[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 26, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42422-42423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11919]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-32959]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 09-10672-03, for Unrestricted Release of the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency's Buildings 15, 16 and 17 in Gulf 
Breeze, FL

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: Steve Hammann, Health Physicist, 
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406; telephone 
(610) 337-5399; fax number (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a license amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 09-
10672-03. This license is held by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(the Licensee), for its Gulf Ecology Division Facility, located at 1 
Sabine Island Drive in Gulf Breeze, Florida (the Facility). Issuance of 
the amendment would authorize release of Buildings 15, 16 and 17, which 
are part of the Facility, for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested 
this action in a letter dated March 14, 2006. The NRC has prepared an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this proposed action in 
accordance with the requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR Part 51). Based on the EA, the NRC 
has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is 
appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The amendment will be 
issued to the Licensee following the publication of this FONSI and EA 
in the Federal Register.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Licensee's March 14, 2006, 
license amendment request resulting in release of Buildings 15, 16 and 
17 for unrestricted use. License No. 09-10672-03 was issued on November 
2, 1992, pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically 
since that time. License No. 09-10672-03 superceded License No. 09-
10672-02 which was issued in 1965 for this Facility. This license 
authorized the Licensee to use sealed and unsealed byproduct material 
for purposes of conducting research and development activities on 
laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    Buildings 15, 16 and 17 have a total of 2,690 square feet and 
consist of office space, laboratories, and storage space. The Buildings 
are located in a mixed residential/commercial area. The Licensee has 
not conducted licensed activities in Buildings 15, 16 and 17 since 
1997. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the 
condition of the Buildings, the Licensee determined that only routine 
decontamination activities, in accordance with its NRC-approved, 
operating radiation safety procedures, were required. The Licensee was 
not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker 
cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with those approved 
for routine operations. The Licensee conducted surveys of Buildings 15, 
16 and 17 and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that they 
meet the criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted 
release.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at Buildings 
15, 16 and 17 and seeks the unrestricted use of this portion of the 
Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Buildings 
15, 16 and 17 shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3 and 
carbon-14. Prior to performing the final status survey, the Licensee 
conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of 
Buildings 15, 16 and 17 affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey on March 5, 2006. This 
survey covered Buildings 15, 16 and 17. The final status survey report 
was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated March 14, 2006. 
The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by 
using the screening approach described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated 
NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. The Licensee used the 
radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs), 
developed there by the NRC, which comply with the dose criterion in 10 
CFR 20.1402. These DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual 
radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and materials, and in 
soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in subpart E of 10 CFR 
part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's final status survey 
results were below these DCGLs and are in compliance with the As Low As 
Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The NRC 
thus finds that the Licensee's final status survey results are 
acceptable. Based on its review, the staff has determined that the 
affected environment and any environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the 
(ML042330385). The staff finds there were no significant environmental 
impacts from the use of radioactive material in Buildings 15, 16 and 
17. The NRC staff reviewed the docket file records and the final status 
survey report to identify any non-radiological hazards that may have 
impacted the environment surrounding the Buildings. No such hazards or 
impacts to the environment were identified. The NRC has identified no 
other radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that 
could result in cumulative environmental impacts.
    The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of Buildings 15, 16 
and 17 for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. The 
Licensee will continue to perform licensed activities at other parts of 
the Gulf Ecology Division Facility, and must ensure that the 
decommissioned area does not become recontaminated. Before the license 
can be terminated, the Licensee will be required to show that the 
entire Facility, including previously-released

[[Page 42423]]

areas, complies with the radiological criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based 
on its review, the staff considered the impact of the residual 
radioactivity in Buildings 15, 16 and 17, and concluded that the 
proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality of 
the human environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action, 
its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative 
the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the 
staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment 
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it 
conflicts with 10 CFR 30.36(d), requiring that decommissioning of 
byproduct material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC 
after licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's 
final status survey data confirmed that Buildings 15, 16 and 17 meet 
the requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. 
Additionally, denying the amendment request would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the no-action alternative are therefore similar, 
and the no-action alternative is accordingly not further considered.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has 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

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the 
Florida Bureau of Radiation Control for review on April 4, 2006. On 
April 4, 2006, Florida Bureau of Radiation Control responded by 
electronic mail. The State agreed with the conclusions of the EA, and 
otherwise had no comments.
    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a 
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical 
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that 
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential 
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed 
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted. 
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
license 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 documents 
related to this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS 
accession numbers.
    1. Amendment request and Final Status Survey Results for U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, 1 Sabine Island 
Drive, Gulf Breeze, Florida, dated March 14, 2006 [ADAMS Accession No. 
ML060810415];
    2. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    3. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    4. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    5. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities''.
    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]. 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 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this 18th day of July 
2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E6-11919 Filed 7-25-06; 8:45 am]
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