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Consideration of License Amendment Request for the Siemens Power Corporation, and Opportunity for Hearing
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: July 3, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 128)]
[Notices]
[Page 41105-41108]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03jy00-126]
[[Page 41105]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[70-1257]
Consideration of License Amendment Request for the Siemens Power
Corporation, and Opportunity for Hearing
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability of environmental assessment and finding
of no significant impact and opportunity to request a hearing on
amendment of materials license SNM-1227, Siemens Power Corporation.
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering the amendment
of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1227 to authorize constructing,
installing, and operating an addition to the Ammonia Recovery Facility
at the Siemens Power Corporation facility located in Richland, WA.
Environmental Assessment
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has evaluated the
environmental impacts of Siemens Power Corporation (SPC) constructing,
installing and operating an addition to their Ammonia Recovery Facility
(ARF). This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared pursuant to
the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR parts
1500-1508) and NRC regulations (10 CFR part 51) which implement the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.
The purpose of this document is to assess the environmental
consequences of the proposed license amendment.
The SPC facility at Richland, Washington, is authorized under SNM-
1227 and Washington State Materials License No. WN-1062-1 to possess
nuclear materials for the conversion of uranium hexafluoride
(UF6 ) to uranium dioxide (UO2 ), and to fabricate
and assemble nuclear fuel assemblies for light-water reactors. The SPC
operation uses a dry conversion process to convert UF6 to
UO2 powder. The UO2 powder is pressed into
pellets, which are sintered and then loaded into fuel rods. The fuel
rods are placed into storage and are withdrawn as needed and fabricated
into fuel assemblies.
Siemens has six lagoons that contain process waste solutions and
sediment from past and current manufacturing operations. Under the
terms of a consent decree with the State of Washington Department of
Ecology (WDOE), the lagoons will be emptied, decommissioned and removed
by the year 2006. To meet this requirement and phase out the lagoons,
SPC will install new wastewater treatment equipment into a new
containment building attached to the existing ARF Building. The new
equipment includes four tanks and an ion exchange column.
The addition will be of the same construction as the ARF Building;
i.e., a pre-engineered metal structure on a concrete pad. The floor of
the addition will be three feet below grade to provide sealed spill
containment (1 \1/2\ times the capacity of the largest tank). Three of
the four tanks and the ion exchange column will be located inside the
building and the fourth tank will be located outside the addition on a
concrete pad under an awning.
Tank 1 will be a 5000 gallon tank which will hold the ion exchange
regeneration solution, which will eliminate this material from entering
Lagoon 3. Tank 2 will be a 7000 gallon tank which will replace Lagoon
2. Tank 2 will receive the low U, high ammonia effluent from the
ammonium diuranate line and will be the feed to the ARF process. Tank
5A will be a 12,000 gallon tank to replace Lagoon 5A. It will receive
treated effluent from the ARF as well as low-U, low ammonia effluents
from other processes. Tank 5A will feed the ion exchange columns whose
output feeds the sewer. The carbonate makeup tank will be located under
an awning outside the ARF. This tank will replace Lagoon 4 by holding
the carbonate solution used to regenerate the ion exchange columns. The
second ion exchange column will be added so that while one column is
being regenerated, the ion exchange operation can continue.
1.2 Review Scope
In accordance with 10 CFR part 51, this EA serves to (1) present
information and analysis for determining whether to issue a Finding of
No Significant Impact (FONSI) or to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS); (2) fulfill the NRC's compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when no EIS is necessary; and (3)
facilitate preparation of an EIS if one is necessary. Should the NRC
issue a FONSI, no EIS would be prepared and the license amendment would
be granted.
1.3 Proposed Action
The proposed action is to amend NRC Materials License SNM-1227 to
authorize installation and operation of the new equipment in the
Ammonia Recovery Facility.
1.4 Need for Proposed Action
Under the terms of the consent decree with the State of Washington,
SPC will empty, decommission, and remove their six lagoons by the year
2006. To meet this requirement, SPC will install new wastewater
treatment equipment into a new containment building attached to the
existing ARF Building. The new equipment will include two new waste
tanks, two tanks for the regeneration of existing final ion exchange
columns, and a new ion exchange column. The new waste tanks will
replace the lagoons, thereby eliminating the concern of any possible
leaks or emissions to the environment from the lagoons.
