[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48955-48957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13835]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-01183]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 52-01986-04, for the Unrestricted Release of a Tree at the 
University of Puerto Rico's El Verde Research Station, Puerto Rico

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 1, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 
19406; 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 Byproduct Materials License No. 52-
01896-04. This license is held by the University of Puerto Rico, 
College of Natural Sciences (the Licensee), for its University of 
Puerto Rico Rio Pedras Campus in San Juan, Puerto Rico and a tree at 
the El Verde Research Station, located in the Luquillo Forest of the 
Caribbean National Forest. Issuance of the amendment would authorize 
release of the tree at the El Verde Research Station from any further 
license requirements. The Licensee requested this action in a letter 
dated November 16, 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 NRC plans to take the proposed action 
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 November 16, 2005, 
license amendment request and would release the tree at the El Verde 
Research

[[Page 48956]]

Station from further license requirements. License No. 52-01986-04 was 
issued on March 18, 1969, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been 
amended periodically since that time. Amendment 13 of this license, 
issued June 21, 2001, authorized the Licensee to possess the tree at 
the El Verde Research Station that was previously authorized under 
License No. 52-19434-02. License No. 52-19434-02 was issued March 9, 
1982, and terminated on June 21, 2001. The tree had been injected with 
460 microcuries of cesium-137 (Cs-137) in 1968 during a study that was 
sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission and performed by the 
Puerto Rico Nuclear Center at the University of Puerto Rico. The U. S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) decommissioned the El Verde Research Station 
early in the 1980's and transferred responsibility for it, including 
the tree, to the University of Puerto Rico.
    The tree is situated in Study Area 4 of the El Verde Research 
Station in the Luquillo Forest. The tree is located in a remote area 
that is accessible only by a trail which includes steep climbs and a 
cable suspension bridge. The affected area extends about 5 meters from 
the tree, and includes surface soil and the root system in addition to 
the tree itself.
    The Licensee has provided oversight of the tree since 1982 with 
assistance from the DOE. In the 1990's, DOE performed additional 
surveys and remediation activities in the area of the tree. Based on 
the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of 
the tree and its affected area, the Licensee determined that no 
additional decommissioning activities were required. The Licensee 
provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the 
criteria in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release of the 
tree.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee seeks to remove the tree from further license 
requirements. Release of the tree would relieve the Licensee of 
requirements for maintaining fences and postings of the area for the 
purposes of radiation protection.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted on the tree 
shows that such activities involved injection into the tree of 460 
microcuries of Cs-137 in 1968. Prior to performing the final status 
survey, the DOE conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in 
the areas of the tree affected by Cs-137, on behalf of the Licensee.
    The DOE conducted various surveys of the tree and its affected 
areas in the 1980's and 1990's. The survey reports were attached to the 
Licensee's amendment request dated November 16, 2005. The Licensee 
elected to demonstrate compliance with the radiological criteria for 
unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by providing the 
site-specific dose modeling performed by the DOE, using input 
parameters specific to the tree based on the results of DOE surveys. 
The Licensee thus determined the maximum amount of residual 
radioactivity on materials and soils that will satisfy the NRC 
requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release.
    The NRC performed independent calculations to determine if the 
residual material in the tree and its affected environment would meet 
Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release. 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). The staff finds there 
were no significant environmental impacts from the use of radioactive 
material in the tree. The NRC staff reviewed the docket file records 
and the survey reports to identify any non-radiological hazards that 
may have impacted the environment surrounding the tree. 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 the tree for 
unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its 
review, the staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity 
at the tree 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 
survey data confirmed that the tree and its affected area 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 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Health Department, 
Radiological Health Division, for review on June 21, 2006. On July 31, 
2006, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico responded by electronic mail. The 
Commonwealth 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

[[Page 48957]]

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) University or Puerto Rico, Amendment request dated November 16, 
2005, with supporting documents [ML053550475].
    (2) Department of Energy, letter dated August 16, 1993 
[ML060470455].
    (3) Department of Energy, letter dated March 19, 1993 
[ML060470461].
    (4) NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    (5) Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    (6) Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    (7). 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 this 15th day of August 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region 1.
[FR Doc. E6-13835 Filed 8-21-06; 8:45 am]
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