[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8621-8622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1510]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-05000]


Notice of Environmental Assessment Related to the Issuance of a 
License Amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 22-04589-01, for 
Unrestricted Release of a Former Facility for the Minnesota Department 
of Health, Minneapolis, MN

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for License Amendment.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Snell, Senior Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9871; fax 
number: (630) 515-1259; or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
is considering the issuance of an amendment to NRC Byproduct Materials 
License No. 22-04589-01, which is held by the Minnesota Department of 
Health (licensee). The amendment would authorize the unrestricted 
release of the licensee's former facility, located at 717 Delaware 
Street, SE., Minneapolis, Minnesota. The NRC has prepared an 
Environmental Assessment in support of this action in accordance with 
the requirements of 10 CFR part 51. Based on the Environmental 
Assessment, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate. The amendment to the Minnesota Department of 
Health's license will be issued following the publication of this 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

I. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Minnesota Department of 
Health's request to amend its license and release the licensee's former 
facility for unrestricted use in accordance with 10 CFR part 20, 
subpart E. The proposed action is in accordance with the Minnesota 
Department of Health's request to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) to amend its NRC Byproduct Material License by letters 
dated December 29, 2005 (ADAMS Accession No. ML060170707), and February 
1, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML060330301). The Minnesota Department of 
Health was first licensed to use byproduct materials at its 717 
Delaware Street, SE. facility on November 12, 1971. The licensee is 
authorized to use byproduct materials for activities involving 
instrument calibration and standardization, in-vitro laboratory 
research, and analysis of environmental samples. The licensee is or was 
previously authorized to possess and use microcurie or millicurie 
quantities of numerous byproduct materials, including hydrogen-3, 
carbon-14, nickel-63, strontium-90, cesium-137, europium-154, and 
radium-228, as well as nanocurie quantities of the source material 
thorium-230. In November 2005, the Minnesota Department of Public 
Health moved out of the facilities located at 717 Delaware Street, SE.
    The licensee conducted surveys of the facility and provided this 
information to the NRC to demonstrate that the

[[Page 8622]]

radiological condition of the facility located at 717 Delaware Street, 
SE. are consistent with radiological criteria for unrestricted use in 
10 CFR part 20, subpart E. No radiological remediation activities are 
required to complete the proposed action.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee is requesting this license amendment because it has 
moved out of the facility at 717 Delaware Street, SE., and is 
conducting licensed activities at another location. The NRC is 
fulfilling its responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act to make a 
decision on the proposed action for decommissioning that ensures that 
residual radioactivity is reduced to a level that is protective of the 
public health and safety and the environment, and allows the facility 
to be released for unrestricted use.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided and surveys 
performed by the licensee to demonstrate that the release of the 
facility located at 717 Delaware Street, SE. are consistent with the 
radiological criteria for unrestricted use specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. 
Based on its review, the staff determined that there were no 
radiological impacts associated with the proposed action because no 
radiological remediation activities were required to complete the 
proposed action, and that the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
use in Sec.  20.1402 have been met.
    Based on its review, the staff determined that the radiological 
environmental impacts from the proposed action for the facility at 717 
Delaware Street, SE. are bounded by the ``Generic Environmental Impact 
Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License 
Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' (NUREG-1496). 
Additionally, no non-radiological or cumulative impacts were 
identified. Therefore, the NRC has determined that the proposed action 
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The only alternative to the proposed action of releasing the 
licensee's former facility at 717 Delaware Street, SE. for unrestricted 
use is to take no action. Under the no-action alternative, the 
licensee's facility would remain under an NRC license and would not be 
released for unrestricted use. Denial of the license amendment request 
would result in no change to current conditions at the 717 Delaware 
Street facility. The no-action alternative is not acceptable because it 
is inconsistent with 10 CFR 30.36, which requires licensees who have 
ceased licensed activities to begin decommissioning activities or 
submit a decommissioning plan, which upon approval, will be used to 
conduct decommissioning activities. This alternative would impose an 
unnecessary regulatory burden in controlling access to the former 
facility at 717 Delaware Street, and limit potential benefits from the 
future use of the facility.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff concluded that the proposed action is consistent with 
the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. 
Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the quality 
of the human environment, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed 
action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action will not 
affect listed species or critical habitats. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
Likewise, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not 
a type of activity that has potential to cause effect on historic 
properties. Therefore, consultation under section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act is not required.
    Although the NRC would normally consult with the Minnesota 
Department of Health on this type of byproduct material licensing 
action within their State, because the Minnesota Department of Health 
is the licensee and provided the basis for this action, there was no 
additional consultation with the State.

II. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA in support of the proposed license amendment 
to release the site for unrestricted use, the NRC has determined that 
the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality 
of the human environment. Thus, the NRC has not prepared an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action.

III. 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. 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]. The documents 
and ADAMS accession numbers related to this notice are:
    1. Norman A. Crouch, Ph.D., Minnesota Department of Health, letter 
to William Snell, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, December 29, 2005 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML060170707).
    2. Norman A. Crouch, Ph.D., Minnesota Department of Health, letter 
to William Snell, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, February 1, 2006 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML060330301).
    3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Review 
Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs,'' NUREG-
1748, August 2003.
    4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for 
License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-1496, 
August 1994.
    5. NRC, NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' 
Volumes 1-3, September 2003.
    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 Lisle, Illinois, this 8th day of February 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jamnes L. Cameron,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. 06-1510 Filed 2-16-06; 8:45 am]
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