13138 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

Notice of Environmental Assessment 

and Finding of No Significant Impact 

for Exemption, in Accordance With 10 

CFR 30.11, From NRC Licensing 

Requirements That May Otherwise Be 

Applicable With Respect to the Receipt 

and Disposal of Cesium Contaminated 

Emission Control Dust Located at the 

LeTourneau, Inc. Steel Mill in 

Longview, Texas at the U.S. Ecology 

Idaho Disposal Facility 

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Environmental Assessment and 

Finding of no significant impact for 

exemption from NRC regulations 

pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Shaffner, Project Manager, LowLevel Waste Branch, Environmental 

Protection and Performance Assessment 

Directorate, Division of Waste 

Management and Environmental 

Protection, FSME, U.S. NRC; telephone: 

(301) 415–5496; fax number: (301) 415–

5397; or by e-mail at jas11@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is considering, 

pursuant to 10 CFR 30.11, the issuance 

of an exemption from NRC licensing 

requirements that would otherwise be 

associated with U.S. Ecology Idaho’s 

(USEI) receipt and disposal of emission 

control dust contaminated with minor 

concentrations of Cesium 137 resulting 

from the accidental melting of a Cesium 

sealed source. The contaminated 

material is the property of LeTourneau 

Inc., the owner of a steel mill near 

Longview, TX. A Texas licensee, EarthTech, is managing the material on behalf 

of LeTourneau consistent with EarthTech’s Texas Radioactive Materials 

License (LO5449). None of the parties 

involved in the proposed action are 

NRC licensees. 

Issuance of the proposed exemption, 

in conjunction with an action by the 

State of Texas to approve the removal of 

the wastes from the LeTourneau site, 

will allow for transfer of the material, by 

rail car, to USEI’s Resource 

Conservation and Recovery (RCRA) 

Subtitle C facility near Grand View, 

Idaho for processing (stabilization) and 

disposal. Material would be processed 

and disposed of in accordance with the 

requirements of USEI’s RCRA permit. 

Pursuant to the proposed exemption, 

the material, upon its receipt at USEI’s 

disposal facility, would not be subject to 

NRC licensing and would not be subject 

to NRC regulation. 

II. Environmental Assessment 

Identification of Proposed Action 

10 CFR 30.11 provides that ‘‘* * * 

the Commission may, upon application 

of any interested person or upon its own 

initiative, grant such exemptions from 

the requirements of the regulations in 

this part * * * as it determines are 

authorized by law and will not endanger 

life or property or the common defense 

and security and are otherwise in the 

public interest.’’ The proposed action 

would exempt USEI from NRC licensing 

requirements contained in 10 CFR Part 

30 that would otherwise be associated 

with the receipt, processing, and 

disposal of material contaminated with 

small concentrations (less than 25 

picocuries per gram) of Cesium 137, a 

radioactive byproduct material. This 

action is in conjunction with a 

concurrent action by the Texas 

Department of State Health Services 

(DSHS) to approve the transfer of the 

material (per Title 25, Texas 

Administrative Code § 289.252(cc)(2)(E)) 

from the LeTourneau site 

notwithstanding the provisions of Title 

25, Texas Administrative Code 

§ 289.202(ff)(20)(A) related to the 

stabilization of these materials. It would 

allow the transfer of approximately 250 

tons of emissions control dust (K061) 

from the LeTourneau facility in 

Longview, Texas to the USEI facility 

near Grand View, Idaho. Pursuant to the 

proposed exemption, the material, upon 

its receipt at USEI’s disposal facility, 

would not be subject to NRC licensing 

and would not be subject to NRC 

regulation. USEI would then process 

(stabilize) the material for disposal at its 

facility consistent with the requirements 

of its RCRA Subtitle C permit. 

Need for the Proposed Action 

This exemption is necessary to allow 

the timely disposal of 250 tons of K061 

material that is slightly contaminated 

(less than 25 picocuries per gram) with 

Cs 137 at the USEI disposal facility near 

Grand View, Idaho, which is permitted 

under RCRA, Subtitle C. NRC is 

fulfilling its responsibilities under the 

Atomic Energy Act to make a timely 

decision on the proposed exemption 

that ensures protection of public health 

and safety and the environment. 

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed 

Action 

In its October 27, 2006 letter and 

technical report, LeTourneau included a 

description of disposal site 

characteristics, a description of the 

waste, and radiological assessments of 

potential dose to transport workers, 

USEI site workers and future occupants 

of the disposal site after site closure. 

The NRC staff has reviewed the 

evaluations performed by LeTourneau, 

as well as related Texas DSHS 

correspondence (dated November 14, 

2006, and February 1, 2007) in order to 

determine whether the criteria for 

granting the exemption are met. Staff 

has found that the potential doses to 

members of the public, either through 

proximity to material in transport, as a 

worker at the USEI facility, or as a 

current or future resident around the 

USEI facility, are less than ‘‘a few 

mrem’’ and consistent with NRC’s 

policy which would be applicable to 

NRC licensees regarding 10 CFR 20.2002 

approvals. Staff also considered the risk 

associated with possible transportation 

accidents associated with the waste 

material in a readily dispersable form. 

Staff concludes that risk will be 

insignificant because of: (1) Low doses 

associated with low concentrations; and 

(2) the low accident rate associated with 

rail transport. Further, the staff has 

determined that the affected 

environment and environmental 

impacts associated with the proposed 

action will not significantly increase the 

probability or consequences of 

accidents. 

USEI has received for processing and 

disposal similar material in the past. No 

changes are being made in the types of 

effluents that may be released off of the 

USEI site, nor is there significant 

potential for increase in public radiation 

exposure (for this evaluation USEI 

workers are considered members of the 

public). Based on its review, the NRC 

staff considered the impact of residual 

radioactivity at the disposal facility. The 

NRC has identified no other radiological 

or non-radiological activities in the area 

that could result in cumulative impacts, 

and concludes that the proposed action 

will not have a significant effect on the 

quality of the environment. 

