[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54467-54469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18872]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 04000341]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Source Materials License 
No. STC-133, for Unrestricted Release of the Defense Logistics Agency's 
Facility in Hillsborough, NJ

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: Dennis Lawyer, Health Physicist, 
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; telephone 610-
337-5366; fax number 610-337-5393; 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 Source Materials License No. STC-
133. This license is held by Defense Logistics Agency (the Licensee). 
The license authorizes the Licensee to use licensed material at 
multiple sites in different States. At issue here is the Licensee's 
Defense National Stockpile Center Somerville Depot, located at 152 U.S. 
Highway Route, Hillsborough, New Jersey (the Facility). Issuance of the 
amendment would authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use, 
but would not involve termination of the license. The Licensee 
requested this action in a letter dated January 3, 2007. 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 amendment will be 
issued to the Licensee following the 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 January 3, 2007, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use in accordance with 10 CFR 20.1402. License No. STC-133 
was issued on July 27, 1983, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 40, and has been 
amended periodically since that time. With respect to the Facility, the 
license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed source material for 
purposes of storage, sampling, repackaging, and transferring materials.
    The Facility is situated on 77 acres of land and consists of 
warehouses and office space. The Facility is located in a mixed 
industrial area. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was 
confined to a decontamination trailer and warehouses 1, 3, and 4. The 
area of use totaled approximately 50,000 square feet.
    On September 16, 2004, the Licensee ceased licensed activities at 
the Facility, and initiated a survey and decontamination actions there. 
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 NRC-approved, 
operating radiation safety procedures, were required. The Licensee was 
not required to submit a decommissioning plan to the NRC because worker 
cleanup activities and procedures are consistent with those approved 
for routine operations. 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 conducting 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: natural uranium 
and thorium. Prior to performing the final status survey, the Licensee 
conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of the 
Facility affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee elected to demonstrate compliance with the 
radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 CFR 
20.1402 by developing derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) 
for its Facility. The Licensee conducted site-specific dose modeling 
using input parameters specific to the Facility and a conservative 
assumption that all residual radioactivity is in equilibrium.

[[Page 54468]]

Federal Guidance Report Number 13 was used to modify the dose 
conversion factors because it is based on an improved, more realistic 
dosimetry model. The licensee selected adults as the critical age group 
as the expected future use of this facility will be industrial. Based 
on the type of building, railroad distribution, and truck access, there 
is no compelling evidence to indicate that the building will be used 
for anything other than industrial activities. The residual 
radioactivity is confined to the structures of the Facility. Since 
there is no land or water residual radioactivity, the building 
occupancy scenario may appropriately be applied to the Facility. The 
Facility is located in an area zoned as Economic Development which 
includes a variety of uses. Buildings previously sold in the area have 
been converted to light industrial uses. The buildings would need 
substantial modification to convert to residential housing. The 
Licensee thus determined the maximum amount of residual radioactivity 
on building surfaces, equipment, and materials that will satisfy the 
NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted 
release. The NRC reviewed the Licensee's methodology and proposed 
DCGLs, and concluded that the proposed DCGLs are acceptable for use as 
release criteria at the Facility (this approval was published October 
16, 2006 in the Federal Register at pages 60770 through 60772).
    The NRC staff conducted a survey at the Facility on July 13, 2006, 
and none of the staff's results exceeded the DCGLs that were later 
approved for use at the Facility.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey on July 11-13 and 25-
27, 2006, August 2, 2006, and November 14-16, 2006 covering the areas 
of use as stated in the Final Status Survey Plan, dated February 2006. 
The final status survey results were enclosed with the Licensee's 
amendment request dated January 3, 2007, and an additional information 
letter dated February 6, 2007. The Licensee's final status survey 
results were below the approved DCGLs, and are thus acceptable. The 
static surveys showed that the average readings in all the survey units 
are less than the minimum detectable activity for the instrumentation 
used. Based on the minimum detectable activity for static measurements, 
the site residual activity will result in less than 5 millirem per year 
dose.
    Based on its own survey results, and its review of the Licensee's 
final survey report, 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). 
The staff finds 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 results 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, and the NRC has identified 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 Facility for 
unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402. 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

