[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 194 (Friday, October 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59138-59140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16563]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-9059]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for a Performance-Based, Multi-Site License for a 
Uranium Water Treatment Program for R.M.D. Operations, LLC Headquarters 
in Wheat Ridge, CO

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron C. Linton, Project Manager, Fuel 
Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-7777; 
fax number: (301) 415-5955; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a 10 CFR part 40 source materials license to R.M.D. 
Operations, LLC (RMD). If issued, the license would authorize RMD to 
act as a multi-site service provider for community water systems (CWSs) 
that concentrate uranium above specified levels during the treatment of 
drinking water. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
in support of the proposed licensing action in accordance with the 
requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 51. 
Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate. The health and safety aspects of the proposed 
action are being evaluated, and no action will be taken until that 
evaluation is completed.

II. EA Summary

    More than 30 years ago, the United States Congress enacted the Safe

[[Page 59139]]

Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Regulations promulgated pursuant to the SDWA 
impose specific requirements on the levels of contaminants (including 
uranium) that may be present in drinking water sources used for public 
consumption in CWSs. In 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) promulgated a proposed rule mandating that the levels of uranium 
in drinking water sources (i.e., maximum contaminant levels (MCLs)) be 
limited to 20 micrograms/liter ([mu]g/L) or 20 parts per billion (ppb). 
In 2000, EPA promulgated a final uranium MCL of 30 [mu]g/L, or 30 ppb 
and imposed strict deadlines for compliance. The rule requires that 
municipalities and other operators (now estimated at 1000-2000) must 
comply with these new requirements by 2007.
    The removal and concentration of uranium by a CWS during its 
treatment of drinking water, in order to meet the EPA uranium standard, 
could result in: (1) The CWS being in possession of source material \1\ 
(uranium) exceeding 0.05 percent by weight of the mixture; and (2) the 
CWS possessing greater than 15 pounds of uranium at a time. A CWS 
possessing uranium in these amounts would need an NRC license, and a 
separate rulemaking is underway to create a new general NRC license to 
cover such CWSs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Source material is defined in 10 CFR 40.4, ``Definitions,'' 
as ``(1) uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any 
physical or chemical form, or (2) ores which contain by weight 0.05 
percent or more of uranium, thorium or any combination thereof.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    RMD has requested a specific NRC license that would authorize RMD 
to: (1) Possess uranium; (2) store uranium residuals at CWSs in a self-
contained uranium removal system (URS) using ion exchange technology; 
and (3) transfer and properly disposition such uranium residuals at 
facilities licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 
(AEA). As described in the EA, final disposition of uranium residuals 
will either be as a waste in AEA-licensed facilities, or as an 
alternate feed for producing ``yellowcake'' at AEA-licensed uranium 
recovery facilities for introduction into the commercial nuclear fuel 
cycle. Once used as alternate feed material, the resulting waste may be 
disposed of as byproduct material \2\ in an 11(e)2 disposal cell. The 
RMD uranium water treatment program is designed to provide CWSs with 
the capability to safely collect, store and transfer uranium 
accumulated during the treatment of drinking water.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The definition of ``byproduct material'' in 10 CFR 40.4 
states, in relevant part, that the term ``means the tailings or 
wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or 
thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material 
content.'' NRC guidance allows byproduct material from alternate 
feed to be disposed of in an 11(e)2 disposal cell (NUREG-1620, 
Appendix I).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The RMD September 27, 2005 license application seeks NRC 
authorization allowing RMD to implement its program at CWSs who decide 
to enter into contracts with RMD. As an NRC licensee, RMD would have 
ownership and/or control of its URS, and would possess all licensed 
materials contained therein, including uranium source material 
collected by any CWS for which RMD is acting as a service provider.
    The following resources areas were evaluated in the EA: land use; 
geology and soils; transportation; water resources; ecology; 
meteorology and air quality; noise and visual/scenic resources; 
historical and cultural resources; socioeconomic conditions; public and 
occupational health; and waste management. In all cases the 
environmental impacts on these areas were found to be small.
    The URSs to be installed by RMD would be sited at either existing 
CWS facilities or in small utility-type sheds near CWS well heads. Only 
minor land disturbances associated with construction activities for 
small buildings and utilities, less than 10,000 square feet in width 
and less than 5 feet in depth, are expected. The CWS would be required 
to obtain all local building permits and meet local requirements to 
reduce sedimentation from construction related activities prior to 
construction.
    The operations of the URS would utilize the same roads that the CWS 
currently uses for receiving supplies for typical water treatment 
operations (e.g., treatment chemicals, maintenance equipment, and waste 
products, etc.). Resin or exchange media loaded with uranium from the 
ion exchange vessel will be transported to either an appropriately 
authorized disposal facility or a licensed uranium mill for use as 
alternate feed material. Material will be transported in either U.S. 
Department of Transportation-approved (DOT) tanker trucks or large 
polyfabric ``Super Sacks'' that have been approved for transport of 
radioactive material. RMD expects 200 trips per year, per 1000 
facilities served. Based on accident statistics, and an average 
nationwide travel distance of 1000 miles to the site of final 
disposition, RMD expects an accident, involving a spent treatment media 
shipment, to occur only once every 2.5 years. These accident statistics 
do not estimate the severity of the accident and consequences could 
range from a severe accident to a minor incident. Even if a small 
number of these accidents were to occur, it would not be expected that 
they will result in any release. If uranium bearing resins were to be 
spilled in a transportation accident, resulting radiation doses to 
members of the public were found to be, in general, negligible and in 
the range of background variability. RMD will be required to develop 
standard operating procedures to respond to and clean up transportation 
related spills of radioactive material.
    The URS will be housed in a treatment shed or within the existing 
CWS. If the URS is housed in a CWS with a floor drain, sump, or similar 
water catchment that leads to a sewer or drain field, a secondary 
containment system will be required to ensure that radioactive material 
cannot be released. The URS will remove uranium from groundwater being 
supplied to the public at each CWS served. Such removal of uranium will 
reduce human exposure and potential health impacts arising from the 
presence of uranium in public drinking water supplies.
    If a utility-type shed is required to be constructed to house a 
URS, there could be impacts to wildlife or historic structures in the 
area. RMD will be required to consult with Federal or State wildlife 
agencies and State Historic Preservation Officers before beginning 
construction related to, or the use of, a URS that is located outside 
of, or away from, existing CWS structures. Noise and visual impacts 
from the URS would be similar to what already exists from a CWS. Costs 
of the URS system may be passed along to the consumer in the form of 
higher water rates. Any rate increases would likely only affect rate 
paying consumers and not the general public. Decommissioning of the URS 
will be RMD's responsibility and RMD will be required to comply with 
NRC's financial assurance criteria.
    Public access to the URS will be restricted. The URS will be 
required to be housed in a locked shed, structure, or within the CWS 
facility and /or be within a fenced in area and properly marked. This 
should prevent any exposures to the public from the URS. However, if a 
member of the public were to gain entry and come in contact with the 
URS, exposure on contact to the ion exchange vessel is expected to be 
no greater than 0.3 mrem/hr. Since the URS will likely be inspected on 
a daily basis, it is likely that exposures from an unauthorized entry 
would be no greater than 7.2 mrem for a 24-hour period, a minor 
exposure. If the individual were in the building for that time and 
remained 30 cm away from the vessel--a more likely scenario-the

