[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 19, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44154-44156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21900]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Texas License L03835]


ProTechnics International, Inc.--Houston, Texas: Field Flood 
Tracer Study; Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of 
Opportunity for a Hearing

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering authorizing 
ProTechnics International, Inc. (ProTechnics) to conduct a field flood 
tracer study in an oil reservoir located at the NE Perry Unit, Noble 
County, Oklahoma near Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Environmental Assessment

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is authorizing ProTechnics to conduct a field 
flood tracer study using cobalt-60 and hydrogen-3 in an oil reservoir 
located at the NE Perry Unit, Noble County, Oklahoma, near the town of 
Stillwater, Oklahoma. ProTechnics, with offices in Houston, Texas, is 
authorized by the

[[Page 44155]]

State of Texas, under Texas License L03835, to conduct field flood 
tracer activities in oil and gas reservoirs at temporary jobsites 
within that State. NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 150.20, ``Reciprocity--
Recognition of Agreement State Licenses,'' states, in part, ``. . . any 
person holding a specific license from an Agreement State where the 
licensee maintains an office for directing the licensed activity, . . . 
is hereby granted a general license to conduct the same activity in 
non-Agreement States . . . Provided, That the specific license does not 
limit the activity authorized by [the] general license to specified 
installations or locations.'' Because the Texas license authorizes 
ProTechnics to use the requested radioisotopes in field flood tracer 
studies at temporary jobsites, ProTechnics qualifies for the general 
license. Paragraph (b) of 10 CFR Part 150.20 further states, ``In 
addition, any person engaging in activities in non-Agreement States . . 
. under the general license . . . shall, . . . before engaging in each 
such activity, file . . . Form-241 (revised), `Report of Proposed 
Activities in Non-Agreement States' . . .'' with NRC. ProTechnics met 
this requirement with a submission dated April 18, 1997.
    On January 13, 1997 (62 FR 1662), NRC published a final rule in the 
Federal Register amending 10 CFR 150.20. The amendment, primarily 
intended to clarify requirements concerning activities conducted at 
areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction within Agreement States, also 
revised 10 CFR 150.20(b) to make clear that licensees operating 
pursuant to the rule must comply with all NRC regulations applicable to 
materials licensees. 10 CFR Part 51 specifies the environmental 
protection regulations applicable to NRC's licensing activities and 
implements section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended. Section 51.21 provides that all licensing actions 
require an environmental assessment except those identified in 10 CFR 
51.20 as requiring an environmental impact statement or those 
identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c) as categorical exclusions. The use of 
radioactive tracers in field flood studies is not identified in either 
section. Therefore, an environmental assessment must be prepared. 
Paragraph 51.60(b)(1)(vi) requires that an applicant submit an 
environmental report with any request for use of radioactive tracers in 
field flood studies. ProTechnics submitted an environmental report in a 
letter dated May 27, 1997.

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The action is to determine if the licensee's request to perform 
activities under the general license should be approved or denied. 
Field flood tracer studies are conducted in conjunction with enhanced 
recovery of oil and natural gas, commonly referred to as enhanced oil 
recovery (EOR).
    The oil from a producing well in a new reservoir initially flows 
because of the pressure exerted by water and gas in the reservoir. As 
oil production continues the reservoir pressure declines unless fluids 
are injected into the reservoir to maintain the pressure. The average 
recovery from primary production, with and without pressure 
maintenance, is 20 to 30 percent of the original oil in place. Oil 
production can be increased through a secondary recovery technique 
called waterflooding, which is the injection of water through injection 
wells to push the oil toward production wells. Further enhancements in 
oil production may occur with the use of so-called tertiary recovery 
methods in which steam, sulfactants (soaps), or other compounds or 
gases are injected into the reservoir.
    Radioactive tracers are used to define the movement of liquids or 
gases injected into an oil and gas reservoir to enhance recovery and to 
monitor reservoir performance. The water-soluble or gaseous tracer is 
introduced into a reservoir with the injected fluid. Both radioactive 
and nonradioactive tracers may be used. The tracer is placed in the 
injection well, where it is diluted and swept into the reservoir by 
injection liquid or gas. The diluted tracer is subsequently recovered 
at production wells and is monitored by sampling the recovered fluids.
    In evaluating reservoir performance, it is desirable to determine 
the source of the injected fluid being collected at a production well. 
It is frequently desirable, therefore, to employ several tracers, using 
a different tracer in each of a number of injection wells.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    NRC published NUREG/CR-3467, ``Environmental Assessment of the Use 
of Radionuclides as Tracers in the Enhanced Recovery of Oil and Gas'' 
in November 1983. This generic environmental assessment (EA) evaluated 
the use of 16 different radioisotopes, used in certain activity ranges, 
as interwell tracers in field flooding for EOR operations. A typical 
operation using radioisotopes for interwell tracing was analyzed from 
the standpoint of three stages of operation: aboveground, subsurface, 
and recovery and disposal. Doses to workers who handle radioactive 
tracers and to members of the public were estimated for normal and 
accidental exposure scenarios. For the two isotopes ProTechnics 
requested authorization to use, NUREG/CR-3467 analyzed the use of up to 
300 millicuries of cobalt-60 and up to 30 curies of hydrogen-3. The 
ProTechnics submittal only requests authorization to use up to 23 
millicuries of cobalt-60 and 2 curies of hydrogen-3, well within the 
bounds of the generic assessment. The NUREG estimated the national 
radiological impact on the use of radioisotopes as interwell tracers in 
EOR projects to be a collective dose equivalent of less than 16 man-
rem/yr. Accidental exposures were estimated to contribute little to the 
total. The ProTechnics proposal, which only includes two radioisotopes 
and only a small percentage of the total activity evaluated in the 
NUREG for those two radioisotopes, will result in a lower collective 
dose equivalent.

