Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for Amendment of a Materials Permit in Accordance With Byproduct Materials License No. 03-23853-01VA, for Unrestricted Release of a Department of Veterans Affairs' Facility in Seattle, WA, 8717-8719 [E8-2774]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 2008 / Notices
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 50–247 and 50–286; License
Nos. DPR–26 AND DPR–64]
[Docket No. 030–34325]
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.,
Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 2, Llc,
Entergy Nuclear Indian Point 3, Llc;
Indian Point Nuclear Generating Unit
Nos. 2 and 3; Receipt of Request for
Action Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for Amendment of a
Materials Permit in Accordance With
Byproduct Materials License No. 03–
23853–01VA, for Unrestricted Release
of a Department of Veterans Affairs’
Facility in Seattle, WA
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Notice is hereby given that by petition
dated June 25, 2007, Friends United for
Sustainable Energy (FUSE, the
Petitioner) has requested that pursuant
to 10 CFR 2.206, the NRC take action
with regard to the Indian Point Nuclear
Generating Unit Nos. 2 and 3 (Indian
Point). The petition requested that the
NRC issue orders, effective immediately,
to suspend the Indian Point licenses
until such time as the issues described
in the petition can be remedied to a
point of full compliance with all local,
State, and Federal laws.
The request is being treated pursuant
to 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission’s
regulations. The request has been
referred to the Director of the Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). On
September 4, 2007, the Petitioner was
notified that its request for immediate
action is denied. The Petitioner
participated in a conference call with
the NRR Petition Review Board (PRB)
on December 21, 2007, to discuss the
petition. The additional information
provided by the Petitioner was
considered by the PRB before making its
final recommendation. By letter dated
February 1, 2008, the Director accepted
for review pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 the
Petitioner’s concerns regarding the
licensee’s failure to implement the new
emergency notification siren system in a
timely manner and the underground
leakage of contaminated water at the
Indian Point facility. As provided by
Section 2.206, appropriate action will be
taken on this petition within a
reasonable time.
A copy of the petition can be located
at Agencywide Documents Access and
Management Systems, Accession No.
ML072140693, and is available for
inspection at the Commission’s Public
Document Room, located at One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first
floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 1st day
of February 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J. E. Dyer,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E8–2776 Filed 2–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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16:49 Feb 13, 2008
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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 e-mail at
wgs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is proposing to
amend a materials permit held under
Byproduct Materials License No. 03–
23853–01VA. The permit is held by the
Department of Veterans Affairs (the
Licensee), for its Puget Sound VA
Health Care System facilities, located at
1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle,
Washington (the Facility). Issuance of
the amendment would authorize release
of Waste Area 3 (described below) for
unrestricted use. The Licensee
requested this action in a letter dated
July 5, 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.
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve
the Licensee’s July 5, 2007, materials
permit amendment request, resulting in
release of Waste Area 3 for unrestricted
use. License No. 03–23853–01VA was
issued on March 17, 2003, pursuant to
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Frm 00076
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
8717
10 CFR Parts 30 and 35, and has been
amended periodically since that time.
This license authorizes the Licensee to
use byproduct materials at several
Licensee facilities around the country,
as authorized on a site-specific basis by
permits issued by the Licensee’s
National Radiation Safety Committee.
Under the license, the permits authorize
the use of by-product materials for
various medical and veterinary
purposes, and for use in portable
gauges.
The Facility is situated on a 44 acre
site comprised of 20 buildings and five
parking areas, and is located in a
metropolitan area of Seattle,
Washington which is surrounded by
residential neighborhoods and
commercial enterprises. Within the
Facility, Waste Area 3 was constructed
in 1988 as a temporary storage site for
decay-in-storage radioactive waste, and
was a single floor, sheet-metal enclosed
structure bolted onto an 8 × 14 × 8 foot
chain-link fence. The floor consisted of
3⁄4 inch thick asphalt. The structure had
no electrical, ventilation, heating
system, drainage system, water, sewer,
or septic. The Licensee ceased using
licensed materials in Waste Area 3 on
November 15, 2006, and initiated
surveys and decontamination of the
building. Based on the Licensee’s
historical knowledge of the site and the
conditions within Waste Area 3, 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
final status surveys of Waste Area 3 on
November 17, 2006. Additional surveys
were conducted on April 10, 2007, of
the waste barrels that had been removed
from Waste Storage Area 3 in November
2006. The results of these surveys along
with other supporting information were
provided to the NRC to demonstrate that
the criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part
20 for unrestricted release have been
met.
