[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55759-55761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24277]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-9083; NRC-2018-0242]


U.S. Army Ranges With Davy Crockett Depleted Uranium

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: License amendment application; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued License 
Amendment No. 3 to the Army. License Amendment No. 3 makes multiple 
changes to Source Materials License No. SUC-1596: (1) Incorporation by 
reference of three revised final site-specific Environmental Radiation 
Monitoring Plans (ERMPs); (2) incorporation by reference of the 
December 15, 2017, letter, clarifying sampling procedures; (3) 
incorporation by reference of the letter naming the license Radiation 
Safety Officer (RSO); (4) incorporation by reference of the letter 
naming the new Army licensing official; and (5) editorial changes to 
correct grammar, and formatting. License Amendment No. 3 was effective 
on the date of issuance. The Army must implement the revised final 
site-specific ERMPs within 3 months of the date of issuance.

DATES: November 7, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0242 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-2018-0242. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov 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 ``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: Amy M. Snyder, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6822, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a letter dated June 1, 2017 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML17158B356), the Army requested an amendment to Source 
Materials License No. SUC-1593 (ADAMS Accession No. ML16343A164) 
pursuant to section 40.44 of title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Amendment of Licenses at the Request of 
Licensee.'' The Army requested to replace the three annexes to the 
programmatic environmental monitoring plan (ERMP) (site-specific ERMPs) 
with revised final versions, because the Army indicated that Figure 1-
2, in each of the three site-specific ERMPs, is incorrect due to 
sizing/scaling errors made by the Army. The site-specific ERMPs that 
the Army proposed be replaced with the revised final site-specific 
ERMPs were the site-specific ERMPs for Fort Polk, LA, (Annex 11) (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML16265A225), Fort Riley, KS, (Annex 12) (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML16265A226) and the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), HI (Annex 17) 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML16265A231), dated September 2016. The Army also 
requested a license amendment that would allow the Army to make similar 
future ``minor changes'' to site-specific ERMPs without NRC approval.
    In a letter dated September 18, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML17226A205), the NRC staff (staff) informed the Army that they 
completed their acceptance review of the application and found that the 
request to correct specific figure sizing/scaling errors in the 
identified site-specific ERMPs contains sufficient information for the 
staff to begin their detailed technical review. However, the staff 
determined that the Army's proposal to make similar future ``minor 
changes'' to site-specific ERMPs without U.S. NRC approval did not 
contain enough information to accept the request for detailed technical 
review. Also in the September 18, 2017, letter, the staff informed the 
Army that it would continue to process the June 1, 2017, license 
amendment request, to include the appropriate noticing in the Federal 
Register, without further consideration of the ``minor changes'' 
portion of the license amendment request if the Army did not provide a 
supplement to the amendment request within 30 days for the staff to 
evaluate.
    On October 18, 2017, the Army informed the staff that it would not 
pursue the minor changes portion of its June 1, 2017 amendment request. 
In a letter dated November 21, 2017 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17297B156), 
the staff informed the Army that the NRC will not consider the ``minor 
changes'' portion of the Army's June 1, 2017, amendment application.
    On December 11, 2017, a notice of an opportunity to request a 
hearing and to petition for leave to intervene on this licensing 
proceeding was published in the Federal Register (82 FR 58221). No 
requests were submitted.
    On December 15, 2017, the Army submitted supplemental information 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18009A456) clarifying how it conducts sediment 
sample collection. This submittal was a voluntary response to a NRC 
Petition Review Board's question about sediment sample collection 
raised in the March 16, 2017, 10 CFR 2.206 petition (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML17110A308). In a letter dated January 19, 2018 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML18023A991), the Army requested that its December 15, 2017, 
clarification letter be included under License Condition No. 11 for 
License Amendment No. 3. This portion of License Amendment No. 3 is 
administrative. An updated Federal Register notice (FRN) was not 
required for this administrative change.
    In the March 16, 2017, 10 CFR 2.206 petition, a concern was raised 
that the

[[Page 55760]]

