[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 19, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44154-44156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21900]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Texas License L03835]
ProTechnics International, Inc.--Houston, Texas: Field Flood
Tracer Study; Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of
Opportunity for a Hearing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering authorizing
ProTechnics International, Inc. (ProTechnics) to conduct a field flood
tracer study in an oil reservoir located at the NE Perry Unit, Noble
County, Oklahoma near Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Environmental Assessment
Identification of the Proposed Action
The proposed action is authorizing ProTechnics to conduct a field
flood tracer study using cobalt-60 and hydrogen-3 in an oil reservoir
located at the NE Perry Unit, Noble County, Oklahoma, near the town of
Stillwater, Oklahoma. ProTechnics, with offices in Houston, Texas, is
authorized by the
[[Page 44155]]
State of Texas, under Texas License L03835, to conduct field flood
tracer activities in oil and gas reservoirs at temporary jobsites
within that State. NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 150.20, ``Reciprocity--
Recognition of Agreement State Licenses,'' states, in part, ``. . . any
person holding a specific license from an Agreement State where the
licensee maintains an office for directing the licensed activity, . . .
is hereby granted a general license to conduct the same activity in
non-Agreement States . . . Provided, That the specific license does not
limit the activity authorized by [the] general license to specified
installations or locations.'' Because the Texas license authorizes
ProTechnics to use the requested radioisotopes in field flood tracer
studies at temporary jobsites, ProTechnics qualifies for the general
license. Paragraph (b) of 10 CFR Part 150.20 further states, ``In
addition, any person engaging in activities in non-Agreement States . .
. under the general license . . . shall, . . . before engaging in each
such activity, file . . . Form-241 (revised), `Report of Proposed
Activities in Non-Agreement States' . . .'' with NRC. ProTechnics met
this requirement with a submission dated April 18, 1997.
On January 13, 1997 (62 FR 1662), NRC published a final rule in the
Federal Register amending 10 CFR 150.20. The amendment, primarily
intended to clarify requirements concerning activities conducted at
areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction within Agreement States, also
revised 10 CFR 150.20(b) to make clear that licensees operating
pursuant to the rule must comply with all NRC regulations applicable to
materials licensees. 10 CFR Part 51 specifies the environmental
protection regulations applicable to NRC's licensing activities and
implements section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended. Section 51.21 provides that all licensing actions
require an environmental assessment except those identified in 10 CFR
51.20 as requiring an environmental impact statement or those
identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c) as categorical exclusions. The use of
radioactive tracers in field flood studies is not identified in either
section. Therefore, an environmental assessment must be prepared.
Paragraph 51.60(b)(1)(vi) requires that an applicant submit an
environmental report with any request for use of radioactive tracers in
field flood studies. ProTechnics submitted an environmental report in a
letter dated May 27, 1997.
The Need for the Proposed Action
The action is to determine if the licensee's request to perform
activities under the general license should be approved or denied.
Field flood tracer studies are conducted in conjunction with enhanced
recovery of oil and natural gas, commonly referred to as enhanced oil
recovery (EOR).
The oil from a producing well in a new reservoir initially flows
because of the pressure exerted by water and gas in the reservoir. As
oil production continues the reservoir pressure declines unless fluids
are injected into the reservoir to maintain the pressure. The average
recovery from primary production, with and without pressure
maintenance, is 20 to 30 percent of the original oil in place. Oil
production can be increased through a secondary recovery technique
called waterflooding, which is the injection of water through injection
wells to push the oil toward production wells. Further enhancements in
oil production may occur with the use of so-called tertiary recovery
methods in which steam, sulfactants (soaps), or other compounds or
gases are injected into the reservoir.
Radioactive tracers are used to define the movement of liquids or
gases injected into an oil and gas reservoir to enhance recovery and to
monitor reservoir performance. The water-soluble or gaseous tracer is
introduced into a reservoir with the injected fluid. Both radioactive
and nonradioactive tracers may be used. The tracer is placed in the
injection well, where it is diluted and swept into the reservoir by
injection liquid or gas. The diluted tracer is subsequently recovered
at production wells and is monitored by sampling the recovered fluids.
In evaluating reservoir performance, it is desirable to determine
the source of the injected fluid being collected at a production well.
