[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 165 (Friday, August 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43563-43564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21404]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No.: 040-08948]
Notice of Additional Information for Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation's Facility in
Cambridge, OH
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued for public
comment a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) related to the
decommissioning of the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation's facility
in Cambridge, Ohio. The DEIS reviews and evaluates the licensee's
proposed alternative of stabilizing in place two slag piles containing
radioactive and chemical waste, and several other alternatives to this
action, including disposal of all of the slag offsite at a licensed
disposal facility. Shortly after the DEIS was made available to the
public for review, NRC received a request from Mr. Sherwood Bauman,
Chairperson of the Save the Wills Creek Water Resources Committee, a
local environmental group in the Cambridge, Ohio area, to consider
another alternative. The purpose of this notice is to describe the
proposed alternative, and to request public comments on it.
ADDRESSES FOR THE DEIS: A single copy of the DEIS (NUREG-1543) may be
requested by those considering public comment by writing to the NRC
Publications Section, ATTN.: Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, D.C. 20013-
7082, or by calling 202-512-1800. A copy of the DEIS is available for
inspection and/or copying in the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L St.
NW, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. A copy is also available for public
inspection at the Guernsey County District Library, 800 Steubenville
Avenue, Cambridge, Ohio 43725-2385.
DATES AND ADDRESSES FOR PUBLIC MEETING: A public meeting will be held
[[Page 43564]]
on September 16, 1996, from 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m., at the Pritchard
Laughlin Civic Center, located at 7033 Glenn Highway, Cambridge, Ohio
43725. Telephone 614/439-7009. The NRC staff and contractors will be
available to go over information in the DEIS and for this new
alternative, to answer questions related to information presented in
the DEIS and on this notice for the new alternative, and to receive
comments to be considered in developing the final environmental impact
statement.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Thaggard, Low-Level Waste and
Decommissioning Projects Branch, Mail Stop T7D-13, Division of Waste
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Telephone
301/415-6718.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The NRC has prepared a DEIS that evaluates the potential
environmental impacts and alternatives associated with SMC's proposed
approach to decommissioning two radiologically contaminated waste
piles. NRC noticed the availability of the DEIS for public comment on
July 25, 1996 (61 FR 38789). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
noticed availability of the DEIS on August 2, 1996 (61 FR 40414). NRC's
notice of availability stated that the public comment period of the
DEIS would extend 90 days from the date of EPA's notice. Consequently,
the comment period on the DEIS will expire October 31, 1996.
Shieldalloy proposes to cap and stabilize the piles in place and
implement appropriate land-use restrictions. The DEIS also describes
and evaluates alternatives to the proposed action. Based on the
evaluations in the DEIS, without consideration of this new alternative,
the NRC staff's preliminary conclusion is that the environmental
impacts of SMC's proposal are not significant, if certain mitigative
measures are carried out, and there is no obviously superior
alternative.
NRC recently received a request from Mr. Sherwood Bauman,
Chairperson of the Save the Wills Creek Water Resources Committee, a
local environmental group in the Cambridge, Ohio area, to consider
another alternative for remediating the site. The alternative was
provided in response to the DEIS and could simply be considered by NRC
in its resolution of all of the public comments that are to be
submitted by October 31, 1996. However, because it was provided very
early in the comment period by the Save the Wills Creek Water Resources
Committee, a local group that has had extensive involvement in
monitoring the remediation of this site, NRC staff is describing the
alternative in this notice, and soliciting public comments on it. The
staff will consider these comments and evaluate them fully along with
the alternative in the final EIS, as well as comments received on it in
a public meeting on the DEIS to be held September 16, 1996, in
Cambridge, Ohio.
Description of Alternative Proposed by Save the Wills Creek Water
Resources Committee
Generally, the alternative is a hybrid of two alternatives in the
DEIS--stabilization in place and offsite disposal. However, instead of
both slag piles being treated the same way (either stabilized in place
or disposed of at a facility in Utah), this hybrid alternative proposes
to remove the East Slag pile for offsite disposal and leave the West
Slag pile onsite.
The alternative is described as follows by the Save the Wills Creek
Water Resources Committee in its letter to NRC:
``Most of the serious problems and elevated radioactive materials
are situated in the East Slag pile. In fact, it is the East slag pile
and its material that may eventually exceed the National Safe Drinking
Water Standards.
``The East Slag represents approximately ten percent of the volume
(by weight) of the total contaminated materials on site, while
representing approximately 60 percent of the actual licensed materials
at said facility. Said pile also contains almost all of the slag that
seriously exceeds the NRC general release criteria'' [for unrestricted
use].
``We therefore submit, that serious consideration be given to yet
another alternative which is the full removal to a licensed storage
facility the entire East Slag pile while capping on site the west slag
pile. This option would see the costs of capping the West Slag pile
remaining constant, while the cost of removing the most serious area of
contaminated slag would carry a total cost of approximately 8.5 Million
dollars to dispose of the East Slag Pile at Envirocare in Utah, and cap
as planned the West Slag Pile.'' [Note--the Save the Wills Creek Water
Resources Committee has since estimated the total cost of offsite
disposal of the East Pile and onsite stabilization of the West Pile to
be $15 million and will be providing a documented basis for that figure
by the time of the public meeting].
``This is (a) our organizations best estimates, and not a firm
price, and (b) does not include the return to the site of off site
slag. In fact, our organization feels that the off site slag is the
``legal'' responsibility of Cypress Foote, and that said slag should
not be allowed to be returned to the facility.
``This estimate would mean our community receives a much better
remediation at a price only 2.5 times as high as the current estimates
for full insitu disposal on site of all on and off site contaminants.''
The author of the alternative is gathering additional information
and expects to provide this by the time of the public meeting in
Cambridge, Ohio, on September 16, 1996. Interested persons may contact
Mr. Mark Thaggard of the NRC staff for the latest documentation on this
alternative, or obtain this documentation at the public meeting on
September 16, 1996.
The staff has not conducted an analysis of this alternative at this
time and has presented the alternative in this notice as it was
received. As noted earlier, the staff will evaluate this alternative in
the final EIS, considering: (1) The comments received from the public;
(2) existing information, as appropriate in the DEIS; and (3) any
pertinent new data that is obtained. For example, the estimated cost
for removing the East Pile and disposing of it offsite is $17,332,900,
as reported in Table 5.1-7 of the DEIS. The Save the Wills Creek Water
Resources Committee believes that this figure is high and will be
providing a basis for a lower figure. The staff also notes that the
National Environmental Policy Act requires consideration of all
environmental impacts that could result from NRC action, not just the
radiation impacts. The alternative proposal appears to consider only
radiation impacts from the material identified in the alternative.
Consistent with the requirements of NEPA and the existing scope of the
EIS, the staff will assess the environmental impacts from all
contamination in the final EIS.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of August 1996.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert A. Nelson,
Acting Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch,
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 96-21404 Filed 8-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
