[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46780-46782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23475]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-3085]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement--Decommissioning of the
Babcock & Wilcox Shallow Land Disposal Area in Parks Township,
Pennsylvania
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) regarding the proposed
decommissioning of the Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) Shallow Land Disposal
Area (SLDA) in Parks Township, Pennsylvania. This DEIS describes and
evaluates the potential environmental impacts of B&W's proposed
approach to decommissioning the radiologically contaminated waste. The
B&W preferred approach would allow radioactive material to remain on-
site. The wastes would be stabilized by installing an engineered cover
system and a system of hydrologic barriers and controls surrounding the
trench areas to provide groundwater protection. The coal mine
underlying the SLDA would be stabilized by injecting grout into the
voids under the trenches to prevent subsidence. Institutional controls
would be required in perpetuity to prevent inadvertent intrusion into
the waste. The DEIS evaluates the radiological and nonradiological
impacts associated with the B&W proposed action and four alternative
actions, including no action. Based on the evaluations in this DEIS,
the staff's preliminary conclusion is that another alternative,
modified stabilization in-place, would protect public health and the
environment and would be less costly than the other alternatives. This
alternative would include institutional controls and backfilling of the
coal mine, but the engineered barriers and cap would not be
implemented. For any of the alternatives, off-site impacts would be low
and no off-site dose is expected. The DEIS is a preliminary analysis of
the environmental impacts of B&W's proposed approach and alternative
actions. The issuance of a final EIS, and any NRC decisionmaking based
on a final EIS, will not be made until public comments on the DEIS are
received and evaluated.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS should be received at the address
listed below by December 15, 1997. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but NRC is able to
assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.
To the extent practicable, NRC staff will grant reasonable requests
for extensions of time for comment up to fifteen (15) days.
ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to David L. Meyer, Chief, Rules and
Directives Branch, Mail Stop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Deliver comments to 11545
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm,
Federal workdays.
Copies of comments received may be examined at the NRC Public
Document Room, 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20555. A single copy
of the DEIS
[[Page 46781]]
(NUREG-1613) may be requested by those considering public comment by
writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Printing and
Graphics Branch, Washington, DC 20555-0001. A copy of the DEIS is
available for inspection and/or copying in the NRC Public Document
Room, 2120 L St. NW., Washington, DC 20555-0001. A copy is being made
available for public inspection at the local Public Document Room in
the Apollo Memorial Library, 219 North Pennsylvania Avevue, Apollo,
Pennsylvania 15613; telephone number (412) 478-4214.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Phyllis Sobel, Low-Level Waste and
Decommissioning Projects Branch, Mail Stop T7F-27, Division of Waste
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Telephone
301-415-6714.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NRC has prepared a DEIS that evaluates the
environmental impacts and alternatives associated with B&W's proposed
action to decommission radiologically contaminated wastes in trenches
at the SLDA. NRC noticed its intent to prepare an EIS on the
decommissioning of the SLDA facility in Parks Township, Pennsylvania
(59 FR 67344) on December 29, 1994, and conducted a public meeting to
obtain comments on the intended scope of the EIS in Leechburg,
Pennsylvania, on January 26, 1995.
Until 1970, the SLDA at Parks Township, Pennsylvania, was used for
the disposal of hazardous and low-level wastes from a nuclear fuel
fabrication facility in nearby Apollo, Pennsylvania. The materials
placed in the trenches consisted of wastes, scrap and trash. These
disposals were made pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR 20.304,
which was in effect at the time. The radioactive materials in the SLDA
include natural uranium, enriched and depleted uranium, and lesser
quantities of thorium, americium, and plutonium.
The SLDA is currently owned by B&W, which maintains the site under
an active NRC license no. SNM-2001 for use in possession, storage,
monitoring, and characterization of the SLDA. B&W intends to
decommission the site as part of license termination activities. The
site requires decommissioning because it contains activities higher
than NRC regulations allow for release of the property for unrestricted
use and termination of the license. The site is listed in NRC's Site
Decommissioning Management Plan because it warrants special NRC
oversight to ensure safe and timely decommissioning.
B&W's preferred approach to decommissioning would allow radioactive
material to remain on-site. The wastes would be stabilized by
installing an engineered cover system and a system of hydrologic
barriers and controls surrounding the trench areas to provide
groundwater protection. The coal mine underlying the SLDA would be
stabilized by injecting grout into the voids under the trenches to
prevent subsidence. Institutional controls would be required in
perpetuity to prevent inadvertent intrusion into the waste. Because the
licensee's proposed decommissioning alternative would allow radioactive
material to remain on-site and the quantities of materials in some
areas would exceed existing radiological criteria for decommissioning
for unrestricted release, approval of the licensee's proposal requires
the preparation of an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act and NRC's implementing requirements in 10 CFR part 51.
The DEIS evaluates the radiological and nonradiological impacts
associated with the B&W proposed action (stabilization in-place) and
four alternative actions (no action, disposal off-site, stabilization
on-site, and modified stabilization in-place). Under the no action
alternative, wastes in the SLDA would be retained in their current
configuration within the trenches without any additional processing,
stabilization, or controls. This alternative is analyzed in the EIS to
provide a baseline for comparison with the other alternatives; however,
the no action alternative cannot be considered because the on-site
doses exceed NRC's criteria for unrestricted use and thereby require
institutional controls. Disposal off-site would involve excavating all
wastes, treating the waste, as necessary, to meet disposal facility
acceptance criteria, and shipping the waste to an off-site facility
licensed for disposal. No wastes would remain in the trenches at the
site after remediation, but contaminated soil and rock that are below
NRC and EPA cleanup limits would remain on-site. Under the
stabilization on-site alternative, all wastes would be excavated,
treated, and stored in a newly constructed on-site disposal cell. Under
NRC's staff-developed alternative, modified stabilization in-place,
institutional controls and backfilling of the coal mine would be used,
but the engineered barriers and cap would not be implemented.
