[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35241-35242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-14858]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-08006]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for 
Kerr McGee Corporation's Request to Amend Source Materials License

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an 
amendment to Kerr McGee Corporation's Source Materials License SUB-986. 
The proposed amendment will approve the Derived Concentration Guideline 
Levels (DCGLs) and Decommissioning Plan (DP) with consideration of 
license termination for the Kerr McGee Technical Center located in 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was performed 
by the NRC staff in support of its review of Kerr McGee's license 
termination request, in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 
51. The conclusion of the EA is a Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) for the proposed licensing action.

II. Environmental Assessment

Background

    This EA is being performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of 
the proposed amendment to Kerr McGee Corporation's Source Materials 
License SUB-986, to approve the DCGLs and the DP and subsequent 
termination of the source materials license for unrestricted release of 
facilities used under the license located at the Technical Center in 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The license termination will be based upon NRC 
staff's approval of the licensee's Final Status Survey Report as 
required by the DP.
    The Technical Center was established in 1963 to provide research 
and development for conducting chemical and radiochemical laboratory 
analysis. The primary use of the source material was for the 
development, testing and calibration of instruments used for the 
company's mineral prospecting business unit. At no time did the 
Technical Center engage in the degree of production activities 
associated with a fuel cycle facility.
    The Kerr-McGee Corporation's NRC License SUB-986 is managed by 
Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLC, which operates the Technical Center to 
conduct research and development activities in support of its chemical 
facilities. In January 1999, the licensee determined it would no longer 
require source materials use authorizations, provided by NRC License 
SUB-986, to support any work. Additionally, the licensee had been 
notified by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation that the 
department would be expanding State Highway 74 and thus, would be 
expanding the existing right-of-way which may include the area where 
uranium calibration test pits, previously used under the license, were 
located.
    The licensee has completed the remediation of the test pits with 
inspection oversight and confirmatory in-process surveys by the Region 
IV office of the NRC. The NRC staff conducted three inspections (ADAMS 
Accession Nos. ML011520263, ML023500440, ML030370529) and performed 
split sample analyses of the soils and surface water to assess the 
levels of contamination and subsequent remediation of the outdoor 
areas.

Identification of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to issue a license amendment to Source 
Materials License SUB-986 for approval of the DP with proposed DCGLs 
that define the maximum amount of residual contamination in soils and 
building surfaces that would satisfy NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 
20, subpart E, ``Radiological Criteria for License Termination.'' 
Additional consideration for license termination of Source Materials 
License SUB-986 for unrestricted release of the site, is contingent on 
NRC staff's approval of the licensee's submittal of the final status 
survey report, as required by the DP.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to terminate Source Materials 
License SUB-986 and release the site for unrestricted use in accordance 
with the radiological criteria for license termination in subpart E, 10 
CFR part 20, ``Radiological Criteria for License Termination.'' The NRC 
is fulfilling its responsibility under the Atomic Energy Act to make a 
decision for the proposed license termination that ensures protection 
of the public health and safety and the environment.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Final approval for release of the site for unrestricted use would 
be contingent upon NRC staff's approval of the licensee's final status 
survey report. The no-action alternative would be to keep the facility 
on the license. Maintaining the areas under a license would provide, 
negligible, if any, environmental benefit, but would reduce options for 
future use of the property. Furthermore, this no-action alternative is 
not acceptable because it would conflict with NRC's requirement in 10 
CFR 40.42, ``Expiration and termination of licenses and decommissioning 
of sites and separate building or outdoor areas,'' of timely 
remediation at facilities or outdoor areas that have ceased NRC 
licensed operations. Therefore, the no-action alternative is not 
considered to be reasonable and is not analyzed further in this EA.

The Affected Environment and Environmental Impacts

    The facility consists of approximately 160 acres of land in which 
the facility buildings are located on approximately 10 acres of land 
with the rest of the land area consisting of grass fields or water, and 
not used for the facility's activities. Since the site would be 
surveyed and meet the NRC criteria for unrestricted use in accordance 
with 10 CFR part 20, the environmental impacts resulting from the 
release of this site for unrestricted use are expected to be 
insignificant. There are no additional activities which would result in 
cumulative impacts to the environment.

Agencies and Persons Contacted

    The NRC staff has prepared this EA with input from the Oklahoma 
Natural Heritage Inventory by letter dated April 12, 2002, and the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service by letter dated May 9, 2002, and documented 
that the proposed action will have no effect on listed species, 
wetlands or other important wildlife resources. By letter dated May 2, 
2002, after reviewing the documentation concerning the referenced 
project in Oklahoma County, the Oklahoma Historical Society determined 
that there are no historic properties affected by the referenced 
project. In its letter dated April 11, 2002, the Oklahoma 
Archaeological Survey indicated that the referenced project has been 
reviewed and cross-checked with the state site files containing 
approximately 17,500 archaeological sites that are currently recorded 
in the State of Oklahoma and no sites are listed as occurring within 
the project area. Additionally, the Oklahoma

[[Page 35242]]

Archaeological Survey indicated that based on the topographic and 
hydrological setting, no archaeological materials are likely to be 
encountered. A draft of this EA was provided to the State of Oklahoma 
for review. The State of Oklahoma is in agreement with the proposed 
action and had no additional comments.

References

NRC, ``Radiological Criteria for License Termination,'' 10 CFR part 20, 
subpart E, 62 FR 39088, July 28, 1997.
NRC, ``NMSS Decommissioning Standard Review Plan, ``NUREG-1727, August 
1991.
NRC, ``Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual 
(MARSSIM),'' NUREG-1575, December 1997.
NRC, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' NUREG-1757, Volume 
1, September 2002.
NRC, Draft, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions 
Associated with NMSS Programs,'' NUREG-1748, September 2001.
NRC, Draft, ``Manual for Conducting Radiological Survey in Support of 
License Termination,'' NUREG/CR-5849, June 1992.
NRC, NMSS Decommissioning Standard Review Plan,'' NUREG-1727, September 
2000.
FR 1997, Radiological Criteria for License Termination, IV. Summary of 
Public Comments, Responses to Comments, and Changes from Proposed Rule, 
A.2.2.1, page 39061, Federal Register, Vol 62, Rules and Regulations, 
July 21, 1997.
FR 2001, Rules and Regulations, pages 55752-55753, Federal Register, 
Vol 66, No. 213, November 2, 2001.
Kerr-McGee Technical Center, ``Revised Decommissioning Plan,'' April 5, 
2001 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML011840119 and ML011840269).
Kerr-McGee Technical Center, ``Responses to NRC Region IV Request for 
Information to Support the Environmental Assessment of Proposed 
Remediation Activities,'' April 22, 2002 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML021140360).

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based upon the environmental assessment, the staff concludes that 
the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality 
of the human environment. Accordingly the staff has determined that the 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.

IV. Further Information

    These references listed above may be examined and/or copied for a 
fee at the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The references and 
inspection reports with ADAMS accession numbers may also be viewed in 
the NRC's Electronic Public Document Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Any questions with respect to this 
action should be referred to D. Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., Chief, Fuel 
Cycle and Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region IV, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, 
Suite 400, Arlington, Texas, 76011-4005. Telephone: (817) 860-8191, FAX 
number (817) 860-8188.

    Dated at Arlington, Texas, this 5th day of June 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
D. Blair Spitzberg,
Chief, Fuel Cycle Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region IV.
[FR Doc. 03-14858 Filed 6-11-03; 8:45 am]
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