[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 7, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10262-10264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4096]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-17584]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 01-02861-05, for Termination of the License and 
Unrestricted Release of the Department of the Army's Chemical School 
Facility in Fort McClellan, AL

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, 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 
terminating Byproduct Materials License No. 01-02861-05. This license 
is held by the Department of the Army (the Licensee), for remaining 
residual ground contamination at a 1950s era radioactive materials 
burial ground, located within the LaGarde Park (the Site) in Anniston, 
Alabama, adjacent to Fort McClellan. Termination of the license would 
authorize release of the site for unrestricted use.
    The Army requested this action in a letter dated April 26, 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 license 
will be terminated following the publication of this FONSI and EA in 
the Federal Register.

[[Page 10263]]

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Licensee's April 26, 2005, 
request, resulting in release of the Site for unrestricted use and the 
termination of its NRC materials license. The U.S. Army Chemical School 
was located at Fort McClellan from 1951-1973 and 1979-1999. Several 
Byproduct Materials Licenses were issued and terminated over the years 
which authorized the use of byproduct material by the Army Chemical 
School at Fort McClellan. License No. 01-02861-05 was issued in 1979, 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. This license initially was a license of broad scope, but now 
is limited to authorizing the possession of unsealed byproduct material 
in contaminated soil at the Site. Over the past 10 years, portions of 
the Army's Chemical School at Fort McClellan have been incrementally 
released for unrestricted use as remediation activities and 
radiological surveys have allowed in support of the Base Closure and 
Relocation (BRAC) process Fort McClellan is undergoing. As buildings 
and outdoor areas were released they were turned over to the State of 
Alabama. The Site now under consideration for release is on property 
that was deeded to the city of Anniston from the Army in 1974, and has 
been used as a recreational park.
    A flyover survey of Fort McClellan was completed in October 2001 
and the Site was found to contain a ``hot spot''. Cesium 137 
contamination on the east side of the Site was identified and was 
determined to be from training activities at the former Army Chemical 
School. The contaminated area (adjacent to the Fort McClellan perimeter 
fence) was then fenced. This area is located in a wooded section of the 
park containing walking and biking trails. Because the property no 
longer belonged to the Army, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 
assumed responsibility for site remediation under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Since 
the contamination found at the site was associated with the Army's use 
of the property during the 1950s, the property was found to be eligible 
for action under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP). 
This program authorizes the Secretary of Defense to undertake 
remediation action at formerly used defense sites (FUDS) related to 
contamination associated with past Department of Defense (DOD) use. 
USACE is DOD's delegated execution agent for DERP-FUDS response 
actions. The permit waiver provision of CERCLA 121(e) thus applies to 
the Site, and USACE therefore was not required to submit a 
decommissioning plan to the NRC prior to initiating remediation 
activities in September 2003.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the site, 
and seeks the unrestricted use of the site and the termination of its 
NRC materials license.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the site 
shows that such activities involved use of the following radionuclides 
with half-lives greater than 120 days: cobalt-60 and cesium-137. Prior 
to performing the final status survey, USACE contracted to have 244 
tons of contaminated materials and dirt removed from the site from 
September 2003 through March 2005.
    USACE conducted a final status survey of the Site in August 2005 
and submitted its draft data (later submitted unchanged in final form 
in June 2006) showing that the Site meets the criteria in Subpart E of 
10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted release and permits license 
termination. USACE demonstrated compliance with the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted release specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 by using 
the screening approach described in NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS 
Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. USACE used the radionuclide-
specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs), developed 
there by the NRC. These DCGLs define the maximum amount of residual 
radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, and materials, and in 
soils, that will satisfy the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR 
Part 20 for unrestricted release. USACE's final status survey results 
were below these DCGLs and are in compliance with the As Low As 
Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. USACE also 
considered the dose contribution from previous site releases. The NRC 
concludes that USACE's final status survey results are acceptable. NRC 
staff conducted a confirmatory survey on September 27, 2005. Results 
were comparable to those observed by USACE and none of the confirmatory 
sample results exceeded the DCGLs.
    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 site. 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 site. 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 site for 
unrestricted use and the termination of the NRC materials license is in 
compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402 including the impact of residual 
radioactivity at previously-released site locations of use. Based on 
its review, the staff considered the impact of the residual 
radioactivity at the Site 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 denying the termination 
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 USACE's 
final status survey data confirmed that the Site meets the requirements 
of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release and for license termination. 
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 specified in 10 CFR 
20.1402. Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the 
quality of the

[[Page 10264]]

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 State 
of Alabama, Department of Radiation Control for review on October 31, 
2006. On November 11, 2006, the State of Alabama Department of 
Radiation Control responded by e-mail. The State agreed with the 
conclusions of the EA, and otherwise had no substantive 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. August 1, 2002 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to NRC 
memorandum (ML031490516);
    6. October 2002 ``Airborne Radiological Survey--Main Post and 
Pelham Range, Walkover Radiological Survey at Rideout Field and Anomaly 
Surveys on Main Post and Pelham Range, Groundwater Investigation--
Burial Mound at Rideout Field'' (Package ML030100136);
    7. June 2003 ``Final Completion Report, Site Investigation at 
LaGarde Park, Anniston, Alabama'' (ML052710179);
    8. August 25, 2003 NRC Inspection Report No. 01-02861-05/03-01 
(ML032380139);
    9. October 13, 2003, STEP, Inc. to USACE, ``Removal Action at 
LaGrange Park, Phase II Memorandum'' (ML052710136);
    10. February 10, 2004, Shaw Group, Inc. response to NRC Inspection 
Report 01-02861-05/03-01 (ML042100101);
    11. NRC letter dated June 24, 2004, acknowledging the receipt of 
the Army's Airborne Survey Report (ML041770403);
    12. May 2004 ``Final Report for Removal Action at LaGarde Park'' 
(TBS);
    13. April 2005 ``Final Remedial Investigation Report, Expanded Site 
Investigation at LaGarde Park, Anniston, Alabama'' (ML061940256);
    14. April 26, 2005, Department of the Army request for termination 
of Materials License No. 01-02861-05 (ML051430344);
    15. August 2005 ``Draft Final Remedial Action Report, Final Interim 
Removal Action at LaGarde Park, Anniston, Alabama'' (ML052840081);
    16. November 4, 2005 ``Final Remedial Action Report, Final Interim 
Removal Action at LaGarde Park, Anniston, Alabama'' (ML061940267 );
    17. December 14, 2005 NRC Inspection Report 03017584/2005001 
(ML053480096);
    18. May 2006 ``Proposed Plan for the LaGarde Park Site of the 
Former Fort McClellan, Anniston, Alabama'' (ML061940273); and
    19. June 2006 ``Final Decision Document for the LaGarde Park Site 
of the former Fort McClellan, Anniston, Alabama'' (ML061940269).
    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]. 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, Pennsylvania, this 27th day of 
February, 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Marie Miller,
Chief, Materials Security & Industrial Branch, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, Region I.
 [FR Doc. E7-4096 Filed 3-6-07; 8:45 am]
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