.
Need for the Proposed Action
The licensee is requesting this license
amendment because it has moved out of
Conclusion
The NRC staff concluded that the
proposed action is consistent with the
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Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The NRC staff reviewed the
information provided and surveys
performed by the licensee to
demonstrate that the release of the
facilities is consistent with the
radiological criteria for unrestricted use
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on
its review, the staff determined that
there were no radiological impacts
associated with the proposed action
because no radiological remediation
activities were required to complete the
proposed action, and that the
radiological criteria for unrestricted use
in § 20.1402 have been met.
Based on its review, the staff
determined that the radiological
environmental impacts from the
proposed action for the facilities are
bounded by the ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement in Support of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for
License Termination of NRC-Licensed
Nuclear Facilities’’ (NUREG–1496).
Additionally, no non-radiological or
cumulative impacts were identified.
Therefore, the NRC has determined that
the proposed action will not have a
significant effect on the quality of the
human environment.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
The only alternative to the proposed
action is to take no action. Under the
no-action alternative, the facilities
would remain under an NRC license
and would not be released for
unrestricted use. Denial of the license
amendment request would result in no
change to current conditions. The noaction alternative is not acceptable
because it is inconsistent with 10 CFR
30.36, which requires that
decommissioning of by-product material
facilities be completed and approved by
the NRC after licensed activities cease.
This alternative would impose an
unnecessary regulatory burden in
controlling access to the former facility,
and limit potential benefits from the
future use of the facility.
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42441
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
The NRC staff has determined that the
proposed action will not affect listed
species or critical habitats. Therefore, no
further consultation is required under
Section 7 of the Endangered Species
Act. Likewise, the NRC staff has
determined that the proposed action is
not a type of activity that has potential
to cause effect on historic properties.
Therefore, consultation under section
106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act is not required.
The NRC consulted with the Michigan
Department of Community Health
(DCH). The Michigan DCH, Bureau of
Health Systems, Division of Health
Facilities and Services, was provided
the draft EA for comment on July 13,
2007. Mr. Bruce Matkovich, Manager,
Radiation Safety Section, with the
Michigan DCH, responded to the NRC
by e-mail on July 16, 2007, indicating
that the State had no comments
regarding the NRC Environmental
Assessment for the release of the
Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality facilities.
II. Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the EA in support of
the proposed license amendment, the
NRC has determined that the proposed
action will not have a significant effect
on the quality of the human
environment. Thus, the NRC has not
prepared an environmental impact
statement for the proposed action.
III. 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. 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. The
documents and ADAMS accession
numbers related to this notice are:
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42442
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 148 / Thursday, August 2, 2007 / Notices
1. Robert D. Skowronek, Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality,
letter to Patricia Pelke, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, February 22,
2007 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML070590426).
2. Telephone Conversation Record,
Initiated by William Snell, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, to Robert
Skowronek, Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality, on July 11, 2007
(ADAMS Accession No. ML071930403).
3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, ‘‘Environmental Review
Guidance for Licensing Actions
Associated with NMSS Programs,’’
NUREG–1748, August 2003.
4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement in Support of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for
License Termination of NRC-Licensed
Nuclear Facilities,’’ NUREG–1496,
August 1994.
5. NRC, NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated
NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,’’
Volumes 1–3, September 2003.
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 Lisle, Illinois, this 20th day of July
2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of
Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III.
[FR Doc. E7–15040 Filed 8–1–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Clarification to Regulatory Guide 1.200,
Revision 1
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Clarification to Regulatory
Guide.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Mary Drouin, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001. Telephone: 301–415–6675; e-mail:
MXD@nrc.gov.
Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a
clarification to an existing guide in the
agency’s regulatory guide (RG) series.
The NRC has developed this series to
describe and make available to the
public such information as methods that
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are acceptable to the NRC staff for
implementing specific parts of the
NRC’s regulations, techniques that the
staff uses in evaluating specific
problems or postulated accidents, and
data that the staff needs in its review of
applications for permits and licenses.
At this time, the NRC is issuing a
clarification to Revision 1 of RG 1.200,
‘‘An Approach for Determining the
Technical Adequacy of Probabilistic
Risk Assessment Results for RiskInformed Activities,’’ issued January
2007. The purpose of this clarification is
to provide additional explanation to the
staff’s regulatory position with regard to
defining the technical acceptability of a
probabilistic risk assessment (PRA),
specifically with respect to the
treatment of the sources of model
uncertainty and the related assumptions
in the base PRA.
The clarification to RG 1.200,
Revision 1 can be found in Agencywide
Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Accession Number
ML071940235.
The clarification to Regulatory Guide
1.200, Revision 1, is intended for
licensees of nuclear power plants.
