[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43794-43797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19799]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-28641; NRC-2017-0095]


Department of the Air Force; Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an 
amendment to Materials License 42-23539-01AF, issued to the Department 
of the Air Force (licensee), Docket No. 030-28641, to approve a 
decommissioning plan (DP) for Building 181 at Robins Air Force Base 
(AFB), Georgia. If the DP is approved by the NRC, the licensee would be 
authorized to remediate residual depleted uranium (DU) from the 
building, prior to partial demolition of the building. As part of its 
review, the NRC conducted an assessment of the environmental impacts of 
the proposed decommissioning action. The NRC concluded that the 
proposed decommissioning project will have minimal impacts on the 
environment. This Notice provides details of the NRC's environmental 
assessment. Based in part on this assessment, the NRC plans to approve 
the proposed DP by amending the license.

DATES: Materials License 42-23539-01AF, Docket No. 030-28641, will be 
amended to approve the DP on or after September 19, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0095 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0095. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public

[[Page 43795]]

Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each 
document referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first 
time that it is mentioned in this document. In addition, for the 
convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in 
a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vivian Campbell, Region IV Office, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1600 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 
76011; telephone: 817-200-1455, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Materials 
License 42-23539-01AF, issued to Department of the Air Force, approving 
the proposed DP for remediation of Building 181 at Robins AFB, Georgia 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML17094A481 and ML17167A420, respectively). If 
approved by the NRC, the licensee would be allowed to remediate 
residual DU from inside and underneath the building as necessary to 
meet the NRC's criteria for unrestricted use. Therefore, as required by 
part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the NRC 
performed an environmental assessment (EA) of the proposed 
decommissioning activity. Based on the results of the EA that follows, 
the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement 
for the licensing action and is issuing a finding of no significant 
impact (FONSI).

II. Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The NRC's proposed action is to amend License 42-23539-01AF to 
approve the proposed DP, as revised. The licensee would then be 
authorized to conduct decommissioning work as specified in the NRC-
approved DP. Concurrently with the approval of the proposed 
decommissioning work instructions, the NRC plans to approve the 
licensee's proposed site-specific radiological release criteria and 
final status survey plan.
    If approved, the licensee's contractor will remediate residual 
radioactive contamination and lead-based paint from the interior of the 
building using instructions provided in the DP. After completion of 
decommissioning, the contractor will conduct a final status survey of 
the building surfaces in accordance with the instructions provided in 
the DP. The residual radioactive and hazardous waste material will be 
disposed at an authorized disposal site based on sample results of the 
removed material. During building demolition, the contractor will 
radiologically survey the soil underneath portions of the building to 
ensure that the soil is not contaminated with radioactive material. If 
contaminated, the soil will be removed for disposal.
    After completion of building demolition, the contractor will 
conduct a final status survey of the land underneath the area where 
Cells 5 and 6 were previously located, to ensure that the soil does not 
contain contamination greater than the NRC-approved release criteria. 
The NRC staff plans to conduct routine inspections during 
decommissioning and the final status surveys. The NRC will also review 
and approve the licensee's final status survey results after completion 
of the decommissioning process. The NRC may elect to conduct an 
independent radiological confirmatory survey to confirm the licensee's 
final status survey results.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce the residual 
radioactivity within Building 181 to levels that allow the release of 
the property for unrestricted use. If the licensee conducts site 
remediation in accordance with instructions provided in the DP, the 
licensee will be in compliance with the radiological criteria for 
license termination as specified in regulation 10 CFR part 20, subpart 
E. Approval of the DP would allow the NRC to fulfill its 
responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act to ensure protection of 
public health and safety and the environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff considered the possible environmental impacts of the 
proposed action. The staff considered the impacts on the following 
environmental resources: (1) Land use; (2) transportation; (3) geology 
and soils; (4) water resources; (5) ecology; (6) meteorology, 
climatology, and air quality; (7) noise; (8) historical and cultural 
resources; (9) visual/scenic resources; (10) socioeconomic; (11) public 
and occupational health; and (12) waste management.
    Building 181 is located within the boundary of Robins AFB. Other 
structures and paved roads are located around the property. An airfield 
and tarmac are located nearby. The property will remain under the 
control of the Air Force during and after decommissioning. Upon 
completion of decommissioning and NRC approval of the final status 
survey results, the licensee is expected to release the land and 
remainder of the building for unrestricted use. The land use is not 
expected to change significantly as a result of this decommissioning 
project.
    The transportation resource will be impacted slightly during 
demolition of the building. Additional vehicles will be needed to 
demolish the building and to remove the demolished debris. This 
increase in transportation resources will only exist as long as 
building demolition is in progress. After completion of demolition, the 
transportation resource should return to normal. A few additional 
trucks will be needed for shipment of the radiologically contaminated 
material to a disposal site. The number of additional trucks is 
expected to be small, based on the low volume of material required to 
be disposed.
    The local geology and soils are not expected to be impacted by 
building demolition. The local soils were already impacted by the 
construction of the building and surrounding infrastructure. Although 
unlikely, if the licensee discovers contaminated soil underneath the 
building, the soil with contamination above the NRC-approved cleanup 
criteria will have to be excavated and packaged for shipment. Clean 
backfill may be needed to fill any soil removed during decommissioning. 
The area of the demolition project is small when compared to the 
overall size of the military base.
    The water resources are not expected to be impacted by building 
demolition. Based on the depth of the unsaturated zone (25 feet/7.6 
meter) and the thickness of the floor (5-6 feet/1.5-1.8 meters), the 
licensee concluded that it was unlikely that DU contamination within 
Building 181 has migrated into the groundwater. As noted in the DP, the 
contractor will try to prevent potentially contaminated water from 
exiting the building. The contractor will plug building drains during 
decommissioning work. If the buildup of water occurs in the building, 
the contractor will install containments at exit points, such as 
doorways, to prevent releases of potentially contaminated water from 
leaving the building.

