[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 56 (Thursday, March 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15970-15972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06133]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-28641; NRC-2021-0081]


Department of the Air Force; Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact

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 
amending Materials License No. 42-23539-01AF to authorize extending the 
time period for completing decommissioning and requesting termination 
of the Department of the Air Force's permitted activities and has 
prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI) in support of this action.

[[Page 15971]]


DATES: The Technical Evaluation Report referenced in this document is 
available on March 25, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0081 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-2021-0081. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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 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.
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request 
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 
301-415-4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald A. Burrows, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6443, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment of License No. 42-
23539-01AF, issued to the Department of the Air Force (AF). Therefore, 
as required by Part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), the NRC performed an EA. Based on the results of the EA that 
follows, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement for the license amendment and is issuing a FONSI.

II. Environmental Assessment

Introduction

    In accordance with License Condition, 20.A of NRC Radioactive 
Materials License No. 42-23539-01AF (Master Materials License (MML)), 
the AF incorporates a permitting program for the use of licensed 
material. Individual entities that are subject to this permitting 
program are called permittees. Each permittee associated with this MML, 
consistent with the requirements in 10 CFR 30.36(h), is required to 
complete decommissioning as soon as practicable but no later than 24 
months following the initiation of decommissioning.
    The AF has requested approval to extend the 24-month time period 
specified in 10 CFR 30.36(h)(1) and (2) for completing decommissioning 
and requesting termination of permitted activities under its MML beyond 
the 24-month time limit for decommissioning. The NRC may approve such a 
request consistent with the criteria specified in 10 CFR 30.36(i).

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would amend the AF's MML to allow an 
alternative schedule for decommissioning and requesting termination of 
permitted activities. By memorandum dated September 10, 2020, (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML20290A746) the AF requested a 10-year time limit be 
applied to the requirements in 10 CFR 30.36(h)(1) and (2) with no other 
stipulations. As a result of the information submitted by the AF to 
support its request, the NRC staff only analyzed potential 
environmental issues related to a shorter 5-year time limit.
    During the review of the AF's request, the NRC staff identified 
some concerns related to the sites where groundwater could be 
implicated in the decontamination and termination of a permit. In 
response to this information, the NRC proposed to limit the extension 
of decontamination and termination of permitted site to those where no 
potential for groundwater contamination exists through a license 
condition. The AF agreed to this condition and its limitation in an 
email dated February 17, 2021 (ADAMS Accession No. ML21054A328). As a 
result, the NRC staff's analysis of potential environmental impacts was 
limited to the 5-year time limit of the decommission and termination 
process for sites without the potential to involve groundwater. The NRC 
staff, however, is not taking a position and did not perform an 
assessment of potential environmental impacts from extending 
decommissioning and termination of permitted sites with potential 
groundwater concerns to a 5-year time limit.

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to align the AF's 
responsibilities for timely decommissioning and termination of permits 
as specified in 10 CFR 30.36(h)(1) and (2) with the Federal budgeting 
process. This purpose is consistent with the guidance for operators of 
Federal facilities in NUREG-1757 (see Section 2.6.1) (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML12048A683).
    The need for the proposed action is to comply with NRC regulations. 
The NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act 
to make a decision on a proposed license amendment for an alternative 
schedule for completion of decommissioning and permit termination that 
ensures protection of the public health and safety and environment.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff reviewed the information provided by the AF to 
support their 10 CFR 30.36(h)(1) and (2) alternative decommissioning 
and license (or permit, in this case) termination schedule request. As 
documented in the Technical Evaluation Report (TER) (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML21054A247), the NRC staff evaluated the five criteria specified 
in 10 CFR 30.36(i). Based on its evaluation of 10 CFR 30.36(i)(5), the 
NRC staff determined that the 24-month decommissioning timeline is 
inconsistent with the availability of funds to the AF for 
decommissioning activities.
    Under the MML, the AF is currently allowed to permit any 
radionuclide to carry out activities at its permitted sites. The AF's 
permitting authority is limited to quantities that are less than the 
critical mass quantities specified in 10 CFR 150.11. The NRC staff 
notes that the AF is not requesting any changes to its licensed 
activities or other decommissioning processes previously evaluated and 
approved by the NRC staff.
    The NRC staff evaluated potential environmental impacts resulting 
from increasing the time to complete the actions in 10 CFR 30.36(h)(1) 
and (2) from 2 years to 5 years. The NRC staff considered radionuclides 
with short half-lives (t1/2) (e.g., technicium-99, 
t1/2 = 6 hours) and long half-lives (e.g., U-235, 
t1/2 = 700 million years). Over the 3 additional years (5 
years total),

