[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42733-42734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17467]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8767]


Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Amendment of 
Materials License No. SUC-1380, U.S. Department of the Army, Lake City 
Army Ammunition Plant, Independence, MO

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuing 
a license amendment to Materials License No. SUC-1380, held by the U.S. 
Department of the Army (Army or the licensee), to authorize remediation 
of radioactive contamination in both the 600-yard bullet catcher and 
the southeast wing of Building 3A areas of its Lake City Army 
Ammunition Plant (LCAAP) located in Independence, Missouri.

Summary of Environmental Assessment

Background

    The Army is the holder of Materials License No. SUC-1380 
(hereafter, license) which the NRC originally issued on June 6, 1980, 
pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). This 
license, among other things, authorizes the Army to possess depleted 
uranium (DU) and DU-contaminated waste incident to decommissioning of 
facilities at LCAAP.
    During the 1960s and 1970s, the Army produced and tested DU XM-101 
spotter rounds at LCAAP. Part of the production of the XM-101 spotter 
rounds took place in the southeast wing of Building 3A. By 1968, the 
program was terminated and approximately 44,000 XM-101 spotter rounds 
were left on site. In 1971, because the rounds were fused, the licensee 
decided that a safe method for demilitarizing the remaining rounds was 
to fire the rounds into a sand-filled catch box. The actual catch box 
used for this demilitarization operation was the ``600-yard bullet 
catcher.'' The catch box was filled with sand as an impact material. 
During this demilitarization operation, the impact material in the 
catch box was periodically replaced with fresh impact material. The 
used impact material (i.e., DU-contaminated sand) was removed from the 
catch box and placed in an area of the site known as ``Area 10.'' The 
Army, by letter dated May 1, 1998, submitted revision 5.1 of its plan 
to remediate Area 10. The NRC authorized remediation of Area 10, in 
accordance with that plan, on August 25, 1998 (License Amendment No. 
32). The LCAAP site includes two production buildings that were used to 
produce the DU-spotter rounds. The production buildings, 3A and 12A, 
were remediated in April 1987. However, during an inspection in 1995, 
the staff identified several locations in the southeast wing of 
Building 3A, on the floor and walls, with fixed or removable activity 
in excess of unrestricted use criteria.
    The licensee, by letter dated August 12, 1998, and supplemented by 
letters dated March 9, June 28, December 21, 1999, and June 20, 2000, 
submitted its current plans for the remediation of DU and DU-
contaminated material from both the LCAAP 600-yard bullet catcher area 
and the southeast wing of Building 3A. The Army plans to have its 
contractor, Allied Technology Group, Inc. (ATG), remediate these areas 
under the provisions of the Army's license.

Proposed Action

    The licensee proposes to remediate both the 600-yard bullet catcher 
area and the southeast wing of Building 3A. The licensee, by letter 
dated August 12, 1998, and supplemented by letters dated March 9, June 
28, December 21, 1999, and June 20, 2000, submitted its current plans 
for the remediation of DU and DU-contaminated material from both the 
LCAAP 600-yard bullet catcher area and the southeast wing of Building 
3A. The DU-contaminated material to be removed from the 600-yard bullet 
catcher area will most likely also contain some lead. The licensee will 
perform the remediation by surveying, excavating, packaging, and 
transporting, by a combination of truck and rail, DU and DU-
contaminated material from the LCAAP to a licensed low-level 
radioactive waste disposal facility for disposal.

The Need for Proposed Action

    The proposed action is necessary to allow the licensee to gather 
and remove DU and DU-contaminated material from both the LCAAP 600-yard 
bullet catcher area and the southeast wing of Building 3A. This action 
will facilitate remediation of both radiologically contaminated areas 
sufficiently to meet NRC's unrestricted-use release criteria, and is 
one of the actions necessary for removal of the LCAAP from the Army's 
Materials License SUC-1380.

Alternative to Proposed Action

    An alternative to the proposed action is a no-action alternative. 
The no-action alternative would mean that both the LCAAP 600-yard 
bullet catcher area and the southeast wing of Building 3A would not be 
remediated at this time. This conflicts with NRC's requirements in 
Sec. 40.42 of timely remediation at sites that have ceased operations. 
Although that while there is no immediate threat to the public health 
and safety from this site, as long as the licensee maintains 
appropriate controls over the radioactive material, not undertaking 
remediation at this time, does not resolve the regulatory and potential 
long-term health and safety problems involved in storing this waste. No 
action now would delay remediation of these areas until some time in 
the future, when costs could be much higher than they are today. It is 
even possible that no disposal option will be available in the future 
if current low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities are closed 
and no new ones are opened. Therefore, the no-action alternative is not 
acceptable.

Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action

    Radiological impacts on members of the public may result from 
inhalation and ingestion of releases of radioactivity in air and water 
during the remediation operations and direct exposure to radiation from 
material at the site during remediation operations and transport for 
disposal. Decommissioning workers may receive dose by ingestion, 
inhalation, and direct exposure during the remediation activities. In 
addition to impacts from routine operations, the potential radiological 
consequences of accidents were considered. NRC staff found that the 
radiological

[[Page 42734]]

consequences of remediating both the LCAAP 600-yard bullet catcher area 
and the southeast wing of Building 3A were insignificant for both 
members of the public and radiation workers. The radiological 
consequences were well within the regulatory limits, as specified in 10 
CFR part 20.
    The licensee has estimated the amount of radioactive contaminated 
waste/mixed waste to be shipped to a facility approved by the NRC to 
receive and dispose of this waste to be approximately 1,133 m\3\ 
(40,000 ft\3\). The staff has determined that any facility approved by 
the NRC to receive and dispose of this low-level radioactive/mixed 
waste would be regulated either under state or Federal rules for land 
disposal of radioactive/mixed waste. This will provide for long-term 
institutional control and minimize the potential for human intrusion 
and other environmental impacts. Therefore, NRC staff determined that 
disposing of the LCAAP low-level radioactive/mixed waste at such a 
facility will not cause any significant impacts on the human 
environment.
    Nonradiological impacts evaluated were associated with demography 
and socioeconomic, air quality, land and water use, transportation, 
threatened or endangered species, and historical or archeological 
sites. NRC staff found that the nonradiological consequences either 
were insignificant or would have no impacts on the human environment.

Conclusions

    Based on NRC staff's evaluation of the licensee's LCAAP 600-yard 
bullet catcher and the southeast wing of Building 3A areas remediation 
plan, NRC staff has determined that the proposed plan complies with 
NRC's public and occupational dose and effluent limits, and that 
authorizing the proposed activities by license amendment would not be a 
major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment. NRC staff concludes that a finding of no significant 
impact (FONSI) is justified and appropriate, and that an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) is not required. An Opportunity for a Hearing 
was offered. \1\
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    \1\ 64 FR 31020 (June 9, 1999).
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Finding of No Significant Impact

    Pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, NRC has prepared this environmental 
assessment (EA) related to the issuance of a license amendment to 
Materials License SUC-1380 authorizing remediation of both the 600-yard 
bullet catcher and the southeast wing of Building 3A areas of the 
LCAAP. On the basis of this EA, NRC has concluded that this licensing 
action would not have any significant effect on the quality of the 
human environment and does not warrant the preparation of an EIS. 
Accordingly, it has been determined that a FONSI is appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further details with respect to 
this action, the EA and other documents related to this proposed action 
are available for public inspection and copying at the NRC's Website, 
http://www.nrc.gov (the electronic reading room).

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of July 2000.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry W. Camper,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-17467 Filed 7-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P