Revision 1 of this RG remains in effect
for licensees of nuclear power plants.
The NRC staff encourages and
welcomes comments and suggestions in
connection with improvements to
published RGs, as well as items for
inclusion in RGs that are currently
under development. You may submit
comments by any of the following
methods.
1. Mail comments to: Rulemaking,
Directives and Editing Branch, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001.
2. Hand-deliver comments to:
Rulemaking, Directives and Editing
Branch, Office of Administration, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.
on Federal workdays.
3. Fax comments to: Rulemaking,
Directives and Editing Branch, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission at (301) 415–5144.
4. Direct requests for technical
information about this clarification to
Revision 1 of RG 1.200 to Ms. Mary
Drouin at (301) 415–6675 or
MXD@nrc.gov.
RGs are available for inspection or
downloading through the NRC’s public
Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/reg-guides/. In
addition, this clarification to Revision 1
of RG 1.200 is available for inspection
or downloading through the
Agencywide Documents Access and
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Management System (ADAMS) at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html under ADAMS Accession
No. ML071940235.
The clarification to Revision 1 of RG
1.200 and other related publicly
available documents can also be viewed
electronically on computers in the
NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR),
which is located at 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The
reproduction contractor at the PDR will
make copies of documents for a fee. The
mailing address for the PDR is USNRC,
PDR, Washington, DC 20555–0001. The
PDR can also be reached by telephone
at (301) 415–4737 or (800) 397–4205, by
fax at (301) 415–3548, and by e-mail to
PDR@nrc.gov.
RGs are not copyrighted, and
Commission approval is not required to
reproduce them.
(5 U.S.C. 552(a))
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day
of July, 2007.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
Farouk Eltawila,
Director, Division of Risk Assessment and
Special Projects, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research.
[FR Doc. E7–15036 Filed 8–1–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
NUREG–1556, Volume 9, Revision 2,
‘‘Consolidated Guidance About
Materials Licenses Program-Specific
Guidance About Medical Use Licenses;
Draft Guidance Document for
Comment
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability for public
comment.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has amended its
regulations to include jurisdiction over
certain radium sources, acceleratorproduced radioactive materials, and
certain naturally occurring radioactive
material, as required by the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which was
signed into law on August 8, 2005. The
EPAct expanded the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954 definition of byproduct material
to include these radioactive materials.
Subsequently, these radioactive
materials were placed under NRC’s
regulatory authority. NRC is revising its
regulations to provide a regulatory
framework that includes these newly
added radioactive materials. See SECY–
07–0062, ‘‘Final Rule: Requirements for
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 148 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42440-42442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15040]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-07188]
Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a
License Amendment to By-product Material License No. 21-05199-02, for
Unrestricted Release of Former Facilities for the State of Michigan,
Department of Environmental Quality, Lansing, MI
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License Amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Snell, Senior Health
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials
Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9871; fax
number: (630) 515-1259; or by email at wgs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
is considering the issuance of an amendment to NRC By-product Materials
License No. 21-05199-02, which is held by the State of Michigan,
Department of Environmental Quality (licensee). The amendment would
authorize the decommissioning and unrestricted release of the
licensee's former facilities located at 3423 and 3500 N. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd., Lansing, Michigan (the facilities). The NRC has
prepared an Environmental Assessment in support of this action in
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the
Environmental Assessment, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No
Significant Impact is appropriate. The amendment to the State of
Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality license will be issued
following the publication of this Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact.
I. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve the State of Michigan's
Department of Environmental Quality request to amend its license and
release the facilities for unrestricted use in accordance with 10 CFR
Part 20, Subpart E. The proposed action does not pertain to the
licensee's radiological laboratory at 815 Terminal Road, in Lansing,
Michigan, where licensed activities will continue. The proposed action
is in accordance with the licensee's request to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend its license by letter dated
February 28, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070590426). The State of
Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality was first licensed to
use by-product materials at its facilities at 3500 N. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd. (formerly 3500 N. Logan) on June 30, 1964, and at 3423
N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on February 21, 1997. The licensee is
authorized to use by-product materials for activities involving
instrument calibration and for analysis of environmental samples. The
licensee was authorized to use sealed sources at the facilities
containing cesium-137, cobalt-60, americium-241, nickel-63, and
strontium-90. Isotopes that were authorized for use at the facilities
in an unsealed form included any by-product material up to a maximum of
100 millicuries at any one time.
At the 3500 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. address, the licensee
used by-product materials in two buildings. The licensee analyzed
environmental and special samples in its Nuclear Counting Facility in
Building 44, and stored radiological materials in its Radioactive
[[Page 42441]]
Material Storage Bunker in Building 20. The licensee ceased using the
Nuclear Counting Laboratory and moved all calibration standards,
environmental samples and special samples to its new radiological
laboratory at 815 Terminal Road, Lansing, Michigan, prior to conducting
final status surveys in November 2000 to verify that the 3500 N. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd. facility could be released for unrestricted use.