1.5 Alternatives
The alternatives available to the NRC are:
1. Approve the license amendment request as submitted; or
2. Deny the amendment request.
2.0 Affected Environment
The following sections contain a summary of the affected
environment at and near the SPC site. A full description of the site
and its characteristics is given in the 1995 Environmental Assessment
for the Renewal of the NRC license for SPC.
2.1 Location and Land Use
The Siemens Power Corporation (SPC) facility is located on a 131-
hectare site just inside the northern boundary of the City of Richland
in Benton County, Washington. The site consists of 36 buildings plus
various outside facilities. The uranium handling and processing
facilities are located within a restricted 21.5-hectare area. The
facility is located within a 2,470-hectare land parcel known as the
Horn Rapids Triangle, which was part of the U.S. Department of Energy's
(DOE) Hanford Site until 1967 when it was annexed to the City of
Richland. The Horn Rapids Triangle is bounded to the north by Horn
Rapids Road, to the south by the Horn Rapids Irrigation Ditch, to the
east by the DOE1100 Area, and on the southeast by the Port of Benton
Skypark and Richland Airport. Most developed land within a 16 kilometer
radius of the site is used for agriculture, light industry, or
residences.
2.2 Geology, Soils, and Seismicity
The site region is characterized as a semi-arid desert of generally
flat terrain except for wind formed ridges from 1.5 to 9 meters high.
The site is located
[[Page 41106]]
between the Columbia and Yakima Rivers at an elevation of 114 meters
above mean sea level (MSL). At their closest points, the nominal
elevations of the Columbia and Yakima Rivers are approximately 107 and
113 meters above mean sea level, respectively. Basalt flows more than
3,000 meters thick underlie the Pasco basin. Unconsolidated silts,
sands, and gravels of the Ringold and Hanford Formations, totaling tens
to hundreds of feet in thickness, overlie the basalts. The depth to
basalt below the SPC site has not been determined.
The distribution and intensity of historical earthquakes indicate
that the Columbia Plateau is an area of moderate seismicity. Seismic
activity above magnitude 3.0 on the Richter scale has occurred in this
region, but activity above magnitude 3.5 is most commonly found around
the northern and western portions of the Columbia Plateau, with a few
events occurring along the border between Washington and Oregon.
2.3 Water Resources
Surface Water: Primary surface water features associated with the
SPC site are the Columbia and Yakima rivers. The confluence of the
Yakima and Columbia rivers is located about 5 kilometers south of
Richland and about 8 kilometers south of the SPC site. The Columbia
River in the vicinity of the site is classified as Class A (excellent)
which requires that industrial uses of this water be compatible with
other uses including drinking water, wildlife, and recreation. The
water is used for irrigation, power generation, municipal water
supplies, transportation, fishing, and water sports. The primary source
for water in Richland and at the SPC site is from the Columbia River.
There is no storm water runoff from the facility to water bodies,
rivers, streams or the municipal sewer system. Surface water runoff
from the plant is very limited because of the desert environment and
percolation into the soil.
Ground Water: There are three distinct aquifer systems that
underlie the SPC site. The deepest aquifer consists of highly
productive water-bearing zones within thick basalt flows. A confined
aquifer occurs in silt, gravel and sand layers in the lower portion of
the Ringold Formation which overlies the basalt. An unconfined aquifer
system, consisting of the sands and gravels in the Hanford Formation
and in the upper portion of the Ringold Formation, is the shallowest
aquifer and the one that is monitored by the SPC site.
2.4 Meteorology and Air Quality
The SPC site region has a dry, continental climate with large
temperature variations between winter and summer caused by mountain
ranges to the west and the orientation of the Rocky Mountains. The
prevailing wind on the site is from the southwest. Severe weather in
the area consists of wind, thunderstorms, and occasionally a tornado.
Air quality at the site is good--within the air quality standards
set by EPA and the State of Washington.
