[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 25, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42137-42139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11833]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8102]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact Concerning the ExxonMobil Refining and Supply 
Company License Amendment Request for Alternate Groundwater Protection 
Standards at the Highland Reclamation Project

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myron Fliegel, Senior Project Manager, 
Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 
415-6629; fax number: (301) 415-5955; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the 
issuance of a license amendment to Source Materials License SUA-1139 
issued to ExxonMobil Corporation (ExxonMobil, the licensee), to 
establish alternate groundwater protection standards for chromium, 
uranium, selenium, and nickel at the Highland Reclamation Project 
(Highland), located in Converse County, Wyoming. Pursuant to the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 51 (Environmental Protection Regulations 
for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions), the NRC has 
prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the environmental 
impacts associated with ExxonMobil's proposed modifications to the 
groundwater protection standards for the Highland site. Based on this 
evaluation, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI) is appropriate for the proposed licensing action. The 
license amendment will be issued following the publication of this 
Notice.

II. Environmental Assessment

Introduction

    By letter dated January 16, 2006, ExxonMobil submitted an 
application to the NRC, requesting an amendment to Source Materials 
License SUA-1139 for the Highland Reclamation Project to modify the 
groundwater protection standards for chromium, uranium, selenium, and 
nickel at the designated point of compliance (POC) wells in the 
license. In this regard, the NRC's groundwater protection standards in 
10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 5B(5) specify the following:
    5B(5)--At the point of compliance, the concentration of a hazardous 
constituent must not exceed:
    (a) The Commission approved background concentration of that 
constituent in the groundwater;
    (b) The respective value given in the table in paragraph 5C if the 
constituent is listed in the table and if the background level of the 
constituent is below the value listed; or
    (c) An alternate concentration limit established by the Commission.
    Further, groundwater monitoring to comply with the standards 
established in accordance with the above specifications is required by 
Criterion 7A.
    Consistent with the requirements of Criterion 7A, License Condition 
(LC) 33 of ExxonMobil's Source Materials License SUA-1139 specifies 
that a groundwater monitoring program must be conducted at the Highland 
site and ExxonMobil must comply with the established groundwater 
protection standards at the designated POC wells for the constituents 
of interest, including chromium, uranium, selenium, and nickel. For 
chromium and selenium, the groundwater protection standards for the 
Highland site were set at the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for 
those constituents in the table in paragraph 5C of 10 CFR part 40, 
Appendix A. The MCLs for the constituents listed in the table in 
paragraph 5C were derived from the MCLs established for those 
constituents in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National 
Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs). For uranium and nickel, 
the groundwater protection standards were based on the NRC approved 
background concentrations for those constituents in the groundwater. 
However, in the years subsequent to the establishment of the 
groundwater protection standards in ExxonMobil's license, the MCLs for 
chromium and selenium in the EPA's NPDWRs have been modified and a new 
MCL for uranium has been promulgated. The former MCL for nickel in the 
NPDWRs (0.1 parts per million) was remanded in 1995, and there is now 
no EPA legal limit on the amount of nickel in drinking water.
    In light of the aforementioned changes to the EPA's NPDWRs, 
ExxonMobil has requested that Source Materials License SUA-1139 be 
amended to reflect the current MCLs for chromium, selenium, and uranium 
in the NPDWRs. In this regard, the staff notes that the table in 
paragraph 5C of 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, has not yet been revised to 
reflect the current NPDWRs for chromium, selenium, and uranium. 
Additionally, even though the MCL for nickel has been remanded and 
nickel is no longer listed as a regulated contaminant in the NPDWRs, 
ExxonMobil has requested that its license be modified to incorporate 
the former MCL for nickel as the groundwater protection standard. In 
this regard, the NRC notes that the EPA believed that the 0.1 parts per 
million level for nickel would not cause any potential health problems. 
In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, 
Criterion 5B(5)(c), the requested modifications to ExxonMobil's license 
would establish alternate concentration limits for

[[Page 42138]]

chromium, uranium, selenium, and nickel for implementation of a 
groundwater corrective action program in the event a concentration 
limit is exceeded for any of those constituents at the designated POC 
wells. Correspondingly, the requested license modifications have the 
potential for impacting the quality of the groundwater offsite. The NRC 
staff has evaluated ExxonMobil's request and has developed this EA to 
support the detailed technical review of ExxonMobil's proposed 
modifications to the groundwater protection standards for the Highland 
site, in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51.

The Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to amend NRC Source Materials License SUA-
1139 to reflect the current groundwater protection standards for 
chromium, uranium, and selenium in the EPA NPDWRs and incorporate the 
former groundwater protection standard for nickel, even though it is no 
longer a regulated constituent. ExxonMobil's objective in this proposal 
is to establish groundwater protection standards for the Highland site 
that are appropriate and consistent with the current standards for 
chromium, uranium, and selenium in the EPA NPDWRs and conservative with 
respect to the retention of a groundwater protection standard for 
nickel. Specifically, ExxonMobil has proposed the following 
modifications to the groundwater protection standards in LC 33 of the 
Highland license: Chromium would change from 0.05 milligrams per liter 
(mg/L) to 0.10 mg/L (the current MCL); uranium would change from the 
former radiotoxicity value of 0.43 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) 
(0.00065 mg/L) to the new chemical toxicity MCL of 0.03 mg/L (20 pCi/
L); and selenium would change from 0.01 mg/L to 0.05 mg/L (the current 
MCL). The standard for nickel would change from the 0.02 mg/L 
background concentration in the groundwater to 0.1 mg/L (the equivalent 
of the EPA's former MCL of 0.1 parts per million).

The Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of the proposed action is to establish groundwater 
protection standards for the Highland site which are consistent with 
the present or former EPA NPDWRs and correspondingly reflective of the 
understanding of the health and environmental impacts of specific 
contaminants in drinking water. With this EA, the NRC is fulfilling its 
responsibilities under the Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on a 
proposed license amendment for groundwater protection standards that 
ensures protection of public health and safety and the environment.

The Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The staff has evaluated the potential impacts associated with 
ExxonMobil's proposed modifications to the groundwater protection 
standards for chromium, uranium, selenium, and nickel at the Highland 
site and determined that those effects are limited to the potential 
public health and safety impacts related to possible degradation of 
offsite groundwater quality and water utilization. In this case, the 
bounding or controlling environmental impact is related to the 
potential use of that groundwater for drinking water purposes. However, 
as noted in ExxonMobil's amendment request, ExxonMobil has proposed to 
establish onsite groundwater protection standards for chromium, 
uranium, and selenium at the designated POC wells that are reflective 
of the current EPA NPDWRs for those contaminants. Additionally, even 
though the drinking water standard for nickel was remanded more than a 
decade ago, ExxonMobil has proposed a conservative health based 
standard for nickel that is consistent with the former MCL (0.1 mg/L) 
for that constituent. Conceptually, the EPA has determined that the 
drinking water limits in the NPDWRs pose acceptable hazards. The NPDWRs 
effectively protect the public health and safety and the environment by 
limiting the concentrations of contaminants in drinking water. The NRC 
finds that ExxonMobil has proposed onsite groundwater protection 
standards for chromium, uranium, selenium, and nickel that are 
adequately protective of public health and safety and the environment. 
Groundwater protection standards that are consistent with EPA's NPDWRs 
also satisfy the intent of 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 
5B(5)(b), recognizing the outdated table in paragraph 5(C). Further, in 
the event that any of the proposed groundwater protection standards for 
chromium, uranium, selenium, and nickel are exceeded, ExxonMobil's 
license specifies that a corrective action program must be proposed 
with the objective of returning the concentrations of those 
constituents to the values mandated in the license. These requirements 
will minimize the potential for any adverse impacts and further ensure 
the protection of public health and safety and the environment.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As the only reasonable alternative to the proposed action, the 
staff has considered denial of ExxonMobil's request (i.e., the no 
action alternative). Denial of ExxonMobil's request would result in no 
change in environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of the 
proposed action and the alternative action are similar, though, since 
both would be protective of offsite sources of drinking water. However, 
the no action alternative would leave the groundwater protection 
standards in ExxonMobil's license unnecessarily restrictive and out-of-
date with respect to the current EPA NPDWRs and the present 
understanding of the potential health effects of certain contaminants 
in drinking water.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    This EA was prepared by NRC staff (Myron Fliegel, Senior Project 
Manager) and coordinated with the following agency:Wyoming Department 
of Environmental Quality (WDEQ). NRC staff provided a draft of its EA 
to WDEQ for review. In electronic correspondence dated June 13, 2006, 
the WDEQ indicated that it did not have any comments on the draft EA.
    The NRC staff has determined that the proposed action will not 
affect listed species or critical habitat. Therefore, no further 
consultation is required under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 
Likewise, the NRC staff has determined that the proposed action is not 
the type of activity that has potential to cause effects on historic 
properties. Therefore, no further consultation is required under 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Conclusion

    The NRC staff has prepared this EA in support of the proposed 
license amendment to modify the groundwater protection standards for 
the Highland site. Based upon the analysis contained in this EA, the 
staff concludes that proposed action will not have a significant effect 
on public health and safety and the environment.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of this EA, NRC has concluded that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed license amendment 
and has determined that the proposed action does not warrant the 
preparation of an environmental impact statement. Accordingly, it has 
been determined that a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate.

[[Page 42139]]

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
amendment 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 
Document 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 as follows:
    1. ExxonMobil Refining and Supply. Letter dated January 16, 2006, 
from D. Burnham, ExxonMobil, to G. Janosko, NRC, requesting amendment 
to License Condition 33 of Source Materials License SUA-1139 for the 
Highland Reclamation Project. (ML060260421)
    2. E-mail correspondence dated February 7, 2006, from M. Fliegel, 
NRC, to D. Burnham, ExxonMobil, acknowledging receipt of the ExxonMobil 
January 16, 2006, license amendment request. (ML060400048)
    3. E-mail correspondence dated June 13, 2006, from M. Thiesse, 
WDEQ, to M. Fliegel, NRC, indicating that WDEQ had no comments on the 
draft EA. (ML061670212)
    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's 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 18th day of July, 2006.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Myron Fliegel,
Senior Project Manager, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel 
Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E6-11833 Filed 7-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P