In October 2000, the Michigan Department of Public Health requested
the NRC terminate its SUB-1385 license, which also authorized the use
of radioactive material in the Radioactive Material Storage Bunker in
Building 20. The Michigan Department of Public Health provided a Final
Status Survey Report that documented that the Radioactive Material
Storage Bunker in Building 20 had been surveyed for residual
contamination in 1998 and was acceptable for unrestricted use. In
January 2001, the NRC terminated the SUB-1385 license and released the
Radioactive Material Storage Bunker in Building 20 for unrestricted
use. The licensee stated in a July 11, 2007, telephone conference, that
it had not used the Radioactive Material Storage Bunker in Building 20
since it had been released for unrestricted use by the NRC in 2001.
At the 3423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. address, the licensee
maintained a facility for the calibration of portable radiation survey
instruments and the storage of radioactive material. The licensee
ceased using the calibration/storage facility and moved all radiation
sources and environmental samples to its new calibration facility at
815 Terminal Road, Lansing, Michigan, prior to conducting final status
surveys in November 2000 to verify that the 3423 N. Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd. facility could be released for unrestricted use.
The licensee conducted surveys of the facilities as part of its
decommissioning activities and provided this information to the NRC to
demonstrate that the radiological condition there is consistent with
radiological criteria for unrestricted use in 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart
E. The licensee was not required to submit a decommissioning plan to
the NRC since any decommissioning activities and procedures implemented
were consistent with those approved for routine operations. No
radiological remediation activities are required to complete the
proposed action.
Need for the Proposed Action
The licensee is requesting this license amendment because it has
moved out of the facilities, and is conducting licensed activities at
another location. The NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under the
Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on the proposed action for
decommissioning that ensures that residual radioactivity is reduced to
a level that is protective of the public health and safety and the
environment, and allows the facilities to be released for unrestricted
use.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff reviewed the information provided and surveys
performed by the licensee to demonstrate that the release of the
facilities is consistent with the radiological criteria for
unrestricted use specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the
staff determined that there were no radiological impacts associated
with the proposed action because no radiological remediation activities
were required to complete the proposed action, and that the
radiological criteria for unrestricted use in Sec. 20.1402 have been
met.
Based on its review, the staff determined that the radiological
environmental impacts from the proposed action for the facilities are
bounded by the ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' (NUREG-1496). Additionally, no non-
radiological or cumulative impacts were identified. Therefore, the NRC
has determined that the proposed action will not have a significant
effect on the quality of the human environment.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
The only alternative to the proposed action is to take no action.
Under the no-action alternative, the facilities would remain under an
NRC license and would not be released for unrestricted use. Denial of
the license amendment request would result in no change to current
conditions. The no-action alternative is not acceptable because it is
inconsistent with 10 CFR 30.36, which requires that decommissioning of
by-product material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC
after licensed activities cease. This alternative would impose an
unnecessary regulatory burden in controlling access to the former
facility, and limit potential benefits from the future use of the
facility.
Conclusion
The NRC staff 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
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action will not
affect listed species or critical habitats. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
Likewise, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not
a type of activity that has potential to cause effect on historic
properties. Therefore, consultation under section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act is not required.
The NRC consulted with the Michigan Department of Community Health
(DCH). The Michigan DCH, Bureau of Health Systems, Division of Health
Facilities and Services, was provided the draft EA for comment on July
13, 2007. Mr. Bruce Matkovich, Manager, Radiation Safety Section, with
the Michigan DCH, responded to the NRC by e-mail on July 16, 2007,
indicating that the State had no comments regarding the NRC
Environmental Assessment for the release of the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality facilities.
II. Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the EA in support of the proposed license
amendment, the NRC has determined that the proposed action will not
have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment.
Thus, the NRC has not prepared an environmental impact statement for
the proposed action.
III. 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. 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. The documents
and ADAMS accession numbers related to this notice are:
[[Page 42442]]
1. Robert D. Skowronek, Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality, letter to Patricia Pelke, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
February 22, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML070590426).
2. Telephone Conversation Record, Initiated by William Snell, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to Robert Skowronek, Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality, on July 11, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML071930403).
3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Review
Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs,'' NUREG-
1748, August 2003.
4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Generic Environmental
Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for
License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-1496,
August 1994.
5. NRC, NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,''
Volumes 1-3, September 2003.
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 Lisle, Illinois, this 20th day of July 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region III.
[FR Doc. E7-15040 Filed 8-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
