[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 63134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28066]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-7580]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment for Fansteel, Inc.--
Muskogee, Oklahoma License No. SMB-911

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: James C. Shepherd, Project Manager, 
Decommissioning Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Mail Stop: T-7F27, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone: (301) 415-
6712; Fax number: (301) 415-5398; E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a license amendment to Material License Number SMB-911, 
issued to Fansteel, Inc. (the licensee), to authorize decommissioning 
of its facility located in Muskogee, Oklahoma. NRC has prepared an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) in accordance with the requirements of 10 
CFR part 51 and to determine the environmental impacts of approving the 
decommissioning plan (DP), subsequent release of the site for 
unrestricted use (as defined in 10 CFR 20.1402), and termination of the 
license.

II. EA Summary

    The purpose of the proposed action is to authorize the 
decommissioning of Fansteel's Speciality Metals facility, in Muskogee, 
Oklahoma, for unrestricted use to allow for license termination. The 
Fansteel processing facility produced tantalum and columbium metals for 
approximately 33 years until operations ceased in 1990. The raw 
materials used for tantalum and columbium production contain uranium 
and thorium as naturally occurring trace constituents. The 
concentration of radioactive species present in the process raw 
materials is sufficient to cause the ores and slags to be classified by 
the NRC as source material. Consequently, Fansteel operated under NRC 
License No. SMB-911 for the possession of source material. Fansteel was 
authorized by the NRC on March 25, 1997, to complete the processing of 
ore residues, calcium fluoride residues, and wastewater treatment 
residues containing uranium and thorium, in various site impoundments.
    On July 24, 2003, Fansteel requested that NRC approve the DP for 
the facility, which when complete, would permit the site to be released 
for unrestricted use. Final approval for release of the site for 
unrestricted use and license termination would be contingent upon NRC 
approval of the licensee's final status survey report and making the 
findings required by the Commission's regulations following completion 
of the licensee's decommissioning activities. Fansteel's request for 
the proposed action was previously noticed in the Federal Register on 
August 11, 2003 (68 FR 47621), along with a notice of an opportunity to 
request a hearing and an opportunity to provide comments on the action 
and its environmental impacts.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The staff has prepared the EA in support of the proposed license 
amendment to decommission the site, terminate the license, and release 
the site for unrestricted use. On the basis of the EA, NRC has 
concluded that there are no significant environmental impacts from the 
proposed action, and the license amendment does not warrant preparation 
of an Environmental Impact Statement. It has been determined that a 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. The amendment 
will be issued following the publication of this Notice.

IV. Further Information

    The EA and the documents related to this proposed action, including 
the application for the license amendment and supporting documentation, 
are available for inspection at NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html [ADAMS Accession Nos.: ML030240051, 
ML030240062, ML030240109, ML030240134, and ML030240432 (Decommissioning 
Plan); ML032100530 (request for license amendment); ML032100558 
(revised Decommissioning Plan Sections 15.3-15.5); and ML033040204 
(Environmental Assessment, Finding of No Significant Impact). These 
documents may also be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC 
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of October, 2003.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Janet R. Schlueter,
Acting Director, Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-28066 Filed 11-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P