[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28818-28820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08348]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[License No. 52-31453-01; EA-2023-016; NRC-2024-0066]
In the Matter of Almonte Geo Service Group; Order Imposing Civil
Monetary Penalty
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Order; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an
Order to Almonte Geo Service Group (Almonte), imposing a civil monetary
penalty of $17,500. The NRC issued a Notice of Violation and Proposed
Imposition of Civil Penalty on November 9, 2023, to Almonte. The
violation involved the failure by Almonte to complete decommissioning
no later than 24 hours following the initiation of decommissioning as
required by NRC regulations. This order is effective on the date of
issuance.
DATES: This order became effective on April 11, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0066 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-2024-0066. 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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The order imposing civil monetary
penalty of $17,500 is available in ADAMS under Package Accession No.
ML24089A031.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmen Rivera-Diaz, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, telephone: 301-415-0296, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the order is attached.
Dated: April 15, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David L. Pelton,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
Attachment--Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty of $17,500
United States of America
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
In the Matter of: Almonte Geo Service Group, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico,
Docket No. 03038488, License No. 52-31453-01, EA-23-016
Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty
I
Almonte Geo Service Group (Licensee) is the holder of Nuclear
Materials License No. 52-31453-01 issued on October 4, 2011, by the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to Part
30 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The license
authorizes the possession and use of radioactive sources contained in
portable nuclear moisture density gauges in accordance with conditions
specified therein. The facility is located on the Licensee's site in
Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.
II
The NRC inspected the Licensee's activities between March 1, 2023,
and June 14, 2023. The results of this inspection indicated that the
Licensee had not conducted its activities in full compliance with NRC
requirements. A written Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of
Civil Penalty (Notice) was served upon the Licensee by letter dated
November 9, 2023 (ML23310A012).\1\ The Notice states the nature of the
violation, the provision of the NRC's requirements that the Licensee
violated, and the amount of the civil penalty proposed for the
violation.
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\1\ Designation in parentheses refers to an Agency-wide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) accession number.
Documents referenced in this letter are publicly-available using the
accession number in ADAMS.
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Namely, the Notice describes that the Licensee failed to complete
decommissioning no later than 24 months following the initiation of
decommissioning as required by 10 CFR 30.36(h). In particular, the
Licensee has not disposed of or transferred its licensed material
despite having had its license revoked more than seven years ago and
having initiated decommissioning activities almost four years ago. The
Notice also documents that the NRC's primary interest in this matter is
ensuring that the Licensee meets its obligation to transfer or dispose
of the licensed material in its
[[Page 28819]]
possession and complete decommissioning of its site. Therefore, the
civil penalty would not have been imposed if the Licensee (1) had
properly disposed of or transferred the remaining sealed radioactive
source possessed under the NRC license and (2) had sent information
documenting that the material had been transferred or disposed of to
the NRC within 60 days of the date of the letter transmitting the
Notice (i.e., by January 8, 2024).
The Licensee responded to the Notice in an email dated December 9,
2023 (ML23345A099). In its response, the Licensee requested additional
time to save money to pay for proper disposal of the remaining sealed
radioactive source in its possession. As of the date of this Order, the
Licensee remains in possession of the sealed radioactive source.
III
After consideration of the Licensee's response and the statements
of fact, explanation, and argument for mitigation contained therein,
the NRC staff has determined that the violation occurred as stated and
that the penalty proposed for the violation designated in the Notice
should be imposed.
IV
In view of the foregoing and pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act), 42 U.S.C. 2282, and 10 CFR 2.205,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
The Licensee shall pay the civil penalty in the amount of $17,500
within 30 days of the date of the publication of this Order in the
Federal Register through one of the following two methods:
1. Submit the payment with the enclosed invoice to this Order (EA-
23-016) to the following address: Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, P.O. Box 979051, St.
Louis, MO 63197 or,
2. Submit the payment in accordance with NUREG/BR-0254.
In addition, at the time payment is made, the Licensee shall submit
a statement indicating when and by what method payment was made, to the
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738.
V
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this
Order within 30 days of its publication in the Federal Register. In
addition, the Licensee and any other person adversely affected by this
Order may request a hearing on this Order within 30 days of its
publication in the Federal Register. Where good cause is shown,
consideration will be given to extending the time to answer or request
a hearing. A request for extension of time must be directed to the
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
and include a statement of good cause for the extension.
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body,
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. The E-Filing process requires
participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the
internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media,
unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further
discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is
located in the ``Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC''
(ML13031A056) and on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected] or by
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID)
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. After a digital ID certificate is
obtained and a docket created, the participant must submit adjudicatory
documents in Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is
available on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system
no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a
transmission, the E-Filing system timestamps the document and sends the
submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing
system also distributes an email that provides access to the document
to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any others who have
advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in
the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those
participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants
(or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a
digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to
obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's
public website at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m.
and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper
format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants.
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1),
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available at https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the
presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID
certificate as previously described, click ``cancel'' when the link
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where
[[Page 28820]]
you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a
particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include
personal privacy information such as social security numbers, home
addresses, or personal phone numbers in their filings unless an NRC
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. With
respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve
the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute Fair Use
applications, participants should not include copyrighted materials in
their submission.
If a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that person
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which their interest
is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
If a hearing is requested by a licensee or a person whose interest
is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an order designating
the time and place of any hearings. If a hearing is held, the issue to
be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be
sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing, or written
approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the
provisions specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from
the date this Order is published in the Federal Register without
further order or proceedings.
If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved,
the provisions specified in Section IV shall be final when the
extension expires if a hearing request has not been received. If
payment has not been made by the time specified above, the matter may
be referred to the Attorney General, for collection.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
/RA/,
David L. Pelton,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
Dated this 11 day of April, 2024.
[FR Doc. 2024-08348 Filed 4-18-24; 8:45 am]
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