[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 143 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40139-40140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19972]



[[Page 40139]]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 070-3073]


Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Amendment of 
Materials License No. SNM-1999, Kerr-McGee Corporation, Cushing 
Refinery Site, Cushing, Oklahoma.

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    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (hereafter referred to as 
NRC) is considering issuing a license amendment to Materials License 
No. SNM-1999, held by the Kerr-McGee Corporation (Kerr-McGee or the 
licensee), to authorize remediation of Acid Sludge Pit 4 located on its 
Cushing refinery site (Cushing site located in Cushing, Oklahoma), and 
authorize placement of radioactive contaminated material into the 
radioactive material storage area (RMSA).

Summary of Environmental Assessment

Background

    Kerr-McGee has environmental responsibility for a former refinery 
site near the city of Cushing, Oklahoma. The refinery opened around 
1912 and was purchased by Kerr-McGee in 1956. During the early 1960s, 
in addition to petroleum processing, Kerr-McGee processed uranium fuel 
and thorium metal in several buildings onsite under licenses issued by 
the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The uranium fuel and thorium 
processing area was decommissioned, the property and facilities were 
released for unrestricted use, and the license was terminated by the 
AEC. Kerr-McGee continued to operate the refinery until 1972, at which 
time it was torn down. In May 1990 Kerr-McGee entered into a Consent 
Order with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (now referred to as 
the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; ODEQ), addressing the 
investigation and remediation of the Cushing refinery site. The ODEQ 
Consent Order divided the site work into radiological and non-
radiological remediation efforts. The non-radiological remediation is 
being performed in a manner similar to the Federal Superfund Remedial 
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) process. On April 6, 1993, NRC 
issued Materials License SNM-1999 to Kerr-McGee Corporation, for the 
radiological decommissioning of its Cushing site. This license 
authorized the licensee to possess radioactive contaminated soil, 
sludge, sediment, trash, building rubble, and any other radioactively 
contaminated material, at its Cushing site.

Proposed Action

    One of the refinery acid sludge pits being remediated under the 
ODEQ Consent Order contains thorium contamination in one corner of the 
pit. This affected pit is designated as Acid Sludge Pit 4. The licensee 
proposed to remediate Acid Sludge Pit 4 based on the experience gained 
from remediating non-radiologically contaminated acid sludge pits. The 
licensee would establish a 50-by-50-foot grid system over the surface 
of Acid Sludge Pit 4, referenced to the site-wide grid system. A layer 
of reagent (agricultural lime) would be placed over each grid block. 
The acidic sludge in each block would be neutralized to a pH of 
approximately five to six by adding and mixing in the reagent to depth. 
The mixing process should produce a relatively homogeneous material. 
The licensee plans to surface-scan this material in 18-inch lifts, to 
determine if material exceeds NRC's Branch Technical Position (BTP) (46 
Federal Register 52061) Disposal Option 1 for thorium concentrations. 
Material that exceeds this Option 1 limit would be transported to the 
RMSA. Once this material is in the RMSA the licensee plans to package 
and transport this material to a licensed offsite disposal facility, 
the Envirocare Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site in Clive, 
Utah, for disposal. Material that meets the Option 1 limit would be 
excavated, stabilized by blending in cement kiln dust or similar 
reagent, and transported to the onsite Other Industrial Waste (OIW) 
disposal cell. The licensee plans to perform a final survey of the 
material, once it is placed in the OIW disposal cell, to confirm that 
the material meets NRC's release criteria, Option 1 limit.
    There are five acid sludge pits located on the Cushing site. These 
acid sludge pits contain acidic hydrocarbon sludge from an earlier 
lubricating oil manufacturing operation. The waste is primarily heavy 
hydrocarbon containing sulfuric acid (typically 15 to 20 percent). The 
northwest corner of Acid Sludge Pit 4 also contains thorium-
contaminated material in concentrations that exceed current remediation 
criteria and pose a long-term risk to the environment. The other acid 
sludge pits do not contain radiologically contaminated material. Phase 
One of the non-radiological effort is remediation of the five acid 
sludge pits. The RI/FS process was completed and reviewed by the ODEQ 
and local citizens. The ODEQ issued a record of decision for the acidic 
sludge pits requiring neutralization, excavation, and placement in an 
onsite engineered disposal cell.
    License Condition 11.B.1 authorized construction of the RMSA but 
prohibited use of the RMSA until the licensee demonstrated that liquid 
effluent releases would be in compliance with the requirements of 10 
CFR Part 20. The licensee requested License Condition 11.B.1 be amended 
to allow radioactive contaminated material to be placed into the RMSA. 
The licensee also provided its proposed RMSA liquid effluent monitoring 
program.
    In addition to the RMSA the licensee plans to construct an Acid 
Sludge Pit 4 storm water retention pond (retention pond). The purpose 
of the retention pond is to collect surface water runoff caused by 
rainstorm events that may occur during the several week period while 
the licensee will be performing Acid Sludge Pit 4 remediation 
activities in zones 1 and 2 (known contaminated or possibly 
contaminated areas, respectively). Therefore, surface water runoff that 
may contain radiologically contaminated material from a rainstorm event 
would be collected and monitored prior to release from this area. The 
licensee plans to use the same liquid effluent monitoring procedures 
prior to release of liquid from the retention pond as it plans to use 
for monitoring RMSA liquid effluent releases. Finally, both the RMSA 
and the retention pond use a common discharge point in Skull Creek.