[[Page 43796]]

    The demolition of the building is not expected to have an impact on 
local ecology. No critical or endangered species or habitats are 
expected to be impacted, since the building is surrounded by other 
buildings and pavement.
    The demolition of the building may have short-term impacts on air 
quality. These potential impacts include possible release of airborne 
radioactive particulates during decommissioning, airborne dust during 
demolition, and vehicle exhaust. To protect against releases of 
potentially radioactive airborne effluents, the licensee's contractor 
plans to collect outdoor air samples during decommissioning work. If 
the airborne particulate action level is exceeded, the building doors 
will be shut to minimize airborne effluents. With regards to the 
potential for airborne dust during building demolition, the demolition 
contractor is expected to take typical industrial precautions to 
minimize airborne dust including use of water suppression or 
discontinuing work during windy conditions. Finally, the work will 
result in a short term increase of vehicle exhaust during building 
demolition work. The percent increase in vehicle exhaust is expected to 
be small compared to the relative size of the Air Force base.
    Noise will increase during building demolition work. The increase 
in noise is expected to be limited to daytime hours and will last only 
for the duration of the work.
    No historical, cultural, visual, or scenic resources are expected 
to be impacted. Any cultural or historical resource would have been 
impacted during the construction of the building. The demolition of the 
building is not expected to impact any resources beyond the area 
already impacted by current development. The decommissioning and 
demolition of the building will not impact scenic or visual resources. 
The building is not considered historically significant, otherwise, the 
Air Force would not be demolishing it.
    The decommissioning and demolition of the building will not impact 
any social groups, and the economic impacts of the work activities are 
expected to be minimal. The Air Force has not stated what it plans to 
do with the area once the building has been partially demolished, but 
the land use will most likely be similar to what is already in place. 
The Air Force does not plan to relinquish control of the area after 
building demolition, and the footprint of the building will continue to 
remain within the boundary of Robins AFB.
    The decommissioning contractor will provide measures to control 
public and occupational health during work. For example, the 
decommissioning contractor will monitoring workers for exposure to 
airborne radioactivity. The demolition contractor is expected to 
implement typical industrial safety controls such as issuance of safety 
equipment to workers, control of work area boundaries, and suppression 
of dust. As part of its review, the NRC considered the impacts of 
residual radioactivity that may remain within building rubble or 
subsurface soil. The licensee proposed cleanup criteria that is 
protective of human health and safety. The licensee's contractor is 
expected to remove the residual radioactive contamination to levels 
that are at or below the cleanup criteria, an action that is protective 
of public health and safety. Details about the NRC's analysis of the 
cleanup criteria are provided in a separate Safety Evaluation Report 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML17193A222).
    Finally, the decommissioning contractor established procedures for 
disposal of waste material. The DP indicates that the contractor plans 
to sample the waste material, to identify the levels of radiological 
and hazardous materials present. As noted earlier, the contractor will 
also remove lead-based paint as part of the work project. The 
concentrations of radioactive and hazardous wastes in the material will 
dictate how the material will be packaged and transported, and the 
concentrations will be used to identify the disposal sites that can 
accept this material for disposal. The demolition contractor is 
expected to sample the rubble to ensure that the material meets the 
standards for the chosen waste landfill. Liquid wastes are not expected 
to be created.
    In summary, the proposed decommissioning and building demolition 
are not expected to have significant, long-term impacts on 
environmental resources. Additional details about the NRC's 
environmental review are provided in an expanded EA (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML17207A232).