3.0 Effluent Releases and Monitoring
3.1 Monitoring Program
Monitoring programs at the SPC facility comprise effluent
monitoring of air and water and environmental monitoring of various
media (air, soil, vegetation, and groundwater). This program provides a
basis for evaluation of public health and safety impacts, for
establishing compliance with environmental regulations, and for
development of mitigation measures if necessary. The proposed
activities will be monitored using current monitoring equipment located
in the ARF. The tanks will be equipped with alarmed, electronic level
detectors and alarmed leak detectors. No near-term changes are planned
in the effluent and/or environmental monitoring programs currently
committed to in License SNM-1227. Effluents from the new tanks will
enter the sewer and will continue to be subject to the same NRC and
State of Washington radiological and chemical release limits regardless
of whether the effluents are managed via the lagoons or in tanks. In
the long-term, close-out of the lagoon system will relieve SPC of its
need to conduct inter-liner lagoon sampling and may also decrease
lagoon-related groundwater monitoring requirements.
3.2 Effluents
Gaseous, liquid, and solid wastes are produced at the SPC site.
These wastes are categorized as low-level radioactive, nonradioactive,
hazardous, or mixed wastes. A description of each of these waste
categories, control strategies, and an estimate of release quantities
is provided in the 1995 Environmental Assessment for the Renewal of the
NRC license for SPC.
Each of the effluent streams is monitored at or just prior to the
point of release. SPC has a set of action levels for both gaseous and
liquid effluent streams. Results from the radiological effluent
monitoring program are reviewed quarterly by the plant's As Low As
Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) Committee and reported annually to the
Siemens Health and Safety Council to determine trends in effluent
releases; to determine if effluent controls are being properly used,
maintained and inspected; and to determine if effluents could be
reduced using the ALARA concept. Results from the monitoring program
are also reported in the semiannual effluent reports submitted to the
NRC. Impacts on effluent releases resulting from the proposed
activities are described below.
3.2.1 Solid Wastes
The amendment request is expected to eventually decease the solid
wastes released from the site. The operation of a closed tank system
will generate fewer solids wastes than operation of a large open lagoon
system due to the generation of contaminated sediments and soils in a
lagoon system.
3.2.2 Air Effluents
The release of air effluents is expected to increase minimally and
remain within applicable regulatory limits. These additional effluents
will be the same composition as what is currently emitted from the ARF.
The ARF Feed Collection tank is vented to the existing ARF process feed
tank to contain ammonia fumes. The ion exchange feed tank and the ion
exchange regeneration tank will be vented to the existing ARF exhaust
and stack for the control of low level ammonia releases.
3.2.3 Liquid Effluents
The proposed activity is not expected to impact the quantity or
radioactivity of liquid effluents released to the sewer. Essentially
the same waste streams will be processed through low residence time
tanks as opposed to the longer residence time lagoon system.
4.0 Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action and Alternatives
4.1 Public and Occupational Health
The risk to human health was evaluated as a result of construction,
installation, and operation of the new equipment in the new containment
building. Personnel are expected to enter the new containment building
on an as needed basis rather than working there full time. The
licensee's existing radiation protection and environmental programs, as
described in their license application, will be used to control the
radiation exposures of the licensee's workers and the public. The
licensee's existing radiation protection and environmental programs
include training, protective clothing, air sampling, surface
contamination surveys, bioassays, waste management,
[[Page 41107]]
monitoring of effluents, environmental monitoring, etc. In addition,
the programs include action levels and actions to be taken to minimize
the radiation exposures of workers and the public. Since the
radioactive material will be contained in tanks and will be in low
concentrations, the exposures to workers and the public are expected to
result in no significant increase in worker or public exposure. Thus,
the NRC staff has determined that the licensee's existing radiation
protection and environmental programs are adequate for the new
operations in the new containment building.
4.2 Water Resources
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed amendment will not
impact the quality of nearby surface waters.
The tanks will eliminate the concern of any possible leaks or
emissions to the environment from the lagoons. Contamination of
groundwater is expected to decrease as a result of the phase-out of the
lagoons. The tanks will be double-contained and will be monitored for
leaks. The design of the building provides for spill containment.