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting
licensed activities in Waste Area 3, and
seeks the unrestricted use of Waste Area
3.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action
The historical review of licensed
activities conducted in Waste Area 3
shows that such activities involved use
E:\FR\FM\14FEN1.SGM
14FEN1
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
8718
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 2008 / Notices
of the following radionuclides with halflives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3
(H–3) and carbon-14 (C–14). Prior to
performing the final status survey, the
Licensee conducted decontamination
activities, as necessary, in the areas of
Waste Area 3 affected by these
radionuclides.
The Licensee completed final status
surveys on Waste Area 3 on November
17, 2006. The surveys covered all areas
of Waste Area 3. The final status survey
report was attached to the Licensee’s
amendment request dated July 5, 2007.
The Licensee elected to demonstrate
compliance with the radiological
criteria for unrestricted release as
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 using
release criteria for building surfaces
based on NUREG–1556, Volume 7,
‘‘Program-Specific Guidance about
Academic, Research and Development,
and Other Licenses of Limited Scope
Including Gas Chromatographs and XRay Fluorescence Analyzers—Final
Report,’’ Appendix Q, ‘‘Radiation Safety
Survey Topics.’’ These release criteria
are the same as the radionuclidespecific dose-based release criteria,
described in NUREG–1757,
‘‘Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
Guidance,’’ Volume 2. These values
provide acceptable levels of surface
contamination to demonstrate
compliance with the NRC requirements
in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for
unrestricted release. The Licensee’s
final status survey results were below
these values 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 in Waste Area 3.
The NRC staff reviewed available docket
file records and the final status survey
report to identify any non-radiological
hazards that may have impacted the
environment surrounding Waste Area 3.
No such hazards or impacts to the
environment were identified. The NRC
has identified no other radiological or
non-radiological activities in the area
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:49 Feb 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
that could result in cumulative
environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed
release of Waste Area 3 for unrestricted
use is in compliance with 10 CFR Part
20. Based on its review, the staff
considered the impact of the residual
radioactivity from Waste Area 3 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 Waste
Area 3 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 State
of Washington Department of Health,
Office of Radiation Protection, for
review on January 2, 2008. On January
8, 2008, the Office of Radiation
Protection responded by e-mail. The
State agreed with the conclusions of the
EA.
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
PO 00000
Frm 00077
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
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. E. Lynn McGuire, Department of
Veterans Affairs, letter to Cassandra
Frazier, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Region III, dated July 5,
2007 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML071900464);
2. Thomas Huston, Department of
Veterans Affairs, e-mail to William
Snell, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Region III, dated December
12, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML073610490); 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. NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated
NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,’’
6. NUREG–1556, Volume 7,
‘‘Program-Specific Guidance About
Academic, Research and Development,
and Other Licenses of Limited Scope
Including Gas Chromatographs and XRay Fluorescence Analyzers—Final
Report,’’ Appendix Q, ‘‘Radiation Safety
Survey Topics.’’
E:\FR\FM\14FEN1.SGM
14FEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 31 / Thursday, February 14, 2008 / Notices
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 Lisle, Illinois, this 4th day of
February 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of
Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III.
[FR Doc. E8–2774 Filed 2–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52–016]
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Unistar Nuclear, LLC; Calvert Cliffs
Partial Combined License Application;
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and
Conduct Scoping Process
UniStar Nuclear, LLC (UniStar), has
submitted a partial application for a
combined license (COL) for its Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) site
to build Unit 3, located on
approximately 2,057 acres in Calvert
County, Maryland, approximately 40
miles southeast of Washington, DC, and
7.5 miles north of Solomons, Maryland,
along the western bank of the
Chesapeake Bay. Part 1 of the
application for the COL was submitted
by letter dated July 13, 2007, pursuant
to the requirements of Title 10, Part 52,
and in accordance with 10 CFR
2.101(a)(5). Subsequent information was
submitted on July 16, 2007, August 2,
2007, and October 30, 2007. In addition,
the UniStar COL application references
dose consequence information in
UniStar’s December 14, 2007,
application for certification of the
Evolutionary Power Reactor design.
