Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 30, 2000 / Notices 34507

(the Unit 3 license) to Duke Energy

Corporation (the licensee). The Unit 1

license authorizes operation of the

Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 1 by the

licensee at reactor core power levels not

in excess of 2568 megawatts thermal in

accordance with the provisions of the

Unit 1 license and its Technical

Specifications (Appendix A). The Unit 2

license authorizes operation of the

Oconee Nuclear Station, Unit 2 by the

licensee at rector core power levels not

in excess of 2568 megawatts thermal in

accordance with the provisions of the

Unit 2 license at its Technical

Specifications. The Unit 3 license

authorizes operation of the Oconee

Nuclear Station, Unit 3 by the licensee

at reactor core power levels not in

excess of 2568 megawatts thermal in

accordance with the provisions of the

Unit 3 license and its Technical

Specifications.

Oconee Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2,

and 3, are pressurized water nuclear

reactors located in eastern Oconee

County about 8 miles northeast of

Seneca, South Carolina.

The application for the renewed

licenses complies with the standards

and requirements of the Atomic Energy

Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and

the Commission’s regulations. The

Commission has made appropriate

findings as required by the Act and the

Commission’s regulations in 10 CFR

Chapter I, which are set forth in each

license. Public notice of the proposed

action and opportunity for hearing

regarding the proposed issuance of these

renewed operating licenses was

published in the Federal Register on

August 11, 1998 (63 FR 42885).

For further details with respect to

these actions, see (1) The Duke Energy

Corporation Oconee Nuclear Station

Units 1, 2, and 3, Application for

Renewed Operating Licenses, dated July

6, 1998, as supplemented by letter dated

March 27, 2000, and by letters

contained in Appendix E of NUREG–

1723, ‘‘Safety Evaluation Report Related

to the License Renewal of Oconee

Nuclear Station, Units 1, 2, and 3,’’ (2)

Renewed Facility Operating License

Nos. DPR–38, DPR–47, and DPR–55,

with the appendix listed above; (3) the

Commission’s Safety Evaluation Reports

dated June 16, 1999, February 3, 2000,

and March 2000 (NUREG–1723); (4) the

licensee’s updated final safety analysis

report; and (5) the Commission’s Final

Environmental Impact Statement

(NUREG–1437, Supplement 2), dated

December 1996. These items are

available at the NRC’s Public Document

Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L

Street NW., Washington, DC 20555–

0001. In addition, documents that were

issued after November 1, 1999, (e.g.,

NUREG–1723, and NUREG–1437,

Supplement 2) can be viewed from the

NRC Public Electronic Reading Room at

http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/

index.html.

A copy of the Renewed Facility

Operating Licenses, Nos. DRP–38, DRP–

47, and DPR–55, may be obtained upon

request addressed to the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555–0001, Attention: Director,

Division of Licensing Project

Management. Copies of the Safety

Evaluation Report (NUREG–1723) and

the Final Environmental Impact

Statement (NUREG–137, Supplement 2)

may be purchased from the National

Technical Information Service,

Springfield, Virginia 22161–0002

(telephone number 1–800–553–6847,

<http://www.ntis.gov>), or the

Superintendent of Documents, U.S.

Government Printing Office, P.O. Box

37082, Washington, DC 20402–9328

(telephone number 202–512–1800,

<http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs>).

All orders should clearly identify the

NRC publication number and the

requestor’s Government Printing Office

deposit account, or VISA or Mastercard

number and expiration date.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day

of May, 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Joseph M. Sebrosky,

Prject Manager, License Renewal and

Standardization Branch, Division of

Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 00–13457 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040–08868]

Environmental Assessment and

Finding of No Significant Impact and

Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Environmental Assessment and

Finding of No Significant Impact and

Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing for

disposal pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission is considering the license

amendment request for disposal

pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002 of solid

residual material containing up to 25

picocuries of thorium-232 and progeny

per gram of filtercake from II–VI,

Incorporated, to an industrial landfill.

II–VI, Incorporated, is authorized to

perform activities with source material

pursuant to License STA–1455. The

licensee and the NRC performed dose

assessments of the disposal of this

material in this manner, and determined

that such disposal, with the restriction

that not more than two effective

containers per month be disposed of in

this manner, would result in doses of

less than 25 millirem per year.

Introduction

II–VI, Incorporated (II–VI), is a

specialty manufacturer whose products

include optical components for the laser

industry, some of which contain

thorium. They are authorized to perform

manufacturing activities with source

material pursuant to License STA–1455.

Filtration of liquid effluents to remove

metals prior to release to the sanitary

sewerage system results in collection of

small quantities of thorium in the solid

residual material (filtercake). The

licensee generates 10 or fewer

containers of filtercake each year. Each

container holds approximately 23.9

cubic meters of material having a mass

of approximately 36,000 kilograms,

which is defined as an ‘‘effective

container’’ for the purpose of dose

assessment. The material typically

contains less than 25 picocuries of

thorium-232 and progeny per gram of

filtercake (25 pCi/g Th-232). The

licensee requested disposal of this

material pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002 to

an industrial landfill, and provided a

dose analysis to justify their proposed

limit of 25 pCi/g. The licensee and the

NRC performed dose assessments of the

disposal of this material in this manner,

and determined that such disposal

would result in doses of less than 25

millirem per year to members of the

public so long as not more than two

effective containers per month would be

disposed of in this manner.

Proposed Action

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission is considering the request

for disposal pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002

to an industrial landfill, of not more

than two effective containers per month

of solid residual material (filtercake)

containing up to 25 picocuries of

thorium-232 and progeny per gram of

filtercake from II–VI, Incorporated.

