[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 23 (Monday, February 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1522-1524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00878]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8838; NRC-2019-0027]


U.S. Department of the Army; Jefferson Proving Ground

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Draft environmental assessment and draft finding of no 
significant impact; notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for 
public comment a draft environmental assessment (EA) and draft finding 
of no significant impact (FONSI) for a proposed amendment of NRC source 
materials license SUB-1435 for the Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG) from 
``possession only for decommissioning'' to ``possession only.'' The 
proposed amendment of the U.S. Department of the Army (Army)'s license 
would also include an exemption from the NRC's decommissioning 
timeliness requirements in the regulations. The draft EA, ``Draft 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Amendment of Materials 
License SUB-1435, Jefferson Proving Ground, Southeastern Indiana 
(Jefferson, Ripley, and Jennings Counties),'' documents the NRC staff's 
environmental review of the license amendment application.

DATES: Submit comments by March 6, 2019. Comments received after this 
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission 
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this 
date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0027. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Ms. Krupskaya 
Castellon; telephone: 301-287-9221; email: [email protected]. 
For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop: 
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
    For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting 
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-6789; email: 
[email protected]; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0027 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain 
publicly-available information related to this action by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0027.
     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 in this document (if that document is available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced. The 
ADAMS Accession Number for the draft EA is ML19008A310. The document 
can also be accessed directly at https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1900/ML19008A310.pdf.
     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.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2019-0027 in your comment submission.
    The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact 
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your 
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at: 
http://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions 
into the ADAMS Public Documents collection. The NRC does not routinely 
edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information.
    If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons 
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to 
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be 
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should 
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to 
remove such information before making the comment submissions available 
to the public or entering the comment into the ADAMS Public Documents 
collection.

II. Introduction

    Jefferson Proving Ground (JPG) was established in 1940 on 224 
square kilometers (km\2\) [55,265 acres (ac)] in parts of Jefferson, 
Ripley, and Jennings

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counties in southeastern Indiana for the production and specification 
testing of conventional ammunition components. The nearest population 
center is Madison, Indiana, located approximately 8 kilometers (km) [5 
miles (mi)] south of JPG. The site was used by the Army between 1941 
and 1994 for munitions testing and, during that time, more than 24 
million rounds were fired. Approximately 1.5 million rounds did not 
detonate upon impact, remaining as unexploded ordnance (UXO) on or 
beneath the ground surface, along with an additional 3 to 5 million 
rounds with live detonators, primers, or fuses. As part of its 
munitions testing program, the Army also test-fired depleted uranium 
(DU) projectiles into the 8.4-square kilometers (km\2\) [2,080-acres 
(ac)] DU Impact Area, which is located within the JPG installation. The 
DU test firings began on March 18, 1984, and concluded on May 2, 1994. 
The Army estimates that a high density of high-explosive UXO is present 
in the DU Impact Area.
    The NRC is considering a request for an amendment to the Army's 
source materials license SUB-1435. The license authorizes possession 
only by the Army of up to 80,000 kilograms (kg) [176,370 pounds (lb)] 
of DU metal, alloy, and/or other forms, kept onsite, for the purpose of 
decommissioning, in the restricted area known as the ``Depleted Uranium 
Impact Area'' (DU Impact Area) at the JPG site in southeastern Indiana. 
The NRC is considering a license amendment that would modify the 
license from ``possession only for decommissioning'' to ``possession 
only'' and an exemption from the NRC's decommissioning timeliness 
requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 
Paragraph 40.42(d). The need for this NRC licensing action is to ensure 
the safe possession of radioactive materials (in the form of DU). The 
Army needs to delay remediation of the DU Impact Area because 
remediation is prohibitively expensive and poses a risk of potential 
explosions due to the presence of a large amount of UXO.
    In accordance with NRC's regulations in 10 CFR part 51, 
``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions,'' that implement the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), the NRC staff has prepared a draft EA documenting its 
environmental review of the license amendment application (ADAMS 
Accession Numbers: ML17004A186, and ML18156A002). Based on the 
environmental review, the NRC has made a preliminary determination that 
the proposed action will not significantly affect the quality of the 
human environment and that a FONSI is therefore appropriate.
    By this notice, the NRC is requesting public comment on the draft 
FONSI and supporting draft EA.

III. Summary of Draft Environmental Assessment

    The draft EA is publicly available in ADAMS using ADAMS Accession 
Number ML19008A310, or at this link: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1900/ML19008A310.pdf. A summary description of the proposed action and 
expected environmental impacts is provided below.

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is for the NRC to (1) amend Condition 9 of 
materials license SUB-1435 to change the authorized use of licensed 
material from ``possession only for decommissioning'' to ``possession 
only'' for a 20-year term and (2) grant an exemption from the NRC's 
decommissioning timeliness requirements in 10 CFR 40.42(d) for the term 
of the license. Under the proposed action and in accordance with 
current license conditions, the licensed DU material would remain 
onsite in the restricted area known as the DU Impact Area at JPG. In 
accordance with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) established in 2000 
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Air Force, the 
Army would continue to maintain institutional control and implement 
land use restrictions over an area of approximately 206-km\2\ [50,950-
ac], which includes the DU Impact Area. Under the terms of the MOA, the 
Army would remain responsible for remediation of all contamination 
resulting from Army activities, including the ultimate remediation and 
control of all DU in the NRC-licensed DU Impact Area.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    In the draft EA, the NRC staff assessed the potential environmental 
impacts from the proposed license amendment and exemption to the 
following resource areas: land use; geology and soils; water resources; 
ecological resources; climatology, meteorology, and air quality; 
environmental justice; and public and occupational health. The NRC 
staff also considered the cumulative impacts from past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions when combined with the proposed 
action.
    All potential impacts from the proposed action were determined to 
be SMALL, as described in the EA. The NRC staff concluded that approval 
of the proposed action would not result in a significant increase in 
short-term or long-term radiological risk to public health or the 
environment. Furthermore, the NRC staff found that there would be no 
significant negative cumulative impact to any resource area from the 
proposed action when added to other past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable future actions, and that a positive cumulative ecological 
impact would likely result from the continued management of the Big 
Oaks National Wildlife Refuge over the proposed action's 20-year 
duration.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). 
Under the no-action alternative, the NRC would not grant the license 
amendment or exemption, and the Army would need to comply with the 
terms of its current license, which authorizes possession only for 
decommissioning. Under this alternative, the Army would need to submit 
a decommissioning plan. The NRC staff concluded that decommissioning 
activities for a 20-year duration would be restricted due to the 
presence of UXO and, therefore, the potential impacts of the no-action 
alternative over a period of 20 years would be SMALL and similar or 
identical to the impacts of the proposed action.

IV. Draft Finding of No Significant Impact

    In accordance with the NEPA and 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has 
conducted an environmental review of a request for an amendment to NRC 
source materials license SUB-1435 that would change the authorized use 
of licensed material from ``possession only for decommissioning'' to 
``possession only'' and for an exemption from the NRC's decommissioning 
timeliness requirements in 10 CFR 40.42(d). Based on its environmental 
review of the proposed action, as documented in the draft EA, the NRC 
staff has preliminarily determined that granting the requested license 
amendment and exemption would not significantly affect the quality of 
the human environment. Therefore, the NRC staff has preliminarily 
determined, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that preparation of an 
environmental impact statement is not required for the proposed action 
and a

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FONSI is appropriate. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.33(a), the NRC staff is 
making the draft FONSI and draft EA available for public review and 
comment.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of January 2019.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew Pretzello,
Acting Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and 
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-00878 Filed 2-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P