[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 22 (Friday, February 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5086-5087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1729]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[DOCKET NO. 030-32563]


Notice Of Environmental Assessment Related To The Issuance Of A 
License Amendment To Byproduct Material License No. 24-26366-01, For 
Unrestricted Release Of A Former Facility For High Energy Devices, LlC, 
Maryland Heights, MO

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: William Snell, Senior Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2443 
Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; telephone: (630) 829-9871; fax 
number: (630) 515-1259; or by e-mail: at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
is considering the issuance of an amendment to NRC Byproduct Materials 
License No. 24-26366-01, which is held by High Energy Devices, LLC 
(licensee). The amendment would authorize the decommissioning and 
unrestricted release of the licensee's former facility located at 45D 
Progress Parkway, Maryland Heights, Missouri (the facility). The NRC 
has prepared an Environmental Assessment in support of this action in 
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the 
Environmental Assessment, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact is appropriate. The amendment to High Energy 
Devices' license will be issued following the publication of this 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

I. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve High Energy Devices' request to 
amend its license and release the licensee's facility for unrestricted 
use in accordance with 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart E. The proposed action 
is in accordance with the licensee's request to the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) to amend its license by letter dated 
December 22, 2006 (ADAMS Accession No. ML063630413). High Energy 
Devices was first licensed to use byproduct materials at its facility 
on December 23, 1991. The licensee is authorized to use byproduct 
materials for activities involving the manufacture of gas discharge 
tubes. Cesium-137, nickel-63 and krypton-85, each with a half-life 
greater than 120 days, were the only isotopes that were used at the 
facility in an unsealed form, and each of these were limited to less 
than 5 milliCuries at any one time. On December 18, 2006, High Energy 
Devices completed removal of all equipment and licensed radioactive 
material from the facility, transporting the equipment and radioactive 
materials to a new location of business.
    The licensee conducted surveys of the facility as part of its 
decommissioning activities and provided this information to the NRC to 
demonstrate that the radiological condition there is consistent with 
radiological criteria for unrestricted use in 10 CFR Part 20, Subpart 
E. No radiological remediation activities are required to complete the 
proposed action.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The licensee is requesting this license amendment because it has 
moved out of the facility, and is conducting licensed activities at 
another location. The NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under the 
Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on the proposed action for 
decommissioning that ensures that residual radioactivity is reduced to 
a level that is protective of the public health and safety and the 
environment, and allows the facility to be released for unrestricted 
use.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided and surveys 
performed by the licensee to demonstrate that the release of the 
facility is consistent with the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
use specified in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff 
determined that there were no radiological impacts associated with the 
proposed action because no radiological remediation activities were 
required to complete the proposed action, and that the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted use in Sec.  20.1402 have been met.
    Based on its review, the staff determined that the radiological 
environmental impacts from the proposed action for the facility are 
bounded by the ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of 
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' (NUREG-1496). Additionally, no non-
radiological or cumulative impacts were identified. Therefore, the NRC 
has determined that the proposed action will not have a significant 
effect on the quality of the human environment.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The only alternative to the proposed action is to take no action. 
Under the no-action alternative, the licensee's facility would remain 
under an NRC license and would not be released for unrestricted use. 
Denial of the license amendment request would result in no change to 
current conditions at the facility. The no-action alternative is not 
acceptable because it is inconsistent with 10 CFR 30.36, which requires 
that decommissioning of by-product material facilities be completed and 
approved by the NRC after licensed activities cease. This alternative 
would impose an unnecessary regulatory burden in controlling access to 
the former facility, and limit potential benefits from the future use 
of the facility.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff concluded that the proposed action is consistent with 
the NRC's unrestricted release criteria 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

    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action will not 
affect listed species or critical habitats. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
Likewise, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not 
a type of activity that has potential to cause effect on historic 
properties. Therefore, consultation under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act is not required.
    The NRC consulted with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior 
Services (DHSS). The Missouri DHSS, Division of Community and Public 
Health, Office of Emergency Coordination, was provided the draft EA for 
comment on January 12, 2007. Mr. Keith Henke, Planner, with the 
Missouri DHSS, responded to the NRC by e-mail on January 17, 2007, 
indicating that the State had no comments regarding the NRC 
Environmental Assessment for the release of the High Energy Devices 
facility.

II. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA in support of the proposed license amendment 
to release the facility for unrestricted use,

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the NRC has determined that the proposed action will not have a 
significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Thus, the 
NRC has not prepared an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.

III. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
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. 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]. The documents 
and ADAMS accession numbers related to this notice are:
    1. Michael C. Brower, High Energy Devices, LLC, letter to Kevin 
Null, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, December 22, 2006 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML063630413).
    2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Review 
Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs,'' NUREG-
1748, August 2003.
    3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for 
License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities,'' NUREG-1496, 
August 1994.
    4. NRC, NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' 
Volumes 1-3, September 2003.
    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 Lisle, Illinois, this 23rd day of January 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jamnes L. Cameron,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. E7-1729 Filed 2-1-07; 8:45 am]
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