43794 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Notices 

Burden estimates for each reporting 

institution type are shown in Table 2. 

TABLE 2—BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR THE 2017 GSS 

School type 

Respondents 

(number of 

schools) 

Average 

burden 

(hours) 

Total burden 

(hours) 

Master’s Only ............................................................................................................................... 339 5.9 2,000 

Master’s/Doctorate: 15 or fewer units ......................................................................................... 205 17.1 3,506 

Master’s/Doctorate: More than 15 units ...................................................................................... 282 86.6 24,421 

FFRDCs ....................................................................................................................................... 43 3.7 159 

Estimated total ...................................................................................................................... 869 ........................ 30,086 

The number of units in the 

subsequent survey cycle will include 

the institutions in the previous year 

plus an approximate 1 percent increase 

in institutions. The FFRDC postdoc data 

collection will take place in 2017 and 

2019, and the estimated burden for 

those years will increase by 159 hours 

from 43 FFRDCs (based on 100 percent 

response rate in 2015 with the average 

burden of 3.7 hours per FFRDC) to a 

total of 30,086 and 30,738 hours, 

respectively (see Table 3). Estimates of 

the 2018 GSS burden are 30,262 hours. 

An additional 800 hours across three 

years are requested to conduct 

methodological testing. 

TABLE 3—TOTAL BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR 2017–19 GSS 

Survey cycle 

Respondents 

(number of 

schools) 

Total burden 

(hours) 

2017 GSS ................................................................................................................................................................ 869 30,086 

GSS Institutions ................................................................................................................................................ 826 29,927 

FFRDCs ............................................................................................................................................................ 43 159 

2018 GSS ................................................................................................................................................................ 836 30,262 

2019 GSS ................................................................................................................................................................ 888 30,738 

GSS Institutions ................................................................................................................................................ 845 30,579 

FFRDCs ............................................................................................................................................................ 43 159 

Future methodological testing (across all 3 years) ................................................................................................. ........................ 800 

Total estimated burden ..................................................................................................................................... 2,593 91,886 

Estimated average annual burden .......................................................................................................................... 864 30,629 

The total estimated respondent 

burden of the GSS, including 800 hours 

for the methodological studies, will be 

91,886 hours over the 3-survey 

clearance period. 

Dated: September 14, 2017. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19889 Filed 9–18–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. 030–28641; NRC–2017–0095] 

Department of the Air Force; Robins 

Air Force Base, Georgia 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Environmental assessment and 

finding of no significant impact; 

issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is considering an 

amendment to Materials License 42– 

23539–01AF, issued to the Department 

of the Air Force (licensee), Docket No. 

030–28641, to approve a 

decommissioning plan (DP) for Building 

181 at Robins Air Force Base (AFB), 

Georgia. If the DP is approved by the 

NRC, the licensee would be authorized 

to remediate residual depleted uranium 

(DU) from the building, prior to partial 

demolition of the building. As part of its 

review, the NRC conducted an 

assessment of the environmental 

impacts of the proposed 

decommissioning action. The NRC 

concluded that the proposed 

decommissioning project will have 

minimal impacts on the environment. 

This Notice provides details of the 

NRC’s environmental assessment. Based 

in part on this assessment, the NRC 

plans to approve the proposed DP by 

amending the license. 

DATES: Materials License 42–23539– 

01AF, Docket No. 030–28641, will be 

amended to approve the DP on or after 

September 19, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2017–0095 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: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2017–0095. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions, contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 

select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS 

Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS, 

please contact the NRC’s Public 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Notices 43795 

Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 

1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by 

email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 

ADAMS accession number for each 

document referenced (if it is available in 

ADAMS) is provided the first time that 

it is mentioned in this document. In 

addition, for the convenience of the 

reader, the ADAMS accession numbers 

are provided in a table in the 

‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section of 

this document. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents at 

the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vivian Campbell, Region IV Office, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1600 

E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76011; 

telephone: 817–200–1455, email: 

