Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 37-30211-01, for Unrestricted Release of the Genisphere Facility in Philadelphia, PA, 48310-48312 [E7-16701]
Download as PDF
48310
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 163 / Thursday, August 23, 2007 / Notices
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submission for the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
Review; Comment Request
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC).
ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of
information collection and solicitation
of public comment.
ebenthall on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
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 currently valid OMB control
number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision,
or extension: Revision.
2. The title of the information
collection: 10 CFR Part 21, ‘‘Reporting
of Defects and Noncompliance.’’
3. The form number if applicable: Not
Applicable.
4. How often the collection is
required: On occasion, as necessary in
order for NRC to meet its
responsibilities to conduct a detailed
review of defects in basic components of
nuclear power plants or failures to
comply that could create a substantial
safety hazard.
5. Who will be required or asked to
report: All directors and responsible
officers of firms and organizations
building, operating, or owning NRC
licensed facilities as well as directors
and responsible officers of firms and
organizations supplying basic
components and safety related design,
analysis, testing, inspection, and
consulting services of NRC licensed
facilities or activities.
6. An estimate of the number of
annual responses: 105 (70 plus 35
recordkeepers).
7. The estimated number of annual
respondents: 35.
8. An estimate of the total number of
hours needed annually to complete the
requirement or request: 7,579 hours
(4,970 hours for reporting and 2,609
hours for recordkeeping).
9. An indication of whether section
3507(d), Public Law 104–13 applies:
N/A.
10. Abstract: Reports submitted under
10 CFR 21 are reviewed by the NRC staff
to determine whether the reported
defects or failures to comply in basic
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:04 Aug 22, 2007
Jkt 211001
components at NRC licensed facilities or
activities are potentially generic safety
problems.
These reports have been the basis for
the issuance of numerous NRC
Information Notices, Generic Letters,
and Bulletins that have contributed to
the improved safety of the nuclear
industry.
The records required to be maintained
in accordance with 10 CFR 21.51 are
subject to inspection by the NRC to
determine compliance with the subject
regulation. These records fall into four
categories: Records relating to
evaluations defined by 10 CFR 21.3,
records of previously submitted reports
pursuant to 10 CFR 21.21, records of
procedures required to assure
compliance with 10 CFR 21, and
procurement documents necessary to
ensure that background specifications
are available to evaluate potential
defects and failures to comply.
Industry organizations, such as the
Institute for Nuclear Power Operations
(INPO) and the Nuclear Energy Institute
(NEI), are urged to share and distribute
such information to all affected parties
as it becomes available. The NRC further
disseminates significant generic
information to all affected parties via
NRC Information Notices, Generic
Letters, and Bulletins, and encourages
the elimination of duplicate reporting.
Computer databases are used
extensively by the NRC and the nuclear
industry for tracking these reports.
A copy of the final supporting
statement may be viewed free of charge
at the NRC Public Document Room, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Room O–1 F21, Rockville, MD
20852. OMB clearance requests are
available at the NRC worldwide Web
site: https://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/
doc-comment/omb/. The
document will be available on the NRC
home page site for 60 days after the
signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be
directed to the OMB reviewer listed
below by September 24, 2007.
Comments received after this date will
be considered if it is practical to do so,
but assurance of consideration cannot
be given to comments received after this
date. Nathan Frey, Desk Officer, Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(3150–0035), NEOB–10202, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington,
DC 20503.
Comments can also be submitted to
Nathan.Frey@omb.eop.gov or submitted
by telephone at (202) 395–4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is
Margaret A. Janney, 301–415–7245.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day
of August, 2007.
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Margaret A. Janney,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E7–16675 Filed 8–22–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030–33804]
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 37–30211–01, for
Unrestricted Release of the
Genisphere Facility in Philadelphia, PA
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 I,
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. 37–
30211–01. This license is held by
Genisphere (the Licensee), for the space
it leases from the Philadelphia College
of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)
located at 4170 City Avenue in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the
Facility). Issuance of the amendment
would authorize release of the Facility
for unrestricted use. The Licensee
requested this action in a letter dated
March 19, 2007, and responded to an
information request by letter dated May
11, 2007. 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.
E:\FR\FM\23AUN1.SGM
23AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 163 / Thursday, August 23, 2007 / Notices
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve
the Licensee’s March 19, 2007 license
amendment request, resulting in release
of the Facility for unrestricted use.
License No. 37–30211–01 was issued on
February 27, 1996, pursuant to 10 CFR
Part 30, and has been amended
periodically since that time. This
license authorizes the Licensee to use
unsealed byproduct material in
connection with conducting research
and development activities on
laboratory bench tops and in hoods at
this Facility and their facility located at
2801 Sterling Drive, Hatfield,
Pennsylvania. The proposed action
pertains only to the cessation of
licensed activities at the Facility, and
the license will thus not be terminated
if the proposed action is approved.
The Facility is situated within the
eight acre PCOM site and consists of
approximately 8,000 square feet of office
space and laboratories. The Facility is
located in a mixed residential/
commercial area. Within the Facility,
the radionuclide of concern was
hydrogen-3, because of its half-life being
greater than 120 days. Use of this
licensed material was confined to
Rooms 316 and 319 of Evans Hall, an
area of approximately 1050 square feet.
In December 2003, the Licensee
ceased licensed activities at the Facility,
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.
ebenthall on PRODPC61 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.
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: Hydrogen3. Prior to performing the final status
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:04 Aug 22, 2007
Jkt 211001
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 February 19,
2004, but delayed making a final
decision about whether or not to resume
licensed activities there. The final status
survey report was attached to the
Licensee’s letter dated May 11, 2007.
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 radionuclidespecific 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, 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 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
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
48311
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.
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
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s
Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Radiation
Protection for review on July 3, 2007.
