83 FR 37530 - American Centrifuge Operating, LCC; Lead Cascade Facility

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 148 (August 1, 2018)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) regarding a request from American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO) for approval of its Decommissioning Plan. ACO is authorized to possess and use special nuclear material (SNM), source material, and byproduct material at its Lead Cascade Facility (LCF) in Piketon, Ohio under NRC License SNM-7003, issued in 2004. ACO's Decommissioning Plan contains its proposed Release Criteria and the Final Status Survey design.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37530-37532]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16404]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-7003; NRC-2018-0160]


American Centrifuge Operating, LCC; Lead Cascade Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impact 
(FONSI) regarding a request from American Centrifuge Operating, LLC 
(ACO) for approval of its Decommissioning Plan. ACO is authorized to 
possess and use special nuclear material (SNM), source material, and 
byproduct material at its Lead Cascade Facility (LCF) in Piketon, Ohio 
under NRC License SNM-7003, issued in 2004. ACO's Decommissioning Plan 
contains its proposed Release Criteria and the Final Status Survey 
design.

[[Page 37531]]


DATES: The EA referenced in this document is available on August 1, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0160 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 http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0160. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then 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.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0867, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    By letter dated January 5, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number 
ML18025B285), American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO or the licensee) 
requested NRC approval of ACO's Decommissioning Plan (DP). The DP 
contains ACO's proposed Release Criteria (RC) and Final Status Survey 
(FSS) design. The Lead Cascade Facility (LCF) is located at the 
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) site in Pike County, Ohio. 
The PORTS site is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the 
DOE leases portions of the PORTS site, including the LCF buildings, to 
the licensee. The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) (ADAMS Accession Number ML18204A294) as part of its review of this 
proposed action in accordance with the requirements in part 51 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions'' and associated staff guidance. The NRC has concluded that 
the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the quality 
of the human environment.

II. Summary of the Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to review and approve ACO's DP which 
provides the proposed RC and FSS design. The RC are regulatory limits 
identified in 10 CFR part 20.1402. The FSS is performed by the licensee 
to verify that residual contamination levels are less than these 
limits.

Need for the Proposed Action

    By letter dated March 2, 2016, the licensee notified the NRC of its 
decision to permanently cease LCF operations (ADAMS Accession Number 
ML16074A405). In preparation for decommissioning of the LCF, 
termination of license SNM-7003, and potential future release of the 
site and return to DOE as outlined in the lease agreement, ACO has 
performed clean-up and survey activities.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff evaluated the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action, and has performed its 
environmental review in accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 
51 and associated staff guidance. As detailed in the EA, the staff 
reviewed relevant information submitted by the licensee and consulted 
with the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Osage 
Nation, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the State 
of Ohio Department of Health (ODH).
    Survey activities for the FSS have occurred inside the LCF 
buildings, and no land disturbance activities were involved or are 
planned. Therefore, the NRC staff considers that there would be no 
impacts to the following resources areas: Land use, geology and soils, 
water resources, ecology, meteorology, climate, air quality, noise, 
transportation, waste management, visual and scenic resources, and 
socioeconomic resources.
    The NRC staff evaluated the radiological impacts to workers and the 
public. The staff found that the radiological doses to workers would be 
within the dose limits specified in 10 CFR 20.1201, ``Occupational dose 
limits to adults,'' and that radiological doses to the public would be 
indistinguishable when compared to background radiation.
    The NRC staff also evaluated the cumulative impacts by identifying 
past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions at DOE's 
Piketon, Ohio site, and the incremental impacts of ACO's proposed 
action. The staff determined that the proposed action would not 
significantly contribute to cumulative impacts. The staff also 
determined that the proposed action would not affect federally-listed 
endangered or threatened species or their critical habitats, if 
present.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action and requesting ACO to submit a revised DP 
(i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Under the no-action alternative, 
the LCF FSS and RC would not be approved and license termination would 
not be possible. The NRC considers the environmental impacts of this 
alternative to be similar to those of the proposed action. The no-
action alternative does not comply with the licensee's commitments made 
during licensing or the decommissioning requirements of 10 CFR 70.38 
and does not provide any environmental benefit. The NRC staff concludes 
that not approving the provided RC and FSS, which meet the regulatory 
requirements, is not a reasonable alternative to approving the proposed 
action.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    By letter dated June 12, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number ML18130A468), 
the staff consulted with the ODH regarding the environmental impact of 
the proposed action. By letter dated July 6, 2018, the ODH replied 
indicating that they had no comments on the draft EA (ADAMS Accession 
Number ML18130A468). The NRC staff also consulted with the Ohio SHPO by 
letter dated April 9, 2018 (ADAMS Accession Number. ML18078B230). The 
Ohio SHPO responded by letter dated May 16, 2018, stating that they 
could not concur with a finding of No Adverse Effect for the proposed 
action and recommended that NRC initiate and carry out consultation and 
contact the ACHP (ADAMS Accession Number ML18155A296). On June 11, 
2018, a

[[Page 37532]]

conference call was held between the Ohio SHPO, the ACHP, and the NRC 
to discuss the concerns expressed in the SHPO's May 16, 2018, letter. 
During the call the ACHP expressed its agreement with the NRC that the 
requested action falls under 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), No potential to cause 
effects, which states, ``If the undertaking is a type of activity that 
does not have the potential to cause effects on historic properties, 
assuming such properties were present, the agency official has no 
further obligations under Section 106 or this part''. The NRC sent a 
letter, dated July 16, 2018, to the Ohio SHPO summarizing the 
conference call and concluding Section 106 consultation (ADAMS 
Accession Number ML18171A218). By letter dated April 11, 2018, the NRC 
initiated Section 106 consultation under the National Historic 
Preservation Act with the Osage Nation. In their reply, the Osage 
Nation stated it concurred with the NRC determination that the proposed 
DP most likely would not adversely affect any sacred properties and/or 
properties of cultural significance to the Nation, and also stated, 
``[t]he Osage Nation has no further concern with this project'' (ADAMS 
Accession Number ML18158A263).

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    In accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC 
staff has concluded that the proposed action will not significantly 
affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the staff 
finds, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, that preparation of an environmental 
impact statement is not required for the proposed action, and that a 
finding of no significant impact is appropriate.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 26th day of July 2018.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental 
Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2018-16404 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P