Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Proposed License Renewal for Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. in Erwin, TN, 66334-66336 [2011-27685]
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66334
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / Notices
Finding of No Significant Impact
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, ‘‘Finding of
No Significant Impact,’’ and on the basis
of the environmental assessment, the
NRC concludes that the proposed action
will not have a significant effect on the
quality of the human environment.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined
not to prepare an environmental impact
statement for the proposed action.
For further details with respect to the
proposed action, see the licensee’s letter
dated October 19, 2010 (Agencywide
Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS), Accession No.
ML102980142). This document may be
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the
NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR),
located at One White Flint North, Public
File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
Publicly available records are accessible
electronically through ADAMS in the
NRC Library on the internet at the NRC
Web site,
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html.
Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS or who encounter problems in
accessing the documents located in
ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR
Reference staff by telephone at 1–800–
397–4209 or 301–415–4737, or send an
e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day
of October 2011.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Farideh E. Saba,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing
Branch II–2, Division of Operating Reactor
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2011–27691 Filed 10–25–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2009–0435]
Final Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact for
the Proposed License Renewal for
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. in Erwin,
TN
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final
Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a final
environmental assessment (EA)
regarding the proposed renewal of NRC
special nuclear material license SNM–
SUMMARY:
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16:53 Oct 25, 2011
Jkt 226001
124 (License SNM–124), which
authorizes operations at the Nuclear
Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) fuel fabrication
facility in Erwin, Tennessee. On June
30, 2009, NFS submitted to the NRC an
application requesting that License
SNM–124 be renewed for a 40-year
period. The EA makes a finding of no
significant impact (FONSI) regarding the
proposed action.
ADDRESSES: You can access publicly
available documents related to this
document using the following methods:
• NRC’s Public Document Room
(PDR): The public may examine and
have copied, for a fee, publicly available
documents related to the NFS facility
and license renewal at the NRC’s PDR,
located at One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland 20852. Members of the public
can contact the NRC’s PDR reference
staff by calling 1–800–397–4209, by
faxing a request to 301–415–3548, or by
e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. Hard
copies of the documents are available
from the PDR for a fee.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents
created or received at the NRC are
available online in the NRC Library at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. From this page, the public
can gain entry into ADAMS, which
provides text and image files of the
NRC’s public documents. From this
Web site, the following documents
related to the NRC’s environmental
review can be obtained by entering the
accession numbers provided:
The NFS license renewal application
(ADAMS Accession Number:
ML091880040) and the accompanying
environmental report (ADAMS
Accession Number: ML091900072);
The NRC request for additional
information (ADAMS Accession
Number: ML100680426);
The NFS response providing
additional information (ADAMS
Accession Number: ML101590160); and
The NRC Final EA (ADAMS
Accession Number: ML112560265).
Additionally, copies of the EA will be
available at the following public
libraries:
Unicoi County Public Library, 201
Nolichucky Avenue, Erwin,
Tennessee 37650–1239. 423–743–
6533.
Jonesborough Branch, Washington
County Library, 200 Sabin Drive,
Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659–1306.
423–753–1800.
Greeneville/Green County Public
Library, 210 North Main Street,
Greeneville, Tennessee 37745–3816.
423–638–5034.
PO 00000
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For
information about the EA or the
environmental review process, please
contact James Park, telephone: 301–
415–6935; e-mail: James.Park@nrc.gov.
For general or technical information
associated with the ongoing safety
review of the NFS license renewal
application, please contact Kevin
Ramsey, telephone: 301–492–3123;
e-mail: Kevin.Ramsey@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June
30, 2009, NFS submitted its license
renewal application and accompanying
environmental report (ER) to the NRC.
On October 6, 2009, the NRC provided
notice in the Federal Register (74 FR
51323) of its receipt of the license
renewal application and also noticed an
opportunity to request a hearing on the
application. No requests for a hearing
were received. Under the conditions of
License SNM–124, NFS operates a
nuclear fuel fabrication facility located
in Erwin, Tennessee. If granted as
requested, the renewed license would
allow NFS to continue operations and
activities at the site for a 40-year period
that would begin with issuance of the
renewed license.
