[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34942-34944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16913]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8502]


Cogema Mining, Inc.; Environmental Statements; Availability, etc

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of 
Opportunity for Hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes to renew 
NRC Source Material License SUA-1341 to authorize the licensee, COGEMA 
Mining, Inc. (COGEMA), to continue the commercial operation of its in-
situ leach (ISL) uranium mines and processing facilities, located in 
Campbell and Johnson Counties, Wyoming. This license currently 
authorizes COGEMA to receive, acquire, possess, and transfer uranium at 
its Irigaray and Christensen Ranch Facilities, which are located 
approximately 10 miles northeast of Sussex, Wyoming, and 30 miles 
north-northeast of Midwest, Wyoming, respectively. An Environmental 
Assessment (EA) was performed by the NRC staff in support of its review 
of COGEMA's license renewal request, 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: Ms. Janet Lambert, Uranium Recovery 
Branch, Mail Stop TWFN 7-J9, Division of Waste Management, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone 301/415-6710. E-mail: 
[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Irigaray Project was licensed for commercial operation in 
August 1978,

[[Page 34943]]

under ownership of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. In 1982, 
operations ceased at the Irigaray plant and wellfields, and the 
facility was placed on standby status pending improvements in the 
uranium market. In June 1987, Malapai Resources Company (MRC) purchased 
the Irigaray site from Westinghouse and resumed operations. In 1988, 
MRC was granted an amendment to the SUA-1341 Irigaray license to 
include the Christensen Ranch satellite ion exchange (IX) plant and 
associated mine units (MUs). The Irigaray site was then upgraded to 
include facilities for processing IX resin from Christensen Ranch. In 
April 1993, following other ownership changes, COGEMA acquired 
ownership of the Irigaray and Christensen Ranch Uranium Projects. Since 
then operations have continued under COGEMA management.
    At the Irigaray and Christensen Ranch facilities, the ISL mining 
method involves: (1) the injection of native groundwater, with added 
sodium carbonate/bicarbonate and oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, into a 
uranium-bearing orebody through injection wells; (2) the chemical 
mobilization of the uranium through oxidation and then complexation 
with the carbonate species; and (3) the extraction of the uranium-
bearing solution from the subsurface through a pattern of pumping 
wells. The uranium is separated from the leach solution by conventional 
ion exchange (IX) methods in the processing facilities. The resulting 
uranium-poor solution is recharged with carbonate and oxygen and 
returned to the mining zone for additional uranium recovery. This cycle 
continues until the ore zone is depleted or recovery of the uranium is 
no longer economically feasible.
    Once saturated with uranium, the resin in the IX columns is 
stripped of the uranium through an elution process. The recovered 
uranium solution is processed further by using ammonia or hydrogen 
peroxide to precipitate the uranium into a slurry. The resulting slurry 
is thickened by gravity settling, and then washed and de-watered in a 
filter press to about 50 percent solids. The filter press solids (cake) 
are then dried in a natural gas vacuum dryer, to produce uranium oxide, 
which is commonly known as ``yellowcake.'' The dried yellowcake is 
packaged in steel drums for storage and eventual shipment to a fuel 
processing facility.
    The Irigaray processing plant has the capability to perform all of 
the previously described processing steps. However, the Christensen 
Ranch plant does not contain the uranium elution circuit for removing 
and concentrating the uranium from the IX resin. For this reason, resin 
from the Christensen Ranch processing plant is transferred via truck to 
the Irigaray facility for elution and concentration into yellowcake. 
The eluted resin is then returned to the Christensen Ranch plant for 
reuse.
    All wellfields at the Irigaray site are in the restoration phase. 
Previous operations at Christensen Ranch have included production from 
Mine Units (MU) 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, with MU 3 in the groundwater 
restoration phase. Remaining reserves on the entire Irigaray property 
controlled by COGEMA total approximately seven million pounds. Reserves 
remaining on the Christensen Ranch property total approximately 13 
million pounds in the current, low-value uranium market.
    The proposed action is to renew Source Material License SUA-1341 to 
authorize the continued commercial operation of the Irigaray and 
Christensen Ranch facilities. In its renewal application, COGEMA has 
proposed many changes to the operations and procedures at the 
facilities. One of the major changes proposed by COGEMA is to combine 
the mine and development plans for Irigaray and Christensen Ranch into 
one plan. In addition, the renewed license would authorize the 
facilities to be operated such that the annual average yellowcake 
production does not exceed 1,133,980 kg (2,500,000 pounds) of U3O8 
annually. The EA discusses the environmental aspects of the COGEMA 
proposal. Additional information concerning the safety aspects of the 
proposed renewal will be contained in the safety evaluation report 
(SER) that will accompany the license renewal action.