The Need for the Proposed Action

Filtration of liquid effluents is

required by other regulatory agencies to

remove metals from the liquid effluent

prior to release to a public sanitary

sewerage system, and small amounts of

thorium are retained in the filtercake.

The licensee needs this amendment to

the license in order to have a costeffective method of disposal of the

34508 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 30, 2000 / Notices

filtercake containing metals. Prior to

filtering of the liquid effluents, thorium

in this waste stream was released to a

public sanitary sewerage system in

accordance with 10 CFR 20.2003

regulatory limits. A restriction is

required, that not more than two

effective containers be disposed of each

month, in order to ensure that such

disposals do not exceed the criterion of

25 millirem per year (25 mrem/y) to a

member of the public.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

The staff considered results of

analyses using a generic model for

unrestricted release of the material. The

staff concluded that disposal pursuant

to 10 CFR 20.2002 of this material

without restrictions would meet the 25

mrem/y criterion only if the filtercake

did not exceed 4.1 pCi/g Th-232.

The staff considered results of

analyses to determine if site-specific

data, such as regional meteorological

and subsurface information, would be

likely to change the dose assessment

results significantly. The staff

concluded that annual doses would be

less than those resulting from

assessments using the generic model,

but the annual doses still would be in

excess of the 25 mrem/y criterion if the

filtercake contained up to 25 pCi/g Th232.

The staff considered results of

analyses using a model that assumed the

landfill would not be used for any

future activities, as could occur if deed

restrictions were in place that prevented

exhumation of the landfill. The staff

concluded that doses would meet the 25

mrem/y criterion but that such deed

restrictions are unlikely at this time.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

The activities that NRC staff will

authorize, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.2002,

through the issuance of an amendment

to License No. STA–1455 is expected to

have an insignificant impact on the

environment. The disposal of the

filtercake containing up to 25 pCi/g Th–

232, restricted so that no more than two

effective containers of filtercake are

disposed of per month to an industrial

landfill, would not exceed the criterion

of 25 mrem/y to a member of the public.

Conclusion

The environmental impacts from the

proposed action are insignificant.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The Commission has prepared an

Environmental Assessment related to

the proposed disposal pursuant to 10

CFR 20.2002 of filtercake containing up

to 25 pCi/g thorium-232 and progeny

from II–VI. On the basis of the

Environmental Assessment, the

Commission has concluded that this

licensing action would not significantly

affect the environment and does not

warrant the preparation of an

environmental impact statement.

Accordingly, it has determined that a

Finding of No Significant Impact is

appropriate.

The above documents related to this

proposed action are available for public

inspection and copying at the

Commission’s Public Document Room

at the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street

NW, Washington, DC.

Opportunity for a Hearing

The NRC hereby provides notice that

this is a proceeding on an application

for a license amendment falling within

the scope of Subpart L, Informal Hearing

Procedures for Adjudications in

Materials Licensing Proceedings, of

NRC’s rules and practice for domestic

licensing proceedings in 10 CFR Part 2.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.1205(a), any

person whose interest may be affected

by this proceeding may file a request for

a hearing in accordance with 10 CFR

2.1205(c). A request for a hearing must

be filed within thirty (30) days of the

date of publication of the Federal

Register Notice.

The request for a hearing must be

filed with the Office of the Secretary

either:

1. By delivery to the Docketing and

Service Branch of the Office of the

Secretary at One White Flint North,

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD

20852–2738; or

2. By mail or telegram addressed to

the Secretary, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

Attention: Docketing and Service

Branch.

In addition to meeting other

applicable requirements of 10 CFR Part

2 of the NRC’s regulations, a request for

a hearing filed by a person other than

the applicant must describe in detail:

1. The interest of the requestor in the

proceeding;

2. How that interest may be affected

by the results of the proceeding,

including the reasons why the requestor

should be permitted a hearing, with

particular reference to the factors set out

in 10 CFR 2.1205(g);

3. The requestor’s areas of concern

about the licensing activity that is the

subject matter of the proceeding; and

4. The circumstances establishing that

the request for a hearing is timely in

accordance with 10 CFR 2.1205(c).

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1205(e),

each request for a hearing must also be

served, by delivering it personally or by

mail, to:

1. The applicant, II–VI Incorporated,

375 Saxonburg Boulevard, Saxonburg,

PA 16056, Attention: Mr. John

Lebrecque, and

2. The NRC staff, by delivery to the

Executive Director for Operations, One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, MD, 20852, or by mail,

addressed to the Executive Director for

Operations, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

For further details with respect to this

action, the application for amendment

request is available for inspection at the

Commission’s Public Document Room,

2120 L Street NW, Washington, DC

20555.

Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this

16th day of May, 2000.

For The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

Francis M. Costello,

Deputy Director, Division of Nuclear Materials

Safety, Region 1.

[FR Doc. 00–13452 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Notice of a Public Meeting of the

Interagency Steering Committee on

Radiation Standards

AGENCIES: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission and U. S. Environmental

Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) will hold a meeting

of the Interagency Steering Committee

on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) on

June 13, 2000. The purpose of ISCORS

is to foster early resolution and

coordination of regulatory issues

associated with radiation standards.

Agencies represented on ISCORS

include the NRC; U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency; the U.S. Department

of Defense; U.S. Department of Energy;

U.S. Department of Labor’s,

Occupational Safety and Health

Administration; U.S. Department of

Transportation; and the U.S.

Department of Health and Human

Service. Representatives of the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB), the

Office of Science Technology Policy

(OSTP), and of the States are observers

at meetings.

The objectives of ISCORS include:

(1) Facilitating a consensus on

acceptable levels of radiation risk to the

public and workers;