[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13310-13312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5149]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[DOCKET NO. 040-07455]


Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for Approval of the 
Decommissioning Plan for the Whittaker Corporation's Waste and Slag 
Storage Area in Transfer, PA and Opportunity To Request a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of amendment request and opportunity to request a 
hearing.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by May 21, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Kottan, Project Manager, 
Decommissioning Branch, Division of

[[Page 13311]]

Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
King of Prussia, PA 19406. Telephone: (610) 337-5214; fax number: (610) 
337-5269; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of 
a license amendment to Source Material License No. SMA-1018, issued to 
the Whittaker Corporation (the licensee), to authorize decommissioning 
of its Waste and Slag Storage Area in Transfer, Pennsylvania as 
described in the licensee's Decommissioning Plan (DP).
    The Whittaker Waste and Slag Storage Area is located in the 
Reynolds Industrial Park in Transfer, Pennsylvania. The storage area is 
approximately six acres in size and was built up over time through the 
repeated disposal of foundry slag, scrap metal, building rubble, and 
debris from metal extraction operations. The Whittaker Corporation, as 
well as prior owners of the site, used source material containing 
licensable quantities of thorium and uranium for the extraction of rare 
earth metals. These operations resulted in slag by products containing 
thorium and uranium. Materials processing took place at the site from 
1966 to 1974.
    The licensee has been decommissioning the Transfer, Pennsylvania 
Site in accordance with the conditions described in License No. SMA-
1018. This has included the excavation of the waste slag, processing 
the excavated material in order to separate the radioactive material 
from the soil, and shipping the radioactive material to a licensed 
disposal site. The licensee has submitted to the NRC a DP incorporating 
the dose-based criteria of 10 CFR 20, subpart E, Radiological Criteria 
for License Termination, for release of the site for unrestricted use. 
An NRC administrative review, documented in a letter to the Whittaker 
Corporation dated February 14, 2007, found the DP acceptable to begin a 
technical review.
    If the NRC approves the DP, the approval will be documented in an 
amendment to NRC License No. SMA-1018. However, before approving the 
proposed amendment, the NRC will need to make the findings required by 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC's regulations. These 
findings will be documented in a Safety Evaluation Report and an 
Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement. If 
this amendment is approved, the license will be terminated following 
completion of decommissioning activities and verification by the NRC 
that the radiological criteria for license termination have been met.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an 
application for a license amendment regarding decommissioning of the 
Whittaker Waste and Slag Storage Area located in Transfer, 
Pennsylvania. In accordance with the general requirements in Subpart C 
of 10 CFR part 2, as amended on January 14, 2004 (69 FR 2182), any 
person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who 
desires to participate as a party must file a written request for a 
hearing and a specification of the contentions which the person seeks 
to have litigated in the hearing.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.302 (a), a request for a hearing must 
be filed with the Commission either by:
    1. First class mail addressed to: Office of the Secretary, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemakings and Adjudications;
    2. Courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services: Office 
of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays;
    3. E-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, [email protected]; or
    4. By facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 
Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, at (301) 415-1101; 
verification number is (301) 415-1966.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.302 (b), all documents offered for 
filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all parties to the 
proceeding or their attorneys of record as required by law or by rule 
or order of the Commission, including:
    1. The applicant, Whittaker Corporation, 1955 N. Surveyor Avenue, 
Simi Valley, CA 93063-3386, Attention: Eric Lardiere, Vice President, 
General Counsel and Secretary, and
    2. The NRC staff, by delivery to the Office of the General Counsel, 
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, or by 
mail addressed to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Hearing requests 
should also be transmitted to the Office of the General Counsel, either 
by means of facsimile transmission to (301) 415-3725, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304 
(b), (c), (d), and (e), must be met. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.304 
(f), a document filed by electronic mail or facsimile transmission need 
not comply with the formal requirements of 10 CFR 2.304 (b), (c), and 
(d), as long as an original and two (2) copies otherwise complying with 
all of the requirements of 10 CFR 2.304 (b), (c), and (d) are mailed 
within two (2) days thereafter to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309 (b), a request for a hearing must 
be filed by May 21, 2007.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 
2.309, the general requirements involving a request for a hearing filed 
by a person other than an applicant must state:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requester;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding;
    3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial or 
other interest in the proceeding;
    4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309 (f)(1), a request for hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the 
contentions sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or 
petition must:
    1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted;
    2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;
    3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within 
the scope of the proceeding;
    4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material 
to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is 
involved in the proceeding;
    5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinions which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the 
issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support 
its position on the issue; and
    6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute 
exists with

[[Page 13312]]

the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. This information must 
include references to specific portions of the application (including 
the applicant's environmental report and safety report) that the 
requester/petitioner disputes and the supporting reasons for each 
dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner believes the application fails 
to contain information on a relevant matter as required by law, the 
identification of each failure and the supporting reasons for the 
requester's/petitioner's belief.
    In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions 
must be based on documents or other information available at the time 
the petition is to be filed, such as the application, supporting safety 
analysis report, environmental report or other supporting document 
filed by an applicant or licensee, or otherwise available to the 
petitioner. On issues arising under the National Environmental Policy 
Act, the requester/petitioner shall file contentions based on the 
applicant's environmental report. The requester/petitioner may amend 
those contentions or file new contentions if there are data or 
conclusions in the NRC draft, or final environmental impact statement, 
environmental assessment, or any supplements relating thereto, that 
differ significantly from the data or conclusions in the applicant's 
documents. Otherwise, contentions may be amended or new contentions 
filed after the initial filing only with leave of the presiding 
officer.
    Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha 
designation within one of the following groups:
    1. Technical--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Safety Evaluation Report for the 
proposed action.
    2. Environmental--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Environmental Report for the proposed 
action.
    3. Emergency Planning--primarily concerns issues relating to 
matters discussed or referenced in the Emergency Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    4. Physical Security--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Physical Security Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    5. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined 
above.
    If the requester/petitioner believes a contention raises issues 
that cannot be classified as primarily falling into one of these 
categories, the requester/petitioner must set forth the contention and 
supporting bases, in full, separately for each category into which the 
requester/petitioner asserts the contention belongs with a separate 
designation for that category.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring 
requesters/petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, 
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that 
wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner 
must do so in writing within ten days of the date the contention is 
filed, and designate a representative who shall have the authority to 
act for the requester/petitioner.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(g), a request for hearing and/or 
petition for leave to intervene may also address the selection of the 
hearing procedures, taking into account the provisions of 10 CFR 2.310.

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 NRCs Agencywide Document 
Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image 
files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the 
documents related to this notice are:

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Decommissioning Plan....................................     ML070120462
Inspection Report 040-07455/2006-001....................     ML062640473
Annual Site Groundwater Monitoring Report for 2006......     ML070470152
DP Acceptance Letter....................................     ML070510307
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    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 14th day of March, 
2007.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Samuel Hansell,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E7-5149 Filed 3-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P