[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 103880-103882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30215]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-0925; NRC-2023-0087]
Cimarron Environmental Response Trust; Cimarron Facility;
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
amending Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License No. SNM-928, which is
held by the Cimarron Environmental Response Trust (CERT) for activities
at the site of the former Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Facility (Cimarron
site) in Logan County, Oklahoma. The license amendment would approve a
revision to
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the site decommissioning plan developed by Environmental Properties
Management, LLC (EPM) to address remaining groundwater contamination at
the Cimarron site. The NRC staff is issuing an environmental assessment
(EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) associated with the
proposed amendment.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
December 19, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0087 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-2023-0087. 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]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
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: 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 amending license no. SNM-928, held by the
CERT, for NRC-regulated activities at the site of the former Cimarron
Fuel Fabrication Facility located near Cimarron City along the Cimarron
River in Logan County, Oklahoma. On October 7, 2022, EPM submitted a
request to the NRC for a license amendment that would approve revision
3 of the site decommissioning plan. Revision 3 of the decommissioning
plan details EPM's plans to install, operate, and dismantle a
groundwater treatment system at the site.
As required in section 51.21 of title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ``Criteria for and identification of licensing
and regulatory actions requiring environmental assessments,'' the NRC
developed an EA for the proposed license amendment, which would
incorporate the revised decommissioning plan into the license. Based on
the results of the EA, the NRC has determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the proposed amendment and is
issuing a FONSI.
II. Summary of Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed Federal action is amending the license to incorporate
a revised decommissioning plan that details EPM's plans to construct,
operate, and dismantle a groundwater treatment system. The proposed
groundwater treatment operation would reduce concentrations of uranium
in groundwater to 6.7 becquerels per liter (Bq/L) (180 picocuries per
liter [pCi/L]), as required in condition 27(b) of license no. SNM-928.
The establishment of this criterion assumed the use of groundwater as a
drinking water source and for the raising of produce (plants and
livestock) by a resident farmer. Treated groundwater would be
reinjected to the ground or discharged to the Cimarron River. After
groundwater treatment is complete, EPM would conduct monitoring,
dismantle the treatment system, and perform a final status survey
before requesting NRC license termination. The entire groundwater
treatment process would take about 16 years. Remediation would be
completed in about 12.5 years, followed by about 3 years of groundwater
monitoring, dismantling activities, and the development and
implementation of a final status survey.
The proposed license amendment to approve the decommissioning plan
would also authorize the possession of technetium-99 (Tc-99), which is
present in the groundwater. Because treatment of the groundwater would
likely result in the concentration of Tc-99 in the treatment media, the
addition of Tc-99 to the license would allow the licensee to possess
and dispose of contaminated material containing both uranium and Tc-99
as low-level radioactive waste.
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated October 7, 2022, as supplemented by letters dated
November 3, 2023; November 15, 2023; and December 8, 2023.
Need for the Proposed Action
The purpose of the NRC's proposed action is to amend the license to
incorporate the revised decommissioning plan, which details EPM's plans
to conduct groundwater cleanup activities to ensure that the site will
comply with NRC decommissioning criteria and standards in 10 CFR part
20, ``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' for protection of
the public and the environment. Groundwater remediation is needed so
that the NRC can ultimately release the site from and terminate license
no. SNM-928.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff assessed the impacts of the proposed action on land
use; historical and cultural resources; visual and scenic resources;
climatology, meteorology and air quality; geology, minerals, and soils;
water resources; ecological resources; socioeconomics; noise; traffic
and transportation; public and occupational health and safety; and
waste management. The NRC staff concluded that, as detailed in the
revised decommissioning plan, construction, operation, and
decommissioning of the proposed groundwater remediation system would
have a beneficial impact on groundwater quality and would not have
significant impacts on land use, visual and scenic resources, the
geologic environment, surface water resources, air quality, noise,
socioeconomic conditions, public and occupational health,
transportation, and waste generation and management. The NRC staff
concluded, after consultation with the Oklahoma State Historic
Preservation Office and the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey and
receiving input from Native American Tribes, that the proposed action
would not cause effects on resources that are eligible for listing on
the National Register of Historic Places and that no Tribal cultural
resources have been identified or are known to exist on the site. In
consultation with the Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office of the
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ), the NRC staff concluded that the proposed
action may affect but is not likely to adversely affect terrestrial
threatened or endangered species, would not affect the aquatic
threatened or endangered species, and may modify but is not likely to
adversely modify critical habitat for two species of fish. Finally, the
staff found that the proposed decommissioning activities would not have
disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects on
minority and low-income populations living near the Cimarron site. The
proposed action would result in the remediation of uranium to
concentration limits required by the NRC, specified in license
condition 27(c). In addition, the proposed action would result in the
removal of some Tc-99 from groundwater, but the concentrations of Tc-99
in groundwater are already below the NRC limit. The Oklahoma DEQ plans
to work with EPM during and after the proposed action to further
address Tc-99, as well as nitrate and fluoride levels in the
groundwater. After groundwater remediation for uranium is complete and
the NRC license is terminated, EPM would follow any controls that may
be established by the Oklahoma DEQ for future land use or groundwater
use.
