[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 144 (Friday, July 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48919-48920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15978]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 50-228; NRC-2023-0125]
Aerotest Operations, Inc.; Aerotest Radiography and Research
Reactor
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of decommissioning plan; opportunity to provide
comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received a
decommissioning plan from Aerotest Operations, Inc. for the Aerotest
Radiography and Research Reactor, located in Contra Costa County,
California. The license authorizes the possession only of the reactor
and fuel, but not use or operation of the permanently shutdown
facility. Aerotest Operations, Inc. is requesting NRC review and
approval of a proposed decommissioning plan. If approved, the NRC would
amend the Aerotest Radiography and Research Reactor license to
reference the NRC approved decommissioning plan. Additionally, the NRC
would add a license condition requiring the licensee to submit more
detailed information on remaining dismantlement and remediation
activities, as well as the final status survey plan, for NRC review and
approval prior to conducting final status surveys for license
termination.
DATES: Submit comments by August 28, 2023. Comments received after this
date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before
this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods;
however, the NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website:
Federal rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0125. 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.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Parrott, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6634; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2023-0125 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2023-0125.
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 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.
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.
B. Submitting Comments
The NRC encourages electronic comment submission through the
Federal rulemaking website (https://www.regulations.gov). Please
include Docket ID NRC-2023-0125 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
II. Introduction
The NRC has received, by letter dated July 20, 2021 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML21230A304), as supplemented by letter dated January 20,
2022 (ADAMS Accession No. ML22025A200), a request to review and approve
the proposed decommissioning plan submitted by Aerotest Operations,
Inc. for the Aerotest Radiography and Research Reactor, located in
Contra Costa County, California. NRC License No. R-98 authorizes the
possession only of the reactor and fuel, but not use or operation of
the permanently shutdown facility. If approved, the NRC would amend the
Aerotest Radiography and Research Reactor license to reference the NRC
approved decommissioning plan and add a license condition. The license
condition would require the licensee to submit more detailed
information about remaining dismantlement and remediation activities,
as well as the final status survey plan, for NRC review and approval
prior to conducting final status surveys for license termination.
Aerotest Operations, Inc. submitted its proposed decommissioning
plan pursuant to paragraph (b)(1) of section 50.82, ``Termination of
license,'' of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
which requires Aerotest Operations, Inc. to apply for license
termination within 2 years of permanently ceasing operations, and also
requires that each application for termination of a license be
accompanied or preceded by a proposed decommissioning plan. An NRC
administrative completeness review found the application acceptable to
[[Page 48920]]
begin a technical review (ADAMS Accession No. ML22098A092).
If the NRC approves the decommissioning plan, the NRC will amend
NRC License No. R-98. However, prior to doing so, the NRC will need to
make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and the NRC's regulations. The NRC's findings will be
documented in a safety evaluation report. The proposed action appears
to qualify for a categorical exclusion under 10 CFR 51.22; therefore a
separate environmental assessment will not be prepared in relation to
this action.
III. Notice and Solicitation of Comments
In accordance with section 10 CFR 20.1405, the Commission is
providing notice and soliciting comments from local and State
governments in the vicinity of the site and any Federally recognized
Indian tribe that could be affected by the decommissioning activities
for the Aerotest Radiography and Research Reactor. This notice and
solicitation of comments is published pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1405, which
provides for publication in the Federal Register and in a forum, such
as local newspapers, letters to State or local organizations, or other
appropriate forum, that is readily accessible to individuals in the
vicinity of the site. Comments should be provided within 30 days of the
date of this notice.
Further, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.82(b)(5), notice is also
provided to interested persons of the Commission's intent to approve
the decommissioning plan by amendment, subject to such conditions and
limitations as it deems appropriate and necessary, if the plan
demonstrates that decommissioning of the Aerotest Radiography and
Research Reactor will be performed in accordance with the applicable
NRC regulations, and will not be inimical to the common defense and
security or to the health and safety of the public.
Dated: July 24, 2023.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Shaun M. Anderson,
Chief, Reactor Decommissioning Branch, Division of Decommissioning,
Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-15978 Filed 7-27-23; 8:45 am]
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