[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1710-1712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-457]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0024; DOCKET NO. 030-29462]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment to Materials License No. 
45-23645-01na, To Incorporate the Decommissioning Plan for the 
Hypervelocity Gun Facility at the Naval Research Laboratory in 
Chesapeake Beach, MD

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Issuance of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for License Amendment.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Orysia Masnyk Bailey, Health 
Physicist, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials 
Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 
19406; telephone (864) 427-1032; fax number (610) 680-3497; or by e-
mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4e013c373d272f60032f3d2037250c2f27222b370e203c2d60292138"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c734e454f555d12715d4f5245577e5d555059457c524e5f125b534a">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a license amendment to Materials License No. 45-23645-01NA. 
The license is held by the Department of the Navy (Navy). This is a 
Master Materials License and covers many sites around the country. The 
proposed action pertains to the Hypervelocity Gun Facility at the Naval 
Research Laboratory, located about 2 miles south of Chesapeake Beach, 
Maryland. By letter dated May 22, 2008, the Navy submitted for NRC 
approval a decommissioning plan regarding the Hypervelocity Gun 
Facility. Granting the amendment request would incorporate the 
decommissioning plan into the license authorizing decommissioning 
activities at the site and eventual unrestricted release of the 
Facility. The NRC has evaluated and approved the Navy's decommissioning 
plan. The findings of this evaluation are documented in a Safety 
Evaluation Report which will be issued along with the amendment. The 
NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment in support of this 
proposed action in accordance with the requirements of Title 10, Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 51 (10 CFR part 51). Based on the 
Environmental Assessment, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact is appropriate with respect to the proposed action. 
The amendment will be issued to the Navy following the publication of 
this Finding of No Significant Impact and Environmental Assessment in 
the Federal Register.

II. Environmental Assessment

Identification of Proposed Action

    The proposed action would approve the Navy's May 22, 2008, license 
amendment request to incorporate the decommissioning plan into the 
license, resulting in final decommissioning of the Facility and 
subsequent release of the Facility for unrestricted use. The 
Hypervelocity Gun Facility was used to test the impact of high velocity 
projectiles on depleted uranium targets. The testing was conducted from 
the early 1970s until the early 1990s. Testing was authorized under NRC 
License No. SMB-448, and subsequently, by Naval Radioactive Materials 
Permit No. 08-00173-E1NP. The Naval Radioactive Materials Permit No. 
08-00173-E1NP remains active under the Navy's Master Materials License. 
Depleted uranium was stored and used in the Building 218C target 
chamber and Building 227 vault, and these areas are included within the 
decommissioning plan's scope.
    The Hypervelocity Gun Facility is located at the Naval Research 
Laboratory on a 168 acre site. The Facility is located against a 
hillside, approximately 1,000 feet from the Chesapeake Bay. The city of 
Chesapeake Beach is approximately two miles to the north of the 
Facility, and North Beach is approximately six miles to the north of 
the Facility. The region surrounding the Naval Research Laboratory is 
sparsely populated.
    The Hypervelocity Gun Facility consists of a light gas gun, a blast 
tank at the gun muzzle, a shadowgraph tube with optics to measure the 
projectile velocity, an orthogonal room and the target chamber, and a 
spherical target chamber that is 12 feet in diameter. All components 
are steel except for aluminum in a quick closing valve and the 
shadowgraph tube. Part of the gas gun is enclosed by concrete walls and 
ceilings and buried in the hill. The entire blast tube is buried in the 
hillside with a small access to crawl into the tube. The optics room 
containing the shadowgraph tube and orthogonal room are surrounded by 
concrete walls and ceilings and partly buried in a hill. The target 
chamber is contained in a structure called the environmental room, and 
it is this part of the Facility that contains the areas of residual 
contamination from past operations.
    In the Hypervelocity Gun Facility, various metallic projectiles 
were fired against depleted uranium shapes and depleted uranium with 
explosives (targets) in a completely enclosed containment system. 
Depleted uranium targets were located in the spherical target chamber 
with target debris contained in the target chamber and flight tube. In 
a few tests, the quick closing valve did not function and allowed 
target debris from explosive tests to blow back through the flight tube 
into the orthogonal room, shadowgraph tube, and blast tank as far as 
the muzzle of the projectile launch tube. Depleted uranium remains 
embedded in some walls of the blast tank. It is possible that depleted 
uranium is lodged in inaccessible areas that were not affected by the 
routine cleaning and decontamination performed during testing. The 
decommissioning plan submitted by the Navy addresses the residual 
contamination in Buildings 218C and 227.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to approve the decommissioning plan so that 
the Navy may complete Facility decommissioning activities. Completion 
of the decommissioning activities will reduce residual radioactivity at 
the facility. NRC regulations require licensees to begin timely 
decommissioning of their sites, or any separate buildings that contain 
residual radioactivity, upon cessation of licensed activities, in 
accordance with 10 CFR Part 30.36(d). The proposed licensing action 
will support such a goal. NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under 
the Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on a proposed license 
amendment for decommissioning that ensures protection of the public 
health and safety.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The historical review of licensed activities conducted at the 
facility shows that such activities involved the test firing of various 
metallic projectiles against depleted uranium shapes and depleted 
uranium targets and the storage of contaminated targets and debris.
    The NRC staff has reviewed the Navy's amendment request for the 
facility and examined the impacts of granting this license amendment 
request. Potential impacts include water resource impact (e.g. water 
may be used for dust control), air quality impacts from dust emissions, 
temporary local traffic impacts resulting from

