[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 52 (Monday, March 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14279-14281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5263]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-08502]


Notice of License Amendment Request To Revert to Operating Status 
From Restoration and Decommissioning Status, COGEMA Mining, Inc., 
Christensen and Irigaray Ranch Facilities, Johnson and Campbell 
Counties, WY, and Opportunity To Request a Hearing

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of license amendment request and opportunity to request 
a hearing.

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DATES: A request for a hearing must be filed by May 16, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron C. Linton, Project Manager, 
Uranium Recovery Licensing Branch, Division of Waste Management and 
Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and 
Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-7777; fax number: (301) 415-
5369; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    By letter dated April 3, 2007, COGEMA Mining, Inc. (COGEMA), 
submitted a Source Materials License Amendment request to its license 
SUA-1341 to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to revert to 
operating (uranium production) status from restoration and 
decommissioning status at the Christensen and Irigaray Ranch Facilities 
in Johnson and Campbell Counties, Wyoming. The change in status request 
would involve restarting uranium production operations and the recovery 
of uranium by in situ leach (ISL) extraction techniques as previously 
licensed by the NRC. An NRC administrative review, documented in a 
letter to COGEMA dated June 28, 2007, found the amendment request 
acceptable to begin a technical review (Adams Accession No. 
ML071790033). Before approving the license amendment, the NRC findings 
required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the National Environmental 
Policy Act and NRC's regulations, will have been made. These findings 
will be documented in a Technical Evaluation Report and a site-specific 
environmental review consistent with the provisions in 10 CFR part 51.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    The April 3, 2007 amendment request pertains to COGEMA's 10 CFR 40 
source materials license, and is COGEMA's proposal to restart uranium 
production operations at its facilities in Johnson and Campbell 
Counties, Wyoming. Any person whose interest may be affected by this 
proposal, and who desires to participate as a party in an NRC 
adjudicatory proceeding, must file a request for a hearing. The hearing 
request must include a specification of the contentions which the 
person seeks to have litigated, and must be filed in accordance with 
the NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August 2007, 72 FR 
49139 (August 28, 2007). The E-Filing rule requires participants to 
submit and serve documents over the internet or in some cases to mail 
copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper 
copies of their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with 
the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 
five (5) days prior to the filing deadline, the petitioner/requester 
must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a 
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2) 
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances 
in which the petitioner/requestor (or its counsel or representative) 
already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each petitioner/
requester will need to download the Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to 
access the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-
Filing system. The Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ is free and is available 
at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html.

[[Page 14280]]

Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on 
NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
    Once a petitioner/requester has obtained a digital ID certificate, 
has a docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, the petitioner/
requester can then submit a request for hearing or petition for leave 
to intervene. Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) 
in accordance with NRC guidance available on the NRC public Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered 
complete at the time the filer submits its documents through EIE. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the EIE system no 
later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a 
transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
EIE system also distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to 
the document to the NRC Office of the General Counsel and any others 
who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
documents on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document 
via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the 
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, or by calling the NRC technical help line, 
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or 
locally, (301) 415-4737.
    Participants who believe that they have good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance 
with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting 
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such 
filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail addressed to the 
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited 
delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One 
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a 
document in this manner are responsible for serving the document on all 
other participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail 
as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service.
    Non-timely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission, the presiding 
officer, or the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition 
and/or request should be granted and/or the contentions should be 
admitted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). To be timely, filings must be submitted no later 
than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant 
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or 
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include social 
security numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are 
requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submissions.
    The formal requirements for documents contained in 10 CFR 2.304(c)-
(e) must be met. If the NRC grants an electronic document exemption in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g)(3), then the requirements for paper 
documents, set forth in 10 CFR 2.304(b) must be met.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b), a request for a hearing must be 
filed by May 16, 2008.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR 
2.309, a request for a hearing filed by a person other than an 
applicant or licensee must state:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of the requester;
    2. The nature of the requester's right under the Act to be made a 
party to the proceeding;
    3. The nature and extent of the requester's property, financial, or 
other interest in the proceeding;
    4. The possible effect of any decision or order that may be issued 
in the proceeding on the requester's interest; and
    5. The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing is 
timely in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(b).
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(1), a request for hearing or 
petitions for leave to intervene must set forth with particularity the 
contentions sought to be raised. For each contention, the request or 
petition must:
    1. Provide a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be 
raised or controverted;
    2. Provide a brief explanation of the basis for the contention;
    3. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is within 
the scope of the proceeding;
    4. Demonstrate that the issue raised in the contention is material 
to the findings that the NRC must make to support the action that is 
involved in the proceeding;
    5. Provide a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert 
opinions which support the requester's/petitioner's position on the 
issue and on which the requester/petitioner intends to rely to support 
its position on the issue; and
    6. Provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute 
exists with the applicant or licensee on a material issue of law or 
fact. This information must include references to specific portions of 
the amendment request that the requester/petitioner disputes and the 
supporting reasons for each dispute, or, if the requester/petitioner 
believes the application fails to contain information on a relevant 
matter as required by law, the identification of each failure and the 
supporting reasons for the requester's/petitioner's belief.
    In addition, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(2), contentions 
must be based on documents or other information available at the time 
the petition is to be filed, such as the amendment request, other 
supporting documents filed by an applicant or licensee, or otherwise 
available to the petitioner. On issues arising under the National 
Environmental Policy Act, the requester/petitioner shall file 
contentions based on environmental information supplied by the licensee 
or previous environmental analysis. The requester/petitioner may amend 
those contentions or file new contentions if there are data or 
conclusions in the NRC draft, or final environmental impact statement, 
environmental assessment, or any supplements relating thereto, that 
differ significantly from the data or conclusions in the applicant's or 
licensee's documents. Otherwise, contentions may be amended or new 
contentions filed after the initial filing only with leave of the 
presiding officer.

[[Page 14281]]

    Each contention shall be given a separate numeric or alpha 
designation within one of the following groups:
    1. Technical--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in technical documents for the proposed action.
    2. Environmental--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the environmental documents for the proposed 
action.
    3. Emergency Planning--primarily concerns issues relating to 
matters discussed or referenced in the Emergency Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    4. Physical Security--primarily concerns issues relating to matters 
discussed or referenced in the Physical Security Plan as it relates to 
the proposed action.
    5. Miscellaneous--does not fall into one of the categories outlined 
above.
    If the requester/petitioner believes a contention raises issues 
that cannot be classified as primarily falling into one of these 
categories, the requester/petitioner must set forth the contention and 
supporting bases, in full, separately for each category into which the 
requester/petitioner asserts the contention belongs with a separate 
designation for that category.
    Requesters/petitioners should, when possible, consult with each 
other in preparing contentions and combine similar subject matter 
concerns into a joint contention, for which one of the co-sponsoring 
requesters/petitioners is designated the lead representative. Further, 
in accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(f)(3), any requester/petitioner that 
wishes to adopt a contention proposed by another requester/petitioner 
must do so, in accordance with the E-Filing rule, within ten (10) days 
of the date the contention is filed, and designate a representative who 
shall have the authority to act for the requester/petitioner.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.309(g), a request for hearing and/or 
petition for leave to intervene may also address the selection of the 
hearing procedures, taking into account the provisions of 10 CFR 2.310.

III. Further Information

    Documents related to this action 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 ML071020274, Letter from T. 
Hardgrove, COGEMA Mining, Re: Request for Amendment to License SUA-1341 
for Restart of Irigaray/Christensen Ranch Facilities, and ML080140205, 
Tom Hardgrove ltr re: Amendment Request to Change From Restoration and 
Decommissioning Status to Operating Status, Irigaray/Christensen Ranch 
Facilities, Cogema Mining, Inc. If you do not have access to ADAMS or 
if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
contact the NRC 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, Maryland, this 6th day of March, 2008.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell,
Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery, Licensing 
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs.
 [FR Doc. E8-5263 Filed 3-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P