Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 06-01450-47, for Unrestricted Release of the University of Connecticut's Noank Marine Research Laboratory Facility in Noank, CT, 66060-66061 [E8-26457]
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66060
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 216 / Thursday, November 6, 2008 / Notices
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark E. Tonacci,
Senior Project Manager, ESBWR/ABWR
Projects Branch 2, Division of New Reactor
Licensing, Office of New Reactors.
[FR Doc. E8–26461 Filed 11–5–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 03010576]
Notice of Availability of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 06–01450–47, for
Unrestricted Release of the University
of Connecticut’s Noank Marine
Research Laboratory Facility in Noank,
CT
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License
Amendment.
AGENCY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Steven R. Courtemanche, Health
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch,
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region I, 475 Allendale Road;
telephone: (610) 337–5075; fax number:
(610) 337–5269; or by e-mail:
steven.courtemanche@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. 06–
01450–47. This license is held by the
University of Connecticut (the
Licensee), for numerous University
facilities and campuses located within
the State of Connecticut, including its
Noank Marine Research Laboratory (the
Facility), located in Noank, Connecticut.
Issuance of the amendment would
authorize release of the Facility for
unrestricted use. The Licensee
requested this action in a letter dated
March 3, 2008. 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.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:11 Nov 05, 2008
Jkt 217001
II. Environmental Assessment
Identification of Proposed Action
The proposed action would approve
the Licensee’s March 3, 2008, license
amendment request, resulting in release
of the Facility for unrestricted use.
License No. 06–01450–47 was issued on
March 21, 1975, pursuant to 10 CFR Part
30 and 70, and has been amended
periodically since that time. This
license authorized the Licensee to use
unsealed forms of byproduct material,
sealed sources of byproduct material,
and sealed sources of special nuclear
material for purposes of conducting
research and development activities on
laboratory bench tops and in hoods,
animal studies, teaching and training of
students, calibration of instruments, and
irradiation of materials.
The Facility is located in a
commercial area and consists 8,000
square feet of office space and
laboratories. Within the Facility, use of
licensed materials was confined to 800
square feet of space in Rooms 201 and
202.
On June 8, 1992, the Licensee ceased
licensed activities and initiated a survey
and decontamination of the Facility.
Based on the Licensee’s historical
knowledge of the site and the conditions
of the Facility, the Licensee determined
that only routine decontamination
activities, in accordance with their NRCapproved 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 halflives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3
and carbon-14, in unsealed form; and
nickel-63, cobalt-60, and radium-226 in
sealed form. 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
PO 00000
Frm 00051
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
on June 8, 1992. This survey covered
Rooms 201 and 202 of the Noank
Marine Research Laboratory. The final
status survey report was attached to the
Licensee’s amendment request dated
March 3, 2008. 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, on
equipment, on materials, and in soils
that will satisfy the NRC requirements
in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for
unrestricted release. The Licensee’s
final status survey results were below
these DCGLs and are in compliance
with the As Low As Reasonably
Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10
CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that
the Licensee’s final status survey results
are acceptable.
Based on its review, the staff has
determined that the affected
environment and any environmental
impacts associated with the proposed
action are bounded by the impacts
evaluated by the (Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities( (NUREG–
1496) Volumes 1–3 (ML042310492,
ML042320379, and ML042330385). The
staff finds there were no significant
environmental impacts from the use of
radioactive material at the Facility. The
NRC staff reviewed the docket file
records and the final status survey
report to identify any non-radiological
hazards that may have impacted the
environment surrounding the Facility.
No such hazards or impacts to the
environment were identified. The NRC
has identified no other radiological or
non-radiological activities in the area
that could result in cumulative
environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed
release of the Facility for unrestricted
use 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.
E:\FR\FM\06NON1.SGM
06NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 216 / Thursday, November 6, 2008 / Notices
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.
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
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 Connecticut, Department of
Environmental Protection, Division of
Radiation for review on September 16,
2008. On September 17, 2008, the State
of Connecticut, Department of
Environmental Protection, Division of
Radiation responded by e-mail. The
State agreed with the conclusions of the
EA, and otherwise had no comments.
The NRC staff has determined that the
proposed action is of a procedural
nature, and will not affect listed species
or critical habitat. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act. The
NRC staff has also determined that the
proposed action is not the type of
activity that has the potential to cause
effects on historic properties. Therefore,
no further consultation is required
under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in
support of the proposed action. On the
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:11 Nov 05, 2008
Jkt 217001
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]. University of Connecticut letter
dated February 21, 2008
(ML080710534);
[2]. University of Connecticut letter
dated March 3, 2008 (ML080800358);
[3]. University of Connecticut letter
dated May 15, 2008 (ML081500274);
[4]. NUREG–1757, ‘‘Consolidated
NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;’’
[5]. Title 10 Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
‘‘Radiological Criteria for License
Termination;’’
[6]. Title 10, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 51, ‘‘Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic
Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions;’’ and
[7]. NUREG–1496, ‘‘Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities.’’