The NRC staff’s environmental review
of the proposed 40-year license renewal
is documented in the EA, in accordance
with NRC regulations at Title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
part 51, which implement the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA). The EA also follows
NRC staff guidance in NUREG–1748,
‘‘Environmental Review Guidance for
Licensing Actions Associated with
NMSS Programs.’’ The EA identifies and
evaluates the potential environmental
impacts of the proposed action, and
reasonable alternatives. The NRC staff
has determined that renewal of License
SNM–124 for a 40-year period would
not significantly affect the quality of the
human environment, and the EA thus
makes a FONSI. The NRC staff further
finds that preparation of an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the proposed action is not
warranted.
The NRC staff published for public
comment a draft EA for the proposed
action on October 15, 2010 (75 FR
63519). The NRC staff accepted
comments on the draft EA until
December 31, 2010, and hosted a
meeting in Erwin, Tennessee on October
26, 2010, to accept oral and written
public comments. Comments were
identified from the transcript of
statements made at the public meeting,
and from letters and e-mails submitted
by members of the public. Appendix B
of the Final EA includes summaries of
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / Notices
the approximately 375 individual
comments identified, and the NRC
staff’s responses to those comments. The
NRC staff revised the draft EA in
response to some of the comments.
Preparation of the EA is part of the
NRC’s process to decide whether to
renew the NFS license, pursuant to 10
CFR parts 20 and 70, and thus authorize
continued operations at the NFS facility.
In accordance with the provisions of 10
CFR part 70, the current license
authorizes NFS to receive, possess,
store, use, and ship special nuclear
material enriched up to 100 percent.
Under the proposed action, NFS would
continue production of reactor fuel for
the U.S. Navy, and for commercial
domestic operations.
In addition to the NFS proposed
action to renew its license for 40 years,
the NRC staff analyzed two alternatives:
(1) The no-action alternative; and (2)
renewing the NFS license for 10 years.
Under the no-action alternative, NRC
would not renew License SNM–124,
and operations at the NFS site would no
longer be authorized. NFS then would
be required under 10 CFR 70.38 to
submit a detailed site-wide
decommissioning plan, and facility
decommissioning would begin upon
NRC approval of that plan.
Regarding the 10-year license renewal
alternative, the potential transportation
and waste management impacts of this
alternative to the proposed action are
addressed in the EA. The magnitude of
these expected impacts are one-fourth of
those projected over the proposed
40-year license renewal period. As
shown in the first table below, the local
transportation impacts are rated as
moderate and the overall transportation
impacts are rated as small for both the
10-year and the 40-year proposed
license renewal periods. The potential
waste management impacts are rated as
small for both the 10-year and the 40year proposed license renewal periods.
The NRC staff did not separately
address the 10-year alternative for the
other resource areas evaluated in the
EA, because the staff determined that
the types of potential environmental
impacts associated with site operations
during the proposed 40-year license
renewal period would be the same as
those during a 10-year license renewal
period.
Additionally, for the 10-year
alternative, the NRC staff does not
consider the potential impacts from NFS
discharges of effluents that are in
compliance with 10 CFR part 20 annual
regulatory limits (and discharges that
are in compliance with the permit
conditions issued by other Federal,
State, or local agencies) to differ either
in type or in magnitude with the
potential impacts for the requested
40-year period. The annual regulatory
limits in 10 CFR part 20 and the
respective permit conditions are
protective of public health and safety
and the environment. Discharges in
compliance with those limits and
conditions would thus not be expected
to pose undue cumulative risks to
human health and the environment.
In response to comments on the draft
EA, impacts from site decommissioning
are evaluated in the final EA for the
proposed action and the 10-year
alternative, in addition to the no-action
alternative. In doing so, the NRC staff
recognizes that site decommissioning
will be a reasonably foreseeable future
action for the NFS facility and site. In
conducting its evaluation, the staff also
recognized that continued operations
over 40 years or 10 years has the
potential for increased site
contamination that would need to be
addressed in the detailed site
decommissioning plan that NFS will be
required to submit for NRC review when
NFS decides to permanently cease its
licensed operations. In further response
to comments, the issue of cancer risk is
discussed in the final EA’s section on
potential public health impacts.
