[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 41 (Friday, February 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11157-11158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3920]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 030-05215 and 040-06377]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendments to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 29-00047-02 and Source Materials License No. SUB-348, for 
Amendment of the License and Unrestricted Release of the Department of 
the Army Facilities in Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey

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; 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 license amendments to Byproduct Materials License No. 29-
00047-02 and Source Materials License No. SUB-348. These licenses are 
held by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Research, Development and 
Engineering Command (RDEC), Armament Research, Development and 
Engineering Center (ARDEC) (the Licensee), for its facilities located 
at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. Issuance of the amendment would 
authorize release of Building 167, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 for 
unrestricted use. The Licensee requested these actions in a letter 
dated April 28, 2006. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) in support of the proposed actions 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 actions. The amendments 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 April 28, 2006, 
license amendment requests, resulting in release of Building 167, 
Magazine 3018 and Bunker 3030 for unrestricted use. License No. 29-
00047-02 was issued on August 22, 1956, pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and 
has been amended periodically since that time. This license authorized 
the Licensee to use unsealed and sealed byproduct materials for 
purposes of conducting research and development activities at its 
Picatinny Arsenal. License No. SUB-348 was issued on July 13, 1961, 
pursuant to 10 CFR part 40, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. This license authorized the Licensee to use uranium and 
thorium in any form for purposes of conducting research and development 
activities at its Picatinny Arsenal.
    The Picatinny Arsenal is situated on 6,500 acres and consists of 
residential, industrial, office space, laboratories, and specialized 
facilities. The Picatinny Arsenal is located in a mixed residential and 
commercial area. Building 167, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 are three 
of several facilities where use of licensed materials was performed 
under the authority of RDEC/ARDEC, one of the military tenants at 
Picatinny Arsenal. Building 167 was a one-story building containing 
approximately 1,800 square-feet of radioactive materials laboratories 
and storage areas on the first floor. Radioactive materials were also 
stored in the basement. Areas outside Building 167 included in the 
decommissioning activities were a 2 meter by 3 meter area of localized 
contamination and an 800 square meter area across the street from 
Building 167 that was used for radioactive waste storage. Magazine 3018 
was an explosives magazine in which radiolabelled explosives were 
stored. Bunker 3030 was a bunker that was once used to store 
radioactive munitions and was also used for radioactive waste storage.
    In the late 1990s, the Licensee determined that Building 167, 
Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 were no longer required for licensed 
activities and initiated a survey and decontamination program. Based on 
the Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of 
these facilities, 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 Building 167, 
Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 and provided information to the NRC to 
demonstrate that they meet 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 in Building 
167, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 and seeks the unrestricted use of 
these buildings.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Building 
167, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 shows that such activities involved 
use of the following radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 
days: hydrogen-3, carbon-14, strontium-90, cesium-137, uranium, 
thorium, radium, and other similar radionuclides. Prior to performing 
the final status survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination 
activities, as necessary, in the areas affected by these radionuclides.
    The Licensee conducted final status surveys during October and 
November 2001 and June 2002. The surveys covered Building 167 and its 
associated outdoor areas, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030. The final 
status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment request 
dated April 28, 2006. 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 facilities. The Licensee conducted site-specific dose 
modeling using the default input parameters in RESRAD-BUILD 3.3 for a 
residential building scenario, and RESRAD 6.3 for soil used by a 
residential farmer, and performed sensitivity analyses which 
demonstrate that the proposed DCGLs are conservative estimations of the 
potential dose at the site and will not exceed the Department of the 
Army's self-imposed constraint of 15 millirem in a year. The Licensee 
thus determined the maximum amount of residual radioactivity on 
building surfaces, equipment, materials, and soils that will satisfy 
the NRC

[[Page 11158]]

requirements in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release. 
The NRC reviewed the Licensee's methodology and the DCGLs, and has 
concluded that the proposed DCGLs are acceptable for use as release 
criteria for Building 167, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030. 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). 
The staff finds there were no significant environmental impacts from 
the use of radioactive material at Building 167, Magazine 3018, and 
Bunker 3030. 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 these facilities. 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 these facilities 
for unrestricted use and is in compliance with 10 CFR 20.1402 including 
the impact of residual radioactivity at previously-released site 
locations of use. Although the Licensee will continue to perform 
licensed activities at other parts of its Picatinny Arsenal, the 
Licensee must ensure that these decommissioned areas do not become 
recontaminated. Before the license can be terminated, the Licensee will 
be required to show that all previously-released areas comply with the 
radiological criteria in 10 CFR 20.1402. Based on its review, the staff 
considered the impact of the residual radioactivity in Building 167, 
Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 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) and 10 CFR 40.42(d), requiring that decommissioning of 
byproduct material and 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 Building 
167, Magazine 3018, and Bunker 3030 meet 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 Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for review 
on January 2, 2008. On January 31, 2008, NJDEP responded by letter. 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 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 April 28, 2006 [ML061290093];
    2. New World Technology, Final Report, Picatinny Arsenal 
Radiological Remediation/Release Surveys and Sampling Project, Revision 
3, January 30, 2006, Project No. USA 99-109 [ML061510185 and 
ML062840673];
    3. Letter dated October 12, 2006 [ML062900446];
    4. Letter dated September 26, 2007 [ML072770684];
    5. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    6. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    7. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;'' and
    8. 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 February 
2008.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E8-3920 Filed 2-28-08; 8:45 am]
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