[[Page 15972]]

radionuclides with very short half-lives will decay to levels not 
detectable with common radiation detectors. During the same time frame, 
radionuclides with very long half-lives will undergo no appreciable 
radioactive decay and will therefore be at the same activity levels. 
The NRC staff did not identify activities that would result in a 
significant increase in the potential for or consequences from 
radiological accidents involving the licensed material as a result of 
the proposed action. The NRC staff considered the potential for any 
contamination to spread or migrate off the permitted site during the 
additional 3-years that would be allowed for decommissioning and 
termination. For sites without any potential groundwater contamination, 
the NRC staff did not identify any reasonable scenarios for 
contamination to migrate off-site given the AF ability to maintain 
institutional controls over the permitted sites. For sites with the 
potential for groundwater contamination, the NRC staff determined that 
it did not have sufficient information to complete a generic analysis 
of these permitted sites at this time. Consistent with the condition 
imposed on the amendment to sites without groundwater contamination, 
the NRC staff did not perform additional environmental analysis of 
these type of sites.
    As a Federal agency, the AF or a successor agency would continue to 
be able to maintain institutional controls over the permitted sites and 
perform the necessary denomination and termination consistent with its 
appropriations. Therefore, the short extension from a 2-year period to 
the 5-year period is unlikely to result in abandonment of a site or 
affect the AF's ability to perform decommissioning.
    Based on the previously noted analysis, the NRC staff finds that 
the environmental impacts of the proposed action are not significant.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
the no-action alternative in which the NRC staff would deny the 
extension request. Denial of the request would require the AF to 
request separate extensions for most, if not all, of its permittees. 
This would place an undue burden on the AF and the NRC staff associated 
with the licensing actions required for these separate extension 
requests as the criteria to be considered by the NRC for approval would 
be the same or similar as those for the proposed action. In addition, 
the AF would not be able to comply with the timeliness requirements of 
10 CFR 30.36(h)(1) and (2) due to the appropriation process. Therefore, 
the no-action alternative was not further considered.

Consultations

    Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (Act) [16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.] outlines the procedures for Federal interagency cooperation to 
conserve Federally listed species and designated critical habitats. 
Section 7(a)(2) states that each Federal agency shall, in consultation 
with the Secretary, insure that any action they authorize, fund, or 
carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a 
listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of 
designated critical habitat. The NRC staff has determined that a 
Section 7 consultation is not required because the proposed action is 
administrative/procedural in nature and will not affect listed species 
or critical habitat. The NRC staff has also determined that the 
proposed action is not a type of activity that have potential to cause 
effects on historic properties because they are administrative/
procedural actions. Therefore, no additional consultation is required 
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Conclusion

    Based on its review, the NRC staff has concluded that the proposed 
action complies with 10 CFR part 30. NRC has prepared this EA in 
support of the proposed license amendment to approve an alternative 
decommissioning schedule. On the basis of the EA, NRC has concluded 
that the environmental impacts from the proposed action are expected to 
be insignificant and has determined that preparation of an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action is not required.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA, the NRC concludes that the proposed action 
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human 
environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an 
environmental impact statement for the proposed action.

    Dated: March 19, 2021.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2021-06133 Filed 3-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P