[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 110 (Friday, June 8, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31864-31866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11107]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-08203]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 46-06377-04 for Unrestricted Release of the Department of 
Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Facility in 
Mukilteo, WA

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: D. Blair Spitzberg, Ph.D., Chief, Fuel 
Cycle and Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region IV, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Arlington, Texas 76011; 
telephone (817) 860-8191; fax number (817) 860-8188; or by e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a license amendment to Byproduct Material License No. 46-
06377-04. This license is held by the United States Department of 
Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Northwest 
Fisheries Science Center (the Licensee). The license authorizes the 
Licensee to possess and use cadmium-109, lead-210, hydrogen-3, and 
carbon-14 at two locations for purposes of conducting research and 
development activities. At one of these locations--the Licensee's field 
office known as the Mukilteo Research Station (the Facility) in 
Mukilteo, Washington--licensed activities have ceased.
    By letter dated November 21, 2005, the Licensee requested the NRC 
to authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use, which would 
result in the removal of the Facility as a location of use from the NRC 
license.
    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 
this EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. The 
amendment will

[[Page 31865]]

be issued to the Licensee following publication of this FONSI and EA in 
the Federal Register.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Licensee's November 21, 2005, 
license amendment request, resulting in a license amendment which would 
release the Facility for unrestricted use. License No. 46-06377-04 was 
issued in the 1950's pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended 
periodically since that time.
    The Facility is situated on property located adjacent to Puget 
Sound and consists of a main research office building and several 
smaller support buildings in the yard. The main facility consists of 
laboratories and offices and is approximately 10,000 square feet (929 
square meters) in size. Within the Facility, use of licensed material 
was confined to three specific laboratories totaling about 380 square 
feet (35 square meters) as well as a 350-square foot (28 square meter) 
portable shed located adjacent to the main research building. The 
Facility is located in a commercial district in Mukilteo, Washington.
    The Licensee ceased licensed activities at the Facility in 1987. 
The licensee conducted a final status survey at the Facility in 
November 2004. Based on the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site 
and the conditions of the Facility, the Licensee determined that only 
routine decontamination activities, in accordance with their radiation 
safety procedures, were required. As allowed by Section 7.4 of NUREG-
1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 1, the 
Licensee was not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC. 
The Licensee conducted surveys of the Facility and provided information 
to the NRC to demonstrate that it meets the criteria in Subpart E of 10 
CFR part 20 for unrestricted release.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased licensed activities at the Facility and 
seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facility shows that such activities involved use of the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: hydrogen-3, 
carbon-14, cadmium-109, and lead-210. Prior to performing the final 
status survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as 
necessary, in the areas of the Facility affected by these 
radionuclides.
    In November 2004, the licensee conducted a final status survey, 
which covered the three laboratories, hallways outside the 
laboratories, and the adjacent storage shed. The final status survey 
report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated November 
21, 2005. The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the 
radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 
20.1402 by using the screening approach described in Appendix H to 
NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2.
    The Licensee used guideline levels that were comparable to the 
derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) developed by the NRC 
which comply with the dose criterion in 10 CFR 20.1402. 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. The Licensee's final status survey results were below these 
DCGLs, and are thus acceptable.
    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). 
Further, no incidents were recorded involving spills or releases of 
radioactive material at the Facility. Accordingly, there were no 
significant environmental impacts from the use of radioactive material 
at the Facility. 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 Facility. No 
such hazards or impacts to the environment were identified.
    The NRC staff finds that the proposed release of the Facility 
described above for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 
20.1402. The NRC has found no other activities in the area that could 
result in cumulative environmental impacts. Based on its review, the 
staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity at the 
Facility 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

    Alternatives to the proposed action discussed below are: (1) The 
no-action alternative; and (2) require the Licensee to take some 
alternate action.
    1. No-action Alternative: As an alternative to the proposed action, 
the staff could leave things as they are by simply denying the 
amendment 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 have ceased. 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.
    2. Environmental Impacts of Alternative 2: A second alternative to 
the proposed action would be to deny the Licensee's request and instead 
apply the 10 CFR 20.1403 criteria for restricted release of the 
Facility. However, restricted releases are not favored in cases where 
the requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release can be met, 
and the NRC's analysis of the Licensee's final status survey data 
confirmed that the Facility meets these requirements. Accordingly, the 
NRC finds that choosing this second alternative to the proposed action 
is not warranted, and this alternative is eliminated from further 
consideration.

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 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 
Washington Department of Health for review on October 13, 2006. On 
January 29, 2007, the Department of Health, Division of Radiation 
Protection, responded by e-mail. The State agreed with the conclusions 
of the EA, and otherwise had no comments.
    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a 
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species

[[Page 31866]]

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. Federal Register Notice, Volume 65, No. 114, page 37186, dated 
Tuesday, June 13, 2000, ``Use of Screening Values to Demonstrate 
Compliance With The Federal Rule on Radiological Criteria for License 
Termination'';
    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,'' July 1997 (ML042310492, ML042320379, and 
ML042330385);
    5. NUREG-1757, Volume 1, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning 
Guidance,'' Revision 2, September 2006 (ML063000243);
    6. NUREG-1757, Volume 2, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning 
Guidance,'' Revision 1, September 2006 (ML063000252);
    7. Varanasi, Usha, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
Northwest Fisheries Science Center, License Amendment Requests, 
November 21, 2005 (ML053460500);
    8. Byar, Ann, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service 
facsimile, Supplemental Information for NOAA's Final Status Survey 
Report, August 2, 2006 (ML070850184); and
    9. Frazee, Terry C., State of Washington email, Response to Request 
for Comments, January 29, 2007 (ML070800013).
    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 Region IV Office this 31st day of May 2007.

    For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
D. Blair Spitzberg,
Chief, Fuel Cycle and Decommissioning Branch,Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, Region IV.
[FR Doc. E7-11107 Filed 6-7-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P