PTA site has unique characteristics, such as ``recent'' lava flows, as 
exhibited by a vein of dark color that intersects the PTA radiation 
controlled area (RCAs) where the Davy Crockett depleted uranium (DU) is 
located, that should be taken into consideration to confirm that 
surface water flow is not impeded by the recent lava flow and thereby 
sediment collection is possible in the proposed PTA sediment sampling 
location designated by the Army. The concern that the sediment sampling 
location at the PTA site was unacceptable was not accepted by the 
Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards in 
this petition process because the staff's evaluation of the Army's 
request to change the sediment sampling location at the PTA was 
underway in which the petitioner could be a party and through which the 
petitioner's concerns could be addressed. The staff considered in its 
review for this licensing action the petitioner's comment asserting 
that the sediment sampling location at the PTA is inappropriate due to 
recent lava flows that present a formidable barrier to flow (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML17279A082).
    Also, the NRC staff requested that the License RSO contact 
information be incorporated by reference in the license consistent with 
NUREG-1556, Vol. 7, Rev. 1 ``Consolidated Guidance About Material 
Licenses: Program Specific Guidance About Academic, Research and 
Development, and Other Licenses of Limited Scope, Including Electron 
Capture Devices and X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzers'' and past practice 
for materials licensees managed by regional NRC staff. In addition, in 
a letter dated September 5, 2018, the Army informed the staff of the 
appointment of a new Army Installation Management Command Commander. 
This position is the authorizing official for this license and the 
letter was incorporated by reference in License Condition No. 11 of 
License Amendment No. 3.
    Because the staff considered the amendment an action related to the 
possession and management of DU military munitions, change in licensing 
official and License RSO, and administrative changes, the proceeding 
was considered to fall within the Categorical Exclusions under 10 CFR 
51.22(c)(14)(xv), 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10(iv), and 10 CFR 51.22(c)(10)(v), 
respectively.
    The NRC staff completed a safety evaluation report (SER) (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML18158A324) of the license amendment request. The staff 
found that the proposed revised final site-specific ERMPs for Fort 
Polk, LA, Fort Riley, KS, and the PTA, HI, which contain the 
corresponding proposed revised Figures 1.2, are consistent with the 
previously approved programmatic approach for preparation of site-
specific ERMPs pursuant to Source Materials License No. SUC-1593, 
Amendment No. 1. The staff found that the proposed changes do not 
impact the dose assessment verification because the bounding public 
dose assessment was not impacted due to change of sampling locations at 
the identified facilities. The staff found the proposed three revised 
final site-specific ERMPs to be adequate for monitoring for transport 
of DU from the RCAs or ranges where the Davy Crockett DU is located.
    The staff found that the Army's survey programs, as proposed to be 
modified by the June 1, 2017 application, would result in a change of 
sediment and surface water sampling locations at Fort Polk and Fort 
Riley, and a change in the sediment sampling location at the PTA. The 
staff found that these changes are reasonable under the circumstances 
to evaluate the magnitude and extent of radiation levels; the 
concentrations or quantities of residual radioactivity; and the 
potential radiological hazards of the radiation levels and residual 
radioactivity detected at these installations.
    The staff determined that the current lava flows in the vicinity of 
the PTA RCAs (those that transect the RCA area) do not act as an 
impenetrable barrier to surface water flow towards the general 
direction of the proposed sediment sample location.
    The staff found the reference to the site-specific ERMPs for Fort 
Polk, LA, Fort Riley, KS, and the PTA, HI, should be removed from 
License Condition No. 11 in the Source Materials License No. SUC-1593. 
The proposed revised final site-specific ERMPs for Fort Polk, LA, Fort 
Riley, KS, and the PTA, HI, and the December 15, 2017, letter, 
clarifying sediment sample collection should be incorporated by 
reference in License Condition No. 11 instead. In addition, the staff 
determined that License Condition No. 18 should be modified to allow 
additional time from the effective date of License Amendment No. 3 for 
the Army to implement the revised final site-specific ERMPs for Fort 
Polk, LA, Fort Riley, KS, and the PTA, HI due to the change in sampling 
locations. The staff believe that three additional months is sufficient 
for this purpose. The Army agreed with the proposed license conditions 
(ADAMS Accession Nos. ML18158A230 and ML18158A284).
    The staff determined that the December 15, 2017, clarifying 
information in the letter does not involve any new actions which were 
not already previously approved, and that the clarifying information 
would not modify the current requirements and commitments. The staff 
determined that the December 15, 2017, clarifying letter should be 
incorporated by reference in License Condition No. 11. This portion of 
License Amendment No. 3 is administrative.
    The staff determined that incorporation of the contact information 
of the License RSO, at the request of staff, and the new Army 
authorizing official for this license would not affect what was already 
approved in previous licensing actions and the information would not 
impact the current requirements and commitments. The staff concluded 
that the contact information for the License RSO and the new Army 
authorizing official for this license should be incorporated by 
reference in License Condition No. 11. This portion of License 
Amendment No. 3 is administrative.
    In the course of its review, the staff identified other 
administrative changes that should be made to the license. These 
changes consisted of modification of sentences to ensure consistent use 
of acronyms and initialism, formatting changes, or and correction of 
grammatical or typographical errors. The staff confirmed that these 
changes would not change any requirements or commitments or add new 
requirements or commitments. This portion of License Amendment No. 3 is 
administrative.
    The staff concluded that the findings described in the staff's SER 
report support the issuance of a license amendment requiring the use of 
the three revised final site-specific ERMPs by incorporation by 
reference; the incorporation by reference of the December 15, 2017, 
letter clarifying sediment sample collection; the incorporation by 
reference of the February 24, 2010, letter documenting the contact 
information for the License RSO; and the incorporation by reference of 
the September 5, 2018, letter documenting the new Army authorizing 
official for this license.
    The staff found that the requested license amendment is in 
accordance with the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954, as amended (the Act), as well as the NRC's rules and 
regulations.
    Therefore, the NRC amended the license to incorporate by reference 
the revised final site-specific ERMPs for Fort Polk, LA, Fort Riley, 
KS, and the PTA, HI and removed the corresponding September 2016 
versions from the

[[Page 55761]]

License Condition 11. In addition, License Condition No. 18 was amended 
to allow three months from the effective date of License Amendment No. 
3 for the Army to implement the revised final site-specific ERMPs for 
Fort Polk, LA, Fort Riley, KS, and the PTA, HI. Also, the NRC amended 
the license to incorporate by reference the December 15, 2017, letter 
clarifying sediment sample collection, as well as the February 24, 
2010, letter documenting the contact information for the License RSO, 
and the September 5, 2018, letter documenting the new Army authorizing 
official for this license. In addition, the NRC amended the license to 
address the consistent use of acronyms, initialisms, and formatting, 
and to correct grammatical errors and typographical errors.
    The NRC approved and issued Amendment No. 3 to Source Materials 
License No. SUC-1593, held by the Army for the 16 U.S. military 
installations with RCAs with Davy Crockett DU that authorizes the 
possession of DU. License Amendment No. 3 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18242A352) was effective as of the date of issuance.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of November, 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Stephen Koenick,
Chief, Low-Level Waste and Projects Branch, Division of 
Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-24277 Filed 11-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P