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 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this
29th day of October 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E8–26457 Filed 11–5–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
PO 00000
Frm 00052
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
66061
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 72–1004, 70–1426, 72–1027,
72–1007, 72–1008, 72–1002, 72–1003, 72–
1015, 72–1025, and 70–3020]
EA–08–289; In the Matter of: Certain 10
CFR Part 72 Certificate Holders Who
Have Near-Term Plans To Access
Safeguards Information Order
Imposing Safeguards Information
Protection Requirements and
Fingerprinting and Criminal History
Check Requirements for Access to
Certain Safeguards Information
(Effective Immediately)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Order Imposing
Safeguards Information Protection
Requirements and Fingerprinting and
Criminal History Check Requirements
for Access to Certain Safeguards
Information.
AGENCY:
L.
Raynard Wharton, Senior Project
Manager, Licensing and Inspection
Directorate, Division of Spent Fuel
Storage and Transportation, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
(NMSS), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), Rockville, MD
20852. Telephone: (301) 492–3316; fax
number: (301) 492–3350; e-mail:
raynard.wharton@nrc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.106, NRC (or the
Commission) is providing notice, in the
matter of Certain 10 CFR Part 72
Certificate Holders Who Have NearTerm Plans To Access Safeguards
Information Order Imposing Safeguards
Information Protection Requirements
and Fingerprinting and Criminal History
Check Requirements for Access to
Certain Safeguards Information
(Effective Immediately).
II. Further Information
I
Transnuclear, Inc., Holtec
International, NAC International, and
EnergySolutions Corporation, have been
issued certificates, by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the
Commission), certifying dry cask storage
designs in accordance with the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, (AEA)
and Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) part 72. These
entities will be referred to herein as ‘‘the
affected vendors.’’ On August 8, 2005,
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct)
was enacted. Section 652 of the EPAct
E:\FR\FM\06NON1.SGM
06NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 216 (Thursday, November 6, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66060-66061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26457]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 03010576]
Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials
License No. 06-01450-47, for Unrestricted Release of the University of
Connecticut's Noank Marine Research Laboratory Facility in Noank, CT
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact for License Amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven R. Courtemanche, Health
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road; telephone: (610) 337-5075; fax
number: (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: steven.courtemanche@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. 06-
01450-47. This license is held by the University of Connecticut (the
Licensee), for numerous University facilities and campuses located
within the State of Connecticut, including its Noank Marine Research
Laboratory (the Facility), located in Noank, Connecticut. Issuance of
the amendment would authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted
use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated March 3,
2008. 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 March 3, 2008,
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for
unrestricted use. License No. 06-01450-47 was issued on March 21, 1975,
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30 and 70, and has been amended periodically
since that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed
forms of byproduct material, sealed sources of byproduct material, and
sealed sources of special nuclear material for purposes of conducting
research and development activities on laboratory bench tops and in
hoods, animal studies, teaching and training of students, calibration
of instruments, and irradiation of materials.
The Facility is located in a commercial area and consists 8,000
square feet of office space and laboratories. Within the Facility, use
of licensed materials was confined to 800 square feet of space in Rooms
201 and 202.
On June 8, 1992, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and
initiated a survey and decontamination of the Facility. Based on the
Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of the
Facility, the Licensee determined that only routine decontamination
activities, in accordance with their NRC-approved operating radiation
safety procedures, were required. The Licensee was not required to
submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker cleanup
activities and procedures are consistent with those approved for
routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys of the Facility and
provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the
criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release.
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 and
carbon-14, in unsealed form; and nickel-63, cobalt-60, and radium-226
in sealed form. 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 on June 8, 1992. This survey covered
Rooms 201 and 202 of the Noank Marine Research Laboratory. The final
status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request
dated March 3, 2008. 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, on equipment, on
materials, and in soils that will satisfy the NRC requirements in
Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's
final status survey results were below these DCGLs and are in
compliance with the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement
of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC thus finds that the Licensee's final status
survey results are acceptable.
Based on its review, the staff has determined that the affected
environment and any environmental impacts associated with the proposed
action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the (Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities(
(NUREG-1496) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385).
The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from
the use of radioactive material at the Facility. The NRC staff reviewed
the docket file records and the final status survey report to identify
any non-radiological hazards that may have impacted the environment
surrounding the Facility. No such hazards or impacts to the environment
were identified. The NRC has identified no other radiological or non-
radiological activities in the area that could result in cumulative
environmental impacts.
The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of the Facility for
unrestricted use 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.
[[Page 66061]]
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 State
of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Division of
Radiation for review on September 16, 2008. On September 17, 2008, the
State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Division
of Radiation responded by e-mail. The State agreed with the conclusions
of the EA, and otherwise had no comments.
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further
consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined 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]. University of Connecticut letter dated February 21, 2008
(ML080710534);
[2]. University of Connecticut letter dated March 3, 2008
(ML080800358);
[3]. University of Connecticut letter dated May 15, 2008
(ML081500274);
[4]. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
[5]. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
[6]. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51,
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
Related Regulatory Functions;'' and
[7]. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination
of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities.''
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 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this 29th day of October
2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
Region I.
[FR Doc. E8-26457 Filed 11-5-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