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
The NRC staff considered the ``no-action alternative.'' Under the
no-action alternative, the NRC would not approve the revised
decommissioning plan as proposed and EPM would need to prepare and
submit a new plan for review. Site maintenance activities would
continue in the meantime. The impacts from the no-action alternative
ultimately would be similar to the impacts of the proposed action
described in the EA, albeit delayed by the amount of time needed to
revise, review, and approve a new groundwater treatment plan.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC provided the draft EA in June 2024 to the Oklahoma DEQ for
review and comment. The Oklahoma DEQ provided clarifying comments
regarding the State's role during and after the NRC-licensed
decommissioning activities to further ensure public health and safety
at the site, clarification regarding limits to be established in the
permit for discharges of treated groundwater to the Cimarron River,
clarification regarding State Tc-99 limits in discharges and in
groundwater, and corrections. The EA reflects changes the NRC staff
made to address these State comments.
As described in the ``Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
Action'' section of this notice, during the preparation of the EA the
NRC staff consulted with the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation
Office, the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. The EA reflects the information received from these
agencies to address cultural and historic resources and threatened and
endangered species.
Throughout the development of the EA, the NRC staff communicated
with Native American Tribes. While no Tribes requested formal
consultation, several Tribes requested to be kept informed of the
status of the NRC's review. Section 4.2 of the EA details the NRC's
communications with Tribes over the course of this review.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC staff prepared the EA as part of its review of the proposed
action. On the basis of the EA, the NRC finds that there would be no
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted.
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a FONSI is appropriate. In
accordance with 10 CFR 51.32(a)(4), this FONSI incorporates the EA by
reference.
IV. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
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Document description ADAMS accession No.
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Environmental Assessment for Revised ML24334A062.
Decommissioning Plan Proposal to Remediate
Groundwater at the Cimarron Site in Logan
County, Oklahoma, dated November 2024.
Cimarron Environmental Response Trust ML22286A041 (Package).
Facility Decommissioning Plan--Revision 3,
dated October 7, 2022.
Response to NRC Request for Additional ML23319A252.
Information for the EA, dated November 3,
2023.
Response to NRC Request for Additional ML23319A203.
Information Related to Nuclear Criticality
Safety, dated November 15, 2023.
Response to NRC Request for Additional ML23346A262.
Information for the SER, dated December 8,
2023.
NRC Form 374--Materials License SNM-928, ML110270373.
Amendment 21, dated February 14, 2011.
Email to State of Oklahoma Requesting ML24316A012.
Review of Draft EA, dated May 31, 2024.
State of Oklahoma Comments on Draft EA, ML24218A172.
dated August 2, 2024.
State of Oklahoma Letter to NRC--National ML24309A252.
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Permit Discharge Limits, dated October 11,
2024.
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Dated: December 13, 2024.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert Sun,
Chief, Environmental Project Management Branch 2, Division of
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-30215 Filed 12-18-24; 8:45 am]
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