[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23282-23284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10974]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8905]


Quivira Mining Company; Final Finding of No Significant Impact; 
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes to amend 
NRC Source Material License SUA-1473 to authorize the licensee, Quivira 
Mining Company (QMC), to accept 11e.(2) material for disposal at its 
Ambrosia Lake uranium mill and tailings site, located near Grants, New 
Mexico. An Environmental Assessment was performed by the NRC staff in 
accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. The conclusion of 
the Environmental Assessment is a Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) for the proposed licensing action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth R. Hooks, Uranium Recovery 
Branch, Mail Stop TWFN 7-J9, Division

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of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555. Telephone 
301/415-7777.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Source Material License SUA-1473 was originally issued by NRC on 
September 2, 1986, pursuant to Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), Part 40, Domestic Licensing of Source Material. This license 
currently authorizes QMC to (1) receive, acquire, possess, and transfer 
uranium at the Ambrosia Lake facility, (2) possess byproduct material 
in the form of uranium waste tailings and other uranium byproduct waste 
generated by operations at the mill, and (3) accept, for disposal, 
limited amounts of byproduct material from in situ leach (ISL) uranium 
mining facilities. The mill was operated on a continual basis from May 
1958 until January 1985, when the mill was placed on standby.

Identification of the Proposed Action

    On November 20, 1995, Quivira Mining Company (Quivira) requested a 
license amendment for the Ambrosia Lake facility to annually receive 
and dispose of up to 10,000 yd \3\ (about 14,000 tons at a nominal 1.4 
tons per yd \3\) per generator of 11e.(2) byproduct material in 
tailings impoundment #2, with an annual total limit of 100,000 yd \3\ 
from all generators. NRC staff would require by license condition that 
all generators, including in situ facilities, be limited to the 10,000 
yd \3\ per generator, and that the total annual limit of 100,000 yd \3\ 
be inclusive of all material received from generators, including in 
situ facilities.

Summary of the Environmental Assessment

    The NRC staff performed an appraisal of the environmental impacts 
associated with the requested disposal of 11e.(2) material at the 
Ambrosia Lake site, in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51, Licensing and 
Regulatory Policy Procedures for Environmental Protection. In 
conducting its appraisal, the NRC staff considered the following: (1) 
information contained in the approved Reclamation Plan for the Ambrosia 
Lake site; (2) information contained in QMC's amendment request; and 
(3) information derived from NRC staff site visits and inspections of 
the Ambrosia Lake mill site and from communications with QMC. The 
results of the staff's appraisal are documented in an Environmental 
Assessment. The safety aspects for the continued operation of the mill 
are discussed in a Technical Evaluation Report.
    In the approved 1986 reclamation plan, the Ambrosia Lake facility's 
tailings capacity was based on an assumption of 18 more years of 
production at 7,000 tons of tailings per day which would yield an 
additional 43 million tons of tailings material. When added to the 31 
million tons already in the disposal impoundments, the total quantity 
the design accounted for was 74 million tons. Ambrosia Lake halted 
operations far earlier than the planned 18 year run and currently has 
33 million tons of tailings in impoundments #1 and #2. Therefore, the 
excess capacity under the 1986 reclamation plan is 41 million tons.

Conclusions

    NRC believes this request will not result in significant 
environmental impacts because the impacts will be a small fraction of 
those that could result due to currently approved activities for the 
following reasons:
    (1) The total annual volume is a small fraction of the total volume 
allowed to be produced under the current license.
    (2) Groundwater impacts are minimized because the received material 
will be free of standing liquids and the disposal cells will have a 3-
foot thick minimum clay liner.
    (3) Air releases will be minimized because most of the material 
received will be packaged in drums or crates.
    (4) Exposure to workers is expected to be similar or lower than 
exposures to personnel working with 11e.(2) byproduct material under 
currently licensed operations.
    (5) Standard operating procedures are in place for all operational 
process activities involving radioactive materials that are handled, 
processed, or stored;
    (6) The licensee will continue an acceptable groundwater detection 
monitoring program to ensure compliance with the requirements of 10 CFR 
Part 40, Appendix A;
    (7) The licensee will conduct site decommissioning and reclamation 
activities in accordance with NRC-approved plans; and
    (8) Because the staff has determined that there will be no 
significant impacts associated with approval of the license renewal, 
there can be no disproportionately high and adverse effects or impacts 
on minority and low-income populations. Consequently, further 
evaluation of `Environmental Justice' concerns, as outlined in 
Executive Order 12898 and NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards Policy and Procedures Letter 1-50, Rev.1, is not warranted.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The licensee's proposed action is to amend Source Material License 
SUA-1473, to allow disposal of 11e.(2) material at the Ambrosia Lake 
site, as requested by QMC. Therefore, the principal alternatives 
available to NRC are to:
    (1) Approve the license amendment with such conditions as are 
considered necessary or appropriate to protect public health and safety 
and the environment; or
    (2) Deny the amendment to the license.

Based on its review, the NRC staff has concluded that there are no 
significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed action; 
therefore, any alternatives with equal or greater environmental impacts 
need not be evaluated. Since the environmental impacts of the proposed 
action and the no-action alternative (i.e., denial of the renewal) are 
similar, there is no need to further evaluate alternatives to the 
proposed action.

Finding of no Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment for the 
proposed amendment to NRC Source Material License SUA-1473. On the 
basis of this assessment, the NRC staff has concluded that the 
environmental impacts that may result from the proposed action would 
not be significant, and therefore, preparation of an Environmental 
Impact Statement is not warranted. The Environmental Assessment and 
other documents related to this proposed action are available for 
public inspection and copying at the NRC Public Document Room, in the 
Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington, DC 20555.

Notice of Opportunity for Hearing

    The Commission hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on 
an application for a licensing action falling within the scope of 
Subpart L, ``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in Materials 
Licensing Proceedings, of the Commission's Rules of Practice for 
Domestic Licensing Proceedings in 10 CFR Part 2'' (54 FR 8269). 
Pursuant to Sec. 2.1205(a), any person whose interest may be affected 
by this 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 from the date of publication of this Federal Register notice. 
The request for a hearing must be filed with the Office of the 
Secretary either:

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    (1) By delivery to the Docketing and Service Branch of the Office 
of the Secretary at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD 20852; or
    (2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and 
Service Branch.
    Each request for a hearing must also be served, by delivering it 
personally or by mail to:
    (1) The applicant, Quivira Mining Company, 6305 Waterford 
Boulevard, Suite 325, Oklahoma City, OK 73118;
    (2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the Executive Director of 
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.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR Part 
2 of the Commission's regulations, a request for a hearing filed by a 
person other than an applicant must describe in detail:
    (1) The interest of the requestor 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 
Sec. 2.1205(g);
    (3) the requestor'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 Sec. 2.1205(c).
    Any hearing that is requested and granted will be held in 
accordance with the Commission's Informal Hearing Procedures for 
Adjudications in Materials Licensing Proceedings in 10 CFR Part 2, 
Subpart L.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of April 1997.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Charles L. Cain,
Acting Chief, Uranium Recovery Branch, Division of Waste Management, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 97-10974 Filed 4-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P