The Need for Proposed Action

    This proposed action is necessary to remove radiologically-
contaminated material from Acid Sludge Pit 4. This action will 
facilitate compliance with the Consent Order, and remediation of Acid 
Sludge Pit 4 for release for unrestricted use, a necessary action for 
termination of Materials License SNM-1999.

Alternative to Proposed Action

    An alternative to the proposed action is a no-action alternative. 
No action would mean that Acid Sludge Pit 4 would not be remediated 
now. This would prevent the licensee from complying with the ODEQ 
Consent Order. Also, this conflicts with NRC's requirement, in 10 CFR 
40.42, of timely remediation at sites that have ceased operation. 
Although there is no immediate threat to the public health and safety 
from this site, not undertaking remediation at this time does not solve 
the regulatory and potential long-term health and safety problems 
associated with storing this

[[Page 40140]]

waste. No action now would delay remediation until some time in the 
future, when costs could be much higher than they are today. It is even 
possible that no disposal option will be available in the future if the 
current low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities are closed and 
no new ones are opened. Therefore, the no-action alternative is not 
acceptable.

Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action

    The 10 CFR Part 20 liquid effluent release limits are based on a 
total effective dose equivalent of 50 mrem if the radionuclide were 
ingested continuously over the course of a year. The licensee has 
committed to maintain annual cumulative averaging less than 20 percent 
of the effluent limits stipulated in Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 20. The 
Cushing license SNM-1999 will be conditioned to reflect this 
commitment. The licensee's analysis indicates that the actual releases 
will likely be less than one percent of the effluent limits. If the 
licensee did release liquid effluents at one percent of the 10 CFR Part 
20 release limits and if a member of the public were able to directly 
consume this contaminated liquid effluent, that member of the public 
would receive a total effective dose of less than 0.5 mrem/year. 
Further, if the licensee released liquid effluents at 20 percent of the 
10 CFR Part 20 release limits and if a member of the public were able 
to directly consume this contaminated liquid effluent, that member of 
the public would receive a total effective dose of less than 10 mrem/
year. Therefore, effluent releases from the RMSA will be limited to an 
annual average of not more than 20 percent of the 10 CFR Part 20 limit 
and, in accordance with ALARA, any discharge above 20 percent of the 
limit will be investigated and corrective measures will be taken and 
documented. This condition will ensure that the maximum potential dose 
to a member of the public is less than 10 mrem/year. Therefore, the 
impact on the human environment due to the release of potentially 
radioactive contaminated liquid effluent from either the RMSA or the 
retention pond is insignificant.
    Further, the low-level waste disposal facility, Envirocare, 
eligible to receive this waste, is regulated under State of Utah rules 
for land disposal of radioactive wastes, which provide for long-term 
institutional control and minimize the potential for human intrusion 
and other environmental impacts. Therefore, NRC staff believes that 
disposing of the Acid Sludge Pit 4 radiologically contaminated wastes 
at the Envirocare facility will not cause any significant impacts on 
the human environment and is acceptable. The conditions and 
restrictions placed on the Envirocare facility, combined with the 
facility design provisions and its location, provide an acceptable 
level of protection of human health and safety and the environment.

Conclusions

    Based on NRC staff's evaluation of the licensee's Acid Sludge Pit 4 
remediation plan and placement of radioactive contaminated material 
into the RMSA, NRC staff has determined that the proposed plan and use 
of the RMSA complies with NRC's public and occupational dose and 
effluent limits, and that authorizing the proposed activities by 
license amendment would not be a major Federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of the human environment. NRC staff concludes 
that a finding of no significant impact is justified and appropriate, 
and that an environmental impact statement is not required. In 
accordance with the requirements of Subpart L of 10 CFR Part 2, an 
Opportunity for a Hearing was offered.<SUP>1</SUP>
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    \1\ 60 Federal Register 46318 (September 6, 1995).
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Finding of No Significant Impact

    Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 51, NRC has prepared an environmental 
assessment related to the issuance of a license amendment to Materials 
License SNM-1999, authorizing remediation of Acid Sludge Pit 4 and 
placement of radioactive contaminated material into the RMSA. On the 
basis of this environmental assessment, NRC has concluded that this 
licensing action would not have any significant effect on the quality 
of the human environment and does not warrant the preparation of an 
environmental impact statement. Accordingly, it has been determined 
that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.

Further Information

    For further details with respect to this action, the Environmental 
Assessment and other documents related to this proposed action are 
available for public inspection and copying at NRC's Public Document 
Room at the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of July 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence G. Bell,
Acting Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, 
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 98-19972 Filed 7-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P