It is frequently desirable, therefore, to employ several tracers, using
a different tracer in each of a number of injection wells.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
NRC published NUREG/CR-3467, ``Environmental Assessment of the Use
of Radionuclides as Tracers in the Enhanced Recovery of Oil and Gas''
in November 1983. This generic environmental assessment (EA) evaluated
the use of 16 different radioisotopes, used in certain activity ranges,
as interwell tracers in field flooding for EOR operations. A typical
operation using radioisotopes for interwell tracing was analyzed from
the standpoint of three stages of operation: aboveground, subsurface,
and recovery and disposal. Doses to workers who handle radioactive
tracers and to members of the public were estimated for normal and
accidental exposure scenarios. For the two isotopes ProTechnics
requested authorization to use, NUREG/CR-3467 analyzed the use of up to
300 millicuries of cobalt-60 and up to 30 curies of hydrogen-3. The
ProTechnics submittal only requests authorization to use up to 23
millicuries of cobalt-60 and 2 curies of hydrogen-3, well within the
bounds of the generic assessment. The NUREG estimated the national
radiological impact on the use of radioisotopes as interwell tracers in
EOR projects to be a collective dose equivalent of less than 16 man-
rem/yr. Accidental exposures were estimated to contribute little to the
total. The ProTechnics proposal, which only includes two radioisotopes
and only a small percentage of the total activity evaluated in the
NUREG for those two radioisotopes, will result in a lower collective
dose equivalent.
Alternatives
Denial of ProTechnics request is a possible alternative to the
proposed action. This would avoid any of the environmental impacts
associated with the use of radioactive tracers. However, the proposed
action is nevertheless reasonable because its environmental impacts are
so small and it will provide benefits such as assisting to meet U.S.
energy needs.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
Ms. Pam Dewoody of the State of Oklahoma, Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ), was contacted on July 22, 1997, to discuss
ProTechnics field flood tracer study reciprocity request and its
potential environmental impacts. In a letter dated August 6, 1997, Ms.
Dewoody indicated that the DEQ had no objections to the tracer study.
Conclusion
The NRC staff concludes that the environmental impacts associated
with ProTechnics proposed request to conduct a field flood tracer study
using cobalt-60 and hydrogen-3 in an oil reservoir located at the NE
Perry Unit, Noble County, Oklahoma, are expected to be insignificant.
Finding of No Significant Impact
The Commission previously prepared an EA related to the use of
certain quantities of radionuclides as tracers in field flood
operations for the enhanced recovery of oil and gas. On the basis of
the assessment, the Commission
[[Page 44156]]
concluded that environmental impacts that would be created by such
actions would not be significant and do not warrant the preparation of
an Environmental Impact Statement. Because ProTechnics' request is
within the bounds of that EA, it has been determined that a Finding of
No Significant Impact is appropriate.
The generic EA is made available as NUREG/CR-3467. Copies of NUREG/
CR-3467 may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20402-9328.
Copies are also available from the National Technical Information
Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. A copy and
ProTechnics' submittal are also available for inspection and copying
for a fee in the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW. (Lower
Level), Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Opportunity for a Hearing
Any person whose interest may be affected by the approval of this
action may file a request for a hearing. Any request for hearing must
be filed with the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, within 30 days of the publication of
this notice in the Federal Register; be served on the NRC staff
(Executive Director for Operations, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852), and on the licensee
(ProTechnics International, Inc., 1160 Dairy Ashford, Suite 444,
Houston, TX 77079); and must comply with the requirements for
requesting a hearing set forth in the Commission's regulations, 10 CFR
Part 2, Subpart L, ``Information Hearing Procedures for Adjudications
in Materials Licensing Proceedings.''
These requirements, which the request must address in detail, are:
1. The interest of the requestor in the proceeding;
2. How that interest may be affected by the results of the
proceeding (including the reasons why the requestor should be permitted
a hearing);
3. The requestor's areas of concern about the licensing activity
that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and
4. The circumstances establishing that the request for hearing is
timely--that is, filed within 30 days of the date of this notice.
In addressing how the requestor's interest may be affected by the
proceeding, the request should describe the nature of the requestor's
right under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to be made a
party to the proceeding; the nature and extent of the requestor's
property, financial, or other (i.e., health, safety) interest in the
proceeding; and the possible effect of any order that may be entered in
the proceeding upon the requestor's interest.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day of August 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Larry W. Camper,
Chief, Medical, Academic, and Commercial Use Safety Branch, Division of
Industrial and Medical Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 97-21900 Filed 8-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P