[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 136 (Monday, July 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42751-42753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15282]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 50-609; NRC-2013-0235]


Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC Medical Radioisotope Production 
Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Termination of construction permit.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is terminating 
the Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC (NWMI) Medical Radioisotope 
Production Facility (RPF) construction permit (permit) designated as 
CPMIF-002. The permit authorized NWMI to construct the RPF in Columbia, 
Missouri. Construction was not initiated for the RPF, and nuclear 
materials were never procured or possessed under this permit. 
Consequently, the RPF site is approved for unrestricted use.

DATES: The letter terminating Construction Permit No. CPMIF-002 was 
issued on July 11, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0235 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2013-0235. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#affcdbceccd681fcccc7dac2cec1c1efc1ddcc81c8c0d9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e5d7a6f6d77205d6d667b636f60604e607c6d20696178">[email protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this document.
    <bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7e2e3a2c502c1b0d110b0c1d1b3e100c1d50191108"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bdedf9ef93efd8ced2c8cfded8fdd3cfde93dad2cb">[email protected]</span></a>. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
    <bullet> NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b2e2f6e09ce0d7c1ddc7c0d1d7f2dcc0d19cd5ddc4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ffafbbadd1ad9a8c908a8d9c9abf918d9cd1989089">[email protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Balazik, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear

[[Page 42752]]

Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-
2856; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e3ae8a808b82868fcda1828f82998a88a38d9180cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9bd6f2f8f3fafef7b5d9faf7fae1f2f0dbf5e9f8b5fcf4ed">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    On May 9, 2018, the NRC issued Construction Permit No. CPMIF-002 to 
NWMI to authorize the construction of the RPF. Since the issuance of 
the permit, NWMI has not begun construction of the RPF or procured 
nuclear materials for use under the permit. By letter dated February 7, 
2022, NWMI stated that the RPF will not be constructed and requested 
that the NRC terminate Construction Permit No. CPMIF-002. NWMI also 
stated that no physical or principal activities authorized by the 
permit, other than a geotechnical survey, were performed at the 
permitted site at Lot 15 of Discovery Ridge in Columbia, Missouri. The 
geotechnical survey was required by condition 3.G of the permit and 
consisted of borings used to determine the local soil stratigraphy. 
NWMI further stated that no other work was conducted at the site and 
that the University of Missouri continues to own the land, which 
remains undeveloped.

II. License Termination

    Termination of licenses and permits issued under part 50 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) is governed by 10 CFR 
50.82, ``Termination of license.'' As discussed in ``Current NRC Staff 
Views on Applying the Deferred Plant Policy Statement to Part 52 
Plants,'' the NRC staff does not apply the requirements for license 
termination in 10 CFR 50.82 to facilities that have not begun 
operation. Additionally, there was no construction associated with the 
NWMI RPF permit and nuclear materials were never procured or possessed 
under the permit. As such, with no radiological contamination 
associated with the permit, the RPF site may be released for 
unrestricted use pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1402, ``Radiological criteria 
for unrestricted use.''

III. Environmental Review

    NWMI seeks to terminate the RPF permit for which construction never 
commenced and nuclear materials were never procured or brought on site. 
Terminating a construction permit is a licensing action that would 
ordinarily require an environmental assessment under 10 CFR 51.21, 
``Criteria for and identification of licensing and regulatory actions 
requiring environmental assessments,'' unless a categorical exclusion 
in 10 CFR 51.22, ``Criterion for categorical exclusion; identification 
of licensing and regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion 
or otherwise not requiring environmental review,'' paragraph (c) 
applies and no special circumstances under 10 CFR 51.22(b) exist. 
Actions listed in 10 CFR 51.22(c) were previously found by the 
Commission to be part of a category of actions that ``does not 
individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human 
environment.''
    The categorical exclusion identified in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(20) is:
    Decommissioning of sites where licensed operations have been 
limited to the use of--
    (i) Small quantities of short-lived radioactive materials;
    (ii) Radioactive materials in sealed sources, provided there is no 
evidence of leakage of radioactive material from these sealed sources; 
or
    (iii) Radioactive materials in such a manner that a decommissioning 
plan is not required by 10 CFR 30.36(g)(1), 40.42(g)(1), or 70.38(g)(1) 
and the NRC has determined that the facility meets the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted use in 10 CFR 20.1402 without further 
remediation or analysis.
    This categorical exclusion encompasses decommissioning of sites 
where contamination from radioactive materials is determined to be 
nominal.
    In the case of the NWMI RPF, no associated radiological 
contamination exists because construction never commenced and nuclear 
material was never procured or brought on site. As a result, a 
decommissioning plan for this site is not required by subparagraph 
(g)(1) of 10 CFR 30.36, ``Expiration and termination of licenses and 
decommissioning of sites and separate buildings or outdoor areas,'' 
subparagraph (g)(1) of 10 CFR 40.42, ``Expiration and termination of 
licenses and decommissioning of sites and separate buildings or outdoor 
areas,'' or subparagraph (g)(1) of 10 CFR 70.38, ``Expiration and 
termination of licenses and decommissioning of sites and separate 
buildings or outdoor areas,'' and the site meets the radiological 
criteria for unrestricted use in 10 CFR 20.1402 without further 
remediation or analysis. Further, no special circumstances under 10 CFR 
51.22(b) exist. The factors listed in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(20) are 
consistent with the circumstances here because there is no 
environmental impact associated with terminating the NWMI RPF permit, 
which is even less than the nominal impacts anticipated by the 
categorical exclusion. Therefore, application of the categorical 
exclusion to the termination of the NWMI RPF permit is warranted. 
Consequently, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact 
statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection 
with the termination of Construction Permit No. CPMIF-002.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.

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                Document                       ADAMS accession No.
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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,      ML22147A157
 Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC--
 Termination of Construction Permit No.
 CPMIF-002 (EPID No. L-2022-LLL-0007),
 dated July 11, 2022.
Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC,         ML22084A004
 Request for Termination of Northwest
 Medical Isotopes, LLC (NWMI)
 Construction Permit No. CPMIF-002
 (Docket No. 50-609), dated February 7,
 2022.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,      ML18037A468
 Construction Permit No. CPMIF-002 for
 Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC,
 Docket No. 50-609, Medical
 Radioisotope Production Facility,
 dated May 9, 2018.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,      ML18065B257
 Current NRC Staff Views on Applying
 the Deferred Plant Policy Statement to
 Part 52 Plants, dated March 6, 2018.
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V. Conclusion

    As previously discussed, the Commission has determined that the 
NWMI RPF permit termination request meets the categorical exclusion 
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(20) and that the unrestricted use 
criteria pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1402 are met.
    The Commission grants NWMI's request to terminate Construction 
Permit No. CPMIF-002. This license termination was effective upon 
NWMI's

[[Page 42753]]

receipt of the NRC's termination letter, dated July 11, 2022.

    Dated: July 13, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joshua M. Borromeo,
Chief, Non-Power Production and Utilization Facility Licensing Branch, 
Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization 
Facilities, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2022-15282 Filed 7-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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