[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 219 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59013-59015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27424]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0499; Docket No. 030-22168]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Byproduct Materials 
License No. 06-20971-01, for Unrestricted Release of the Eastern 
Connecticut State University's Facility in Willimantic, CT

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, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 
10406; 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 a license amendment to Byproduct Materials License No. 06-
20971-01. This license is held by Eastern Connecticut State University 
(the Licensee), for its campus located in Willimantic, Connecticut. 
Issuance of the amendment would authorize release of two campus 
facilities, Goddard Hall and the Media Center, for unrestricted use. 
The Licensee requested this action in a letter dated May 18, 2009. 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 May 18, 2009, 
license amendment request, resulting in release of Goddard Hall and the 
Media Center for unrestricted use. License No. 06-20971-01 was issued 
on March 18, 1986, pursuant to 10 CFR part 30, and has been amended 
periodically since

[[Page 59014]]

that time. This license authorizes the Licensee to use unsealed 
byproduct material for purposes of conducting research and development 
activities on laboratory bench tops and in hoods, and the teaching and 
training of students.
    Goddard Hall is a multi-story building situated on approximately 
8,300 square feet of land. The Media Center is a multi-story building 
situated on approximately 13,000 square feet of land. Both buildings 
contain office space, classroom space, and laboratories. Goddard Hall 
and the Media Center are located in a residential area. The use of 
licensed materials was confined to four rooms in Goddard Hall (a total 
of approximately 2,600 square feet of space) and five rooms in the 
Media Center (a total of approximately 1,300 square feet of space).
    In February 2008, the Licensee ceased licensed activities in 
Goddard Hall and the Media Center, and initiated a survey and 
decontamination of Goddard Hall and the Media Center. Based on the 
Licensee's historical knowledge of the site and the conditions of the 
Goddard Hall and the Media Center, 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 Goddard Hall and the Media Center 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 in Goddard 
Hall and the Media Center, and seeks the unrestricted use of these 
buildings.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted in Goddard 
Hall and the Media Center shows that such activities involved use of 
the following radionuclides with half-lives greater than 120 days: 
hydrogen-3, carbon-14, several generally-licensed sealed sources, and 
several exempt sealed sources. Prior to performing the final status 
survey, the Licensee conducted decontamination activities, as 
necessary, in the areas of Goddard Hall and the Media Center affected 
by these radionuclides. The Licensee conducted a final status survey on 
June 29, July 7, 13, and 14, 2009. This survey covered all rooms in 
Goddard Hall and the Media Center where licensed materials were used or 
stored. The final status survey report was attached to the Licensee's 
letter dated July 24, 2009. 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 in Goddard Hall and the Media Center. 
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 Goddard Hall and the Media Center. 
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 Goddard Hall and 
the Media Center for unrestricted use is in compliance with 10 CFR 
20.1402. Because the Licensee will continue to perform licensed 
activities in other campus facilities, the Licensee must ensure that 
Goddard Hall and the Media Center do not later become recontaminated. 
Before the license can be terminated, the Licensee will be required to 
show that the all campus facilities, including 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 Goddard Hall and the Media Center 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 
separate buildings containing byproduct material be completed and 
approved by the NRC after licensed activities in those separate 
buildings cease. The NRC's analysis of the Licensee's final status 
survey data confirmed that Goddard Hall and the Media Center 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 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for review on 
August 3, 2009. On September 10, 2009, the State of Connecticut 
Department of Environmental Protection 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

[[Page 59015]]

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]. 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]. Licensee letters dated May 18, 2009 (ML091470608) and July 24, 
2009 (ML092090686).
    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, O1 
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 
6th day of November 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James Dwyer,
Chief, Commercial and R&D Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
Region I.
[FR Doc. E9-27424 Filed 11-13-09; 8:45 am]
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