Accordingly, the NRC staff reviewed the
design certification application and
determined that it contains information
sufficient to permit docketing of the
environmental report (ER). A notice of
receipt and availability of the partial
application, which included the ER, was
published in the Federal Register on
August 15, 2007 (72 FR 45832). A notice
of acceptance for docketing of the
partial application for the COL was
published in the Federal Register on
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:49 Feb 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
January 31, 2008 (73 FR 5877). The
purpose of this notice is to inform the
public that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) will be preparing an
environmental impact statement (EIS) in
support of the review of the COL partial
application and to provide the public an
opportunity to participate in the
environmental scoping process, as
defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR
800.8(c), ‘‘Coordination with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended,’’ the NRC
staff plans to coordinate compliance
with Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) with
steps taken to meet the requirements of
NEPA. Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the
NRC staff intends to use the process and
documentation for the preparation of
the EIS on the proposed action to
comply with section 106 of the NHPA
in lieu of the procedures set forth in 36
CFR 800.3 through 800.6.
In accordance with 10 CFR 51.45, 10
CFR 51.50, and 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5),
UniStar submitted the ER along with
portions of the Final Safety Analysis
Report (FSAR) as part 1 of the partial
application. The ER was prepared
pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 51 and 52 and
is available for public inspection at the
NRC Public Document Room (PDR),
located at One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland, or from the Publicly
Available Records component of the
NRC’s Agency-wide Documents Access
and Management System (ADAMS).
ADAMS is accessible at https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html,
which provides access through the
NRC’s Electronic Reading Room (ERR)
link. The accession number in ADAMS
for part 1 of the partial application
received on July 13, 2007, is
ML071980294. The accession numbers
in ADAMS for the supplemental
information submitted by letters dated
July 16, 2007, August 2, 2007, October
30, 2007, and December 14, 2007, are
ML072000363, ML072200533,
ML072220589, ML073060128,
ML073520192, ML073520211, and
ML073520221. 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 at 1–800–
397–4209 or 301–415–4737, or by
sending an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. The
partial application may also be viewed
on the Internet at https://www.nrc.gov/
reactors/new-licensing/col/calvertcliffs.html. In addition, the Calvert
Library, Southern Branch located at 20
Appeal Lane, Lusby, Maryland, and
Calvert Library, Prince Frederick located
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
8719
at 850 Costley Way, Prince Frederick,
Maryland, have agreed to make the ER
available for public inspection.
The following key reference
documents related to the COL partial
application and the NRC staff’s review
process are available through the NRC’s
Web site at https://www.nrc.gov:
a. 10 CFR Part 51, Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions,
b. 10 CFR Part 52, Licenses,
Certifications, and Approvals for
Nuclear Power Plants,
c. 10 CFR Part 100, Reactor Site
Criteria,
d. NUREG–1555, Standard Review
Plans for Environmental Reviews for
Nuclear Power Plants,
e. NUREG/BR–0298, Brochure on
Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Process,
f. Fact Sheet on Nuclear Power Plant
Licensing Process,
g. Regulatory Guide 4.2, Preparation
of Environmental Reports for Nuclear
Power Stations,
h. Regulatory Guide 1.206, Combined
License Applications for Nuclear Power
Plants, and
i. NRR Office Instruction LIC–203,
Procedural Guidance for Preparing
Environmental Assessments and
Considering Environmental Issues.
The regulations, NUREG-series
documents, regulatory guides, and fact
sheet can be found under Document
Collections in the Electronic Reading
Room on the NRC Web page. Finally,
Office Instruction LIC–203 can be found
in ADAMS in two parts under accession
numbers ML011710073 (main text) and
ML011780314 (charts and figures).
This notice advises the public that the
NRC intends to gather the information
necessary to prepare an EIS in support
of the review of the partial application
for the COL at the CCNPP COL site.
Possible alternatives to the proposed
action (issuance of the COL at the
CCNPP COL site) include no action and
consideration of alternative sites. The
NRC is required by 10 CFR 51.20(b)(2)
to prepare an EIS in connection with the
issuance of a COL. This notice is being
published in accordance with NEPA
and NRC regulations found in 10 CFR
Part 51.
The NRC will first conduct a scoping
process for the EIS and, as soon as
practicable thereafter, will prepare a
draft EIS for public comment.
