[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36663-36664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-3291]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8905]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment for Rio Algom Mining, LLC

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert A. Nelson, Chief, Uranium 
Processing Section, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel 
Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001. Telephone: (301) 415-7298 fax number: (301) 415-5955; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an amendment to 
Materials License No. SUA-1475 issued to Rio Algom Mining, LLC (the 
licensee), to authorize the consolidating and transporting of materials 
associated with the lined evaporation ponds at its Ambrosia Lake 
facility near Grants, NM. NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) in support of this amendment in accordance with the requirements 
of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. The amendment 
will be issued following the publication of this Notice.

II. EA Summary

    The proposed action is the relocation of the lined evaporation 
ponds (Section 4 Ponds and Pond 9) at the Ambrosia Lake facility. The 
action includes the consolidation and removal of byproduct material, 
transport of the material to the disposal site and disposal of material 
in accordance with NRC regulations.
    In a letter dated November 1, 2004, Rio Algom Mining, LLC (Rio 
Algom) submitted to the NRC, a Closure Plan-Lined Evaporation Ponds 
(Relocation Plan) for its Ambrosia Lake uranium mill facility. In a 
follow-up to the proposed plan, Rio Algom submitted, under letter dated 
January 28, 2005, a response to a request for additional information 
and a Revised Relocation Plan. Rio Algom requested that the Revised 
Relocation Plan be considered initially by NRC so that work can 
commence at the site. The staff has prepared the EA in support of the 
proposed license amendment. Staff considered impacts to the land 
surface, water, air, vegetation, public and worker health and safety, 
cultural resources, wildlife, and wildlife habitat. The staff found 
that the potential impacts of the proposed action are limited to the 
land surface and are temporary due to construction activities. The site 
Health, Safety and Environment Management System provides adequate 
assurances to control impacts to the environment. The proposed action 
will not result in adverse impacts to cultural and historic properties 
or impact any threatened or endangered species. The overall aesthetics 
of the area will improve.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    On the basis of the EA, NRC has concluded that there are no 
significant environmental impacts from the proposed amendment and has 
determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement.

IV. Further Information

    Documents related to this action, including the application for 
amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at 
the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide 
Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for 
the documents related to this notice are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               ADAMS
                Document                   accession No.       Date
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Rio Algom Mining LLC, ``Closure Plan-        ML050240058         11/1/04
 Lined Evaporation Ponds''..............
Rio Algom Mining LLC, ``Response to          ML050730258         1/28/05
 Request for Additional Information for
 Closure Plan--Lined Evaporation Ponds
 at Rio Algom Mining LLC's Ambrosia Lake
 Facility''.............................
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Letter to     ML042780480         9/20/04
 J. Caverly.............................
State of New Mexico Environment              ML051570252         4/22/05
 Department Letter to G. Janosko........
Rio Algom Mining, LLC, ``Response to         ML051670429         6/15/05
 Request for Additional Information
 Concerning Environmental Review''......
Environmental Assessment................     ML051680226         6/17/05
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[[Page 36664]]

    If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in 
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, MD this 17th day of June, 2005.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert A. Nelson,
Chief, Uranium Processing Section, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, 
Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-3291 Filed 6-23-05; 8:45 am]
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