    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 simply denying the amendment 
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it 
conflicts with 10 CFR 40.42(d), requiring that decommissioning of 
source material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC after 
licensed activities cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's final 
status survey data confirmed that the Facility meets the requirements 
of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release. Additionally, denying the 
amendment request 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 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 New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for 
review on February 20, 2007. By letter dated March 22, 2007, the NJDEP 
submitted two comments on the proposed release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use:
    (1) The NJDEP's regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:28-12 considers 
unrestricted use as any use that does not require the continued use of 
engineering or institutional controls in order to meet established 
standards. The NJDEP wants the Licensee to have a deed restriction 
placed on the Facility property limiting future use of the site to 
industrial or commercial purposes.
    (2) The NJDEP also wants the licensee to demonstrate that the final 
status survey results will meet the New Jersey release criterion of 15 
millirem per year.
    The NRC staff finds that the proposed action can go forward 
notwithstanding the NJDEP comments. Regarding the first comment, this 
release is unrestricted as specified in 10 CFR 20.1402 in that there 
are no engineering or institutional controls required in order to meet 
established standards. The licensee's use of the DandD computer code 
default values, updated with the Federal Guidance Report 13 values for 
dose conversion factors, required them to consider age groups other 
than adults. As reflected above in the impacts assessment, the NRC 
staff finds that, the critical group here is adult light industrial 
workers, because the warehouse buildings would need substantial 
modification to convert them to residential housing. Since the 
conditions at the site meet the site specific DCGL for the critical 
group, an unrestricted release is approved. In addition, putting the 
requested deed restriction into place now would not make 10 CFR 
20.1403, ``Criteria for license termination under restricted 
conditions,'' applicable here. While an earlier Licensee submittal 
(dated April 26, 2006, [ML061220479]) contained an April 17, 2006 
memorandum from the headquarters of the Defense Logistics Agency 
indicated that the Licensee would be willing to put the requested deed 
restriction into place, the NRC staff finds that no deed restriction 
will be necessary as a prerequisite to taking the proposed action. 
Placing such a restriction on the property would not be consistent with 
unrestricted use under 10 CFR 20.1402.

[[Page 54469]]

    Regarding the NJDEP's second comment above, the NRC staff 
recognizes that the State of New Jersey has established a 15 millirem 
per year standard (under NJDEP's regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:28-12). The 
NRC has previously advised the NJDEP that these regulations raise 
preemption concerns [ML003763858]. States are preempted from regulating 
NRC-licensed materials for the purposes of radiation protection unless 
they enter into a formal agreement with the NRC. To date, New Jersey 
has not done so. Moreover, as indicated above, the Licensee has 
developed DCGLs acceptable to the NRC which support the 25 millirem per 
year standard set forth in 10 CFR 20.1402, and the staff must implement 
these DCGLs for the purpose of evaluating the proposed action.
    The NRC staff has further 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. Defense Logistics Agency, ``Radiological Historical Site 
Assessment Report, Defense National Stockpile Center, Somerville Depot, 
Hillsborough, NJ'' dated January 2006 [ML060730422];
    6. ``Final Status Survey Plan, DNSC, Somerville Depot, 
Hillsborough, NJ'' dated February 2006 [ML060730417].
    7. Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Source Materials 
License No. STC-133 Authorizing the Use of Site-Specific Derived 
Concentration Guideline Levels When Determining if Unrestricted Release 
Criteria Has Been Met for the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Nuclear 
Supply Center Depot in Somerville, NJ'' published in the Federal 
Register Volume 71, Number 199 on October 16, 2006, pages 60770 and 
60772;
    8. Defense Logistics Agency, Amendment Request letter dated January 
3, 2007 containing the ``Final Status Survey Report, DNSC, Somerville 
Depot, Hillsborough, NJ'' dated December 2006 [ML070050120];
    9. Defense Logistics Agency, Deficiency Response Letter dated 
February 6, 2007 [ML070380535];
    10. State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection 
Letter dated March 22, 2007 [ML070950546];
    11. Defense Logistics Agency, Deficiency Response Letter dated 
April 26, 2006 [ML061220479];
    12. Letter to the State of New Jersey Regarding Proposed Rule, Soil 
Remediation Standards for Radioactive Materials [ML003763858]; and
    13. State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection 
Letter dated July 20, 2006 [ML062070300].
    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 I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia this 18th 
day of September 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E7-18872 Filed 9-24-07; 8:45 am]
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