[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54099-54100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-15132]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-07354]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Source Materials License 
No. SUB-834, To Authorize Disposal, in Accordance With 10 CFR 20.2002, 
of Contaminated Military Vehicles by the Department of the Army, U.S. 
Army Aberdeen Test Center Facility, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD

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 Source Materials License No. SUB-
834. This license is held by the Department of the Army Aberdeen Test 
Center (the Licensee), for its facility located at the Aberdeen Proving 
Ground, Maryland. License No. SUB-834 was issued to the Army on April 
11, 1961, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 40, and has been amended periodically 
since that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to use uranium 
and thorium for purposes of conducting research and development 
activities with military equipment.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 20.2002 and 10 CFR 40.14, issuance of the 
license amendment would authorize the transfer and off-site disposal of 
two M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles which are contaminated with depleted 
uranium. As discussed further below, the two vehicles would be disposed 
of at U.S. Ecology, a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA) hazardous waste disposal facility in Idaho. The Licensee 
requested this action in a letter dated September 13, 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 September 13, 
2005, license amendment request that transfer of its two M2A2 Bradley 
Fighting Vehicles to U.S. Ecology's disposal facility be authorized. In 
addition to granting the licensee's license amendment request, the 
proposed action would also grant, pursuant to 10 CFR 40.14, an 
exemption to U.S. Ecology from 10 CFR Part 40 licensing requirements. 
10 CFR 40.14 provides that the Commission may, upon application by an 
interested person, ``or upon its own initiative, grant such 
exemptions'' from the 10 CFR Part 40 requirements ``as it determines 
are authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the 
common defense and security and are otherwise in the public interest.'' 
Under the exemption granted to U.S. Ecology any depleted uranium on the 
two vehicles would, upon their receipt at U.S. Ecology's disposal 
facility, no longer be subject to NRC regulation and would no longer be 
NRC licensed material. The 10 CFR 40.14 exemption in this case is 
equivalent to (1) prior EA determinations on 10 CFR 20.2002 requests in 
which disposal of depleted uranium at RCRA hazardous waste disposal 
facilities were approved; and (2) previous related exemptions to the 
effect that the materials at issue were exempt from further Atomic 
Energy Act and NRC licensing requirements.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee needs this license change in order to dispose of the 
two M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles that are contaminated with hazardous 
wastes at an appropriate facility. The two vehicles also have low-level 
contamination from depleted uranium, specifically, less than 800 
microcuries total depleted uranium on a total mass of 58,000 pounds in 
2,800 cubic feet of material. NRC is fulfilling its

[[Page 54100]]

responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act to make a timely decision 
on a proposed license amendment that ensures protection of public 
health and safety and the environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff has reviewed the evaluation performed by the Licensee 
to demonstrate compliance with the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal 
criteria. Under these criteria, a licensee may seek NRC authorization 
to dispose of licensed material using procedures not otherwise 
authorized by the NRC's regulations. A licensee's supporting analysis 
must show that the radiological doses arising from the proposed 10 CFR 
20.2002 disposal will be as low as reasonably achievable and within the 
10 CFR part 20 dose limits.
    The disposal of the military vehicle debris containing less than 
800 microcuries of depleted uranium will result in a dose of less than 
1 millirem to a member of the public. Based on its review, the staff 
has determined that the affected environment and environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action will not significantly increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being made in 
the types of any effluents that may be released off site, and there is 
no significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure. 
Based on its review, the NRC staff considered the impact of the 
residual radioactivity at the disposal site. The NRC has identified no 
other radiological or non-radiological activities in the area that 
could result in cumulative environmental impacts, and concludes 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 very small amounts of radioactive material involved, the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action 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 denial of the application 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 will not 
significantly impact the quality of the human environment, and that the 
proposed action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the State 
of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for review on May 10, 
2006. On July 28, 2006, the State responded by letter. The State agreed 
with the health and safety conclusions of the EA, but provided comments 
as to NRC jurisdiction of the material at U.S. Ecology. The NRC revised 
the EA to explain that pursuant to the proposed exemption, the 
material, upon its receipt at U.S. Ecology's disposal facility, would 
no longer be NRC licensed material and would thus no longer be subject 
to NRC regulation.
    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 September 13, 2005, with Attachment 1 ``Aberdeen 
Proving Ground Request for Approval of Proposed Procedures in 
accordance with 10 CFR 20.2002'', Enclosure 2, ``MicroShield Exposure 
Rates for Hypothetical Transportation Worker, Members of the General 
Public, and Disposal Facility Workers'', and Enclosure 3, ``RESRAD 
Computer code Summary Report Resident Farmer'' [ADAMS Accession No. 
ML052870504].
    (2) Technical Review of Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 
20.2002 Request by Aberdeen Test Center [ML060310247] and Safety 
Evaluation Report: 10 CFR 20.2002 Request By Aberdeen Test Center 
[ML060310257].
    (3) Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, part 20, ``Standards for 
Protection Against Radiation.''
    (4) Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions''.
    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 1st day of September 
2006.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E6-15132 Filed 9-12-06; 8:45 am]
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