The tables below list the resource
areas evaluated in the EA, and provide
the findings regarding the potential
environmental impacts for each of the
three alternatives. In accordance with
Council of Environmental Quality
regulations (40 CFR 1508.27), the
significance of potential impacts of the
proposed action have been determined
by examining their context and
intensity. Context is related to the
affected region, the affected interests,
and the locality, while intensity refers to
the severity of the impact, which is
based on a number of considerations. In
evaluating the significance of potential
impacts, the NRC staff in the EA used
the following significance levels
identified in NUREG–1748, which
account for context and intensity:
• Small—environmental effects are
not detectable or are so minor that they
will neither destabilize nor noticeably
alter any important attribute of the
resource;
• Moderate—environmental effects
are sufficient to alter noticeably, but not
to destabilize, important attributes of
the resource; or
• Large—environmental effects are
clearly noticeable and are sufficient to
destabilize important attributes of the
resource.
SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS FROM OPERATIONS
Resource area
Proposed action
10-Year renewal
Land Use .......................................
Transportation ...............................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL (overall) MODERATE
(local).
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL (geology) SMALL to
MODERATE (soils).
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
MODERATE ..................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL (overall) MODERATE
(local).
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL (geology) SMALL to
MODERATE (soils).
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
MODERATE ..................................
SMALL to MODERATE.
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL (geology) SMALL
MODERATE (soils).
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL.
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Socioeconomics ............................
Air Quality .....................................
Water Resources—Surface Water
Water Resources—Groundwater ..
Geology & Soils ............................
Ecology .........................................
Noise .............................................
Historic & Cultural .........................
Scenic & Visual .............................
Public & Occupational Health .......
Public & Occupational Health—
Accidents.
Waste Management ......................
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16:53 Oct 25, 2011
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No-action
SMALL.
SMALL.
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66336
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / Notices
SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS FROM DECOMMISSIONING
Resource area
Proposed action
10-Year renewal
No-action
Land Use .......................................
Transportation ...............................
MODERATE ..................................
SMALL (overall) MODERATE
(local).
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL (geology) SMALL to
MODERATE (soils).
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL ..........................................
MODERATE ..................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
MODERATE ..................................
SMALL (overall) MODERATE
(local).
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL (geology) SMALL to
MODERATE (soils).
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
SMALL ..........................................
MODERATE ..................................
SMALL ..........................................
SMALL to MODERATE .................
MODERATE.
SMALL (overall) MODERATE
(local).
SMALL to MODERATE.
SMALL.
SMALL to MODERATE.
SMALL to MODERATE.
SMALL (geology) SMALL to
MODERATE (soils).
SMALL to MODERATE.
SMALL to MODERATE.
SMALL.
MODERATE.
SMALL.
SMALL to MODERATE.
MODERATE ..................................
MODERATE ..................................
MODERATE.
Socioeconomics ............................
Air Quality .....................................
Water Resources—Surface Water
Water Resources—Groundwater ..
Geology & Soils ............................
Ecology .........................................
Noise .............................................
Historic & Cultural .........................
Scenic & Visual .............................
Public & Occupational Health .......
Public & Occupational Health—
Accidents.
Waste Management ......................
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Based on its review of the proposed
action relative to the requirements set
forth in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff
has determined that renewal of License
SNM–124, for a period of 40 years
would not significantly affect the
quality of the human environment. In its
license renewal request, NFS is
proposing no changes in how it
processes enriched uranium, and no
significant changes in NFS’ authorized
operations are planned during the
proposed license renewal period. The
impacts of ongoing and planned
construction actions—including those
related to the physical protection and
safeguarding of licensed materials—are
not expected to significantly affect the
quality of the human environment.
Gaseous emissions and liquid effluents
generated by the NFS facility are
presently controlled and monitored by
permit, and would continue to be
required to meet regulatory limits for
non-radiological and radiological
components. Public and occupational
radiological dose exposures that would
be generated by continued NFS facility
operations would continue to be
required to meet 10 CFR part 20
regulatory limits. Pursuant to 10 CFR
51.31 and 51.32, the NRC staff
concludes that a FONSI is appropriate,
and that preparation of an EIS is not
warranted for the proposed action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day
of October, 2011.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christepher McKenney,
Acting Deputy Director, Environmental
Protection and Performance Assessment
Directorate, Division of Waste Management
and Environmental Protection, Office of
Federal and State Materials and
Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011–27685 Filed 10–25–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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16:53 Oct 25, 2011
Jkt 226001
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. A2012–11; Order No. 910]
Post Office Closing
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
This document informs the
public that an appeal of the closing of
the Ardenvoir, Washington, post office
has been filed. It identifies preliminary
steps and provides a procedural
schedule. Publication of this document
will allow the Postal Service,
petitioners, and others to take
appropriate action.
