[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15252-15254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7605]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-0299]


UMETCO Minerals Corporation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final finding of no significant impact. Notice of opportunity 
for Hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposes to 
amend NRC Source Material License SUA-648 to authorize the licensee, 
Umetco Minerals Corporation (Umetco) to apply Alternate Concentration 
Limits (ACL) to licensed constituents of ground water according to the 
submitted plan. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was performed by the 
NRC staff in support

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of its review of Umetco's license amendment 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. Elaine Brummett, Fuel Cycle 
Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office 
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Mail Stop T8-A33, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001. Telephone 
301/415-6606.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Umetco former uranium mill site is licensed by the U. S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under Source Materials License SUA-
648 to possess byproduct material in the form of uranium waste, such as 
mill tailings, generated by past uranium processing operations. The 
Umetco site is located in the East Gas Hills region of western Natrona 
and eastern Freemont Counties, Wyoming, approximately 80 kilometers (50 
miles) southeast of the town of Riverton, Wyoming. The mill operated 
from 1960 to 1979 and was dismantled in 1992. The Umetco site contains 
two reclaimed disposal areas; the Above Ground Tailings Impoundment 
(Impoundment) (including the heap leach area) and the A-9 Repository. 
The license establishes a separate ground water protection standard for 
each area. The ground water protection standard is established at two 
Point of Compliance (POC) wells near each disposal area. These four 
wells are used to monitor water quality because hazardous constituents 
have leached from the milling waste into the upper aquifer.
    The ACL application requests that site-specific concentration 
limits for hazardous constituents in ground water be granted for the 
Umetco site in place of the current concentration values in the 
license. The concentration limits required to be met under the licensed 
corrective action program are not attainable due to the high cost and 
the influence of mining-impacted water. The ground water at the Umetco 
site and surrounding areas is impacted by open-pit uranium mines with 
the same constituents resulting from the tailings and this was not 
considered when the corrective action began in 1991.
    Umetco is also proposing that the Point of Exposure (POE) be 
established for the site at the long-term care boundary. This boundary 
encompasses all the land that will be transferred to the U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) for perpetual care of the disposal sites. 
The western side of the boundary would be located about 1.4 km (0.8 
miles) west of the Impoundment and the southern side of the boundary 
would be located about 0.8 km (0.5 miles) south of the A-9 Repository. 
The POE is the location nearest the site where the public or 
environment might be exposed to milling impacted ground water, even 
though such exposure is highly unlikely.

Summary of the Environmental Assessment

    The NRC staff performed an appraisal of the environmental impacts 
associated with the application of ACL, in accordance with 10 CFR Part 
51, Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and 
Related Regulatory Functions. The license amendment would authorize 
Umetco to apply ACL to the license constituents measured at the POC. 
The technical aspects of the ACL application are discussed separately 
in a Technical Evaluation Report (TER) that will accompany the agency's 
final licensing action.
    The results of the staff's appraisal of potential environmental 
impacts are documented in an EA placed in the Publicly Available 
Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is 
accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html 
(the Public Electronic Reading Room). Based on its review, the NRC 
staff has concluded that there are no significant environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed action.

Conclusions

    The NRC staff has examined actual and potential impacts associated 
with implementation of the proposed ACL, and has determined that the 
requested amendment of Source Material License SUA-648, authorizing the 
ACL, will: (1) Be consistent with requirements of 10 CFR Part 40, 
Appendix A; (2) not be inimical to the public health and safety; and 
(3) not have long-term detrimental impacts on the environment. The 
following statements summarize the conclusions resulting from the 
staff's environmental assessment, and support the FONSI:
    1. An acceptable long-term ground water monitoring program will 
monitor contaminants to detect if applicable regulatory limits are 
exceeded. Each of the licensed constituents should remain within the 
range of background values, for 1000 years at the POE.
    2. Present and potential health risks to the public and risks of 
environmental damage from the proposed application of ACL were 
assessed. Given the remote location, the expected future land use, the 
perpetual control by the Federal government of land within the long-
term boundary, and the high value of some of the constituents in 
background due to past surface mining in the area, the staff determined 
that the risk factors for health and environmental hazards are 
insignificant.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to amend NRC Source Material License SUA-
648, to allow application of ACL to licensed constituents in ground 
water at the Umetco site. The principal alternatives available to the 
NRC are to:
    1. Approve the license amendment request as submitted; or
    2. Amend the license with such additional conditions as are 
considered necessary or appropriate to protect public health and safety 
and the environment; or
    3. Deny the amendment request.
    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 Umetco's plans necessary for license 
termination (site is in final stages of decommissioning) or the denial 
of the license amendment. Additionally, in the TER prepared for this 
action, the staff has reviewed the licensee's proposed action with 
respect to the ground water criteria specified in 10 CFR 40, Appendix 
A, 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 amendment of NRC 
Source Material License SUA-648. 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 EA and other documents related to this proposed action are 
available for public inspection and copying at the NRC Public Document 
Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.

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 10 
CFR Part 2, Subpart L, ``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications 
in Materials and Operators Licensing

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Proceedings,'' of the Commission's Rules of Practice for Domestic 
Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders. 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(d), 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; or
    (2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1205(f), each request for a hearing 
must also be served, by delivering it personally or by mail to:
    (1) The applicant, Umetco Minerals Corporation, P.O. Box 1029, 
Grand Junction, CO 81502;
    (2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the General Counsel, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852; or
    (3) By mail addressed to the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
    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(h);
    (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(d).
    Any hearing that is requested and 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 24th day of March, 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Melvyn Leach,
Chief, Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 02-7605 Filed 3-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P