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
The no-action alternative assumes that the status quo is maintained. 
With respect to the Building 181 project, the no-action alternative 
means that the licensee would not be allowed to conduct decommissioning 
work, and the contaminated building surfaces will continue to remain 
onsite at Robins AFB.
    The no-action alternative is not acceptable because it violates the 
NRC's Timeliness Rule regulations specified in 10 CFR 30.36. The 
Timeliness Rule requires licensees to decommission their facilities in 
a timely manner when licensed activities have permanently ceased. In 
addition, the radioactive contamination at Building 181 currently 
exceeds the radiological criteria for license termination as specified 
in 10 CFR part 20, subpart E. Approval of the no-action alternative 
will prevent the licensee from conducting decommissioning work as 
necessary to release the site for unrestricted use under Subpart E 
requirements. Accordingly, the NRC staff eliminated the no-action 
alternative from consideration.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff consulted with the Georgia Department of Natural 
Resources, Radioactive Materials Program, regarding the EA of the 
proposed action (ADAMS Accession No. ML17193A244). The State's comments 
are discussed below.
    The NRC staff determined that the proposed action will not affect 
endangered species or critical habitats, because the project is located 
within an area that was fully developed. Therefore, no further 
consultations were deemed necessary under Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act. Likewise, the NRC staff determined that the proposed 
action is not the type of activity that has the potential to impact 
historic properties, in part, because the building has not been 
designated as a historic property by the Air Force. Therefore, no 
further consultation was determined to be necessary under Section 106 
of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Discussion of Comments

    By email dated August 14, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17227A184), 
the State of Georgia suggested that once demolition is complete and 
soil contamination surveys are accomplished, if these surveys reveal 
any soil contamination, a groundwater survey should be conducted. In 
the past, the State has seen instances of groundwater contamination, 
for example, around a contaminated vault that had to be remediated. 
While there is no evidence of soil contamination beneath Building 181, 
the State believes that sampling of the groundwater is prudent if the 
soil is contaminated. The NRC staff informed the licensee of the

[[Page 43797]]

State's comments, and the NRC plans to review the results of the 
licensee's soil contamination survey.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff have concluded that the proposed decommissioning 
project at Robins AFB, Georgia, will have minimal impacts on the 
environment. The NRC staff considered the impacts on land use, 
transportation, geology and soils, water resources, ecology, air 
quality, noise, historical and cultural resources, visual and scenic 
resources, socioeconomic resources, public and occupational health, and 
waste management. The staff also determined that the affected 
environment and the environmental impacts associated with the 
decommissioning of Building 181 are bounded by the impacts evaluated by 
NUREG-1496, Volume 1, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in 
Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination 
of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML042310492).
    The staff finds that the proposed decommissioning complies with 10 
CFR 20.1402, which provides the radiological criteria for unrestricted 
use. Further, the licensee will perform the remediation work under an 
NRC license, using an NRC-approved decommissioning plan, which will 
help ensure that the licensee and its contractor will establish and 
implement programs to protect workers, the public, and the environment. 
Further, the NRC plans to conduct inspections during work activities. 
Past NRC experiences with decommissioning activities at similar sites 
suggest that public and worker exposures to radioactivity will be far 
below the limits specified in 10 CFR part 20.
    The NRC staff have prepared this EA in support of the proposed 
action to amend NRC Materials License 42-23539-01AF to approve the 
licensee's proposed DP for Building 181 at Robins AFB. On the basis of 
this EA, the NRC has concluded that there are no significant 
environmental impacts and the license amendment does not warrant the 
preparation of an environmental impact statement. Accordingly, it has 
been determined that a FONSI is appropriate.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

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                   Document                       ADAMS  Accession No.
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U.S. Department of the Air Force, ``Updated    ML17094A481
 Decommissioning Plan dated February 2017 for
 Building 181 at Robins Air Force Base,
 Georgia,'' March 21, 2017.
U.S. Department of the Air Force, ``Building   ML17167A420
 181 Robins Air Force Base Decommissioning
 Plan,'' June 13, 2017.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Robins   ML17193A244
 AFB Consultation Letter with State of
 Georgia,'' July 24, 2017.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Memo to  ML17207A232
 File--Building 181 Robins AFB Georgia
 Environmental Assessment,'' September 19,
 2017.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Memo to  ML17193A222
 File--Building 181, Robins AFB Georgia
 Safety Evaluation Report,'' September 19,
 2017.
State of Georgia, ``State of Georgia's Review  ML17227A184
 and Comments on Proposed EA and SER for
 Robins AFB, Georgia,'' August 14, 2017.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG-     ML042310492
 1496, Volume 1, Generic Environmental Impact
 Statement in Support of Rulemaking on
 Radiological Criteria for License
 Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear
 Facilities, Main Report, July 31, 1997.
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    Dated at Arlington, Texas, this 31st day of August 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mark R. Shaffer,
Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region IV Office.
[FR Doc. 2017-19799 Filed 9-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P