4.3 Air Quality
The construction, installation and operation of the new equipment
is expected to have a minimal impact on the air quality on and near the
site. Construction activities will be minimal with no major soil
disruption. No new stack monitoring will be required because the
current monitoring system will be used. The slight increase in air
effluents will remain within applicable regulatory limits.
4.4 Demography, Biota, Cultural and Historic Resources
The NRC staff has determined that the proposed amendment will not
impact demography, biota, or cultural or historic resources. The
proposed construction will occur on an area of the site which has been
previously evaluated for these concerns and has been previously
impacted by actions at the site (1996 EA).
4.5 Alternatives
The action that the NRC is considering is approval of an amendment
request to a Materials License issued pursuant to 10 CFR part 70. The
amendment would approve the construction, installation and operation of
new equipment in the ARF building. The alternatives available to the
NRC are:
1. Approve the license amendment request as submitted; or
2. Deny the amendment request.
Based on its review, the NRC staff has concluded that the
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action do not
warrant denial of the license amendment. There are no significant
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action, and
therefore alternatives with equal or greater impacts need not be
evaluated. In addition, the approval of the amendment request will
decrease the impacts to the groundwater as operation of the tanks pose
less of a threat of leaks into the groundwater than operation of
lagoons. The staff considers that Alternative 1 is the appropriate
alternative for selection.
5.0 Agencies and Persons Contacted
The NRC staff contacted representatives from the State of
Washington Department of Health and the State of Washington Department
of Ecology. The City of Richland, Development and Permit Services
Division completed a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Checklist
and issued a Determination of Nonsignificance dated June 11, 1999. The
conclusion of the review was that the proposed activities would not
have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment.
6.0 References
Siemens Power Corporation(SPC), 1999, Letter from J.B. Edgar to NRC
dated July 21, 1999.
SPC, 1999, Letter from J.B. Edgar to NRC dated November 18, 1999.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), June 1995,
``Environmental Assessment for Renewal of Special Nuclear Material
License SNM-1227.''
7.0 Conclusions
Based on an evaluation of the environmental impacts of the
amendment request, the NRC has determined that the proper action is to
issue a FONSI in the Federal Register. The NRC staff considered the
environmental consequences of constructing, installing and operating
new equipment in the ARF building and determined that these activities
will have no significant effect on public health and safety or the
environment.
Finding of No Significant Impact
The Commission has prepared an Environmental Assessment related to
the amendment of Special Nuclear Material License SNM-1227. On the
basis of the assessment, the Commission has concluded that
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action would not be
significant and do not warrant the preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement. Accordingly, the Commission is making a Finding of No
Significant Impact.
The Environmental Assessment and the documents related to this
proposed action are available for public inspection and copying at the
Commission's Public Document Room at the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street
NW., Washington, DC.
Opportunity for a Hearing
Based on the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact, and a staff safety evaluation to be completed, NRC is preparing
to amend License SNM-1227. The NRC hereby provides that this is a
proceeding on an application for amendment of a license falling within
the scope of subpart L, ``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudication
in Materials Licensing Proceedings,'' of NRC's rules and practice for
domestic licensing proceedings in 10 CFR part 2. Pursuant to section
2.1205(a), any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding
may file a request for a hearing in accordance with section 2.1205(d).
A request for a hearing must be filed within thirty (30) days of the
date of publication of this Federal Register notice.
A request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene must be
filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission either:
1. By delivery to the Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff 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 20555-0001. 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 requestor should be permitted
a hearing, with particular reference to the factors set out in section
2.1205(h).
3. The requester's areas of concern about the licensing 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 section 2.1205(d).
In accordance with 10 CFR Section 2.1205(f), each request for a
hearing must also be served, by delivering it personally or by mail to:
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1. The applicant, Siemens Power Corporation, 2101 Horn Rapids Road,
Richland, WA 99352-0130; and
2. The NRC staff, by delivering it 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.
The NRC contact for this licensing action is Dan E. Martin. Dan E.
Martin may be contacted at (301) 415-7254 or by e-mail at dem1@nrc.gov
for more information about this licensing action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of June 2000.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Philip Ting,
Chief, Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-16728 Filed 6-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P