[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 203 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59561-59562]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20739]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-31988]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for Termination of Byproduct Materials License 
No. 04-29022-01 and Unrestricted Release of the Department of Commerce, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Facility in La Jolla, 
California

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: Jack E. Whitten, Chief, Nuclear 
Materials Safety Branch B, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
IV, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Arlington, Texas 76011; 
telephone (817) 860-8197; fax number (817) 860-8263; 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. 04-
29022-01. This license is held by the United States Department of 
Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest 
Fisheries Science Center (the Licensee). Issuance of the amendment 
would authorize release of the La Jolla Facility (the Facility) for 
unrestricted use and termination of the NRC license. The licensee 
requested this action in a letter dated February 27, 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 February 27, 2007, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use and termination of its NRC materials license. License 
No. 04-29022-01 was issued on January 23, 1991, pursuant to 10 CFR part 
30, and has been amended periodically since that time. The license 
authorized the Licensee to use unsealed byproduct material for 
laboratory tracer studies.
    The license allowed the Licensee to use radioactive material at 
both the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and on any NOAA research 
ship (or any other ship with an agreement with NOAA) at temporary 
jobsites at sea. The Southwest Fisheries Science Center is located in a 
commercial area. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was 
confined to one room in the building.
    During 2005, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and initiated 
a survey and decontamination of the Facility. The license also required 
the Licensee to certify the decontamination of every research ship upon 
completion of each research project using radioactive material. 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. 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 and 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 the use of one 
radionuclide with a half-life of greater than 120 days: carbon-14. 
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 during January 2007. 
This survey covered the remaining room (D-229) where radioactive 
material had been used and stored. The final status survey report was 
attached to the Licensee's amendment request dated February 27, 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 elected to use 
a fraction of the radionuclide-specific 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,

[[Page 59562]]

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 for 
unrestricted use and the termination of the NRC materials license 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; or (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 cease. 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 alternate release criteria pursuant to either 10 CFR 20.1403 
(criteria for license termination under restricted release) or 10 CFR 
20.1404 (alternate criteria for license termination). However, 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. Accordingly, the NRC finds that choosing this 
second alternative to the proposed action is not reasonable, 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 EA to the California Department of 
Health Services for review on August 22, 2007. No comments were 
received from the State of California.
    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. 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. Bartoo, Norm W., ``NRC Radioactive Materials License 
04-2902201'' (Notification of Intent to Terminate License), 
January 11, 2007 (ML070390552); and
    8. Fox, William W., ``NRC Radioactive Materials License 
04-29022-01'' (Submission of Final Status Survey Report), 
February 27, 2007 (ML070710043).
    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 11th day of October 2007.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jack E. Whitten,
Chief, Nuclear Materials Safety Branch B, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region IV.
[FR Doc. E7-20739 Filed 10-19-07; 8:45 am]
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