Vivian.Campbell@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The NRC is considering issuance of an 

amendment to Materials License 42– 

23539–01AF, issued to Department of 

the Air Force, approving the proposed 

DP for remediation of Building 181 at 

Robins AFB, Georgia (ADAMS 

Accession Nos. ML17094A481 and 

ML17167A420, respectively). If 

approved by the NRC, the licensee 

would be allowed to remediate residual 

DU from inside and underneath the 

building as necessary to meet the NRC’s 

criteria for unrestricted use. Therefore, 

as required by part 51 of title 10 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the 

NRC performed an environmental 

assessment (EA) of the proposed 

decommissioning activity. Based on the 

results of the EA that follows, the NRC 

has determined not to prepare an 

environmental impact statement for the 

licensing action and is issuing a finding 

of no significant impact (FONSI). 

II. Environmental Assessment 

Description of the Proposed Action 

The NRC’s proposed action is to 

amend License 42–23539–01AF to 

approve the proposed DP, as revised. 

The licensee would then be authorized 

to conduct decommissioning work as 

specified in the NRC-approved DP. 

Concurrently with the approval of the 

proposed decommissioning work 

instructions, the NRC plans to approve 

the licensee’s proposed site-specific 

radiological release criteria and final 

status survey plan. 

If approved, the licensee’s contractor 

will remediate residual radioactive 

contamination and lead-based paint 

from the interior of the building using 

instructions provided in the DP. After 

completion of decommissioning, the 

contractor will conduct a final status 

survey of the building surfaces in 

accordance with the instructions 

provided in the DP. The residual 

radioactive and hazardous waste 

material will be disposed at an 

authorized disposal site based on 

sample results of the removed material. 

During building demolition, the 

contractor will radiologically survey the 

soil underneath portions of the building 

to ensure that the soil is not 

contaminated with radioactive material. 

If contaminated, the soil will be 

removed for disposal. 

After completion of building 

demolition, the contractor will conduct 

a final status survey of the land 

underneath the area where Cells 5 and 

6 were previously located, to ensure that 

the soil does not contain contamination 

greater than the NRC-approved release 

criteria. The NRC staff plans to conduct 

routine inspections during 

decommissioning and the final status 

surveys. The NRC will also review and 

approve the licensee’s final status 

survey results after completion of the 

decommissioning process. The NRC 

may elect to conduct an independent 

radiological confirmatory survey to 

confirm the licensee’s final status 

survey results. 

Need for the Proposed Action 

The purpose of the proposed action is 

to reduce the residual radioactivity 

within Building 181 to levels that allow 

the release of the property for 

unrestricted use. If the licensee 

conducts site remediation in accordance 

with instructions provided in the DP, 

the licensee will be in compliance with 

the radiological criteria for license 

termination as specified in regulation 10 

CFR part 20, subpart E. Approval of the 

DP would allow the NRC to fulfill its 

responsibilities under the Atomic 

Energy Act to ensure protection of 

public health and safety and the 

environment. 

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed 

Action 

The NRC staff considered the possible 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

action. The staff considered the impacts 

on the following environmental 

resources: (1) Land use; (2) 

transportation; (3) geology and soils; (4) 

water resources; (5) ecology; (6) 

meteorology, climatology, and air 

quality; (7) noise; (8) historical and 

cultural resources; (9) visual/scenic 

resources; (10) socioeconomic; (11) 

public and occupational health; and (12) 

waste management. 

Building 181 is located within the 

boundary of Robins AFB. Other 

structures and paved roads are located 

around the property. An airfield and 

tarmac are located nearby. The property 

will remain under the control of the Air 

Force during and after 

decommissioning. Upon completion of 

decommissioning and NRC approval of 

the final status survey results, the 

licensee is expected to release the land 

and remainder of the building for 

unrestricted use. The land use is not 

expected to change significantly as a 

result of this decommissioning project. 

The transportation resource will be 

impacted slightly during demolition of 

the building. Additional vehicles will be 

needed to demolish the building and to 

remove the demolished debris. This 

increase in transportation resources will 

only exist as long as building 

demolition is in progress. After 

completion of demolition, the 

transportation resource should return to 

normal. A few additional trucks will be 

needed for shipment of the 

radiologically contaminated material to 

a disposal site. The number of 

additional trucks is expected to be 

small, based on the low volume of 

material required to be disposed. 

