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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23452-23453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11611]

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-1113; NRC-2009-0209]

Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Renewal for Global Nuclear Fuel--
Americas, LLC, Wilmington, NC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Adams, Senior Project Manager, 
Fuel Manufacturing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Telephone: 
(301) 492-3113; Fax: (301) 492-3363; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the renewal 
of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1097 for the continued 
operation of the Global Nuclear Fuel--Americas, LLC (GNF-A) Fuel 
Fabrication Facility located in Wilmington, North Carolina. This 
renewal authorizes the licensee to receive and possess nuclear 
materials at the Wilmington facility to fabricate and assemble nuclear 
fuel components under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic 
Licensing of Special Nuclear Material. If NRC approves the renewal of 
the license, the term would cover 40 years. NRC has prepared an 
environmental assessment (EA) in support of this action in accordance 
with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has 
concluded that a finding of no significant impact is appropriate. If 
approved, NRC will issue the renewed license following the publication 
of this Notice.

II. EA Summary

    The licensee requests approval to renew SNM-1097 for an additional 
40 years at the Wilmington, North Carolina facility. Specifically, this 
would allow GNF-A to continue manufacturing and assembling nuclear fuel 
components for use in commercial light-water-cooled nuclear power 
reactors. GNF-A's request for the renewal was previously noticed in the 
Federal Register on June 18, 2007 (72 FR 33539), with an opportunity to 
request a hearing. No hearing requests were received.
    The staff has prepared the EA in support of the proposed license 
renewal. Staff considered direct, indirect, and cumulative 
environmental impacts to 12 resource areas in their evaluation, 
including: land use; transportation; socioeconomics; air quality; water 
quality; geology and soils; ecology; noise; historic and cultural; 
scenic and visual; public and occupational health; and waste 
management. All of the environmental impacts were small-to-moderate. 
The license renewal request does not require altering the site 
footprint nor does it

[[Page 23453]]

change the operating processes of the existing facility. The proposed 
action will not adversely affect Federal or State-listed threatened or 
endangered species nor flora and fauna in the site vicinity.
    Airborne effluents released through stacks and liquid effluents 
released in the North Cape Fear River are below and are anticipated to 
remain below regulatory limits in 10 CFR Part 20 for non-radiological 
and radiological contaminants. Public and occupational exposures are 
below the limit established in 10 CFR Part 20. GNF-A maintains 
acceptable waste management practices and procedures. The staff 
concluded that the proposed 40 year renewal of license SNM-1097 will 
not result in a significant impact to the environment.
    NRC staff consulted with other agencies regarding the proposed 
action, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) Fisheries, the North Carolina State Historic Preservation 
Office, The Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, the North Carolina Cape Fear 
Regional Council of Governments, the North Carolina Department of 
Environment and Natural Resources, the North Carolina Department of 
Agriculture, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the 
North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Crime 
Control & Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, Floodplain 
Management Program, New Hanover County Planning, and New Hanover County 
Environmental. The consultations ensured that the requirements of 
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act were met and provided the designated State 
liaison agency the opportunity to comment on the proposed action.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA, NRC has concluded that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed license renewal and 
has determined not to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
license renewal 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 Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which 
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS 
accession numbers for the documents related to this notice are:

 
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                    Document                                           ADAMS accession Nos.
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License Renewal--Letter and Application.........  ML071000128
Environmental Report Supplement/Appendix........  ML071000137/ML071000144
Letters to GNF-A--Request for Additional          ML080860543/ML083110367
 Information (RAI).
GNF-A Letters to NRC--Response to RAI...........  ML081350536/ML083540569
NRC Letter to New Hanover County Environmental..  ML073620213
NRC Letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric    ML073620398
 Administration (NOAA) Fisheries.
NOAA Fisheries Letter to NRC....................  ML080290570
NRC Letter to North Carolina State Clearinghouse  ML073620443/ML090641049
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Letter to NRC.  ML080650578
North Carolina Coastal Management Letter to NRC.  ML080650577
North Carolina State E-mail to NRC..............  ML091170068/ML091170107
NRC Letter to New Hanover County Planning.......  ML073620172
New Hanover County Planning E-mail to NRC.......  ML081290389
Environmental Assessment........................  ML091180239
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    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 (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O1 F21, 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 May 2009.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrea Kock,
Chief, Environmental Review Branch, Environmental Protection and 
Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and 
Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-11611 Filed 5-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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