[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 42219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15918]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 03004532]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment for U.S. Department of the 
Army's Facility in Fort Detrick, Frederick County, MD

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John D. Kinneman, Nuclear Materials 
Safety Branch 2, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 
Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406, telephone (610) 
337-5252, fax (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuing a 
license amendment to the U.S. Department of the Army (Army) for 
Materials License No. 19-01151-02, to terminate the license and 
authorize release of its facilities at the U.S. Army Garrison in Fort 
Detrick, Frederick County, Maryland for unrestricted use. NRC has 
prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this action in 
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51. Based on the EA, 
the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) 
is appropriate. The Army's request for the proposed action was 
previously noticed in the Federal Register on April 30, 2003 (68 FR 
23163), along with a notice of an opportunity to request a hearing. The 
amendment will be issued following the publication of this notice.

II. EA Summary

    The purpose of the proposed action is to terminate Byproduct 
Materials License No. 19-01151-02 and release the licensee's Fort 
Detrick facility for unrestricted use. The Army was authorized by NRC 
since 1954 to use radioactive materials for research and development 
purposes and for collection, storage, and disposal of radioactive 
wastes from tenant facilities at the site. On March 26, 2004, the Army 
provided the results of the final task in the decommissioning of the 
facility and requested that NRC release the Fort Detrick facility for 
unrestricted use. The Army has conducted surveys of the Fort Detrick 
facility and determined that the facility meets the license termination 
criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20. The NRC staff has prepared an 
EA in support of the proposed license amendment.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of the 
proposed license amendment to terminate the license and release the 
facility for unrestricted use. The NRC staff has evaluated the Army's 
request and the results of the surveys and has concluded that the 
completed action complies with the criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 
20. The staff has found that the environmental impacts from the 
proposed action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological 
Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Facilities'' (NUREG-
1496). The staff has also found that the non-radiological impacts are 
not significant. On the basis of the EA, the NRC has concluded that the 
environmental impacts from the proposed action are expected to be 
insignificant and has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement for the proposed action.

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/adams.html (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML023380577, ML023500461, ML030840097, ML030900332, ML041630081, 
ML031350586, ML032260400, ML032660361, ML041630070, ML032830344, 
ML041030414 and ML041880474. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy 
documents for a fee. These documents are also available for inspection 
and copying for a fee at the Region I Office, 475 Allendale Road, King 
of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406. Persons who do not have access to 
ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-
800-397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, of by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this 7th day of June 
2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John D. Kinneman,
Chief, Nuclear Materials Safety Branch 2, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. 04-15918 Filed 7-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P