The local geology and soils are not 

expected to be impacted by building 

demolition. The local soils were already 

impacted by the construction of the 

building and surrounding infrastructure. 

Although unlikely, if the licensee 

discovers contaminated soil underneath 

the building, the soil with 

contamination above the NRC-approved 

cleanup criteria will have to be 

excavated and packaged for shipment. 

Clean backfill may be needed to fill any 

soil removed during decommissioning. 

The area of the demolition project is 

small when compared to the overall size 

of the military base. 

The water resources are not expected 

to be impacted by building demolition. 

Based on the depth of the unsaturated 

zone (25 feet/7.6 meter) and the 

thickness of the floor (5–6 feet/1.5–1.8 

meters), the licensee concluded that it 

was unlikely that DU contamination 

within Building 181 has migrated into 

the groundwater. As noted in the DP, 

the contractor will try to prevent 

potentially contaminated water from 

exiting the building. The contractor will 

plug building drains during 

decommissioning work. If the buildup 

of water occurs in the building, the 

contractor will install containments at 

exit points, such as doorways, to 

prevent releases of potentially 

contaminated water from leaving the 

building. 


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43796 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Notices 

The demolition of the building is not 

expected to have an impact on local 

ecology. No critical or endangered 

species or habitats are expected to be 

impacted, since the building is 

surrounded by other buildings and 

pavement. 

The demolition of the building may 

have short-term impacts on air quality. 

These potential impacts include 

possible release of airborne radioactive 

particulates during decommissioning, 

airborne dust during demolition, and 

vehicle exhaust. To protect against 

releases of potentially radioactive 

airborne effluents, the licensee’s 

contractor plans to collect outdoor air 

samples during decommissioning work. 

If the airborne particulate action level is 

exceeded, the building doors will be 

shut to minimize airborne effluents. 

With regards to the potential for 

airborne dust during building 

demolition, the demolition contractor is 

expected to take typical industrial 

precautions to minimize airborne dust 

including use of water suppression or 

discontinuing work during windy 

conditions. Finally, the work will result 

in a short term increase of vehicle 

exhaust during building demolition 

work. The percent increase in vehicle 

exhaust is expected to be small 

compared to the relative size of the Air 

Force base. 

Noise will increase during building 

demolition work. The increase in noise 

is expected to be limited to daytime 

hours and will last only for the duration 

of the work. 

No historical, cultural, visual, or 

scenic resources are expected to be 

impacted. Any cultural or historical 

resource would have been impacted 

during the construction of the building. 

The demolition of the building is not 

expected to impact any resources 

beyond the area already impacted by 

current development. The 

decommissioning and demolition of the 

building will not impact scenic or visual 

resources. The building is not 

considered historically significant, 

otherwise, the Air Force would not be 

demolishing it. 

The decommissioning and demolition 

of the building will not impact any 

social groups, and the economic impacts 

of the work activities are expected to be 

minimal. The Air Force has not stated 

what it plans to do with the area once 

the building has been partially 

demolished, but the land use will most 

likely be similar to what is already in 

place. The Air Force does not plan to 

relinquish control of the area after 

building demolition, and the footprint 

of the building will continue to remain 

within the boundary of Robins AFB. 

The decommissioning contractor will 

provide measures to control public and 

occupational health during work. For 

example, the decommissioning 

contractor will monitoring workers for 

exposure to airborne radioactivity. The 

demolition contractor is expected to 

implement typical industrial safety 

controls such as issuance of safety 

equipment to workers, control of work 

area boundaries, and suppression of 

dust. As part of its review, the NRC 

considered the impacts of residual 

radioactivity that may remain within 

building rubble or subsurface soil. The 

licensee proposed cleanup criteria that 

is protective of human health and 

safety. The licensee’s contractor is 

expected to remove the residual 

radioactive contamination to levels that 

are at or below the cleanup criteria, an 

action that is protective of public health 

and safety. Details about the NRC’s 

analysis of the cleanup criteria are 

provided in a separate Safety Evaluation 

Report (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML17193A222). 

