[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37530-37532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16404]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-7003; NRC-2018-0160]
American Centrifuge Operating, LCC; Lead Cascade Facility
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 issuing an
environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) regarding a request from American Centrifuge Operating, LLC
(ACO) for approval of its Decommissioning Plan. ACO is authorized to
possess and use special nuclear material (SNM), source material, and
byproduct material at its Lead Cascade Facility (LCF) in Piketon, Ohio
under NRC License SNM-7003, issued in 2004. ACO's Decommissioning Plan
contains its proposed Release Criteria and the Final Status Survey
design.
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DATES: The EA referenced in this document is available on August 1,
2018.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0160 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0160. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 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.
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: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0867, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
By letter dated January 5, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number
ML18025B285), American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO or the licensee)
requested NRC approval of ACO's Decommissioning Plan (DP). The DP
contains ACO's proposed Release Criteria (RC) and Final Status Survey
(FSS) design. The Lead Cascade Facility (LCF) is located at the
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) site in Pike County, Ohio.
The PORTS site is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the
DOE leases portions of the PORTS site, including the LCF buildings, to
the licensee. The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment
(EA) (ADAMS Accession Number ML18204A294) as part of its review of this
proposed action in accordance with the requirements in part 51 of title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Environmental
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions'' and associated staff guidance. The NRC has concluded that
the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality
of the human environment.
II. Summary of the Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is to review and approve ACO's DP which
provides the proposed RC and FSS design. The RC are regulatory limits
identified in 10 CFR part 20.1402. The FSS is performed by the licensee
to verify that residual contamination levels are less than these
limits.
Need for the Proposed Action
By letter dated March 2, 2016, the licensee notified the NRC of its
decision to permanently cease LCF operations (ADAMS Accession Number
ML16074A405). In preparation for decommissioning of the LCF,
termination of license SNM-7003, and potential future release of the
site and return to DOE as outlined in the lease agreement, ACO has
performed clean-up and survey activities.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff evaluated the potential environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action, and has performed its
environmental review in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part
51 and associated staff guidance. As detailed in the EA, the staff
reviewed relevant information submitted by the licensee and consulted
with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Osage
Nation, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the State
of Ohio Department of Health (ODH).
Survey activities for the FSS have occurred inside the LCF
buildings, and no land disturbance activities were involved or are
planned. Therefore, the NRC staff considers that there would be no
impacts to the following resources areas: Land use, geology and soils,
water resources, ecology, meteorology, climate, air quality, noise,
transportation, waste management, visual and scenic resources, and
socioeconomic resources.
The NRC staff evaluated the radiological impacts to workers and the
public. The staff found that the radiological doses to workers would be
within the dose limits specified in 10 CFR 20.1201, ``Occupational dose
limits to adults,'' and that radiological doses to the public would be
indistinguishable when compared to background radiation.
The NRC staff also evaluated the cumulative impacts by identifying
past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions at DOE's
Piketon, Ohio site, and the incremental impacts of ACO's proposed
action. The staff determined that the proposed action would not
significantly contribute to cumulative impacts. The staff also
determined that the proposed action would not affect federally-listed
endangered or threatened species or their critical habitats, if
present.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered
denial of the proposed action and requesting ACO to submit a revised DP
(i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Under the no-action alternative,
the LCF FSS and RC would not be approved and license termination would
not be possible. The NRC considers the environmental impacts of this
alternative to be similar to those of the proposed action. The no-
action alternative does not comply with the licensee's commitments made
during licensing or the decommissioning requirements of 10 CFR 70.38
and does not provide any environmental benefit. The NRC staff concludes
that not approving the provided RC and FSS, which meet the regulatory
requirements, is not a reasonable alternative to approving the proposed
action.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
By letter dated June 12, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number ML18130A468),
the staff consulted with the ODH regarding the environmental impact of
the proposed action. By letter dated July 6, 2018, the ODH replied
indicating that they had no comments on the draft EA (ADAMS Accession
Number ML18130A468). The NRC staff also consulted with the Ohio SHPO by
letter dated April 9, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number. ML18078B230). The
Ohio SHPO responded by letter dated May 16, 2018, stating that they
could not concur with a finding of No Adverse Effect for the proposed
action and recommended that NRC initiate and carry out consultation and
contact the ACHP (ADAMS Accession Number ML18155A296). On June 11,
2018, a
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conference call was held between the Ohio SHPO, the ACHP, and the NRC
to discuss the concerns expressed in the SHPO's May 16, 2018, letter.
During the call the ACHP expressed its agreement with the NRC that the
requested action falls under 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), No potential to cause
effects, which states, ``If the undertaking is a type of activity that
does not have the potential to cause effects on historic properties,
assuming such properties were present, the agency official has no
further obligations under Section 106 or this part''. The NRC sent a
letter, dated July 16, 2018, to the Ohio SHPO summarizing the
conference call and concluding Section 106 consultation (ADAMS
Accession Number ML18171A218). By letter dated April 11, 2018, the NRC
initiated Section 106 consultation under the National Historic
Preservation Act with the Osage Nation. In their reply, the Osage
Nation stated it concurred with the NRC determination that the proposed
DP most likely would not adversely affect any sacred properties and/or
properties of cultural significance to the Nation, and also stated,
``[t]he Osage Nation has no further concern with this project'' (ADAMS
Accession Number ML18158A263).
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
In accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC
staff has concluded that the proposed action will not significantly
affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the staff
finds, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that preparation of an environmental
impact statement is not required for the proposed action, and that a
finding of no significant impact is appropriate.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of July 2018.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental
Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-16404 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
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