Alternatives

    Denial of ProTechnics request is a possible alternative to the 
proposed action. This would avoid any of the environmental impacts 
associated with the use of radioactive tracers. However, the proposed 
action is nevertheless reasonable because its environmental impacts are 
so small and it will provide benefits such as assisting to meet U.S. 
energy needs.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    Ms. Pam Dewoody of the State of Oklahoma, Department of 
Environmental Quality (DEQ), was contacted on July 22, 1997, to discuss 
ProTechnics field flood tracer study reciprocity request and its 
potential environmental impacts. In a letter dated August 6, 1997, Ms. 
Dewoody indicated that the DEQ had no objections to the tracer study.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff concludes that the environmental impacts associated 
with ProTechnics proposed request to conduct a field flood tracer study 
using cobalt-60 and hydrogen-3 in an oil reservoir located at the NE 
Perry Unit, Noble County, Oklahoma, are expected to be insignificant.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The Commission previously prepared an EA related to the use of 
certain quantities of radionuclides as tracers in field flood 
operations for the enhanced recovery of oil and gas. On the basis of 
the assessment, the Commission

[[Page 44156]]

concluded that environmental impacts that would be created by such 
actions would not be significant and do not warrant the preparation of 
an Environmental Impact Statement. Because ProTechnics' request is 
within the bounds of that EA, it has been determined that a Finding of 
No Significant Impact is appropriate.
    The generic EA is made available as NUREG/CR-3467. Copies of NUREG/
CR-3467 may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. 
Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20402-9328. 
Copies are also available from the National Technical Information 
Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. A copy and 
ProTechnics' submittal are also available for inspection and copying 
for a fee in the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower 
Level), Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Opportunity for a Hearing

    Any person whose interest may be affected by the approval of this 
action may file a request for a hearing. Any request for hearing must 
be filed with the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register; be served on the NRC staff 
(Executive Director for Operations, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852), and on the licensee 
(ProTechnics International, Inc., 1160 Dairy Ashford, Suite 444, 
Houston, TX 77079); and must comply with the requirements for 
requesting a hearing set forth in the Commission's regulations, 10 CFR 
Part 2, Subpart L, ``Information Hearing Procedures for Adjudications 
in Materials Licensing Proceedings.''
    These requirements, which the request must address in detail, are:
    1. The interest of the requestor in the proceeding;
    2. How that interest may be affected by the results of the 
proceeding (including the reasons why the requestor should be permitted 
a hearing);
    3. The requestor's areas of concern about the licensing activity 
that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and
    4. The circumstances establishing that the request for hearing is 
timely--that is, filed within 30 days of the date of this notice.
    In addressing how the requestor's interest may be affected by the 
proceeding, the request should describe the nature of the requestor's 
right under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to be made a 
party to the proceeding; the nature and extent of the requestor's 
property, financial, or other (i.e., health, safety) interest in the 
proceeding; and the possible effect of any order that may be entered in 
the proceeding upon the requestor's interest.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of August 1997.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry W. Camper,
Chief, Medical, Academic, and Commercial Use Safety Branch, Division of 
Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 97-21900 Filed 8-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P