DATES: Administrative record due (from
Postal Service): October 28, 2011;
deadline for notices to intervene:
November 14, 2011, 4:30 p.m., eastern
time. See the Procedural Schedule in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
for other dates of interest.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically by accessing the ‘‘Filing
Online’’ link in the banner at the top of
the Commission’s Web site (https://www.
prc.gov) or by directly accessing the
Commission’s Filing Online system at
https://www.prc.gov/prc-pages/filingonline/login.aspx. Commenters who
cannot submit their views electronically
should contact the person identified in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section as the source for case-related
information for advice on alternatives to
electronic filing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
at 202–789–6820 (case-related
information) or DocketAdmins@prc.gov
(electronic filing assistance).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
404(d), on October 13, 2011, the
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Commission received a petition for
review of the Postal Service’s
determination to close the Ardenvoir
post office in Ardenvoir, Washington.
The petition for review was filed by
Christine Mallon (Petitioner) and is
postmarked September 30, 2011. The
Commission hereby institutes a
proceeding under 39 U.S.C. 404(d)(5)
and establishes Docket No. A2012–11 to
consider Petitioner’s appeal. If
Petitioner would like to further explain
her position with supplemental
information or facts, Petitioner may
either file a Participant Statement on
PRC Form 61 or file a brief with the
Commission no later than November 17,
2011.
Issues apparently raised. Petitioner
contends that: (1) The Postal Service
failed to consider the effect of the
closing on the community (see 39 U.S.C.
404(d)(2)(A)(i)); and (2) the Postal
Service failed to consider whether or
not it will continue to provide a
maximum degree of effective and
regular postal services to the community
(see 39 U.S.C. 404(d)(2)(A)(iii)).
After the Postal Service files the
administrative record and the
Commission reviews it, the Commission
may find that there are more legal issues
than those set forth above, or that the
Postal Service’s determination disposes
of one or more of those issues. The
deadline for the Postal Service to file the
applicable administrative record with
the Commission is October 28, 2011.
See 39 CFR 3001.113. In addition, the
due date for any responsive pleading by
the Postal Service to this Notice is
October 28, 2011.
Availability; Web site posting. The
Commission has posted the appeal and
supporting material on its Web site at
https://www.prc.gov. Additional filings
in this case and participants’
E:\FR\FM\26OCN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66334-66336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27685]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2009-0435]
Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact for the Proposed License Renewal for Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.
in Erwin, TN
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No Significant Impact.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a final environmental assessment (EA)
regarding the proposed renewal of NRC special nuclear material license
SNM-124 (License SNM-124), which authorizes operations at the Nuclear
Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) fuel fabrication facility in Erwin,
Tennessee. On June 30, 2009, NFS submitted to the NRC an application
requesting that License SNM-124 be renewed for a 40-year period. The EA
makes a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) regarding the proposed
action.
ADDRESSES: You can access publicly available documents related to this
document using the following methods:
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may examine
and have copied, for a fee, publicly available documents related to the
NFS facility and license renewal at the NRC's PDR, located at One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland
20852. Members of the public can contact the NRC's PDR reference staff
by calling 1-800-397-4209, by faxing a request to 301-415-3548, or by
e-mail to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. Hard copies of the documents are
available from the PDR for a fee.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC
are available online in the NRC Library at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can gain entry into ADAMS,
which provides text and image files of the NRC's public documents. From
this Web site, the following documents related to the NRC's
environmental review can be obtained by entering the accession numbers
provided:
The NFS license renewal application (ADAMS Accession Number:
ML091880040) and the accompanying environmental report (ADAMS Accession
Number: ML091900072);
The NRC request for additional information (ADAMS Accession Number:
ML100680426);
The NFS response providing additional information (ADAMS Accession
Number: ML101590160); and
The NRC Final EA (ADAMS Accession Number: ML112560265).
Additionally, copies of the EA will be available at the following
public libraries:
Unicoi County Public Library, 201 Nolichucky Avenue, Erwin, Tennessee
37650-1239. 423-743-6533.
Jonesborough Branch, Washington County Library, 200 Sabin Drive,
Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659-1306. 423-753-1800.
