[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 93 (Monday, May 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28054-28055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7364]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-7004]


USEC Inc.'s Proposed American Centrifuge Plant; Notice of 
Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) is issuing a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS) for the USEC Inc. (USEC) license application, dated August 23, 
2004, for the possession and use of source, byproduct and special 
nuclear materials at its proposed American Centrifuge Plant (ACP) 
located near Piketon, Ohio.
    The scope of activities conducted under the license would include 
the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the ACP. 
Specifically, USEC proposes to use gas centrifuge technology to enrich 
the uranium-235 isotope found in natural uranium up to 10-weight 
percent. The enriched uranium would be used to manufacture nuclear fuel 
for commercial nuclear power reactors.
    The FEIS is being issued as part of NRC's decision-making process 
on whether to issue a license to USEC, pursuant to Title 10 of the U.S. 
Code of Federal Regulations parts 30, 40, and 70. Based on the 
evaluation in the FEIS, NRC environmental review staff have concluded 
that the proposed action will generally have small effects on the 
environment, though a few resource areas may experience moderate 
impacts. The FEIS reflects the final analysis of environmental impacts 
of USEC's proposal and it's alternatives including the consideration of 
public comments received by NRC.

ADDRESSES: The FEIS may be accessed on the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/ by selecting 
``NUREG-1834.'' Additionally, NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. The FEIS and its appendices may also 
be accessed through NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not 
have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, contact NRC Public Document Room (PDR) 
Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    The FEIS is also available for inspection at the Commission's 
Public Document Room, U.S. NRC's Headquarters Building, 11555 Rockville 
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Upon written request and to 
the extent supplies are available, a single copy of the FEIS can be 
obtained for a fee by writing to the Office of Information Services, 
Reproduction and Distribution Services Branch, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by electronic mail at 
[email protected]; or by fax at (301) 415-2289.
    A selected group of documents associated with the USEC facility may 
also be obtained from the Internet on NRC's USEC Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/usecfacility.html. In addition, 
all comments of Federal, State and local agencies, Indian tribes or 
other interested persons will be made available for public inspection 
when received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to the safety 
review or overall licensing of the USEC facility, please contact Mr. 
Francis S. Echols at (301) 415-6981. For environmental review 
questions, please contact Mr. Matthew Blevins at (301) 415-7684.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This FEIS was prepared in response to an 
application submitted by USEC dated August 23, 2004, for the possession 
and use of source, byproduct and special nuclear materials at its 
proposed ACP located near Piketon, Ohio. The FEIS for the proposed ACP 
was prepared by NRC staff and its contractor, ICF Consulting, Inc., in 
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and NRC's 
regulations for implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 51).
    The FEIS is being issued as part of NRC's decision-making process 
on whether to issue a license to USEC, pursuant to 10 CFR parts 30, 40, 
and 70. The scope of activities conducted under the license would 
include the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the ACP. 
Specifically, USEC proposes to use gas centrifuge technology to enrich 
the uranium-235 isotope found in natural uranium up to 10-weight 
percent. The enriched uranium would be used to manufacture nuclear fuel 
for commercial nuclear power reactors. USEC proposes to locate the ACP 
in leased portions of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation 
in Piketon, OH. This is the same site as DOE's Portsmouth Gaseous 
Diffusion Plant. The ACP would consist of refurbished existing 
facilities and newly constructed facilities, primarily located in the 
southwestern portion of the central DOE reservation.
    NRC staff published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the 
proposed ACP and to conduct a scoping process, in the Federal Register 
on October 15, 2004 (69 FR 61268). NRC staff accepted comments through 
February 1, 2005, and subsequently issued a Scoping Summary Report in 
April 2005 (ADAMS Accession Number: ML050820008). On September 9, 2005, 
NRC announced a public meeting to solicit comments on the draft EIS. 
The public meeting was held on September 29, 2005, in Piketon, Ohio. 
NRC accepted public comments through October 24, 2005. The FEIS 
provides summaries of public comments on the draft EIS and responses. 
The FEIS describes the proposed action and

[[Page 28055]]

alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action 
alternative. NRC staff assesses the impacts of the proposed action and 
its alternatives on public and occupational health, air quality, water 
resources, waste management, geology and soils, noise, ecology 
resources, land use, transportation, historical and cultural resources, 
visual and scenic resources, socioeconomics, accidents and 
environmental justice. Additionally, the FEIS analyzes and compares the 
costs and benefits of the proposed action.
    Based on the evaluation in the FEIS, NRC environmental review staff 
has concluded that the proposed action would have small effects on the 
physical environment and human communities with the exception of: (1) 
Short-term moderate impacts associated with increases in particulate 
matter released to the air during the construction phase; (2) short-
term moderate impacts related to increased traffic congestion during 
the construction phase; (3) potential moderate impacts due to 
transportation accidents; (4) potential moderate impacts from facility 
operation accidents; (5) moderate impacts associated with a potential 
operating extension of the DOE depleted uranium tails conversion 
facility; and (6) moderate employment impacts on the local communities 
associated with the construction and operation phases.
    After weighing the impacts, costs, and benefits of the proposed 
action and comparing alternatives, NRC staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 
part 51.91(d), set forth their final recommendation regarding the 
proposed action. NRC staff recommend that, unless safety issues mandate 
otherwise, the action called for is the approval of the proposed action 
(i.e., issue a license).
    NRC staff in the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards are 
currently completing the safety review for USEC's license application 
and is currently scheduled for completion in June 2006.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of May 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Scott C. Flanders,
Deputy Director, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, 
Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6-7364 Filed 5-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P