Environmental Impacts of the 

Alternatives to the Proposed Action 

Due to the small amounts of 

radioactive material involved, the 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

action are small. Therefore, the only 

alternative that the staff considered is 

the no-action alternative, under which 

the NRC would maintain status quo by 

refusing to grant this exemption. This 

would require either leaving the 

material in place near Longview or 

sending it to an alternative facility that 

is permitted to receive it. In the case of 

the former, projected radiological 

impacts on members of the public are 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 13139 

projected to be greater than those 

associated with the proposed action. In 

the case of the latter, radiological 

impacts and transportation risks would 

be similar to those associated with the 

proposed action with higher 

implementation costs. 

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 and the Texas Department of 

State Health Services for review on 

February 5, 2007. Minor comments 

received from both agencies via e-mail 

have been incorporated herein or 

otherwise resolved. 

The NRC staff has determined that the 

transportation of the subject material 

over preexisting rail transportation 

routes for disposal at a preexisting 

facility is not likely to jeopardize the 

continued existence of any endangered 

species or threatened species or result in 

the destruction or adverse modification 

of the habitat of such species. Therefore, 

no further consideration 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 resulting 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 are 

available electronically in the NRC’s 

Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, 

you can access NRC’s Agencywide 

Document Access and Management 

System (ADAMS), which provides text 

and image files of NRC’s public 

documents. The documents associated 

with this action are: 

(1) Letter dated October 27, 2006, 

from LeTourneau to Texas DSHS and 

NRC requesting exemptions to allow 

transfer of material to USEI for 

processing and disposal. 

(ML063260540), 

(2) Letter dated November 14, 2006, 

from E. Bailey, Texas DSHS to W. Maier, 

NRC Region IV requesting NRC 

determination whether or not wastes 

may be disposed of at USEI facility and 

a condition for DSHS approval of waste 

removal. (ML070540192), 

(3) Letter dated February 1, 2007, 

from E. Bailey, Texas DSHS to W. Maier, 

NRC Region IV clarifying terms of 

approval for waste removal. 

(ML070540194), 

(4) Technical Review and Safety 

Evaluation Report of LeTourneau 

proposal by NRC staff dated February 

22, 2007 (ML070530623), 

(5) Title 10, Code of Federal 

Regulations, part 30, ‘‘Rules of General 

Applicability to Domestic Licensing of 

Byproduct Material.’’

If you do not have access to ADAMS, 

or if there are problems accessing 

documents located in ADAMS, contact 

the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) 

Reference Staff at 1–800–397–4209, 

301–415–4737 or e-mail pdr@nrc.gov. 

These documents may also be viewed 

electronically on the public computers 

located at the NRC’s PDR, O–1F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR 

reproduction contractor will copy 

documents for a fee. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th 

Day of March, 2007. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Scott Flanders, 

Deputy Director, Environmental Protection 

and Performance Assessment Directorate, 

Division of Waste Management and 

Environmental Protection, Office of Federal 

and State Materials and Environmental 

Management. 

[FR Doc. E7–5034 Filed 3–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 50–400] 

Notice of Opportunity for Hearing, and 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Conduct the Scoping Process for 

Facility Operating License No. NPF–63 

for an Additional 20-Year Period 

Carolina Power & Light Company 

Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, 

Unit 1 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC or the Commission) 

is considering an application for the 

renewal of operating license NPF–63, 

which authorizes the Carolina Power & 

Light Company (CP&L), doing business 

as Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc., to 

operate the Shearon Harris Nuclear 

Power Plant, (HNP), Unit 1, at 2900 

megawatts thermal. The renewed 

license would authorize the applicant to 

operate the HNP, Unit 1, for an 

additional 20 years beyond the period 

specified in the current license. HNP, 

Unit 1, is located in Wake County, 

North Carolina, and its current 

operating license expires on October 24, 

2026. 

On November 16, 2006, the 

Commission’s staff received an 

application from CP&L to renew 

operating license NPF–63 for HNP, Unit 

1, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations, Part 54 (10 CFR 

Part 54). A notice of receipt and 

availability of the license renewal 

application (LRA) was published in the 

Federal Register on December 11, 2006 

(71 FR 71586). A notice of acceptance 

for docketing of the application for 

renewal of the facility operating license 

was published in the Federal Register 

on January 12, 2007, (72 FR 1562). 

The license renewal process proceeds 

along two tracks, one for review of 

safety issues (10 CFR Part 54) and 

another for environmental issues (10 

CFR Part 51). An applicant must 

provide the NRC an evaluation that 

addresses the technical aspects of plant 

aging and describes the aging 

management programs and activities 

that will be relied on to manage aging. 

In addition, to support plant operation 

for the additional 20 years, the licensee 

must prepare an evaluation of the 

potential impact on the environment. 

The NRC reviews the application, 

documents its reviews in a safety 

evaluation report and supplemental 

environmental impact statement, and 

performs verification inspections at the 

applicant’s facilities. If the NRC 

approves a renewed license, the licensee 

must continue to comply with all 

existing regulations and commitments 

associated with the current operating 

license as well as those additional 

activities required as a result of license 

renewal. The licensee’s activities 

continue to be subject to NRC oversight 

in the period of extended operation. 

Before issuance of the requested 

renewed license, the NRC will have 

made the findings required by the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 

(the Act), and the Commission’s rules 

and regulations. In accordance with 10 

CFR 54.29, the NRC may issue a 

renewed license on the basis of its 

review if it finds that actions have been 


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