[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 88 (Friday, May 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25301-25302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10828]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[DOCKET NO. 70-143; NRC-2010-0175]
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc.; Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact for Proposed Extension of Deadline for
Inventory of Special Nuclear Material
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin M. Ramsey, Project Manager, Fuel
Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop EBB-2C40M, Rockville, MD 20555-0001,
Telephone (301) 492-3123; Fax (301) 492-3359; e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is considering
the issuance of a license amendment to Materials License SNM-124 to
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) (the licensee) to grant a one-time
exemption from an inventory requirement for strategic special nuclear
material. NRC regulations at Title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) 74.59(f)(1) state that a physical inventory of
strategic special nuclear material must occur every six months. By
letter dated March 10, 2010, NFS requested a temporary exemption from
this requirement.
The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of
this amendment and exemption request in accordance with the
requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded
that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate;
therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not be
prepared.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
The NFS facility in Erwin, Tennessee is authorized, under License
SNM-124 to manufacture high-enriched nuclear reactor fuel. In addition,
NFS is authorized to blend highly enriched uranium with natural uranium
and manufacture low-enriched nuclear reactor fuel. Currently, several
processing lines are in a safe-shutdown mode, in accordance with
Confirmatory Action Letter No. 02-2010-001 dated January 7, 2010.
Operations were shut down without the usual material processing/clean-
out that is required to be undertaken as part of a measured physical
inventory. NFS is currently in the process of implementing program
improvements and conducting operational readiness reviews which must be
reviewed and approved by NRC before each process line is restarted.
After operations are authorized, each process line must be operated to
process the material to a suitable form that will enable a measurable
physical inventory to occur. NFS requests that the inventory reporting
date be extended until 90 days after all processing lines are
authorized to restart operations, a date which is currently unknown.
Review Scope
The purpose of this EA is to assess the environmental impacts of
the requested license amendment and exemption. It does not approve the
request. This EA is limited to the proposed exemption and any
cumulative impacts on existing plant operations. The existing
conditions and operations for the Erwin facility were evaluated by NRC
for environmental impacts in a 1999 EA related to the renewal of the
NFS license (Ref. 1) and a 2002 EA related to the first amendment for
the Blended Low-Enriched Uranium (BLEU) Project (Ref. 2). The 2002 EA
assessed the impact of the entire BLEU Project using information
available at that time. A 2003 EA (Ref. 3) and a 2004 EA (Ref. 4),
related to additional BLEU Project amendments, confirmed the FONSI
issued in 2002.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is to amend NRC Materials License SNM-124 to
grant a one-time exemption from the requirement to take a physical
inventory of strategic special nuclear material every six months. The
exemption would authorize NFS to submit the physical inventory results
after NRC has authorized the restart of all operations currently
shutdown, and after NFS has had an opportunity to then process the
material and complete the inventory. The proposed action is limited to
the reporting deadline only. No change to processing, packaging, or
storage operations is requested, and no construction of new facilities
is requested.
Need for Proposed Action
The proposed action is being requested because NFS had to secure
operations in several processing lines to implement program
improvements. NFS has committed to maintain the processing lines in a
safe-shutdown mode until NRC authorizes restart of operations.
Regulations in 10 CFR 74.59(f)(1) require a physical inventory of
strategic special nuclear material every six months. To comply with
this regulation, the material must be processed into a form that can be
inventoried. Material in the processing lines is not in a form that can
be inventoried, and it cannot be processed into the proper form until
the restart of operations is authorized.
Alternatives
The alternatives available to NRC are:
1. Approve the requested action as described, or
2. No action (i.e., deny the request).
Affected Environment
The affected environment for the proposed action and the no action
alternative is the NFS site. The NFS facility is located in Unicoi
County, Tennessee, about 32 km (20 mi) southwest of Johnson City,
Tennessee. The facility is within the Erwin city limits. The affected
environment is identical to the affected environment assessed in the
2002 EA related to the first amendment for the BLEU Project (Ref. 2). A
full description of the site and its characteristics are given in the
2002 EA. Additional information can be found in the 1999 EA related to
the renewal of the NFS license (Ref. 1). The site occupies about 28
hectares (70 acres). The site is bounded to the northwest by the CSX
Corporation (CSX) railroad property and the Nolichucky River; and by
Martin Creek to the northeast. The plant elevation is about 9 m (30 ft)
above the nearest point on the Nolichucky River.
