[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 32 (Thursday, February 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7705-7706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3500]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-11209; NRC-2009-0061]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for Amendment of Byproduct Materials License No. 
21-16544-01, for Unrestricted Release of a Facility in Ann Arbor, MI

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: Peter J. Lee, Ph.D., CHP, Health 
Physicist, Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning Branch, 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region III, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, 2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532; 
telephone: (630) 829-9870; fax number: (630) 515-1259; or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend 
Byproduct Materials License No. 21-16544-01. This license is held by 
the Department of Commerce (the Licensee) for its Lake Michigan Field 
Station, Research Vessel Shenehon, located at 1431 Beach Street, 
Muskegon, Michigan (the Facility). Issuance of the amendment would 
authorize release of the Facility for unrestricted use. The Licensee 
requested this action in letter dated November 24, 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 November 24, 2008, 
license amendment request, resulting in the release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 21-16544-01 was issued on July 8, 1975, 
pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically since 
that time. The license authorizes the use of by-product materials for 
in-vitro laboratory research studies and neutron activation studies on 
soil samples. The licensee ceased using licensed materials in the 
Facility in 2008. The Licensee has conducted final status surveys of 
the Facility. The results of these surveys along with other supporting 
information were provided to the NRC to demonstrate that the criteria 
in Subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted release have been met.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The Licensee has ceased conducting licensed activities at the 
Facility and seeks the unrestricted use of its Facility.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
Facility shows that such activities involved use of hydrogen-3 and 
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 completed final status surveys on the Facility on 
November 14, 2008. The surveys covered all areas of the Facility. The 
final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's amendment 
request dated November 24, 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 values described in 
NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance,'' Volume 2 as the 
radionuclide-specific derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs). 
These values provide acceptable levels of surface contamination to 
demonstrate compliance with the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR 
Part 20 for unrestricted release. The Licensee's final status survey 
results were below these values 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.

[[Page 7706]]

    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 
available docket file records and the survey results 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 issuance of the proposed amendment 
authorizing release of the Facility for unrestricted use is in 
compliance with 10 CFR Part 20. 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. 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 
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for review on January 7, 
2009. By response dated January 15, 2008, the State agreed with the 
conclusions of the EA, and otherwise provided 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. Kimberly A. Kulpanowski, U.S. Department of Commerce, letter 
dated November 24, 2008 (ADAMS Accession No. ML083310295);
    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. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance.''
    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 Lisle, Illinois, this 6th day of February 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christine Lipa,
Chief Materials Control, ISFSI, and Decommissioning Branch, Division of 
Nuclear Materials Safety Region III.
[FR Doc. E9-3500 Filed 2-18-09; 8:45 am]
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