[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 230 (Friday, November 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67761-67763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23218]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-00341]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Source Materials License 
No. STC-133, To Incorporate the Decommissioning Plan for the Defense 
Logistics Agency's Hammond Depot Facility in Hammond, IN

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, Senior Health 
Physicist, 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 Source Materials License No. STC-
133. This license is held by Defense Logistics Agency (the Licensee), 
and covers several sites around the country. The proposed action 
pertains to the Licensee's Hammond Depot site (the Facility), located 
at 3200 S. Sheffield Avenue, in Hammond, Indiana. Issuance of the 
amendment would incorporate the Decommissioning Plan (DP) into the 
license to allow completion of decommissioning activities at the site 
and eventual unrestricted release of the Facility. The NRC has 
evaluated and approved the Licensee's DP. The findings of this 
evaluation are documented in a Safety Evaluation Report which will be 
issued along with the amendment. The Licensee requested this action in 
a letter dated December 8, 2005. The Licensee's amendment request was 
noted in the Federal Register on February 1, 2007 (72 FR 4734). This 
Federal Register notice also provided an opportunity for a hearing on 
this licensing action. No hearing requests were received. 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

[[Page 67762]]

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 December 8, 2005, 
license amendment request to incorporate the DP into the license, 
resulting in final decommissioning of the Facility and subsequent 
release of the Facility for unrestricted use. License No. STC-133 was 
issued on February 14, 1957, pursuant to 10 CFR part 40, and has been 
amended periodically since that time. This license authorized the 
Licensee to possess uranium and thorium as natural uranium and thorium 
mixtures as ores, concentrates and solids for the purpose of storage, 
sampling, repackaging and transfer for the activities of the National 
Defense Stockpile.
    The Facility is situated on approximately 57 acres in an 
industrial/commercial area. The Facility consists of eight buildings of 
which three warehouses were used to store drums of licensed materials, 
several pads and ground areas where non-radioactive ore piles were 
stored, and unused grassy areas, wetlands and an adjacent lake. A 
number of paved and dirt roads, along with railroad tracks, traverse 
the site. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was confined 
to Warehouse 100W, Warehouse 100E, Warehouse 200E and its outdoor re-
packaging area, and the burn cage. Licensed activities ceased in August 
2005.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to approve the DP so that the Licensee may 
complete Facility decommissioning activities. Completion of the 
decommissioning activities will reduce residual radioactivity at the 
Facility. NRC regulations require licensees to begin timely 
decommissioning of their sites, or any separate buildings that contain 
residual radioactivity, upon cessation of licensed activities, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 40.42(d). The proposed licensing action will 
support such a goal. NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under the 
Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on a proposed license amendment 
for decommissioning that ensures protection of the public health and 
safety.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facility shows that such activities involved the storage, repackaging 
and transfer of licensed material in the form of thorium nitrate, 
monazite sand and other ores containing source material. The licensed 
materials were always stored inside buildings, but were moved to other 
buildings and/or on and off the Facility, which resulted in some 
licensed materials being spilled outdoors.
    The NRC staff has reviewed the Licensee amendment request for the 
Facility and examined the impacts of this license amendment request. 
Potential impacts include water resource impact (e.g., water may be 
used for dust control), air quality impacts from dust emissions, 
temporary local traffic impacts resulting from transporting debris, 
human health impacts, noise impacts from equipment operation, scenic 
quality impacts, and waste management impacts.
    Based on its review, the staff has determined that no surface water 
or ground water impacts are expected from the decommissioning 
activities. Additionally, the staff has determined that significant air 
quality, noise, land use, and off-site radiation exposure impacts are 
also not expected. No significant air quality impacts are anticipated 
because of the contamination controls that will be implemented by the 
Licensee during decommissioning activities. In addition, the 
environmental impacts associated with the decommissioning activities 
are bounded by impacts evaluated by NUREG-0586, ``Final Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement on the Decommissioning of Nuclear 
Facilities,'' (GEIS). Generic impacts for this type of decommissioning 
process were previously evaluated and described in the GEIS, which 
concludes that the environmental consequences are small. The risk to 
human health from the transportation of all radioactive material in the 
U.S. was evaluated in NUREG-0170, ``Final Environmental Statement on 
the Transportation of Radioactive Materials by Air and Other Modes.'' 
The principal radiological environmental impact during normal 
transportation is direct radiation exposure to nearby persons from 
radioactive material in the package. The average annual individual dose 
from all radioactive material transportation in the U.S. was calculated 
to be approximately 0.5 mrem, well below the 10 CFR 20.1301 limit of 
100 mrem for a member of the public. Additionally, the Licensee 
estimates that approximately 270 cubic meters of low-contaminated 
demolition material waste and 1,120 cubic meters of low-contaminated 
soil will leave the site over the course of the decommissioning 
project. The waste will be transported from the Facility by rail car to 
its final destination. This proposed action will not significantly 
increase the probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are 
being made in the types of any effluents that may be released off-site, 
and there is no significant increase in occupational or public 
radiation exposure. Thus, waste management and transportation impacts 
from the decommissioning will not be significant.
    Occupational health was also considered in the ``Final 
Environmental Impact Statement on the Transportation of Radioactive 
Material by Air and Other Modes.'' Shipment of these materials would 
not affect the assessment of environmental impacts or the conclusions 
in the ``Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Transportation of 
Radioactive Material by Air and Other Modes.''
    The staff also finds that the proposed license amendment will meet 
the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 
CFR 20.1402. The Licensee demonstrated this through the development of 
derived concentration guideline limits (DCGLs) for its Facility. The 
Licensee conducted site specific dose modeling using parameters 
specific to the Facility that adequately bounded the potential dose. 
This included dose modeling for two scenarios: Building surfaces and 
soil. The building surface dose model was based on the warehouse worker 
scenario and the soil dose modeling was based on a resident farmer 
scenario.
    The Licensee will maintain an appropriate level of radiation 
protection staff, procedures, and capabilities, and, through its 
Radiation Safety Officer, will implement an acceptable program to keep 
exposure to radioactive materials as low as reasonably achievable 
(ALARA). Work activities are not anticipated to result in radiation 
exposures to the public in excess of 10 percent of the 10 CFR 20.1301 
limits.
    The NRC also evaluated whether cumulative environmental impacts 
could result from an incremental impact of the proposed action when 
added to other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future actions 
in the area. The proposed NRC approval of the license amendment 
request, when combined with known effects on resource areas at the 
site, including further site remediation, are not

