[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 165 (Friday, August 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43563-43564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21404]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No.: 040-08948]


Notice of Additional Information for Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation's Facility in 
Cambridge, OH

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued for public 
comment a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) related to the 
decommissioning of the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation's facility 
in Cambridge, Ohio. The DEIS reviews and evaluates the licensee's 
proposed alternative of stabilizing in place two slag piles containing 
radioactive and chemical waste, and several other alternatives to this 
action, including disposal of all of the slag offsite at a licensed 
disposal facility. Shortly after the DEIS was made available to the 
public for review, NRC received a request from Mr. Sherwood Bauman, 
Chairperson of the Save the Wills Creek Water Resources Committee, a 
local environmental group in the Cambridge, Ohio area, to consider 
another alternative. The purpose of this notice is to describe the 
proposed alternative, and to request public comments on it.

ADDRESSES FOR THE DEIS: A single copy of the DEIS (NUREG-1543) may be 
requested by those considering public comment by writing to the NRC 
Publications Section, ATTN.: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. 
Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, D.C. 20013-
7082, or by calling 202-512-1800. A copy of the DEIS is available for 
inspection and/or copying in the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L St. 
NW, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. A copy is also available for public 
inspection at the Guernsey County District Library, 800 Steubenville 
Avenue, Cambridge, Ohio 43725-2385.

DATES AND ADDRESSES FOR PUBLIC MEETING: A public meeting will be held

[[Page 43564]]

on September 16, 1996, from 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m., at the Pritchard 
Laughlin Civic Center, located at 7033 Glenn Highway, Cambridge, Ohio 
43725. Telephone 614/439-7009. The NRC staff and contractors will be 
available to go over information in the DEIS and for this new 
alternative, to answer questions related to information presented in 
the DEIS and on this notice for the new alternative, and to receive 
comments to be considered in developing the final environmental impact 
statement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Thaggard, Low-Level Waste and 
Decommissioning Projects Branch, Mail Stop T7D-13, Division of Waste 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Telephone 
301/415-6718.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The NRC has prepared a DEIS that evaluates the potential 
environmental impacts and alternatives associated with SMC's proposed 
approach to decommissioning two radiologically contaminated waste 
piles. NRC noticed the availability of the DEIS for public comment on 
July 25, 1996 (61 FR 38789). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
noticed availability of the DEIS on August 2, 1996 (61 FR 40414). NRC's 
notice of availability stated that the public comment period of the 
DEIS would extend 90 days from the date of EPA's notice. Consequently, 
the comment period on the DEIS will expire October 31, 1996.
    Shieldalloy proposes to cap and stabilize the piles in place and 
implement appropriate land-use restrictions. The DEIS also describes 
and evaluates alternatives to the proposed action. Based on the 
evaluations in the DEIS, without consideration of this new alternative, 
the NRC staff's preliminary conclusion is that the environmental 
impacts of SMC's proposal are not significant, if certain mitigative 
measures are carried out, and there is no obviously superior 
alternative.
    NRC recently received a request from Mr. Sherwood Bauman, 
Chairperson of the Save the Wills Creek Water Resources Committee, a 
local environmental group in the Cambridge, Ohio area, to consider 
another alternative for remediating the site. The alternative was 
provided in response to the DEIS and could simply be considered by NRC 
in its resolution of all of the public comments that are to be 
submitted by October 31, 1996. However, because it was provided very 
early in the comment period by the Save the Wills Creek Water Resources 
Committee, a local group that has had extensive involvement in 
monitoring the remediation of this site, NRC staff is describing the 
alternative in this notice, and soliciting public comments on it. The 
staff will consider these comments and evaluate them fully along with 
the alternative in the final EIS, as well as comments received on it in 
a public meeting on the DEIS to be held September 16, 1996, in 
Cambridge, Ohio.

Description of Alternative Proposed by Save the Wills Creek Water 
Resources Committee

    Generally, the alternative is a hybrid of two alternatives in the 
DEIS--stabilization in place and offsite disposal. However, instead of 
both slag piles being treated the same way (either stabilized in place 
or disposed of at a facility in Utah), this hybrid alternative proposes 
to remove the East Slag pile for offsite disposal and leave the West 
Slag pile onsite.
    The alternative is described as follows by the Save the Wills Creek 
Water Resources Committee in its letter to NRC:
    ``Most of the serious problems and elevated radioactive materials 
are situated in the East Slag pile. In fact, it is the East slag pile 
and its material that may eventually exceed the National Safe Drinking 
Water Standards.
    ``The East Slag represents approximately ten percent of the volume 
(by weight) of the total contaminated materials on site, while 
representing approximately 60 percent of the actual licensed materials 
at said facility. Said pile also contains almost all of the slag that 
seriously exceeds the NRC general release criteria'' [for unrestricted 
use].
    ``We therefore submit, that serious consideration be given to yet 
another alternative which is the full removal to a licensed storage 
facility the entire East Slag pile while capping on site the west slag 
pile. This option would see the costs of capping the West Slag pile 
remaining constant, while the cost of removing the most serious area of 
contaminated slag would carry a total cost of approximately 8.5 Million 
dollars to dispose of the East Slag Pile at Envirocare in Utah, and cap 
as planned the West Slag Pile.'' [Note--the Save the Wills Creek Water 
Resources Committee has since estimated the total cost of offsite 
disposal of the East Pile and onsite stabilization of the West Pile to 
be $15 million and will be providing a documented basis for that figure 
by the time of the public meeting].
    ``This is (a) our organizations best estimates, and not a firm 
price, and (b) does not include the return to the site of off site 
slag. In fact, our organization feels that the off site slag is the 
``legal'' responsibility of Cypress Foote, and that said slag should 
not be allowed to be returned to the facility.
    ``This estimate would mean our community receives a much better 
remediation at a price only 2.5 times as high as the current estimates 
for full insitu disposal on site of all on and off site contaminants.''
    The author of the alternative is gathering additional information 
and expects to provide this by the time of the public meeting in 
Cambridge, Ohio, on September 16, 1996. Interested persons may contact 
Mr. Mark Thaggard of the NRC staff for the latest documentation on this 
alternative, or obtain this documentation at the public meeting on 
September 16, 1996.
    The staff has not conducted an analysis of this alternative at this 
time and has presented the alternative in this notice as it was 
received. As noted earlier, the staff will evaluate this alternative in 
the final EIS, considering: (1) The comments received from the public; 
(2) existing information, as appropriate in the DEIS; and (3) any 
pertinent new data that is obtained. For example, the estimated cost 
for removing the East Pile and disposing of it offsite is $17,332,900, 
as reported in Table 5.1-7 of the DEIS. The Save the Wills Creek Water 
Resources Committee believes that this figure is high and will be 
providing a basis for a lower figure. The staff also notes that the 
National Environmental Policy Act requires consideration of all 
environmental impacts that could result from NRC action, not just the 
radiation impacts. The alternative proposal appears to consider only 
radiation impacts from the material identified in the alternative. 
Consistent with the requirements of NEPA and the existing scope of the 
EIS, the staff will assess the environmental impacts from all 
contamination in the final EIS.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of August 1996.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert A. Nelson,
Acting Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, 
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 96-21404 Filed 8-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P