The Environmental Assessment

    The NRC staff performed an appraisal of the environmental impacts 
associated with the continued operation of the COGEMA ISL facility, 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 information: (1) COGEMA's 
license renewal application, as amended; (2) previous environmental 
evaluations of the COGEMA facility; (3) COGEMA's license amendment 
requests submitted subsequent to its renewal application, and NRC staff 
approvals of these requests; (4) data contained in required semiannual 
environmental monitoring reports; (5) results of NRC staff site visits 
and inspections of the COGEMA facility; and (6) consultations with the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of Wyoming Department of 
Environmental Quality, and the State Historic Preservation Officer for 
the State of Wyoming. The results of the staff's appraisal are 
documented in the EA.

Environmental Assessment Conclusions

    The NRC staff has re-examined actual and potential environmental 
impacts associated with continued operation of the Irigaray and 
Christensen Ranch facilities, and has determined that renewal of Source 
Material License SUA-1341 will: (1) be consistent with requirements of 
10 CFR Part 40; (2) not be inimical to the public health and safety; 
and (3) not have long-term detrimental impacts on the environment. The 
following statements support the FONSI and summarize the conclusions 
resulting from the staff's environmental assessment:
    1. The proposed groundwater monitoring program is sufficient to 
detect excursions (vertical or horizontal) of mining solutions. 
Furthermore, aquifer testing and the previous history of operations 
indicate that the production zone is adequately confined, thereby 
assuring hydrologic control of mining solutions;
    2. Liquid process wastes will be disposed in accordance with 
approved waste disposal options. Monitoring programs are in place to 
ensure appropriate operation of the deep disposal well and to detect 
potential leakage from the solar evaporation ponds;
    3. An acceptable environmental and effluent monitoring program is 
in place to monitor effluent releases and to detect if applicable 
regulatory limits are exceeded. Radiological effluents from facility 
operations have been and are expected to continue to remain below the 
regulatory limits;
    4. All radioactive wastes generated by facility operations will be 
disposed offsite at a licensed byproduct disposal site;
    5. Groundwater impacted by mining operations will be restored to 
baseline conditions on a mine-unit average, as a primary goal. If 
baseline conditions cannot be reasonably achieved, the R&D operations 
have demonstrated that the groundwater can be restored to applicable 
class-of-use standards; and
    6. Because the staff has determined that there will be no 
significant impacts associated with approval of the license renewal, 
there can be no disproportionally high and adverse effects or impacts 
on minority and low-income populations. Consequently,

[[Page 34944]]

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, Revision 1, is not 
warranted.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to renew NRC Source Material License SUA-
1341, for continued operation of the Irigaray and Christensen Ranch ISL 
facilities, as requested by COGEMA. Therefore, the principal 
alternatives available to NRC are to:
    (1) Renew the license as requested by the licensee, with conditions 
considered necessary or appropriate to protect public health and safety 
and the environment; or
    (2) Renew the license, with conditions considered necessary or 
appropriate to protect public health and safety and the environment, 
but not allow COGEMA to expand its operations beyond those previously 
approved; or
    (3) Deny renewal of the license.
    Based on its review, the NRC staff has concluded that the 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action do not 
warrant either the limiting of COGEMA's future operations or the denial 
of the license renewal. Additionally, in the SER prepared for this 
action, the staff has reviewed the licensee's proposed action with 
respect to the criteria for license issuance specified in 10 CFR Part 
40, Section 40.32, and has no basis for denial of the proposed action. 
Therefore, the staff considers that Alternative 1 is the appropriate 
alternative for selection.

Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff has prepared an EA for the proposed renewal of NRC 
Source Material License SUA-1341. 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 (lower level), 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 
and Operators Licensing Proceedings,'' of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders in 
10 CFR Part 2. 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:
    (1) By delivery to the Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff of the 
Office of the Secretary at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays; 
or
    (2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Rulemakings and 
Adjudications Staff.
    Each request for a hearing must also be served, by delivering it 
personally or by mail to:
    (1) The applicant, COGEMA Mining, Inc., 935 Pendell Boulevard., 
P.O. Box 730, Mills, WY 82644;
    (2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the Executive Director of 
Operations, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays; or
    (3) 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 request that is granted will be held in accordance with 
the Commission's ``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in 
Materials and Operator Licensing Proceedings'' in 10 CFR Part 2, 
Subpart L.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of June 1998.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel M. Gillen,
Assistant Chief, Uranium Recovery Branch, Division of Waste Management, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 98-16913 Filed 6-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P