[[Page 1711]]

transporting debris, human health impacts, noise impacts from equipment 
operations, scenic quality impacts, and waste management impacts.
    Based on its review, the staff has determined that no surface or 
ground water impacts are expected from the decommissioning activities. 
Additionally, the staff has determined that significant air quality, 
noise, land use, and off-site radiation exposure impacts are also not 
expected. No significant air quality impacts are anticipated because of 
the contamination controls that will be implemented by the Navy during 
decommissioning activities. In addition, the environmental impacts 
associated with the decommissioning activities are bounded by impacts 
evaluated by NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in 
Support Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of 
NRC Licensed Nuclear Facilities.'' Generic impacts for this type of 
decommissioning process were previously evaluated and described in 
NUREG-1496, which concludes that the environmental consequences are 
small.
    The Navy estimates that approximately 78 cubic yards of solid 
radioactive waste will be generated during decommissioning activities. 
The risk to human health from the transportation of all radioactive 
material in the United States was evaluated in NUREG-0170, ``Final 
Environmental Statement on the Transportation of Radioactive Materials 
by Air and Other Modes.'' The principal radiological environmental 
impact during normal transportation is direct radiation exposure to 
nearby persons from radioactive material in the package. The average 
annual individual dose from all radioactive material transportation in 
the United States was calculated to be approximately 0.5 mrem, well 
below the 10 CFR part 20.1301 limit of 100 mrem for a member of the 
public.
    This proposed action will not significantly increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents, no changes are being made in 
the types of effluents that may be released off site, and there is no 
significant increase in occupational or pubic radiation exposure. Thus, 
waste management and transportation impacts from the decommissioning 
will not be significant.
    Occupational health was also considered in the ``Final 
Environmental Impact Statement of the Transportation of Radioactive 
Material by Air and Other Modes.'' Shipment of the 78 cubic yards of 
materials from the facility would not affect the assessment of 
environmental impacts or the conclusions in the ``Final Environmental 
Impact Statement of the Transportation of Radioactive Material by Air 
and Other Modes.''
    The staff also finds that the proposed license amendment will meet 
the radiological criteria for unrestricted release as specified in 10 
CFR part 20.1402. The Navy demonstrated this through the development of 
building surface derived concentration guideline limits for its 
Facility. The Navy conducted site specific dose modeling using 
parameters specific to the Facility that adequately bounded the 
potential dose. The release limits for soil at the Facility will be 
that published in the Federal Register on December 7, 1999 (Volume 64, 
Number 234, Pages 68395--68396).
    The Navy will maintain an appropriate level of radiation protection 
staff, procedures, and capabilities, and will implement an acceptable 
program to keep exposure to radioactive materials as low as reasonably 
achievable. Work activities are not anticipated to result in radiation 
exposures to the public in excess of 10 percent of the 10 CFR Part 
20.1301 limits.
    The NRC also evaluated whether cumulative environmental impacts 
could result from an incremental impact of the proposed action when 
added to other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future actions 
in the area. The proposed NRC approval of the license amendment 
request, when combined with known effects on resource areas at the 
Naval Research Laboratory site, including further site remediation, are 
not anticipated to result in any cumulative impacts at the site.

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Due to the largely administrative nature of the proposed action, 
its environmental impacts are small. Therefore, the only alternative 
the staff considered is the no-action alternative, under which the 
staff would leave things as they are by simply denying the amendment 
request. This no-action alternative is not feasible because it 
conflicts with 10 CFR part 30.36(d), requiring that decommissioning of 
byproduct material facilities be completed and approved by the NRC 
after licensed activities cease. The no action alternative would keep 
radioactive material on-site without disposal. Additionally, denying 
the amendment 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 is consistent 
with the NRC's unrestricted release criteria specified in 10 CFR part 
20.1402. Because the proposed action will not significantly impact the 
quality of the human environment, the NRC staff concludes that the 
proposed action is the preferred alternative.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    NRC provided a draft of this Environmental Assessment to the 
Radiological Health Program in the Air and Radiation Management 
Administration of the Maryland Department of the Environment on 
November 17, 2008. On December 16, 2008, the State of Maryland 
responded by e-mail. The State agreed with the conclusions of the 
Environmental Assessment, and otherwise had no comments.
    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 Environmental Assessment in support 
of the proposed action. On the basis of this Environmental Assessment, 
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 for 
license amendment 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

[[Page 1712]]

this action are listed below, along with their ADAMS accession numbers.
    1. NUREG-1757, ``Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance;''
    2. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E, 
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination;''
    3. Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions;''
    4. NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support 
of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-
Licensed Nuclear Facilities;''
    5. NUREG-1720, ``Re-evaluation of the Indoor Resuspension Factor 
for the Screening Analysis of the Building Occupancy Scenario for NRC's 
License Termination Rule--Draft Report;''
    6. NRC License No. 45-23645-01NA inspection and licensing records;
    7. Department of the Navy, Decommissioning of the Hypervelocity Gun 
Facility at NavalResearch Laboratory, Chesapeake Beach Detachment, 
dated January 19, 2007 (ML070330468); and
    8. Department of the Navy, Decommissioning Plan for Hypervelocity 
Gun Facility at NavalResearch Laboratory, Chesapeake Beach Detachment, 
dated May 22, 2008 (ML081640631).
    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 Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-
mail to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#265642546648544508414950"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ccbca8be8ca2beafe2aba3ba">[email protected]</span></a>. These documents may also be viewed electronically 
on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room, O 1 
F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. 
The Public Document Room reproduction contractor will copy documents 
for a fee.

    Dated at Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA this 
6th day of January 2009.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eugene Cobey,
Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety 
Region I.
 [FR Doc. E9-457 Filed 1-12-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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