Finally, the decommissioning 

contractor established procedures for 

disposal of waste material. The DP 

indicates that the contractor plans to 

sample the waste material, to identify 

the levels of radiological and hazardous 

materials present. As noted earlier, the 

contractor will also remove lead-based 

paint as part of the work project. The 

concentrations of radioactive and 

hazardous wastes in the material will 

dictate how the material will be 

packaged and transported, and the 

concentrations will be used to identify 

the disposal sites that can accept this 

material for disposal. The demolition 

contractor is expected to sample the 

rubble to ensure that the material meets 

the standards for the chosen waste 

landfill. Liquid wastes are not expected 

to be created. 

In summary, the proposed 

decommissioning and building 

demolition are not expected to have 

significant, long-term impacts on 

environmental resources. Additional 

details about the NRC’s environmental 

review are provided in an expanded EA 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML17207A232). 

Environmental Impacts of the 

Alternatives to the Proposed Action 

As an alternative to the proposed 

action, the staff considered denial of the 

proposed action (i.e., the ‘‘no-action’’ 

alternative). The no-action alternative 

assumes that the status quo is 

maintained. With respect to the 

Building 181 project, the no-action 

alternative means that the licensee 

would not be allowed to conduct 

decommissioning work, and the 

contaminated building surfaces will 

continue to remain onsite at Robins 

AFB. 

The no-action alternative is not 

acceptable because it violates the NRC’s 

Timeliness Rule regulations specified in 

10 CFR 30.36. The Timeliness Rule 

requires licensees to decommission 

their facilities in a timely manner when 

licensed activities have permanently 

ceased. In addition, the radioactive 

contamination at Building 181 currently 

exceeds the radiological criteria for 

license termination as specified in 10 

CFR part 20, subpart E. Approval of the 

no-action alternative will prevent the 

licensee from conducting 

decommissioning work as necessary to 

release the site for unrestricted use 

under Subpart E requirements. 

Accordingly, the NRC staff eliminated 

the no-action alternative from 

consideration. 

Agencies and Persons Consulted 

The NRC staff consulted with the 

Georgia Department of Natural 

Resources, Radioactive Materials 

Program, regarding the EA of the 

proposed action (ADAMS Accession No. 

ML17193A244). The State’s comments 

are discussed below. 

The NRC staff determined that the 

proposed action will not affect 

endangered species or critical habitats, 

because the project is located within an 

area that was fully developed. 

Therefore, no further consultations were 

deemed necessary under Section 7 of 

the Endangered Species Act. Likewise, 

the NRC staff determined that the 

proposed action is not the type of 

activity that has the potential to impact 

historic properties, in part, because the 

building has not been designated as a 

historic property by the Air Force. 

Therefore, no further consultation was 

determined to be necessary under 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act. 

Discussion of Comments 

By email dated August 14, 2017 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML17227A184), 

the State of Georgia suggested that once 

demolition is complete and soil 

contamination surveys are 

accomplished, if these surveys reveal 

any soil contamination, a groundwater 

survey should be conducted. In the past, 

the State has seen instances of 

groundwater contamination, for 

example, around a contaminated vault 

that had to be remediated. While there 

is no evidence of soil contamination 

beneath Building 181, the State believes 

that sampling of the groundwater is 

prudent if the soil is contaminated. The 

NRC staff informed the licensee of the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Notices 43797 

State’s comments, and the NRC plans to 

review the results of the licensee’s soil 

contamination survey. 

III. Finding of No Significant Impact 

The NRC staff have concluded that 

the proposed decommissioning project 

at Robins AFB, Georgia, will have 

minimal impacts on the environment. 

