[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69138-69140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28397]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-133; NRC-2010-0346]


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact 
Related to Exemption of Material for Proposed Disposal Procedures for 
the Humboldt Bay Power Plant, Unit No. 3, License DPR-007, Eureka, CA

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Hickman, Division of Waste 
Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State 
Materials and Environmental

[[Page 69139]]

Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop: 
T8F5, Washington, DC 20555-00001, telephone (301) 415-3017, e-mail 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3c565354521254555f57515d527c524e5f125b534a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b313433357533323830363a351b352938753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is considering a 
request dated April 1, 2010, as supplemented August 12, 2010, by 
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, the licensee) for alternate 
disposal of approximately 200,000 cubic feet of hazardous waste 
containing low-activity radioactive debris, at the US Ecology Idaho 
(USEI) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C 
hazardous disposal facility located near Grand View, Idaho. This 
request was made under the alternate disposal provision contained in 10 
CFR 20.2002 and the exemption provision in 10 CFR 30.11.
    This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been developed in accordance 
with the requirements of 10 CFR 51.21.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    On July 2, 1976, Humboldt Bay Power Plant (HBPP) Unit 3 was shut 
down for annual refueling and to conduct seismic modifications. In 
1983, updated economic analyses indicated that restarting Unit 3 would 
probably not be cost-effective, and in June 1983, Pacific Gas and 
Electric Company (PG&E) announced its intention to decommission the 
unit. On July 16, 1985, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
issued Amendment No. 19 to the HBPP Unit 3 Operating License to change 
the status to possess-but-not-operate. In December of 2008, the 
transfer of spent fuel from the fuel storage pool to the dry-cask 
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation was completed, and the 
decontamination and dismantlement phase of HBPP Unit 3 decommissioning 
commenced. In 2010 the construction of a new power generation facility 
on site will be completed and the licensee will begin dismantlement of 
the non-nuclear HBPP Units 1 and 2.
    PG&E requested NRC authorization for the disposal of waste from the 
HBPP at the US Ecology Idaho (USEI) facility in accordance with 10 CFR 
20.2002. This waste would be generated during the decommissioning of 
the non-nuclear Units 1 and 2 and the nuclear Unit 3. This waste 
consists of approximately 200,000 ft\3\ (5,663 m\3\) of concrete, 
steel, insulation, roofing material, and other debris from Units 1 and 
2 as well as concrete shielding, building materials, and soil debris 
from Unit 3.
    The waste would be transported by truck from HBPP in Eureka, CA to 
the USEI facility, Grand View, Idaho in the Owyhee Desert. The USEI 
facility is a Subtitle C Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 
hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the State of Idaho. The 
USEI site has both natural and engineered features that limit the 
transport of radioactive material. The natural features include the low 
precipitation rate [i.e., 18.4 cm/y (7.4 in. per year)] and the long 
vertical distance to groundwater (i.e., 61-meter (203-ft) thick on 
average unsaturated zone below the disposal zone). The engineered 
features include an engineered cover, liners and leachate monitoring 
systems. Because the USEI facility is not licensed by the NRC, this 
proposed action would require the NRC to exempt the low-contaminated 
material authorized for disposal from further AEA and NRC licensing 
requirements.

Need for Proposed Action

    The subject waste material consists of concrete, steel, insulation, 
roofing material, gravel and other metal, wood and soil debris 
generated during dismantlement activities located at the HBPP site, the 
majority being from the non-nuclear Units 1 and 2. This proposed 
alternate disposal would conserve low-level radioactive waste disposal 
capacity.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff has reviewed the evaluation performed by the Licensee 
to demonstrate compliance with the 10 CFR 20.2002 alternate disposal 
criteria. Under these criteria, a licensee may seek NRC authorization 
to dispose of licensed material using procedures not otherwise 
authorized by the NRC's regulations. A licensee's supporting analysis 
must show that the radiological doses arising from the proposed 10 CFR 
20.2002 disposal will be as low as reasonably achievable and within the 
10 CFR Part 20 dose limits.
    PG&E performed a radiological assessment in consultation with USEI. 
Based on this assessment, PG&E concludes that potential doses to 
members of the public, including workers involved in the transportation 
and placement of this waste, will be less than one millirem total 
effective dose equivalent (TEDE) in one calendar year for this project, 
and well within the ``few millirem'' criteria that the NRC has 
established.
    The staff evaluated activities and potential doses associated with 
transportation, waste handling and disposal as part of the review of 
this 10 CFR 20.2002 application. The projected doses to individual 
transportation and USEI workers have been appropriately estimated and 
are demonstrated to meet the NRC's alternate disposal requirement of 
contributing a dose of not more than ``a few millirem per year'' to any 
member of the public. Independent review of the post-closure and 
intruder scenarios confirmed that the maximum projected dose over a 
period of 1,000 years is also within ``a few millirem per year.'' 
Additionally, the proposed action will not significantly increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents and there is no significant 
increase in occupational or public radiation exposures.
    With regard to potential non-radiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites. The 
proposed action does not affect non-radiological plant effluents, air 
quality or noise.
    The proposed action and attendant exemption of the material from 
further AEA and NRC licensing requirements will not significantly 
increase the probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are 
being made in the types of any effluents that may be released off site, 
and there is no significant increase in occupational or public 
radiation exposure.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Due to the very small amounts of radioactive material involved, the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action are small. Therefore, the 
only alternative the staff considered is the no-action alternative, 
under which the staff would deny the disposal request. This denial of 
the request would result in no change in current environmental impacts. 
The environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action 
alternative are therefore similar and the no-action alternative is 
accordingly not further considered.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has concluded that the proposed action will not 
significantly impact the quality of the human environment, and that the 
proposed action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the State 
of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for review on October 6, 
2010. On October 18, 2010, the State replied

[[Page 69140]]

by e-mail. The State stated that they did not intend to respond.
    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is of a 
procedural nature, and will not affect listed species or critical 
habitat. Therefore, no further consultation is required under Section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act. The NRC staff has also determined that 
the proposed action is not the type of activity that has the potential 
to cause effects on historic properties. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed 
action. On the basis of this EA, the NRC finds that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed action, and that 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is not warranted. 
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact is appropriate.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application and 
supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 
From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and 
Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's 
public documents. The documents related to this action are listed 
below, along with their ADAMS accession numbers.
    (1) Letter dated April 1, 2010, ``Request for 10 CFR 20.2002 
Alternate Disposal Approval and 10 CFR 30.11 Exemption of Humboldt Bay 
Power Plant Waste for Disposal at US Ecology Idaho.'' [ADAMS Accession 
Number ML101170554]
    (2) E-Mail dated August 11, 2010, providing Radiological 
Characterization Report for Humboldt Bay Power Plant. [ML102300557]
    (3) Letter dated August 12, 2010, ``Revision to Request for 10 CFR 
20.2002 Alternate Disposal Approval and 10 CFR 30.11 Exemption of 
Humboldt Bay Power Plant Waste for Disposal at US Ecology Idaho.'' 
[ML102290019]
    (4) E-Mail dated September 18, 2010, providing MARSAME process for 
Humboldt Bay Power Plant. [ML102700555]
    (5) Letter dated January 21, 2010, providing supplemental 
information on USEI [ML100291004]
    (6) Letter dated March 31, 2010, providing supplemental information 
on USEI [ML100950386]
    If you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public 
Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f6f7b6d5f716d7c31787069"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="68180c1a28061a0b460f071e">[email protected]</span></a>. These documents may also be viewed 
electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 
F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. 
The PDR reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, November 2, 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2010-28397 Filed 11-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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