Participation in the scoping process by
members of the public and local, State,
Tribal, and Federal government agencies
is encouraged. The scoping process for
the EIS will be used to accomplish the
following:
E:\FR\FM\14FEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 31 (Thursday, February 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8717-8719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2774]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-34325]
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of
No Significant Impact for Amendment of a Materials Permit in Accordance
With Byproduct Materials License No. 03-23853-01VA, for Unrestricted
Release of a Department of Veterans Affairs' Facility in Seattle, WA
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 e-mail at wgs@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend
a materials permit held under Byproduct Materials License No. 03-23853-
01VA. The permit is held by the Department of Veterans Affairs (the
Licensee), for its Puget Sound VA Health Care System facilities,
located at 1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle, Washington (the
Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of Waste
Area 3 (described below) for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested
this action in a letter dated July 5, 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.
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve the Licensee's July 5, 2007,
materials permit amendment request, resulting in release of Waste Area
3 for unrestricted use. License No. 03-23853-01VA was issued on March
17, 2003, pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 30 and 35, and has been amended
periodically since that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to
use byproduct materials at several Licensee facilities around the
country, as authorized on a site-specific basis by permits issued by
the Licensee's National Radiation Safety Committee. Under the license,
the permits authorize the use of by-product materials for various
medical and veterinary purposes, and for use in portable gauges.
The Facility is situated on a 44 acre site comprised of 20
buildings and five parking areas, and is located in a metropolitan area
of Seattle, Washington which is surrounded by residential neighborhoods
and commercial enterprises. Within the Facility, Waste Area 3 was
constructed in 1988 as a temporary storage site for decay-in-storage
radioactive waste, and was a single floor, sheet-metal enclosed
structure bolted onto an 8 x 14 x 8 foot chain-link fence. The floor
consisted of \3/4\ inch thick asphalt. The structure had no electrical,
ventilation, heating system, drainage system, water, sewer, or septic.
The Licensee ceased using licensed materials in Waste Area 3 on
November 15, 2006, and initiated surveys and decontamination of the
building. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and
the conditions within Waste Area 3, 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 final
status surveys of Waste Area 3 on November 17, 2006. Additional surveys
were conducted on April 10, 2007, of the waste barrels that had been
removed from Waste Storage Area 3 in November 2006. The results of
these surveys along with other supporting information were provided to
the NRC to demonstrate that the criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20
for unrestricted release have been met.
Need for the Proposed Action
The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities in Waste
Area 3, and seeks the unrestricted use of Waste Area 3.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Waste
Area 3 shows that such activities involved use
[[Page 8718]]
of the following radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days:
hydrogen-3 (H-3) and carbon-14 (C-14). Prior to performing the final
status survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as
necessary, in the areas of Waste Area 3 affected by these
radionuclides.
The Licensee completed final status surveys on Waste Area 3 on
November 17, 2006. The surveys covered all areas of Waste Area 3. The
final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment
request dated July 5, 2007. The Licensee elected to demonstrate
compliance with the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as
specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 using release criteria for building
surfaces based on NUREG-1556, Volume 7, ``Program-Specific Guidance
about Academic, Research and Development, and Other Licenses of Limited
Scope Including Gas Chromatographs and X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzers--
Final Report,'' Appendix Q, ``Radiation Safety Survey Topics.'' These
release criteria are the same as the radionuclide-specific dose-based
release criteria, described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS
Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. These values provide acceptable
levels of surface contamination to demonstrate compliance with the NRC
requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release.
The Licensee's final status survey results were below these values 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 in Waste Area 3. The NRC staff reviewed
available docket file records and the final status survey report to
identify any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the
environment surrounding Waste Area 3. 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 Waste Area 3 for
unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR Part 20. Based on its
review, the staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity
from Waste Area 3 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 Waste Area 3 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 State
of Washington Department of Health, Office of Radiation Protection, for
review on January 2, 2008. On January 8, 2008, the Office of Radiation
Protection responded by e-mail. The State agreed with the conclusions
of the EA.
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 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. E. Lynn McGuire, Department of Veterans Affairs, letter to
Cassandra Frazier, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III,
dated July 5, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML071900464);
2. Thomas Huston, Department of Veterans Affairs, e-mail to William
Snell, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III, dated December
12, 2007 (ADAMS Accession No. ML073610490); 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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,''
6. NUREG-1556, Volume 7, ``Program-Specific Guidance About
Academic, Research and Development, and Other Licenses of Limited Scope
Including Gas Chromatographs and X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzers--Final
Report,'' Appendix Q, ``Radiation Safety Survey Topics.''
[[Page 8719]]
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 Lisle, Illinois, this 4th day of February 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick L. Louden,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region III.
[FR Doc. E8-2774 Filed 2-13-08; 8:45 am]
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