[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54164-54165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20191]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


State of Utah: Final Determination on Proposed Alternative 
Groundwater Standards for 11e.(2) Byproduct Material

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Final Commission Determination under Section 274o of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; State of Utah Proposed 
Alternative Groundwater Standards.

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SUMMARY: This notice is announcing that on August 4, 2004, the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) made the determination required by section 
274o of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act) for Agreement 
State proposed alternative standards for 11e.(2) byproduct material. 
The Commission has determined that the State of Utah's proposed 
alternative groundwater standards will achieve a level of stabilization 
and containment of the sites concerned, and a level of protection for 
public health, safety, and the environment from radiological and non-
radiological hazards associated with such sites, which is equivalent 
to, to the extent practicable, or more stringent than the level which 
would be achieved by standards and requirements adopted and enforced by 
the Commission for the same purpose and any final standards promulgated 
by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in 
accordance with section 275 of the Act. This notice completes the 
notice and public hearing process required in section 274o of the Act 
for proposed State alternative standards.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis M. Sollenberger, Office of 
State and Tribal Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone (301) 415-2819 or e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission approved a similar process to 
that specified at 10 CFR part 2, subpart H to fulfill both provisions 
for notice and for opportunity for public hearing required by section 
274o of the Act. The Commission published a notice and opportunity for 
public hearing in the Federal Register on the State of Utah's proposed 
alternative groundwater standards for a 30-day comment period (68 FR 
51516, August 27, 2003). On October 24, 2003, the Commission published 
a clarification of the notice and opportunity for public hearing in the 
August 27, 2003 notice, noticed the electronic availability of two

[[Page 54165]]

documents referenced in the earlier notice, and extended the comment 
period for an additional 30 days (68 FR 60885). The public comment 
period ended on November 24, 2003. The Commission received three 
comment letters on Utah's alternative groundwater standards proposal 
(ML032750048, ML032820353, and ML033420067) and one letter with 
supplements on the Commission's alternative standards determination 
process (ML032720672, ML032750048, and ML033140034). The NRC staff 
prepared a letter response dated June 21, 2004 (ML041770014) to the 
commenter on the Commission's alternative standards determination 
process.
    The NRC staff prepared an analysis of comments for the comments 
received on Utah's proposed alternative groundwater standards 
(ML042240488). One commenter did not object to Utah's alternative 
groundwater regulations; however, the commenter said the discharge 
permit discussions on implementation is the test of the standards. 
Another commenter stated that the Utah's proposed alternative 
groundwater standards were equivalent or more stringent than the NRC 
and EPA groundwater standards. The third commenter raised concerns with 
NRC's past implementation of its groundwater standards and wants Utah 
to implement a more rigorous groundwater protection program. No 
deficiencies in Utah's proposed alternative groundwater standards were 
identified by the commenters.
    The Commission considered the information provided in SECY-03-025 
(ML032901045) which included the State of Utah comparison between 
Utah's proposed alternative groundwater standards and NRC's standards, 
and the NRC staff's initial determination that Utah's proposed 
alternative groundwater standards are equivalent to or more stringent 
than the NRC groundwater standards. The Commission considered the 
comments submitted in response to the August 27 and October 24, 2003 
Federal Register notices and the NRC staff's analysis of the comments, 
and the NRC staff's recommendation that the Commission approve a final 
determination that Utah's alternative groundwater standards meet the 
requirements in section 274o of the Act. On August 4, 2004, the 
Commission made a determination that Utah's alternative groundwater 
standards are equivalent to or more stringent than the NRC's 
groundwater standards for 11e.(2) byproduct material (ML042170320).
    The documents referenced above and publicly available documents 
created or received at the NRC after November 1, 1999, are available 
electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, the public can gain 
entry into the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System 
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. 
If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or 
by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of August, 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 04-20191 Filed 9-3-04; 8:45 am]
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