[[Page 59140]]

exposure rate would be 0.003 mrem/hr, which would equate to an exposure 
of 0.072 mrem in a 24-hour period, a very minor exposure.
    RMD system specialists, the local utility managers and operators 
are not expected to receive annual radiation doses anywhere near the 
individual monitoring thresholds prescribed in 10 CFR 20.1502, 
``Conditions Requiring Individual Monitoring of External and Internal 
Occupational Dose.'' These aforementioned thresholds are 500 mrem/yr 
for adults or 100 mrem/yr for children or pregnant women. RMD has 
estimated maximum dose rates on the sides of the tanks to be between 
0.2 to 0.3 mrem/hr and only 0.003 mrem/hr at 30 centimeters. RMD 
provided estimates of time operators should spend in the proximity of 
the vessels. The tables showed a maximum of 100 hours/year for the 
operational personnel. That time would result in an exposure of only 3 
mrem for the year. This is a small fraction of the 340 mrem of 
background radiation those same individuals receive from natural 
sources. To ensure that source material is handled in a proper manner, 
uranium-laden (spent) IX resin is not to be stored at the CWS for 
greater than 60 days and will only be contained within the IX vessel.
    Spent uranium-laden resin will be periodically removed from the URS 
and transported to a licensed waste management facility or used as 
alternate feed at a licensed uranium recovery facility. Use of either 
disposal method will result in a small increase in waste material. If 
uranium-laden resin is used as an alternate feed material for uranium 
recovery facilities, the uranium removed from drinking water may enter 
the nuclear fuel cycle and may ultimately be used for domestic power 
generation.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA, NRC has concluded that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed licensing action, 
and NRC staff has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including RMD's license 
application and supporting documentation, are available electronically 
at NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access NRC's Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the 
documents related to this notice are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Document                       ADAMS Accession No.                         Date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Environmental Assessment for        ML062490415                    September 5, 2006.
 Proposed Performance-Based, Multi-site
 License for a Uranium Water Treatment
 Program NRC License No. SUB-(TBD)
 R.M.D. Operations, LLC.
NUREG-1620, Rev. 1, Standard Review Plan  ML032250190                    June 30, 2003.
 for the Review of a Reclamation Plan
 for Mill Tailings Sites Under Title II
 of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
 Control Act of 1978--Final Report,
 ``Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
 Washington, DC.
NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review        ML031000403                    April 10, 2003.
 Guidance for Licensing Actions
 Associated With NMSS Programs--Final
 Report,'' Nuclear Regulatory
 Commission, Washington, DC.
R.M.D. Operations, LLC License            ML052730008                    September 27, 2005.
 Application for Performance-Based,
 Multi-Site License for Uranium Water
 Treatment Program.
R.M.D. Operations, LLC Environmental      ML062440255                    September 27, 2005.
 Report in Support of a Performance-
 based, Multi-site License Application
 (non-proprietary).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's 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, O1 F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of September, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ron C. Linton,
Project Manager, Uranium Processing Section, Fuel Cycle Facilities 
Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6-16563 Filed 10-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P