[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 34 (Monday, February 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8122-8123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3750]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[DOCKET NO. 030-32959; NRC-2009-0059]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact For License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 09-10672-03 for Unrestricted Release of the Environmental 
Protection Agency's Facility in Key Largo, FL

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for License Amendment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Lawyer, Health Physicist, 
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; telephone 610-
337-5366; 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. 09-
10672-03. This license is held by Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf 
Ecology Division (the Licensee), for its Key Largo Laboratory NOAA 
Facility located at 512 Caribbean Avenue in Key Largo, Florida (the 
Facility). Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of the 
Facility for unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a 
letter dated September 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 September 3, 2008, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of the Facility for 
unrestricted use. License No. 09-10672-03 was issued on November 2, 
1992, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30, and has been amended periodically 
since that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to use unsealed 
byproduct material for purposes of conducting research and development 
activities on laboratory bench tops. The proposed action pertains only 
to the cessation of licensed activities at the Facility. The license 
authorizes use of licensed material at other locations that will not be 
affected by this action, and the license will thus not be terminated if 
the proposed action is approved.
    The Facility is situated within a 2000 square foot building on 0.53 
acres and consists of general office, residential, laboratory, and 
storage space. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was 
confined to 120 square feet laboratory. The Facility is located in a 
mixed residential and commercial area. Within the Facility, the 
radionuclide of concern was Hydrogen-3 and carbon-14 because their 
half-lives being greater than 120 days.
    In December 1996, the Licensee ceased licensed activities at the 
Facility and initiated survey and decontamination actions there. 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 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 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.

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 the following 
radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: 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 conducted a final status survey on January 8 and 9, 
2008. The final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's 
amendment request dated September 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 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.

[[Page 8123]]

    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. 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 Bureau 
of Radiation Control, Florida Department of Health for review on 
December 2, 2008. On December 9, 2008, the Florida Bureau of Radiation 
Control responded by electronic mail. 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 Documents 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;'' and
    5. United States Environmental Protection Agency letter dated 
September 3, 2008 [ML082690377].
    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 Road, King of Prussia this 10th 
day of February 2009.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E9-3750 Filed 2-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P