Greeneville/Green County Public Library, 210 North Main Street,
Greeneville, Tennessee 37745-3816. 423-638-5034.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the EA or the
environmental review process, please contact James Park, telephone:
301-415-6935; e-mail: James.Park@nrc.gov. For general or technical
information associated with the ongoing safety review of the NFS
license renewal application, please contact Kevin Ramsey, telephone:
301-492-3123; e-mail: Kevin.Ramsey@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 2009, NFS submitted its license
renewal application and accompanying environmental report (ER) to the
NRC. On October 6, 2009, the NRC provided notice in the Federal
Register (74 FR 51323) of its receipt of the license renewal
application and also noticed an opportunity to request a hearing on the
application. No requests for a hearing were received. Under the
conditions of License SNM-124, NFS operates a nuclear fuel fabrication
facility located in Erwin, Tennessee. If granted as requested, the
renewed license would allow NFS to continue operations and activities
at the site for a 40-year period that would begin with issuance of the
renewed license.
The NRC staff's environmental review of the proposed 40-year
license renewal is documented in the EA, in accordance with NRC
regulations at Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
part 51, which implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
as amended (NEPA). The EA also follows NRC staff guidance in NUREG-
1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated
with NMSS Programs.'' The EA identifies and evaluates the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed action, and reasonable
alternatives. The NRC staff has determined that renewal of License SNM-
124 for a 40-year period would not significantly affect the quality of
the human environment, and the EA thus makes a FONSI. The NRC staff
further finds that preparation of an environmental impact statement
(EIS) for the proposed action is not warranted.
The NRC staff published for public comment a draft EA for the
proposed action on October 15, 2010 (75 FR 63519). The NRC staff
accepted comments on the draft EA until December 31, 2010, and hosted a
meeting in Erwin, Tennessee on October 26, 2010, to accept oral and
written public comments. Comments were identified from the transcript
of statements made at the public meeting, and from letters and e-mails
submitted by members of the public. Appendix B of the Final EA includes
summaries of
[[Page 66335]]
the approximately 375 individual comments identified, and the NRC
staff's responses to those comments. The NRC staff revised the draft EA
in response to some of the comments.
Preparation of the EA is part of the NRC's process to decide
whether to renew the NFS license, pursuant to 10 CFR parts 20 and 70,
and thus authorize continued operations at the NFS facility. In
accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR part 70, the current license
authorizes NFS to receive, possess, store, use, and ship special
nuclear material enriched up to 100 percent. Under the proposed action,
NFS would continue production of reactor fuel for the U.S. Navy, and
for commercial domestic operations.
In addition to the NFS proposed action to renew its license for 40
years, the NRC staff analyzed two alternatives: (1) The no-action
alternative; and (2) renewing the NFS license for 10 years. Under the
no-action alternative, NRC would not renew License SNM-124, and
operations at the NFS site would no longer be authorized. NFS then
would be required under 10 CFR 70.38 to submit a detailed site-wide
decommissioning plan, and facility decommissioning would begin upon NRC
approval of that plan.
Regarding the 10-year license renewal alternative, the potential
transportation and waste management impacts of this alternative to the
proposed action are addressed in the EA. The magnitude of these
expected impacts are one-fourth of those projected over the proposed
40-year license renewal period. As shown in the first table below, the
local transportation impacts are rated as moderate and the overall
transportation impacts are rated as small for both the 10-year and the
40-year proposed license renewal periods. The potential waste
management impacts are rated as small for both the 10-year and the 40-
year proposed license renewal periods.
The NRC staff did not separately address the 10-year alternative
for the other resource areas evaluated in the EA, because the staff
determined that the types of potential environmental impacts associated
with site operations during the proposed 40-year license renewal period
would be the same as those during a 10-year license renewal period.
Additionally, for the 10-year alternative, the NRC staff does not
consider the potential impacts from NFS discharges of effluents that
are in compliance with 10 CFR part 20 annual regulatory limits (and
discharges that are in compliance with the permit conditions issued by
other Federal, State, or local agencies) to differ either in type or in
magnitude with the potential impacts for the requested 40-year period.
The annual regulatory limits in 10 CFR part 20 and the respective
permit conditions are protective of public health and safety and the
environment. Discharges in compliance with those limits and conditions
would thus not be expected to pose undue cumulative risks to human
health and the environment.
In response to comments on the draft EA, impacts from site
decommissioning are evaluated in the final EA for the proposed action
and the 10-year alternative, in addition to the no-action alternative.
