[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79937-79939]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30940]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-34493]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Nuclear 
Materials License No. 45-25402-01, for Termination of the License and 
Unrestricted Release of the Upstate Group, Inc., Facility in 
Charlottesville, VA

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: Thomas K. Thompson, Sr. Health 
Physicist, Commercial and Research & Development Branch, Division of 
Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of 
Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406; telephone (610) 337-5303; 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. 45-
25402-01. This license is held by Upstate Group, Inc. (the Licensee), 
for its facility located at 706 Forrest Street, Charlottesville, 
Virginia (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 January 
3, 2008. 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, 2008, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use and the termination of its NRC materials license. 
License No. 45-25402-01 was issued on October 31, 1997, pursuant to 10 
CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since that time. This 
license authorized the Licensee to use unsealed byproduct materials for 
the purposes of conducting research and development activities on 
laboratory bench tops and in hoods.
    The Facility is a two story building located in a mixed 
residential/commercial area. The licensee occupied approximately 12,000 
square feet of space on the second floor of the building, consisting of 
office space and laboratories. Within the Facility, use of licensed 
materials was confined to Laboratories 115 and 110A.
    Routine licensed activities ceased in 2002 and the licensee 
initiated a survey 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 the NRC-approved operating radiation safety procedures, would be 
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 in unsealed form: 
Hydrogen-3 and carbon-14. The Licensee conducted a final status survey 
in December 2006. This survey covered the areas of use at the Facility. 
The final status survey report was attached to the

[[Page 79938]]

Licensee's amendment request dated January 3, 2008. 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 Virginia, Department of Health, Bureau of Radiological 
Health for review on October 30, 2008. The Commonwealth of Virginia 
responded by e-mail on November 7, 2008. 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. NRC License No. 45-25402-01 (ML041660379);
    2. Termination request dated January 3, 2008 (ML080100580);
    3. Additional information on termination request dated January 30, 
2008 (ML080360136);
    4. License application dated June 17, 1997 (ML083030158);
    5. License application dated July 12, 1999 (ML083030168);
    6. Inspection report dated April 13, 2004 (ML042170064);
    7. License amendment request dated March 30, 2004 (ML040910212 and 
ML041740741);
    8. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;'' 
Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    9. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;'' and
    10. 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 Region I, 475 Allendale PA, King of Prussia, PA this 
19th day of December 2008.


[[Page 79939]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial, Research and Development Branch, Division of Nuclear 
Materials Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E8-30940 Filed 12-29-08; 8:45 am]
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