Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the N.S. Savannah; License NS-1, Baltimore, MD, 59174-59175 [2011-24474]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 185 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59174-59175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24474]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-238; NRC-2011-0222]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for 
the N.S. Savannah; License NS-1, Baltimore, MD

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Hickman, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State 
Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop: T8F5, Washington, DC 20555-00001. 
Telephone: (301) 415-3017; e-mail: john.hickman@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) 
staff is considering a request dated November 8, 2010, by the U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD, the 
licensee) requesting exemptions from the security requirements in Title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 73 and 10 CFR 
50.54(p) for the N.S. Savannah (NSS).
    This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been developed in accordance 
with the requirements of 10 CFR 51.21.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would eliminate the physical security 
requirements from the 10 CFR Part 50 licensed site because the NSS 
spent fuel elements were returned to the AEC and transferred by the AEC 
for reprocessing at its Savannah River site in South Carolina. There is 
no longer any special nuclear material (SNM) located within the NSS 
other than that contained in plant systems as residual contamination.
    Part of this proposed action meets the categorical exclusion 
provision in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25), as part of this action is an 
exemption from the requirements of the Commission's regulations and: 
(i) There is no significant hazards consideration; (ii) there is no 
significant change in the types or significant increase in the amounts 
of any effluents that may be released offsite; (iii) there is no 
significant increase in individual or cumulative public or occupational 
radiation exposure; (iv) there is no significant construction impact; 
(v) there is no significant increase in the potential for or 
consequences from radiological accidents; and (vi) the requirements 
from which an exemption is sought involve safeguard plans. Therefore, 
this part of the action does not require either an EA or an 
environmental impact statement. This EA was prepared for the part of 
the proposed action not involving safeguards plans (i.e.; 
transportation of SNM, interaction with emergency planning, and 
background checks.)

Need for Proposed Action

    Sections 50.54 and 73.55 of 10 CFR require that licensees establish 
and maintain physical protection and security for activities involving 
SNM within the 10 CFR Part 50 licensed area of a facility. The proposed 
action is needed because there is no longer any nuclear fuel in the 10 
CFR Part 50 licensed facility that requires protection against 
radiological sabotage or diversion. The proposed action will allow the 
licensee to conserve resources for decommissioning activities.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC has completed its evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that exempting the facility from physical protection security 
requirements will not have any adverse environmental impacts.
    The proposed action will not significantly increase the probability 
or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in the types of 
any effluents that may be released off site, and there is no 
significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. 
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not affect non-radiological plant effluents and has no 
other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant non-
radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
    Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The alternative is the no-action alternative, under which the staff 
would deny the exemption request. This denial of the request would 
result in no change in current environmental impacts. The environmental 
impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative are 
similar, therefore the no-action alternative is not further considered.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action will not 
significantly impact the quality of the human environment, and that the 
proposed action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on July 1, 2011, the staff 
consulted with the Maryland State official, of the Maryland Department 
of the Environment, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed 
action. The State official 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 as part of its review 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

    For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated November 8, 2010 (Agencywide Documents Access 
and Management System [ADAMS] Accession Number ML103200198). Documents 
related to

[[Page 59175]]

this action, including the application and supporting documentation, 
are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at 
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. From this site, you can access text 
and image files of NRC's public documents.
    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. 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 Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of September, 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-24474 Filed 9-22-11; 8:45 am]
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