The area adjacent to the site consists primarily of residential,
industrial, and
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commercial areas, with a limited amount of farming to the northwest.
Privately owned residences are located to the east and south of the
facility. Tract size is relatively large, leading to a low housing
density in the areas adjacent to the facility. The CSX railroad right-
of-way is parallel to the western boundary of the site. Industrial
development is located adjacent to the railroad on the opposite side of
the right-of-way. The site is bounded by Martin Creek to the north with
privately owned, vacant property and low-density residences.
Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action and Alternatives
1. Occupational and Public Health
Proposed Action
The occupational and public health impacts from the proposed action
are essentially the same as those considered in the previous
environmental assessments. If the exemption is granted, inactive
processing lines will remain in a safe-shutdown mode, which will reduce
the emissions from normal operations and reduce the risk of accidents.
However, the reductions would be so small that the differences would be
negligible.
No Action
Denying this amendment request would not result in any significant
difference in the occupational and public health impacts when compared
to the proposed action. If this amendment and exemption request is
denied, the licensee may be cited for failing to submit a required
report. However, the material cannot be inventoried until it is
processed into an appropriate form. The facility will continue to
implement NRC-approved radiation safety procedures for storing and
handling radioactive materials. Thus, the impacts under the ``no
action'' alternative will remain within acceptable regulatory limits.
2. Effluent Releases, Environmental Monitoring, Water Resources,
Geology, Soils, Air Quality, Demography, Biota, Cultural and Historic
Resources
Proposed Action
The NRC staff has determined that the approval of the proposed
action will not impact effluent releases, environmental monitoring,
water resources, geology, soils, air quality, demography, biota, or
cultural or historic resources at or near the NFS site.
No Action
The NRC staff has determined that denial of the proposed action
will not impact effluent releases, environmental monitoring, water
resources, geology, soils, air quality, demography, biota, or cultural
or historic resources at or near the NFS site.
Conclusion
Based on its review, the NRC has concluded that the environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action are not significant and,
therefore, do not warrant the preparation of an EIS. The NRC has
determined that the proposed action, approval of the license amendment
and exemption as described, is the appropriate alternative for
selection. Based on an evaluation of the environmental impacts of the
proposed action, the NRC has determined that the proper action is to
issue a FONSI.
Agencies and Persons Contacted
On April 26, 2010, the NRC staff contacted the Division of
Radiological Health in the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation (TDEC) concerning this EA. On April 30, 2010, TDEC
responded that it had reviewed the draft EA and had no comments (Ref.
6).
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action will not
affect listed species or critical habitat. Therefore, no consultation
is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Likewise,
the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not the type
of activity that has the potential to cause effects on historic
properties. Therefore, no consultation is required under Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act.
References
1. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Assessment
for Renewal of Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-124,''
January 1999, ADAMS Accession No. ML050600258.
2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Assessment
for Proposed License Amendments to Special Nuclear Material License
No. SNM-124 Regarding Downblending and Oxide Conversion of Surplus
High-Enriched Uranium,'' June 2002, ADAMS Accession No. ML050540096.
3. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Assessment
and Finding of No Significant Impact for the BLEU Preparation
Facility,'' September 2003, ADAMS Accession No. ML032390428.
4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Assessment
and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Oxide Conversion
Building and the Effluent Processing Building at the BLEU Complex,''
June 2004, ADAMS Accession No. ML041470176.
5. Nuclear Fuel Services, ``Request for One-Time Exemption,'' March
10, 2010, ADAMS Accession No. ML100760326.
6. R. Crosslin, Tennessee Division of Radiological Health, e-mail to
K. Ramsey, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``EA for NFS
Exemption,'' April 30, 2010, ADAMS Accession No. ML101200082.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has considered the
environmental consequences of amending NRC Materials License SNM-124 to
grant a one-time exemption from the physical inventory deadline for
strategic special nuclear material. On the basis of this EA, the NRC
has concluded that there are no significant environmental impacts
associated with the proposed amendment and has determined not to
prepare an EIS for the proposed amendment.
IV. Further Information
The documents referenced in this Notice may be made available to
interested parties pursuant to a protective order and subject to
applicable security requirements upon a showing that the party has an
interest that may be affected by the proposed action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of April 2010.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter J. Habighorst,
Chief, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2010-10828 Filed 5-6-10; 8:45 am]
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