[[Page 67763]]

anticipated to result in any cumulative impacts at the site.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The only alternative to the proposed action of decommissioning the 
Facility 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 no-action alternative would keep radioactive material on-site 
without disposal. 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 NRC guidance and regulations. 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 Indiana, Department of the Environment for review on June 26, 2007. 
On November 2, 2007, Indiana State Department of Health, Radiological 
Emergency Response Program, responded by e-mail. The State agreed with 
the conclusions of the EA and otherwise had no comments.

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. Letter dated December 8, 2005 (ML053500252)
    6. Historical Site Assessment (ML060580605)
    7. Preliminary Site Specific Derived Concentration Guidelines 
(ML060580629)
    8. Radiological Scoping Survey (ML060580608)
    9. Environmental Assessment, Disposition of Thorium Nitrate 
(ML060580592)
    10. Letter dated July 5, 2006 (ML061870578) and July 19, 2006 
(ML062070231)
    11. Radiological Characterization Survey Report (ML062710179)
    12. Decommissioning/Remediation Plan (ML062760618)
    13. Letter dated January 12, 2007 (ML070160372)
    14. Federal Register Notice of Consideration (ML070250043)
    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 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA, this 21st day 
of November, 2007. For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E7-23218 Filed 11-29-07; 8:45 am]
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