[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 187 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54949-54951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19077]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-04578]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 20-00315-02, for Termination of the License and 
Unrestricted Release of the Department of the Army, Natick Soldier 
Center's Facility in Natick, MA

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: Betsy Ullrich, Commercial and R&D 
Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale 
Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406; telephone (610) 337-5040; 
fax number (610) 337-5269; 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 Materials License No. 20-
00315-02. This license is held by the Department of the Army, Natick 
Soldier Center, Research, Development and Engineering Command (the 
Licensee), for its Soldier Systems Center, located at Kansas Street in 
Natick, Massachusetts (the Facility). Issuance of the amendment would 
authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use and termination 
of the NRC license. The Licensee requested this action in a letter 
dated May 31, 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 License 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 May 31, 2007, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use and the termination of its NRC materials license. 
License No. 20-00315-02 was issued on April 23, 1958, pursuant to 10 
CFR part 30, and has been amended periodically since that time. This 
license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed byproduct material for 
purposes of conducting research and development activities on 
laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility is situated on 76 acres and consists of office space 
and laboratories. The Facility is located in a residential and 
recreational area. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was 
confined to Buildings 3, 4, 30, and 89.
    In 2004, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and initiated a 
survey and decontamination of the Facility. 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,

[[Page 54950]]

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 and 
for license termination.
Need for the Proposed Action
    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility, and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility and the 
termination of its NRC materials license. Termination of its license 
would end the Licensee's obligation to pay annual license fees to the 
NRC.
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 and 
carbon-14 in unsealed forms, and nickel-63 and other sealed sources. 
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 conducted a final status survey in December 2006. This 
survey covered Buildings 3, 30, and 89. Building 4 was surveyed 
previously in 1996 when licensed activities were ceased in that 
location, and those survey results were provided. The final status 
survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated 
May 31, 2007. 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 NUREG-1757, 
``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2. The Licensee 
used the radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels 
(DCGLs), developed there 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 in compliance with the As 
Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requirement of 10 CFR 20.1402. The 
NRC thus finds that the Licensee's final status survey results are 
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). 
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 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 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 and the termination of the NRC materials license 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 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 Licensee's 
final status survey data confirmed that the Facility meets the 
requirements of 10 CFR 20.1402 for unrestricted release and for license 
termination. 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 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Public Health, Radiation 
Control Program for review on July 23, 2007. On September 13, 2007, The 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Public Health, Radiation 
Control Program responded by e-mail. The Commonwealth 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 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. Letter dated May 31, 2007, requesting termination of the license 
[ML071630222].

[[Page 54951]]

    2. Final Status Survey Report, Natick Soldier Center, Research, 
Development and Engineering Command, Soldier Systems Center, Natick, 
Massachusetts, USA Project 2005-030, April 2007 [ML071630361 and 
ML071630369].
    3. Sierra Army Depot Radiological Survey and Assessment Report 
01-04-96, dated 18 June 1996, for the Development Building 
(4) [ML071640172].
    4. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    5. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    6. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    7. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities.''
    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 21st 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. E7-19077 Filed 9-26-07; 8:45 am]
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