[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30150-30151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10408]


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

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-05004]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment for Northern States Power 
Company D.B.A. Xcel Energy Pathfinder Site, Sioux Falls, SD

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Glenn, Project Manager, 
Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Telephone: (301) 415-6722; fax number: (301) 415-5398; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance 
of a license amendment to Materials License No. 22-08799-02 issued to 
Northern States Power Company D.B.A. Xcel Energy (the licensee) to 
authorize decommissioning at its Pathfinder site in Minnehaha County, 
South Dakota for unrestricted use and termination of this license. NRC 
has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this 
amendment 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 amendment will be issued following 
the publication of this Notice.

II. EA Summary

    The purpose of the proposed amendment is to authorize 
decommissioning of the licensee's Pathfinder site in Sioux Falls, South 
Dakota for unrestricted use to allow for license termination. 
Specifically, the proposed amendment would incorporate the Pathfinder 
Decommissioning Plan (DP) into the license and authorize 
decommissioning activities in accordance with the DP. On February 17, 
2004, Xcel Energy submitted the Pathfinder DP for NRC approval and 
requested a license amendment. Xcel Energy's request was published in 
the Federal Register on August 4, 2004 (69 FR 47185) with a notice of 
an opportunity to request a hearing and an opportunity to provide 
comments on the amendment and its environmental impacts. The NRC staff 
has received no hearing request or comments on the proposed amendment.
    The NRC staff has prepared an EA in support of the proposed license 
amendment. The staff has reviewed the Pathfinder DP and examined the 
environmental impacts of decommissioning. Based on its review, the 
staff has also determined that the environmental impacts are enveloped 
by the generic analysis performed in support of ``Radiological Criteria 
for License Termination'' (62 FR 39058). Additionally, no non-
radiological impacts were identified. The staff also finds that the 
proposed decommissioning of the site is in compliance with 10 CFR 
20.1402, the radiological criteria for unrestricted use.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA, NRC has concluded that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed amendment and has

[[Page 30151]]

determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the 
proposed amendment.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at 
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide 
Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession number for 
the EA related to this notice is (ML050960256). If you do not have 
access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents 
located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) 
Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 19th day of May, 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel M. Gillen,
Director, Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 05-10408 Filed 5-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P