The NRC staff considered the impacts 

on land use, transportation, geology and 

soils, water resources, ecology, air 

quality, noise, historical and cultural 

resources, visual and scenic resources, 

socioeconomic resources, public and 

occupational health, and waste 

management. The staff also determined 

that the affected environment and the 

environmental impacts associated with 

the decommissioning of Building 181 

are bounded by the impacts evaluated 

by NUREG–1496, Volume 1, ‘‘Generic 

Environmental Impact Statement in 

Support of Rulemaking on Radiological 

Criteria for License Termination of NRCLicensed Nuclear Facilities’’ (ADAMS 

Accession No. ML042310492). 

The staff finds that the proposed 

decommissioning complies with 10 CFR 

20.1402, which provides the 

radiological criteria for unrestricted use. 

Further, the licensee will perform the 

remediation work under an NRC 

license, using an NRC-approved 

decommissioning plan, which will help 

ensure that the licensee and its 

contractor will establish and implement 

programs to protect workers, the public, 

and the environment. Further, the NRC 

plans to conduct inspections during 

work activities. Past NRC experiences 

with decommissioning activities at 

similar sites suggest that public and 

worker exposures to radioactivity will 

be far below the limits specified in 10 

CFR part 20. 

The NRC staff have prepared this EA 

in support of the proposed action to 

amend NRC Materials License 42– 

23539–01AF to approve the licensee’s 

proposed DP for Building 181 at Robins 

AFB. On the basis of this EA, the NRC 

has concluded that there are no 

significant environmental impacts and 

the license amendment does not warrant 

the preparation of an environmental 

impact statement. Accordingly, it has 

been determined that a FONSI is 

appropriate. 

IV. Availability of Documents 

The documents identified in the 

following table are available to 

interested persons through one or more 

of the following methods, as indicated. 

Document ADAMS 

Accession No. 

U.S. Department of the Air Force, ‘‘Updated Decommissioning Plan dated February 2017 for Building 181 at Robins Air Force 

Base, Georgia,’’ March 21, 2017.

ML17094A481 

U.S. Department of the Air Force, ‘‘Building 181 Robins Air Force Base Decommissioning Plan,’’ June 13, 2017 ...................... ML17167A420 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ‘‘Robins AFB Consultation Letter with State of Georgia,’’ July 24, 2017 .......................... ML17193A244 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ‘‘Memo to File—Building 181 Robins AFB Georgia Environmental Assessment,’’ September 19, 2017.ML17207A232 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ‘‘Memo to File—Building 181, Robins AFB Georgia Safety Evaluation Report,’’ September 19, 2017.ML17193A222 

State of Georgia, ‘‘State of Georgia’s Review and Comments on Proposed EA and SER for Robins AFB, Georgia,’’ August 

14, 2017.

ML17227A184 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG–1496, Volume 1, Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities, Main Report, July 31, 1997.ML042310492 

Dated at Arlington, Texas, this 31st day of 

August 2017. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Mark R. Shaffer, 

Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 

Region IV Office. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19799 Filed 9–18–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2017–0107] 

Information Collection: Fitness-forDuty Programs 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of submission to the 

Office of Management and Budget; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) has recently 

submitted a request for renewal of an 

existing collection of information to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review. The information 

collection is entitled, ‘‘Fitness-for-Duty 

Programs.’’ 

DATES: Submit comments by October 19, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments directly 

to the OMB reviewer at: Aaron Szabo, 

Desk Officer, Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs (3150–0146), NEOB– 

10202, Office of Management and 

Budget, Washington, DC 20503; 

telephone: 202–395–3621, email: oira_

submission@omb.eop.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Cullison, NRC Clearance Officer, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: 

301–415–2084; email: 

INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining Information and 

Submitting Comments 

A. Obtaining Information 

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2017– 

0107 when contacting the NRC about 

the availability of information for this 

action. You may obtain publiclyavailable information related to this 

action by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2017–0107. A copy 

of the collection of information and 

related instructions may be obtained 

without charge by accessing Docket ID 

NRC–2017–0107 on this Web site. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 

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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 

supporting statement and NRC Forms 

890, 891, and 892 are available in 

ADAMS under Accession Nos. 

ML17236A379, ML17013A578, 

ML17013A598, and ML17024A436, 

respectively. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents at 

the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One 


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