[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 7281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3886]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Natural Resources Defense Council Receipt of Petition and
Issuance of a Director's Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that by Petition dated January 8, 1997,
Thomas B. Cochran, on behalf of Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC), requested that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission)
take immediate action with regard to Envirocare of Utah, Inc.
Specifically, the Petition requested NRC to take the following actions:
(1) Immediately revoke the license or licenses, or cause the state
of Utah to revoke its agreement state license or licenses, under which
Envirocare is currently permitted to accept low-level radioactive waste
and mixed waste for permanent disposal.
(2) Immediately revoke the NRC 11e.(2) byproduct material license
under which Envirocare is currently permitted to accept uranium mill
tailings for disposal.
(3) Immediately revoke any other NRC license, or agreement state
license, if such license exists, held by Envirocare, Khosrow Semnani,
or any entity controlled or managed by Khosrow Semnani.
(4) Prohibit the future issuances of any license by the NRC, the
State of Utah, or other NRC agreement state, to Khosrow Semnani or any
company or entity which he owns, controls, manages, or [with which he]
has a significant affiliation or relationship.
(5) Suspend the agreement with the state of Utah under which
regulatory authority has been transferred from the NRC to the Utah's
Bureau of Radiation [Division of Radiation Control], until the State of
Utah can demonstrate that it can operate the Bureau of Radiation
[Division of Radiation Control] in a lawful manner, and without the
participation of licensees, or employees of licensees, in Bureau of
Radiation [Division of Radiation Control] oversight roles.
As a basis for the request, the Petitioner asserts that on December
28, 1996, an article in The Salt Lake Tribune reported that between
1987 and 1995 Mr. Semnani made secret cash payments to Mr. Larry F.
Anderson, who served as Director of the Utah Division of Radiation
Control from 1983 until 1993. The article also reported that the Utah
Attorney General's office has initiated a criminal investigation into
the matter.
The NRC response to the Petitioner's request regarding the
Agreement State program is provided in a ``NRC Staff Evaluation of
Natural Resources Defense Council Request to Suspend Section 274
Agreement With The State of Utah.'' The other issues raised in the
Petition have been evaluated by the Director of the Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards. After review of the Petition, the
Director has denied the Petitioner's requests.
The Director's Decision concluded that no substantial health and
safety issues have been raised regarding Envirocare that would require
initiation of the immediate action requested by the NRDC. The NRDC has
not provided any information in support of its requests of which the
NRC was not already aware. Moreover, NRC inspections of the Envirocare
facility have not revealed the existence of extraordinary circumstances
that would warrant immediate suspension of the Envirocare license. In
addition, the staff's review of the technical basis for its issuance of
the license and subsequent amendments found no evidence of the
existence of any substantial health or safety issue that would justify
the actions requested by the NRDC. However, NRC will monitor the
investigations and actions being conducted by the State of Utah. If NRC
receives any specific information that there is a public health or
safety concern as a result of these actions or from any other source,
including the NRC ongoing Agreement State oversight activities, NRC
will evaluate that information and take such action as it deems is
warranted at that time.
The complete ``Director's Decision under 10 CFR Sec. 2.206'' (DD-
97-02) is available for public inspection in the Commission's Public
Document Room located at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20555.
The Director's Decision is also available on the NRC Electronic
Bulletin Board at (800) 952-9676.
A copy of this Decision will be filed with the Secretary for the
Commission's review, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.206. As provided by
this regulation, the Decision will constitute the final action of the
Commission 25 days after the date of issuance of the Decision unless
the Commission on its own motion institutes a review of the Decision
within that time.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 7th day of February 1997.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carl J. Paperiello,
Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 97-3886 Filed 2-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P