[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 69 (Monday, April 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18551-18552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8236]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2010-0149]


Establishment of the U.S. Department of Energy as the Long-Term 
Custodian of the Maybell West Uranium Mill Tailings Site in Moffatt 
County, CO. and Notice of Termination of the Umetco Minerals 
Corporation Colorado Radioactive Materials License Number 660-01 for 
the Maybell West Site

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of establishment of the U.S. Department of Energy as the 
long-term custodian of the Maybell West uranium mill tailings site in 
Moffatt County, Colorado, under the general license provisions of 10 
CFR 40.28, and

[[Page 18552]]

termination of the Umetco Minerals Corporation Colorado Radioactive 
Materials License Number 660-01 for the Maybell West site.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Chang, Project Manager, 
Special Projects Branch, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing 
Directorate, 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) 415-7188; fax number: (301) 415-5369; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Notice of Approval

    On June 14, 2007, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff 
concurred with the State of Colorado's determination that all 
applicable standards and requirements for the protection of public 
health, safety and the environment had been met for the Umetco Minerals 
Corporation (Umetco) Maybell West uranium mill tailings disposal site. 
On February 5, 2010, Umetco transferred ownership of its 20-acre parcel 
of the 180-acre Maybell West uranium mill tailings disposal site to the 
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for long-term custody, as required by 
10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 11, prior to termination of 
Umetco's Radioactive Materials License by the State of Colorado. The 
160-acre balance of the disposal site is on public land, which was 
transferred by the Bureau of Land Management to the DOE in April 2008. 
By letter dated February 16, 2010, the DOE submitted the final Long-
Term Surveillance Plan (LTSP) for the Maybell West disposal site for 
review and acceptance by the NRC. The NRC staff has completed its 
review of the LTSP and determined that the LTSP satisfies the long-term 
surveillance requirements in 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 12, 
and Sec.  40.28, for the Maybell West tailings disposal site.
    Accordingly, notice is hereby given that the NRC has accepted the 
LTSP for the Maybell West site. As documented in NRC's letter dated 
March 11, 2010, acceptance of this LTSP establishes the DOE as the 
long-term custodian and caretaker of the Maybell West site under the 
general license specified in Sec.  40.28. In a concurrent action, the 
State of Colorado terminated Umetco's Radioactive Materials License 
Number 660-01 for the Maybell West site. These actions complete all 
requirements for closure of the Maybell West site under the Uranium 
Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, as amended. These actions 
do not require an environmental assessment as they are administrative 
in nature and categorically excluded under 10 CFR 51.22(c) (11). 
Accepting this LTSP and establishing this site in the custody and long-
term care of the DOE involved no significant: (i) Change in the types 
or increase in the amounts of any effluents that may be released 
offsite; (ii) increase in individual or cumulative occupational 
radiation exposure; (iii) construction impact; and (iv) increase in the 
potential for, or consequences from radiological accidents.

II. Further Information

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's ``Rules of Practice,'' 
copies
    of the Maybell West LTSP submitted by DOE in a letter dated 
February 16, 2010, and the letter dated March 11, 2010, from the State 
of Colorado to Umetco terminating their Radioactive Materials License, 
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 Documents 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 listed below. 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].
    Documents Related to this Notice:
    1. Letter dated June 14, 2007, from J. Schlueter, NRC, to J. 
Vranka, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, regarding 
NRC concurrence of meeting all applicable standards for the Umetco 
Minerals Corporation Maybell West Uranium Mill Tailings Disposal Site. 
ML071490193.
    2. Letter dated February 16, 2010, from T. Pauling, DOE, to W. 
VonTill, NRC, submitting the final Long-Term Surveillance Plan for the 
Maybell West Disposal Site, Moffatt County, Colorado. ML100550721.
    3. Letter dated March 11, 2010, from K. McConnell, NRC, to R. 
Plieness, DOE, regarding acceptance of the Long-Term Surveillance Plan 
for the Umetco Minerals Corporation Maybell West Uranium Mill Tailings 
Disposal Site. ML100570213.
    4. Letter dated March 11, 2010, from J. Opila, Colorado Department 
of Public Health and Environment, to T. Gieck, Umetco, regarding 
termination of Umetco's Radiation Materials License. ML100700643.
    These documents may also be viewed electronically on the public 
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O1 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 5th day of April 2010.
    For The 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. 2010-8236 Filed 4-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P