[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13039-13040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6865]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Proposal To Revoke Designations of Inactive Uranium Mill Tailings 
Sites in North Dakota Previously Designated Under the Uranium Mill 
Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978

AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of proposal to revoke designations of inactive uranium 
mill tailings sites in North Dakota previously designated under the 
provisions of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978.

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SUMMARY: In 1979, the Secretary of Energy designated inactive uranium 
milling sites, including two sites at Belfield and Bowman, North 
Dakota, for cleanup under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control 
Act of 1978. In 1995, the State of North Dakota requested that the 
designations of the Belfield and Bowman sites be revoked citing its 
belief that there will be minimal risk to the public and the 
environment if the sites are not cleaned up and the State's inability 
to pay its 10 percent share of the cleanup costs required by UMTRCA. 
The Department of Energy is proposing to revoke the designations of 
these sites because of the low risks to the public and the environment 
at the sites, DOE's lack of

[[Page 13040]]

authority to clean up the two sites without costsharing by the State, 
and the existence of alternative authority to regulate the sites 
following revocation of the designations. Following revocation, these 
two sites will no longer be eligible for cleanup under the provisions 
of UMTRCA.

DATES: Public comments will be accepted on this proposed action. 
Comments should be submitted by April 16, 1998. If the Department does 
not receive any comments on this proposed action that would cause it to 
reconsider its proposal, the revocations shall be effective on May 18, 
1998; and the Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota, processing sites and 
associated vicinity properties will no longer be eligible for remedial 
action by the Department of Energy under the provisions of UMTRCA.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Loretta B. Fahy, Office of 
Environmental Restoration, EM-45, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 
Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta B. Fahy, Office of 
Environmental Restoration, (301) 903-3895.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Uranium Mill Tailings 
Radiation Control Act of 1978 is to provide, in cooperation with 
interested States, Indian tribes, and persons who own or control 
inactive uranium milling sites, a program of assessment and remedial 
action at certain designated sites to stabilize and control the 
tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner and to minimize or 
eliminate radiation health hazards. Section 102(a)(1) of UMTRCA, 42 
U.S.C. 7912(a)(1), required DOE to designate twenty-two sites specified 
in the Act and gave the Secretary discretionary authority to designate 
other sites. The Belfield and Bowman sites were designated under this 
discretionary authority of the Secretary (44 FR 74982, December 18, 
1979).
    Under the provisions of section 107(a) of UMTRCA, 42 U.S.C. 
7917(a), the Secretary is authorized to pay only 90 percent of the cost 
of remedial action at designated sites not on Indian lands, and the 
State is required to provide the remaining 10 percent. If the State 
does not provide its share of the remedial action costs, the Secretary 
lacks the necessary authority to perform remedial action at the sites 
in that State.
    The State of North Dakota, by letter dated March 14, 1995, 
requested that the Department of Energy take whatever action is 
necessary to revoke the designations of the Belfield and Bowman sites 
under UMTRCA and terminate the Cooperative Agreement between the State 
and the Department. The State's request expressed the view that there 
would be minimal risk to the public and environment if the sites were 
not cleaned up and noted that the North Dakota legislature was not 
likely to appropriate funds for the State's 10 percent share of the 
cleanup costs.
    Under section 102(a)(1) of UMTRCA, 42 U.S.C. 7912(a)(1), the 
Department has the implicit authority to revoke the designations of the 
two sites. There are three reasons why the Department is taking this 
action. First, the risk to the public and environment is low, and the 
public will be protected through State regulation of the radioactive 
material at the sites. In arriving at this conclusion, the Department 
prepared an Environmental Assessment and has issued a Finding of No 
Significant Impact for this proposed action. Second, since the State of 
North Dakota has declined to appropriate the State's cost share, the 
Department lacks the authority under UMTRCA to conduct the cleanup.
    Third, neither the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nor the 
Environmental Protection Agency has expressed any objection to the 
Department's proposed action. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff 
has advised the State and the Department that the State of North Dakota 
can regulate the sites under separate existing State authority. The 
Environmental Protection Agency has advised the Department that it will 
not object to the Department's action, provided that the State assumes 
regulatory responsibility for the sites. The State has notified the 
Department of its willingness to assume this responsibility.

    Issued in Washington, D.C. on this 10th of March, 1998.
James J. Fiore,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 98-6865 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
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