[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;
[[Page 78234]]
--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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