[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 149 (Thursday, August 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44048-44049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12514]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 070-03071]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Special Nuclear 
Materials License No. SNM-1990, for Unrestricted Release of the West 
Virginia University Institute of Technology's Engineering Classroom 
Building in Montgomery, WV

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: Betsy Ullrich, Senior Health 
Physicist, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; 
telephone (610) 337-5040; 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 Special Nuclear Materials License 
No. SNM-1990. This license is held by the West Virginia University 
Institute of Technology (the Licensee) for its Department of Physics, 
located at 405 Fayette Place in Montgomery, West Virginia. Issuance of 
the amendment would authorize Room 105 of the Department of Physics' 
Engineering Classroom Building (the Facility) to be released for 
unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated 
August 9, 2005. 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 August 9, 2005, 
license amendment request, resulting in Room 105 (where licensed 
materials were used or stored) being released for unrestricted use. 
License No. SNM-1990 was issued on April 30, 1991, pursuant to 10 CFR 
parts 40 and 70, and has been amended periodically since that time. 
This license authorized the Licensee to use plutonium-239 and uranium 
for purposes of storage only until transferred to an authorized 
recipient. This license superceded License No. SNM-608 (issued June 14, 
1965 to authorize the use of plutonium-239 sealed neutron sources for 
educational and research activities) and License No. SUD-869 (issued 
April 22, 1966 for use of natural uranium in sub-critical assemblies 
for educational and research purposes).
    The Facility is situated on the Licensee's 110-acre campus, which 
is located in a rural area. Within the Facility, use of licensed 
materials was confined to Room 105, which has approximately 47 square 
meters of floor area.
    On June 7, 2005, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and 
initiated a survey and decontamination of Room 105. Based on the 
Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of the 
Facility, the Licensee determined that only routine decontamination 
activities, in accordance with its NRC-approved, operating radiation 
safety procedures, were required. Therefore, the Licensee was not 
required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC. The Licensee 
conducted surveys of Room 105 and provided information to the NRC to 
demonstrate that it meets 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 in Room 105, 
and seeks its unrestricted use.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Room 105 
shows that such activities involved use of the following radionuclide 
with half-life greater than 120 days: Natural uranium. Prior to 
performing the final status survey, the Licensee conducted 
decontamination activities, as necessary, in the Room 105 areas 
affected by the use of natural uranium.
    The Licensee conducted surveys in Room 105 on June 7, 2005, and 
January 12, 2006, as reflected in the Licensee's amendment request 
dated August 9, 2005, and subsequent submittals. 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 NRC considers these DCGLs to be 
in compliance with the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) 
requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The

[[Page 44049]]

Licensee's final status survey results were below these DCGLs, and are 
thus 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 ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological 
Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' 
(NUREG-1496) Volumes 1-3 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385). 
Further, no incidents were recorded involving spills or releases of 
radioactive material at the Facility. Accordingly, there were no 
significant environmental impacts from the use of radioactive material 
at the Facility. 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 Facility. No 
such hazards or impacts to the environment were identified. The NRC has 
found 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 the Facility 
described above for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 
20.1402. Based on its review, the staff considered the impact of the 
residual radioactivity in Room 105 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 40.42(d) and 70.38(d), requiring that 
decommissioning of source and special nuclear 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 Room 105 meets 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 State 
of West Virginia for review on May 17, 2006. On June 20, 2006, the 
State of West Virginia 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) Letter dated August 9, 2005, transmitting the ``Final Status 
Survey for Decommissioning for West Virginia University Institute of 
Technology Engineering Classroom Building Room 105'' [ML052280399];
    (2) Additional information in letters dated November 7, 2005 
[ML053200348] and January 19, 2006 [ML060240555], and by facsimile 
February 10, 2006 [ML060470436];
    (3) Federal Register Notice, Volume 65, No. 114, page 37186, 
dated Tuesday, June 13, 2000, ``Use of Screening Values to 
Demonstrate Compliance With The Federal Rule on Radiological 
Criteria for License Termination'';
    (4) Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination'';
    (5) Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions'';
    (6) 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 20th 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. E6-12514 Filed 8-2-06; 8:45 am]
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