On July 5, 2007, Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania’s Department of
Environmental Protection, Bureau of
Radiation Protection responded by
electronic 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
E:\FR\FM\23AUN1.SGM
23AUN1
48312
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 163 / Thursday, August 23, 2007 / Notices
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
that a Finding of No Significant Impact
is appropriate.
ebenthall on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
IV. Further Information
Dated at Region I, 475 Allendale Road,
King of Prussia this 16th day of August 2007.
15:04 Aug 22, 2007
Jkt 211001
Dated: August 16, 2007.
Steven C. Preston,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7–16716 Filed 8–22–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025–01–P
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Privacy Act Systems of Records
Disaster Declaration #10970; Florida
Disaster #FL–00027; Declaration of
Economic Injury
AGENCY:
U.S. Small Business
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Small Business
Administration (SBA) is adding a new
routine use to each of the agency’s
Privacy Act Systems of Records. This
new routine use will allow SBA to
disclose to appropriate agencies, entities
and persons pertinent information for
purposes of preventing, minimizing or
remedying any harm that may result
from a breach of the data maintained in
those records.
DATES: Written comments on the new
routine use must be received on or
before October 9, 2007. The routine use
will be effective without further action
at the end of the comment period,
unless comments received require a
contrary determination.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be directed to Lisa J. Babcock, Chief,
Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts
Office, U.S. Small Business
Administration, 409 3rd Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20416.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa
J. Babcock, Chief, Freedom of
Information/Privacy Acts Office, (202)
401–8203.
SUPPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May
22, 2007, the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum M–
07–16, ‘‘Safeguarding Against and
Responding to the Breach of Personally
Identifiable Information.’’ The
memorandum includes a
recommendation for agencies to adopt a
routine use specifically applying to the
disclosure of such information in the
event of a suspected or confirmed
breach. This new routine use is in
response to that recommendation and is
intended to facilitate timely and
effective response in the event of a
breach by allowing disclosure to those
persons, agencies and entities that are in
a position to assist the agency in
notifying affected individuals or in
preventing, minimizing or remedying
harm from the breach.
The Privacy Act requires agencies to
publish notice in the Federal Register
when there is a revision, including
addition of routine uses, to an agency’s
AGENCY:
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. Genisphere, Amendment Request
Letter dated March 19, 2007
[ML070810465];
6. Genisphere, Deficiency Response
Letter dated May 11, 2007
[ML071340235].
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.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E7–16701 Filed 8–22–07; 8:45 am]
SUMMARY: This is a notice of an
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
declaration for the State of Florida,
dated 08/16/2007.
Incident: Drought.
Incident Period: 04/01/2007 and
continuing.
Effective Date: 08/16/2007.
EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date:
05/16/2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan
applications to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and
Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport
Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A.
Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance,
U.S. Small Business Administration,
409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050,
Washington, DC 20416.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given that as a result of the
Administrator’s EIDL declaration,
applications for economic injury
disaster loans may be filed at the
address listed above or other locally
announced locations.
The following areas have been
determined to be adversely affected by
the disaster:
Primary Counties:
Broward, Charlotte, Duval, Lafayette, Lee,
Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and
Suwannee.
Contiguous Counties: Florida:
Baker, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Desoto,
Dixie, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton,
Hendry, Highlands, Indian River
Madison, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Osceola,
Polk, Sarasota, St. Johns, St. Lucie, and
Taylor.
The Interest Rate is: 4.000.
The number assigned to this disaster
for economic injury is 109700.
The State which received an EIDL
Declaration # is Florida.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Number 59002).
PO 00000
Frm 00059
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Small Business Administration.
Notice of new routine use;
request for comment.
ACTION:
E:\FR\FM\23AUN1.SGM
23AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 163 (Thursday, August 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48310-48312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16701]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-33804]
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 37-30211-01, for Unrestricted Release of the Genisphere
Facility in Philadelphia, PA
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
I, 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. 37-
30211-01. This license is held by Genisphere (the Licensee), for the
space it leases from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
(PCOM) located at 4170 City Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the
Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of the
Facility for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a
letter dated March 19, 2007, and responded to an information request by
letter dated May 11, 2007. 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 48311]]
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve the Licensee's March 19, 2007
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for
unrestricted use. License No. 37-30211-01 was issued on February 27,
1996, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically
since that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to use unsealed
byproduct material in connection with conducting research and
development activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods at this
Facility and their facility located at 2801 Sterling Drive, Hatfield,
Pennsylvania. The proposed action pertains only to the cessation of
licensed activities at the Facility, and the license will thus not be
terminated if the proposed action is approved.
The Facility is situated within the eight acre PCOM site and
consists of approximately 8,000 square feet of office space and
laboratories. The Facility is located in a mixed residential/commercial
area. Within the Facility, the radionuclide of concern was hydrogen-3,
because of its half-life being greater than 120 days. Use of this
licensed material was confined to Rooms 316 and 319 of Evans Hall, an
area of approximately 1050 square feet.
In December 2003, the Licensee ceased licensed activities at the
Facility, 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.
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the
Facility and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.
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. 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
February 19, 2004, but delayed making a final decision about whether or
not to resume licensed activities there. The final status survey report
was attached to the Licensee's letter dated May 11, 2007. 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, 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 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. 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
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection,
Bureau of Radiation Protection for review on July 3, 2007. On July 5,
2007, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental
Protection, Bureau of Radiation Protection responded by electronic
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
[[Page 48312]]
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 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. Genisphere, Amendment Request Letter dated March 19, 2007
[ML070810465];
6. Genisphere, Deficiency Response Letter dated May 11, 2007
[ML071340235].
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 I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia this 16th
day of August 2007.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region I.
[FR Doc. E7-16701 Filed 8-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P