[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55339-55341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22550]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-3392; NRC-2017-0143]


Honeywell, International, Inc.; Metropolis Works Uranium 
Conversion 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 finding of no significant impact 
(FONSI) for the proposed renewal of NRC source materials license SUB-
526 for Honeywell, International, Inc.'s Metropolis Works uranium 
conversion facility. The final EA, ``Final Environmental Assessment for 
the Proposed Renewal of Source Materials License SUB-526, Metropolis 
Works Uranium Conversion Facility (Massac County, Illinois),'' 
documents the NRC staff's environmental review of the license renewal 
application.

DATES: The final EA is available on October 16, 2019.

[[Page 55340]]


ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0143 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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0143. Address 
questions about NRC docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Anne Frost; 
telephone: 301-287-9232; 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 https://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 final EA is available in ADAMS 
under Accession No. ML19273A012.
     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: Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6789; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering a request for the renewal of Honeywell 
International, Inc.'s (Honeywell's) source materials license SUB-526, 
which authorizes Honeywell to operate a uranium hexafluoride processing 
(or uranium conversion) plant at the Metropolis Works Facility, located 
near Metropolis, in Massac County, Illinois. The facility was 
constructed in 1958, and uranium hexafluoride was first produced for 
several years beginning in 1959 for the U.S. Government. In 1968, the 
facility began producing uranium hexafluoride for commercial purposes.
    In accordance with the NRC's regulations in part 51 of title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``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 
final EA documenting its environmental review of the license renewal 
application (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML17048A243, ML17048A244, and 
ML18029A119). The NRC published a notice of availability of the draft 
EA in the Federal Register on October 31, 2018 (83 FR 54787). The 
public comment period for the draft EA closed on November 30, 2018. 
Summaries of and responses to public comments on the draft EA are 
provided in Appendix B of the final EA.

II. Summary of Environmental Assessment

    The final EA is publicly-available in ADAMS under Accession No. 
ML19273A012, or at this link: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1927/ML19273A012.pdf. A summary description of the proposed action and 
expected environmental impacts is provided below.

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed Federal action is approval of Honeywell's license 
renewal request, which if granted would allow Honeywell to continue 
conversion of uranium ore concentrates, also known as yellowcake, to 
uranium hexafluoride. The proposed action analyzed in the final EA 
accounts for a renewed license term of 40 years, which is the term 
Honeywell has requested. The proposed action and proposed license 
conditions would allow Honeywell to continue to receive, possess, 
store, use, and ship source material. Honeywell would continue the 
conversion of uranium ore concentrates to uranium hexafluoride at an 
authorized capacity of 15,000 metric tons (16,535 tons). Honeywell 
would continue to ship the uranium hexafluoride product to enrichment 
facilities for processing into enriched uranium.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    In the final EA, the NRC staff assessed the potential environmental 
impacts from the proposed license renewal associated with the following 
resource areas: Land use; geology and soils; water resources; 
ecological resources; cultural resources; air quality; socioeconomics; 
environmental justice; scenic and visual resources; public and 
occupational health; transportation; and waste management. The NRC 
staff also considered the cumulative impacts from past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions when combined with the proposed 
action.
    The NRC staff determined that continued Honeywell operations would 
not result in significant environmental impacts, as described in the 
EA. The 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 the incremental impacts from the proposed action, 
when added to the impacts of other past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable future actions, would not contribute significantly to 
cumulative environmental impacts.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As one alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
denial of Honeywell's license renewal request (i.e., the ``no-action'' 
alternative). Under the no-action alternative, Honeywell would need to 
stop operations permanently and submit a decommissioning plan for NRC 
review and approval. This would entail an environmental review to 
assess the potential impacts associated with the proposed 
decommissioning action. The NRC determined for this EA that the 
potential environmental impacts of the no-action alternative (prior to 
decommissioning) would not be significant.
    As another alternative, the NRC considered approval of Honeywell's 
renewal request, but for a duration of less than 40 years (the 
``reduced duration alternative''). Honeywell would continue operating 
for a period of less than 40 years, resulting in potential impacts that 
would be similar to or less than the impacts of the proposed action.

III. Final Finding of No Significant Impact

    In accordance with NEPA and 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has 
conducted an environmental review of Honeywell's request to renew NRC 
source materials license SUB-526 to allow Honeywell to continue its 
uranium conversion operations. Based on its environmental review of the 
proposed action, as documented in the final EA, the NRC staff 
determined that granting the requested license renewal would not 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, 
the NRC staff makes its final determination, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, 
that the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not 
required for the proposed action and a FONSI is appropriate.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of October 2019.


[[Page 55341]]


    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kathryn M. Brock,
Acting Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and 
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-22550 Filed 10-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P