[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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