[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78232-78234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22239]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Decommissioning of the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation, New 
Field, New Jersey

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation (SMC) submitted a 
decommissioning plan (DP) (ML053190212) on October 21, 2005, that 
proposes radiological remedial actions that would allow the material 
license to be amended to a long term control license for the SMC 
facility located in New Field, New Jersey. By a letter dated January 
26, 2006, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) notified SMC 
that the DP was being

[[Page 78233]]

rejected due to technical deficiencies. On June 30, 2006, SMC submitted 
a supplement (ML061980092) to its DP. In a letter dated October 18, 
2006, the NRC accepted the DP for review. The NRC, in accordance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its regulations in 10 
CFR Part 51, announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS). The EIS will examine the potential environmental 
impacts of the proposed decommissioning plan for the SMC facility.

DATES: The public scoping process required by NEPA begins with 
publication of this NOI and continues until January 31, 2007. Written 
comments submitted by mail should be postmarked by that date to ensure 
consideration. Comments mailed after that date will be considered to 
the extent practical.

ADDRESSES: Members of the public are invited and encouraged to submit 
comments to the Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, Mail 
Stop: T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Please note Docket No. 40-7102 when submitting comments. 
Commentors are also encouraged to send comments electronically to 
[email protected], or by facsimile to (301) 415-5397, ATTN.: 
Gregory Suber.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general or technical information 
associated with the license review of the SMC decommissioning plan, 
please contact: Ken Kalman at (301) 415-6664. For general information 
on the NRC NEPA process, or the environmental review process related to 
the SMC decommissioning plan, please contact Gregory Suber at (301) 
415-1124.
    Information and documents associated with the SMC project, 
including the SMC decommissioning plan and supplement (submitted on 
October 21, 2005 and June 30, 2006 respectively), are available for 
public review through our electronic reading room: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Documents may also be obtained from NRC's Public 
Document Room at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1.0 Background

    SMC submitted a decommissioning plan and an environmental report 
for its Newfield, New Jersey facility to the NRC on October 21, 2005. 
The NRC will evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated 
with SMC facility in parallel with the review of the decommissioning 
plan. This environmental evaluation will be documented in draft and 
final Environmental Impact Statements in accordance with NEPA and NRC's 
implementing regulations at 10 CFR Part 51.

2.0 SMC Newfield Facility

    The SMC operated a ferrocolumbium manufacturing process at its 
facility in New Field, NJ. Raw materials included ores which contained 
licensable quantities of 10 CFR Part 40 source material (natural 
uranium and thorium.) In 2001, SMC notified the NRC of its intent to 
decommission the plant because principal activities authorized by the 
license (SMB-743) had ceased. SMC proposes decommissioning part of the 
site for unrestricted release and maintaining a portion of the site 
under a long term control license.

3.0 Alternatives to be Evaluated

    No-Action--For the no-action alternative, the NRC would not approve 
the decommissioning plan. The site would remain subject to the present 
source material license. This alternative serves as a baseline for 
comparison.
    Proposed action--The proposed action involves approving the 
decommissioning plan and amending the license to allow long-term 
storage of source material at SMC's site located in New Field, NJ. 
Under SMC's proposal, part of the site would be released for 
unrestricted use while part would be maintained under a long term 
control license.
    Other alternatives not listed here may be identified through the 
scoping process.

4.0 Environmental Impact Areas To Be Analyzed

    The following areas have been tentatively identified for analysis 
in the EIS:
--Land Use: Plans, policies and controls;
--Transportation: Transportation modes, routes, quantities, and risk 
estimates;
--Geology and Soils: Physical geography, topography, geology and soil 
characteristics;

     Water Resources: Surface and groundwater hydrology, water use and 
quality, and the potential for degradation;
     Ecology: Wetlands, aquatic, terrestrial, economically and 
recreationally important species, and threatened and endangered 
species;
     Air Quality: meteorological conditions, ambient background, 
pollutant sources, and the potential for degradation;

--Noise: ambient, sources, and sensitive receptors;

     Historical and Cultural Resources: historical, archaeological, and 
traditional cultural resources;
     Visual and Scenic Resources: landscape characteristics, manmade 
features and viewshed;
     Socioeconomics: demography, economic base, labor pool, housing, 
transportation, utilities, public services/facilities, education, 
recreation, and cultural resources;
     Environmental Justice: potential disproportionately high and 
adverse impacts to minority and low-income populations;
     Public and Occupational Health: potential public and occupational 
consequences from construction, routine operation, transportation, and 
credible accident scenarios (including natural events);
     Waste Management: types of wastes expected to be generated, 
handled, and stored; and
     Cumulative Effects: impacts from past, present and reasonably 
foreseeable actions at, and near the site(s).
    This list is not intended to be all inclusive, nor is it a 
predetermination of potential environmental impacts. The list is 
presented to facilitate comments on the scope of the EIS. Additions to, 
or deletions from this list may occur as a result of the public scoping 
process.

5.0 Scoping Meeting

    One purpose of this NOI is to encourage public involvement in the 
EIS process, and to solicit public comments on the proposed scope and 
content of the EIS. The NRC held a public scoping meeting in Newfield, 
New Jersey, to solicit both oral and written comments from interested 
parties. Approximately 150 people attended the meeting.
    Scoping is an early and open process designed to determine the 
range of actions, alternatives, and potential impacts to be considered 
in the EIS, and to identify the significant issues related to the 
proposed action. It is intended to solicit input from the public and 
other agencies so that the analysis can be more clearly focused on 
issues of genuine concern. The principal goals of the scoping process 
are to:
--Ensure that concerns are identified early and are properly studied;
--Identify alternatives that will be examined;
--Identify significant issues that need to be analyzed;

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--Eliminate unimportant issues; and
--Identify public concerns.
    The scoping meeting began with NRC staff providing a description of 
the NRC's role and mission. NRC staff gave a brief overview of the 
licensing process followed by a brief description of the environmental 
review process. The bulk of the meeting was reserved for attendees to 
make oral comments.

6.0 Scoping Comments

    Written comments should be mailed to the address listed above in 
the ADDRESSES Section.
    The NRC staff will make the scoping summary and project-related 
materials available for public review through our electronic reading 
room: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The scoping meeting 
summaries and project-related materials will also be available on the 
NRC's SMC Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/smcfacility.html (case sensitive).

7.0 The NEPA Process

    The EIS for the SMC facility will be prepared according to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the NRC's NEPA 
Regulations at 10 CFR Part 51.
    After the scoping process is complete, the NRC and its contractor 
will prepare a draft EIS. A 45-day comment period on the draft EIS is 
planned, and public meetings to receive comments will be held 
approximately three weeks after distribution of the draft EIS. 
Availability of the draft EIS, the dates of the public comment period, 
and information about the public meetings will be announced in the 
Federal Register, on NRC's SMC Web page, and in the local news media 
when the draft EIS is distributed. The final EIS will incorporate 
public comments received on the draft EIS.

    Signed in Rockville, MD. this 20th day of December 2006.
    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory F. Suber,
Acting Branch Chief, Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, 
Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of 
Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. E6-22239 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
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