[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P