80 FR 72115 - Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 222 (November 18, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a scoping process to gather the information necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts for construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC (NWMI) radioisotope production facility. The NRC is seeking stakeholder input on this action and has scheduled a public meeting.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 222 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72115-72117]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29425]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-609; NRC-2013-0235]


Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Intent to conduct scoping process and prepare an environmental 
impact statement; public meeting and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a 
scoping process to gather the information necessary to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental 
impacts for construction, operation, and decommissioning of the 
proposed Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC (NWMI) radioisotope production 
facility. The NRC is seeking stakeholder input on this action and has 
scheduled a public meeting.

DATES: Submit comments by January 4, 2016. 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:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0235. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, 
Mail Stop: OWFN-12-H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001.
    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: Nancy Martinez, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-2719; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

    Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0235 when contacting the NRC 
about the availability of information regarding this document. You may 
access information related to this document, which the NRC possesses 
and is publicly available, by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0235.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then

[[Page 72116]]

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 
environmental report (ER) is available in ADAMS under Accession Nos. 
ML15086A265, ML15086A268, ML15086A269, ML15086A270, and ML15086A271, 
respectively.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

B. Submitting Comments

    Please include Docket ID NRC-2013-0235 in the subject line of your 
comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make 
your comment submission available to the public in this docket.
    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 posts all comment submissions at http://www.regulations.gov as well as entering 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 submissions into ADAMS.

II. Discussion

    On November 7, 2014, NWMI filed with the NRC, pursuant to Section 
103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and part 50 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), a portion (part one) of 
an application for a construction permit for a medical radioisotope 
production facility at the Discovery Ridge Research Park in Columbia, 
Missouri. By letter dated February 5, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15086A262), NWMI withdrew and resubmitted this portion of their 
construction permit application (ADAMS Accession No. ML15086A261) to 
include a discussion of connected actions in their ER in response to a 
letter from the NRC (ADAMS Accession No. ML14349A501). A separate 
notice of receipt and availability for part one of the application was 
published in the Federal Register on April 21, 2015 (80 FR 22227). A 
notice of acceptance for docketing for part one of the application was 
published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2015 (80 FR 32418).
    By letter dated July 20, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15210A182), 
NMWI submitted part two of the construction permit application which 
includes the Integrated Safety Analysis Summary and the remaining 
sections of the construction permit application as required by 10 CFR 
50.34(a). A separate notice of receipt and availability for part 2 of 
the application and a separate notice of acceptance for docketing of 
part 2 of the application will be published in the Federal Register.
    An exemption from certain requirements of 10 CFR 2.101(a)(5) was 
granted by the Commission on October 7, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML13238A333), in response to a letter from NWMI dated August 9, 2013 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML13227A295), allowing for NWMI to submit its 
construction permit application in two parts.

III. Request for Comments

    This notice informs the public of the NRC's intention to prepare an 
EIS related to the review of the construction permit application and to 
provide the public an opportunity to participate in the environmental 
scoping process, as defined in 10 CFR 51.29.
    The regulations in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National 
Environmental Policy Act,'' allows agencies to use their National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) process to fulfill the 
requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA). Therefore, pursuant to 36 CFR 800.8(c), the NRC intends to use 
its process and documentation for the preparation of the EIS on the 
proposed action to comply with Section 106 of the NHPA in lieu of the 
procedures set forth at 36 CFR 800.3 through 36 CFR 800.6.
    The NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare an 
EIS to evaluate the environmental impacts for construction, operation, 
and decommissioning of the proposed NWMI radioisotope production 
facility. The proposed construction will include space for 10 CFR part 
70 operational activities. Possible alternatives to the proposed action 
(construction and operation of the proposed NWMI facility) include no 
action, alternative sites, and alternative technologies to produce 
radioisotopes. This notice is being published in accordance with NEPA 
and the NRC's regulations found at 10 CFR part 51.
    The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the EIS and, as 
soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft EIS for public 
comment. Participation in the scoping process by members of the public 
and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is 
encouraged. The scoping process for the EIS will be used to accomplish 
the following:
    a. Define the proposed action, which is to be the subject of the 
EIS;
    b. Determine the scope of the EIS and identify the significant 
issues to be analyzed in depth;
    c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are 
peripheral or that are not significant;
    d. Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are 
being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of, the 
scope of the EIS being considered;
    e. Identify other environmental review and consultation 
requirements related to the proposed action;
    f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation 
of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning 
and decision-making schedule;
    g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate 
assignments for preparation, and schedules for completing the EIS to 
the NRC and any cooperating agencies; and
    h. Describe how the EIS will be prepared and include any contractor 
assistance to be used. The NRC invites the following entities to 
participate in scoping:
    a. The applicant, NWMI;
    b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved or that is 
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
    c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those 
authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards;
    d. Any affected Indian tribe;
    e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to 
participate in the scoping process; and
    f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave 
to intervene.

IV. Public Meeting

    In accordance with 10 CFR 51.26, the scoping process for an EIS may 
include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant issues 
related to a proposed activity and to determine the

[[Page 72117]]

scope of issues to be addressed in an EIS. The NRC has decided to hold 
a public meeting for the NWMI environmental review on December 8, 2015. 
The meeting will begin with an open house from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m., 
followed by an NRC presentation and opportunity to hear public comments 
from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., as necessary. The public meeting will be at 
the Holiday Inn Columbia-East, 915 Port Way, Columbia, MO 65201.
    The meeting will be transcribed and will include: (1) An overview 
by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed 
scope of the EIS, and the proposed review schedule; and (2) the 
opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, and 
individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the environmental 
issues or the proposed scope of the EIS. Additionally, the NRC staff 
will host informal discussions during the open house one hour prior to 
the start of each session at the same location. No formal comments on 
the proposed scope of the EIS will be accepted during the informal 
discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the 
transcribed public meeting or in writing, as discussed in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice.
    Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the 
meeting on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting the NRC 
Environmental Project Manager, Nancy Martinez, by telephone at 800-368-
5642, ext. 2719, or by email at [email protected], no later than 
December 1, 2015. Members of the public may also register to speak at 
the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of the meeting. Individual 
oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the 
number of persons who register. Members of the public who have not 
registered may also have an opportunity to speak if time permits. 
Public comments will be considered in the scoping process for the EIS. 
Please contact Nancy Martinez no later than December 1, 2015, if 
accommodations or special equipment are needed to attend or present 
information at the public meeting so that the NRC staff can determine 
whether the request can be accommodated.
    Participation in the scoping process for the EIS does not entitle 
participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the EIS 
relates. Matters related to participation in any hearing are outside 
the scope of matters to be discussed at this public meeting. The notice 
of acceptance for docketing of the application and a description of the 
hearing process will be published separately in the Federal Register.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of November, 2015. 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David J. Wrona,
 Chief, Environmental Review and Guidance Update Branch, Division of 
License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2015-29425 Filed 11-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P