In doing so, the NRC staff recognizes that site decommissioning will be
a reasonably foreseeable future action for the NFS facility and site.
In conducting its evaluation, the staff also recognized that continued
operations over 40 years or 10 years has the potential for increased
site contamination that would need to be addressed in the detailed site
decommissioning plan that NFS will be required to submit for NRC review
when NFS decides to permanently cease its licensed operations. In
further response to comments, the issue of cancer risk is discussed in
the final EA's section on potential public health impacts.
The tables below list the resource areas evaluated in the EA, and
provide the findings regarding the potential environmental impacts for
each of the three alternatives. In accordance with Council of
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1508.27), the significance of
potential impacts of the proposed action have been determined by
examining their context and intensity. Context is related to the
affected region, the affected interests, and the locality, while
intensity refers to the severity of the impact, which is based on a
number of considerations. In evaluating the significance of potential
impacts, the NRC staff in the EA used the following significance levels
identified in NUREG-1748, which account for context and intensity:
Small--environmental effects are not detectable or are so
minor that they will neither destabilize nor noticeably alter any
important attribute of the resource;
Moderate--environmental effects are sufficient to alter
noticeably, but not to destabilize, important attributes of the
resource; or
Large--environmental effects are clearly noticeable and
are sufficient to destabilize important attributes of the resource.
Summary of Potential Environmental Impacts From Operations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resource area Proposed action 10-Year renewal No-action
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Use............................. SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL.
Transportation....................... SMALL (overall) SMALL (overall) SMALL.
MODERATE (local). MODERATE (local).
Socioeconomics....................... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL to MODERATE.
Air Quality.......................... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Water Resources--Surface Water....... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Water Resources--Groundwater......... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL.
Geology & Soils...................... SMALL (geology) SMALL SMALL (geology) SMALL SMALL (geology) SMALL
to MODERATE (soils). to MODERATE (soils). to MODERATE (soils).
Ecology.............................. SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Noise................................ SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Historic & Cultural.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Scenic & Visual...................... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Public & Occupational Health......... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Public & Occupational Health-- MODERATE............... MODERATE............... SMALL.
Accidents.
Waste Management..................... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 66336]]
Summary of Potential Environmental Impacts From Decommissioning
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resource area Proposed action 10-Year renewal No-action
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Use............................. MODERATE............... MODERATE............... MODERATE.
Transportation....................... SMALL (overall) SMALL (overall) SMALL (overall)
MODERATE (local). MODERATE (local). MODERATE (local).
Socioeconomics....................... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE.
Air Quality.......................... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Water Resources--Surface Water....... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE.
Water Resources--Groundwater......... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE.
Geology & Soils...................... SMALL (geology) SMALL SMALL (geology) SMALL SMALL (geology) SMALL
to MODERATE (soils). to MODERATE (soils). to MODERATE (soils).
Ecology.............................. SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE.
Noise................................ SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE.
Historic & Cultural.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Scenic & Visual...................... MODERATE............... MODERATE............... MODERATE.
Public & Occupational Health......... SMALL.................. SMALL.................. SMALL.
Public & Occupational Health-- SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE...... SMALL to MODERATE.
Accidents.
Waste Management..................... MODERATE............... MODERATE............... MODERATE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based on its review of the proposed action relative to the
requirements set forth in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has determined
that renewal of License SNM-124, for a period of 40 years would not
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. In its
license renewal request, NFS is proposing no changes in how it
processes enriched uranium, and no significant changes in NFS'
authorized operations are planned during the proposed license renewal
period. The impacts of ongoing and planned construction actions--
including those related to the physical protection and safeguarding of
licensed materials--are not expected to significantly affect the
quality of the human environment. Gaseous emissions and liquid
effluents generated by the NFS facility are presently controlled and
monitored by permit, and would continue to be required to meet
regulatory limits for non-radiological and radiological components.
Public and occupational radiological dose exposures that would be
generated by continued NFS facility operations would continue to be
required to meet 10 CFR part 20 regulatory limits. Pursuant to 10 CFR
51.31 and 51.32, the NRC staff concludes that a FONSI is appropriate,
and that preparation of an EIS is not warranted for the proposed
action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of October, 2011.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christepher McKenney,
Acting Deputy Director, Environmental Protection and Performance
Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental
Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental
Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-27685 Filed 10-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
