[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 157 (Monday, August 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41459-41461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19648]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0356; 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, for Unrestricted Release of the Defense Logistics Agency's 
Curtis Bay Depot Facility In Baltimore, MD

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: Steve Hammann, Health Physicist, 
Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region 
I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406; telephone 
610-337-5399; 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), 
for its Curtis Bay Depot (the Facility), located at 710 Ordnance Road 
in Baltimore, Maryland. Issuance of the amendment would authorize 
release of the Facility for

[[Page 41460]]

unrestricted use. The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated 
February 3, 2006. 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 February 3, 2006, 
license amendment request, resulting in 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 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 483 acres of grassy open 
areas and some lightly wooded areas and consists of various building 
pads, buildings and warehouses, some functional and others in a serious 
state of disrepair. A number of paved and dirt roads, along with 
railroad tracks, traverse the site. The Facility is located in an 
industrial area. Within the Facility, use of licensed materials was 
confined to buildings 1022, A-921, B-911, B-912, B-913, F-731, F-734, 
F-735, F-736, F-737, G-721, H-711, H-712, H-713, H-714, H-715, and the 
waste burial pit.
    In May 2005, the Licensee ceased licensed activities and initiated 
a survey and decontamination of the Facility. 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 
licensed materials with half-lives greater than 120 days: thorium and 
uranium in the form of thorium nitrate, monazite sand, and sodium 
sulfate. Prior to performing the final status survey, the Licensee 
conducted decontamination activities, as necessary, in the areas of the 
Facility affected by these materials.
    The Licensee conducted a final status survey which encompassed the 
entire facility. The final status survey report was attached to the 
Licensee's letter dated January 11, 2008. 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 Facility. The Licensee 
conducted site-specific dose modeling using input 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 thus determined the maximum amount of residual 
radioactivity on building surfaces, equipment, materials, and soils 
that will satisfy the NRC requirements in Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20 
for unrestricted release. The NRC previously reviewed the Licensee's 
methodology and proposed DCGLs and concluded that the proposed DCGLs 
are acceptable for use as release criteria at the Facility. The NRC's 
approval of the Licensee's proposed DCGLs was published in the Federal 
Register on June 22, 2007. The Licensee's final status survey results 
were below these DCGLs and are thus acceptable.
    The NRC staff conducted confirmatory surveys on April 3-4, 2007; 
May 3, 2007; July 11, 2007, and November 30, 2007. None of the 
confirmatory sample results exceeded the DCGLs established for the 
Facility. 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 Licensee also considered and appropriately accounted for the dose 
contribution from previous site releases. 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, including the impact of residual 
radioactivity at previously-released site locations of use. 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 40.42(d), requiring that decommissioning of 
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 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 
Maryland Department of the

[[Page 41461]]

Environment for review on June 19, 2009. On July 23, 2009, the Maryland 
Department of the Environment responded by e-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''
    5. Submittal Letter dated February 3, 2006: ML060580094.
    6. Historical Site Assessment: ML060580564.
    7. Preliminary Site Specific Derived Concentration Guidelines: 
ML060580566.
    8. Radiological Scoping Survey: ML060580581.
    9. Environmental Assessment, Disposition of Thorium Nitrate: 
ML060580592.
    10. Request for Additional Information dated June 12, 2006: 
ML061640494.
    11. Deficiency Response Letter dated July 5, 2006: ML061870570.
    12. Deficiency Response Letter dated August 8, 2006: ML062290404.
    13. Characterization Survey Report: ML062650300.
    14. Decommissioning/Remediation Plan: ML062760618.
    15. Receipt of Decommissioning Plan: ML062930051.
    16. Federal Register Notice of Consideration: ML070230235.
    17. Request For Additional Information dated December 11, 2009: 
ML083460027.
    18. Deficiency Response Letter dated May 19, 2009: ML091410338.
    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, PA, this 
7th day of August 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James P. Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E9-19648 Filed 8-14-09; 8:45 am]
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