[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 241 (Friday, December 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75586-75588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21355]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-29462]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Master 
Materials License No. 45-23645-01NA, for Amendment of the License and 
Unrestricted Release of the Navy's Facility in Keyport, WA

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: Orysia Masnyk Bailey, Health 
Physicist,

[[Page 75587]]

Materials Security & Industrial Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 
19401; phone number (864) 427-1032; fax number (610) 680-3497; 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 Master Materials License 
No. 45-23645-01NA. This license is held by the Department of the Navy 
(the Licensee), for various locations including its Naval Undersea 
Warfare Center Division (the Facility), located in Keyport, Washington. 
Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of Building 5003 at 
the Facility for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action 
in a letter dated October 11, 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 October 11, 2005, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of Building 5003 at the 
Facility for unrestricted use. License No. 45-23645-01NA was issued on 
March 23, 1987, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended 
periodically since that time. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center was 
authorized under the Navy's Master Materials License from 1987 through 
1994 to use unsealed radioactive materials (Krypton 85) in a RADIFLO 
leak test unit at the site. From 1976 to 1987, the same licensed 
material was used at the site under NRC License No. 46-09611-03.
    Building 5003 is a one story structure, approximately 60 feet by 31 
feet, with one to two foot thick outer and inner concrete walls. The 
RADIFLO unit was contained in a 10 by 17 foot room that was ventilated 
by a separate filtered air exhaust system leading to the roof and outer 
environs. The building is located in an isolated area of the Naval 
Undersea Warfare Center. NRC-licensed activities performed at the Naval 
Undersea Warfare Center were limited to the use of Krypton 85 gas in a 
RADIFLO leak test unit. Impacted areas were contained within the leak 
test unit. The leak test unit, including the three tanks containing the 
Krypton 85, and exhaust venting within the room were removed. While 
Krypton 85 was released to the environment during operation, because it 
is a noble gas, no contamination remains.
    In 1994, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and initiated a 
survey and decontamination of the Facility. 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 their 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 the Facility 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 at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: Krypton 85. Prior 
to performing the final status survey, the Licensee removed the RADIFLO 
unit and associated air exhaust system.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey of Building 5003 on 
November 15, 2004. The final status survey report was attached to the 
Licensee's amendment request dated October 11, 2005. 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. Krypton 85 is a noble gas that 
would only have accumulated within the RADIFLO device which was 
removed. The maximum radiation levels detected at the facility were at 
natural background levels. The NRC concludes 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 ``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). 
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 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 Facility 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 the Facility meets the 
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. Additionally, 
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 is consistent 
with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria

[[Page 75588]]

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 
Washington State Department of Health, Office of Radiation Protection 
for review on October 31, 2006. On November 6, 2006, the Washington 
State Department of Health, Office of Radiation Protection responded by 
electronic mail. The State agreed with the conclusions of the EA, and 
provided editorial 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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    2. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    3. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    4. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities;''
    5. NRC License No. 45-23645-01NA inspection and licensing records;
    6. Department of the Navy, Termination of Naval Radioactive 
Materials Permit No. 46-00253-B1NP Issued to Naval Undersea Warfare 
Center Division, Keyport, Washington, dated October 11, 2005 
(ML052970305); and
    7. Department of the Navy, Final Status Survey for Naval Undersea 
Warfare Center and supporting documentation, dated December 15, 2004 
(ML060390731).
    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 email 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 5th day of December 2006.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marie Miler,
Chief, Materials Security & Industrial Branch, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, Region I.
 [FR Doc. E6-21355 Filed 12-14-06; 8:45 am]
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