ML071100227

Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of the National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NUREG - 1873)

ML071100227
Person / Time
Site:	National Bureau of Standards Reactor
Issue date:	06/27/2007
From:	Rani Franovich NRC/NRR/ADRO/DLR/REBB
To:	Weiss S US Dept of Commerce, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
Beissel, Dennis, DLR/REBA, 415-2145
Shared Package
ML071220139	List: ML071100227
References
NUREG-1873, TAC MC8280
Download: ML071100227 (7)

Text

June 27, 2007Dr. Seymour WeissChief, Reactor Operations and Engineering Center for Neutron Research National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSTATEMENT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL OF THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REACTOR (NUREG - 1873)

(TAC NO. MC8280)

Dear Dr. Weiss:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has completed the Draft EnvironmentalImpact Statement (EIS) for License Renewal of the National Bureau of Standards Reactor operating license TR-5 for an additional 20 years of operation for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Enclosed is a copy of the Draft EIS and the associated FederalRegister Notice of Availability. This notice advises the public that the Draft EIS is publiclyavailable at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) or from the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC website at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. The Accession Number for the Draft EIS isML070920453.As discussed in Section 8.0 of the Draft EIS, the preliminary recommendation of the staff is thatthe Commission determined the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal for the National Bureau of Standards Reactor are not so great that preserving the option of license renewal for Federal decision makers would be unreasonable. This recommendation is based on: (1) the analysis and findings in the Draft EIS; (2) the Environmental Report submitted by NIST; (3) consultation with Federal, State, and local agencies; and (4) the staff's own independent review. No public comments were received during the scoping process.

S. Weiss-2-A separate Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS will be placed in the Federal Register throughthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact the NRC Environmental Project Manager, Dennis Beissel, at 301-415-2145 or by e-mail at drb1@nrc.gov

.Sincerely, /RA/Eric Benner, Branch Chief Environmental Branch A Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No: 50-184

Enclosure:

As statedcc w/encl: See next page

1. Letter w/Svc List, FRN: ML0711002272. ?Draft Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of the National Bureau ofStandards Reactor, NUREG-1873: ML070920453 3. Pkg: ML071220139OFFICEDLR:LADLR:REBA:PMOGCDLR:REBA:BCNAMES. FigueroaDBeisselSUttalEBennerDATE05/02/0705/02/0705/04/07 06/27/07 590-01-P UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGYNATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REACTORNOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL OF NUCLEAR PLANTS,AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE LICENSE RENEWAL OF NBSRDOCKET NO: 50-184Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC,Commission) has published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of the operating license TR-5 for an additional 20 years of operation for the National Bureau of Standards Reactor located on the National Institute of Standards and technology (NIST) campus in upper Montgomery County, Maryland. Possible alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal) include no action, constructing a new reactor to replace the NBSR capabilities, and using alternative research facilities. The draft EIS is publicly available at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located atOne White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room is accessible at http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm. TheAccession Number for the draft EIS is ML070920453. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC's PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr@nrc.gov. In addition, the Montgomery County Library, located at 2 Metropolitan Court, Suite 4, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, has agreed to make the draft EIS available for public inspection. Any interested party may submit comments on the draft EIS for consideration by theNRC staff. To be considered, comments on the draft EIS and the proposed action must be received by July 31, 2007; the NRC staff is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. Comments received after the due date will be considered only if it is practical to do so. Written comments on the Draft EIS should be sent to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.Comments may be hand-delivered to the NRC at 11545 Rockville Pike, Room T-6D59,Rockville, MD, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. Electronic comments may be submitted to the NRC by e-mail at NISTDEIS@nrc.gov. All comments received by the Commission, including those made by Federal, State, local agencies, Native American Tribes, or other interested persons, will be made available electronically at the Commission's PDR in Rockville, Maryland, and through ADAMS.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mr. Dennis Beissel, EnvironmentalBranch A, Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop O-11F1, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Mr. Beissel may be contacted at the aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this___day of June, 2007.FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONEric Benner, Branch ChiefEnvironmental Branch A Division of License Renewal Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Letter to Dr. S. Weiss from E. Benner dated June 27, 2007

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSTATEMENT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL OF THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REACTOR (NUREG - 1873)

(TAC NO. MC8280)DISTRIBUTION

EmailP.T. Kuo (RidsNrrDlr)

T. Combs, OCA R. Shane, OCA B. Keeling, OCA R. Franovich (RidsNrrDlrRebb)

E. Benner (RidsNrrDlrReba)

Bev Miller, PNNL S. Hoffman M. Mendonca OPA (RidsOpaMail)

D. McIntyre, OPA OPA RI N. Sheehan S. Uttal National Institute of Standards and Technology cc:Montgomery County ExecutiveCounty Office Building Rockville, MD 20858 Environmental Program Manager IIIRadiological Health Program Air & Radiation Management Adm.

Maryland Dept. of the Environment 1800 Washington Blvd.

Suite 750 Baltimore, MD 21230-1724Director, Department of State Planning301 West Preston Street Baltimore, MD 21201Director, Air & Radiation Management Adm.

Maryland Dept. of the Environment 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 710 Baltimore, MD 21230 Director, Department of Natural ResourcesPower Plant Siting Program Energy and Coastal Zone Administration Tawes State Office Building Annapolis, MD 21401Dr. Wade Richards, Manager of Operations and Engineering NIST Center for Neutron Research National Institute of Standards and Technology U.S. Department of Commerce 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8561 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8561Test, Research, and Training Reactor Newsletter University of Florida 202 Nuclear Sciences Center Gainesville, FL 32611President, Montgomery County Council100 Maryland Avenue Rockville, MD 20850