The DEIS assesses the impacts of the B&W proposed action and the
four alternative actions for socioeconomics, land use, cultural
resources, geology, air quality, water quality, human health,
biological resources, and wetlands. Additionally an analysis and
comparison of the costs and benefits of each alternative has been
performed. The analyses indicate that the radioactive and chemical
contaminants at the SLDA, in their current condition (i.e., no action
alternative) would leach extremely slowly from the trenches and would
be heavily diluted to near background levels both by groundwater and by
surface water. For any of the alternatives, off-site impacts would be
low and no off-site dose is expected.
Based on the evaluations in this DEIS, the staff's preliminary
conclusion is that modified stabilization in-place would protect public
health and the environment and would be less costly than the other
alternatives. Since the uranium is highly immobile, the barriers
proposed in the stabilization in-place alternative are not needed to
prevent migration. The air quality and noise impacts of the modified
stabilization in-place alternative would be similar but not as large as
those for the stabilization in-place alternative in that there will be
some construction on-site for the mine stabilization and erosion
controls around Dry Run. However, the air quality and noise impacts
would be less because the cap, slurry wall, and grout curtain would not
be built and construction times would be much shorter than for
stabilization in-place. Human health impacts of the modified
stabilization in-place alternative would be similar to those for
stabilization in-place. The costs for modified stabilization in-place
would be about 31 percent of the cost for stabilization in-place, but
slightly greater (approximately $7 million) than no action because of
costs associated with mine stabilization and institutional controls.
The stabilization on-site alternative would offer no advantages. The
disposal off-site alternative would allow the SLDA property to be
released for unrestricted use, but there would be increased risks
associated with the removal and processing of the material from the
trenches.
The principal health concern related to leaving wastes on-site
would be the effects of possible future human intrusion directly into
the waste. Direct intrusion into the waste could be prevented by
continuing institutional controls on the site in perpetuity. Under the
modified stabilization in-place alternative, institutional controls
would be used to: (1) Prevent people from
[[Page 46782]]
intruding into the trenches or living on the site; (2) provide for a
maintenance program to maintain the soil cap in its present condition
and to prevent any erosion of the cap caused by runoff or headward
erosion of Dry Run; and (3) provide for a monitoring program to
continue monitoring the wells on-site to ensure off-site doses continue
to be negligible.
NRC is offering an opportunity for public review and comment on the
DEIS in accordance with NRC requirements in 10 CFR 51.73, 51.74, and
51.117. Any comments of Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian
tribes, or other interested parties will be made available for public
inspection when received. The DEIS is a preliminary analysis of the
environmental impacts of B&W's proposed approach. The issuance of a
final EIS, and any NRC decisionmaking based on a final EIS, will not be
made until public comments on the DEIS are received and evaluated. NRC
staff will review the comments, conduct any necessary analyses, and
make appropriate revisions in developing the final EIS on the
decommissioning of the SLDA facility in Parks Township, Pennsylvania.
NRC anticipates completing the EIS on this facility in 1998; however,
this schedule may need to be adjusted during the review of public
comments.
NRC is also arranging a public meeting on the DEIS to be held in
the vicinity of Parks Township, Pennsylvania, during the public comment
period in the fall of 1997. The meeting will consist of an overview of
the DEIS and an opportunity for the NRC to hear any public comments on
the DEIS. NRC will announce the date and location for this meeting in a
subsequent Federal Register notice in advance of the public meeting.
Opportunity for a Hearing
Pursuant to the Commission's rules in 10 CFR part 2, subpart L, an
opportunity for a hearing is hereby offered with respect to the
licensee's proposed action, stabilization in place, or any alternative
described in the DEIS that the licensee may include in a request to
amend its license to incorporate a decommissioning plan. Pursuant to
Sec. 2.1205(a), any person whose interest may be affected by the
licensee's decommissioning actions (the ``proceeding'') may file a
request for a hearing in accordance with Sec. 2.1205(c). A request for
a hearing must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of
publication of this Federal Register notice.
The request for a hearing must be filed with the Office of the
Secretary either:
1. By delivery to the Rulemakings and Adjudications staff, Office
of the Secretary at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD 20852-2738; or
2. By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Attention: Rulemakings and
Adjudications staff.
In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR Part
2 of the NRC's regulations, a request for a hearing filed by a person
other than an applicant must describe in detail:
1. The interest of the requester in the proceeding;
2. How that interest may be affected by the results of the
proceeding, including the reasons why the requester should be permitted
a hearing, with particular reference to the factors set out in
Sec. 2.1205(g);
3. The requester's areas of concern about the proposed activity
that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and
4. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is
timely in accordance with Sec. 2.1205(c).
In accordance with 10 CFR Sec. 2.1205(e), each request for a
hearing must also be served, by delivering it personally or by mail,
to:
1. The licensee, B & W Nuclear Environmental Services, Inc., 2220
Langhorne Road, P.O. Box 10548, Lynchburg, VA 24506-0548 Attention: Mr.
Philip R. Rosenthal; and
2. The NRC staff, by delivery to the Executive Director for
Operations, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
20852, or by mail, addressed to the Executive Director for Operations,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of August 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John W. N. Hickey,
Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch, Division of
Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 97-23475 Filed 9-3-97; 8:45 am]
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