[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63518-63519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-25996]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No.: 40-8905; NRC-2010-0326]


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment No. 61 for Rio Algom Mining 
LLC, Ambrosia Lake, NM--SUA-1473

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas McLaughlin, Project Manager, 
Materials Decommissioning 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) 415-5869; fax number: (301) 415-
5369; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance 
of a license amendment to Source Materials License SUA-1473 issued to 
Rio Algom Mining LLC (Rio Algom, or the Licensee) to authorize an 
alternate on-site disposal cell location for disposal of byproduct 
material at its Ambrosia Lake Mill Facility, in Ambrosia Lake, New 
Mexico. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for this 
proposed action 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 with respect to the proposed action. The 
amendment will be issued following the publication of this Notice.
    The Licensee previously has addressed, and the NRC has approved, 
the remaining site-wide reclamation plan elements through separate 
licensing actions, including the original reclamation plan for Tailings 
Ponds 1, 2, and 3 Disposal Cells (approved in September 1990), mill 
demolition, relocation of lined evaporation pond sediments, soil 
decommissioning plan, and groundwater remediation. The expansion of 
Tailings Pond Disposal Cell 2 was approved by License Amendment No. 58. 
The current licensing action is to provide an alternate on-site 
disposal area for placing byproduct material such as mill building 
debris and windblown impacted soil.

II. Environmental Assessment Summary

    The purpose of the proposed amendment is to authorize an alternate 
on-site disposal cell location at the Licensee's Ambrosia Lake Mill 
Facility, in Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico. By letter dated April 26, 2010, 
Rio Algom submitted a request to the NRC for approval of an alternate 
on-site disposal cell location for disposal of byproduct material.
    Rio Algom proposes placing byproduct materials, consisting 
primarily of mill building debris and windblown impacted soils, in the 
former ore-storage area west of the existing mill office, and 
stabilizing the materials in accordance with NRC standards in 10 CFR 
part 40. The cover over the disposal area would consist of a radon/
infiltration barrier, overlain by a frost protection layer and rock 
erosion protection layers. Following approval by NRC of successful 
remediation of the area pursuant to the Reclamation Plan, the 
construction will be completed and the site eventually will be 
transferred to DOE.
    The staff, in coordination with the New Mexico Environmental 
Department (NMED), has prepared the EA in support of the proposed 
license amendment. The EA evaluates the construction of an alternate 
on-site disposal cell and is limited to the construction impacts as all 
other impacts (long-term and indirect) were previously evaluated in the 
Tailings Pond 2 expansion EA completed in November 2007, in connection 
with License Amendment No. 58.
    The potential direct impacts from construction activities primarily 
would be dust generation due to excavating material to form the 
channel, noise generated by construction equipment, and water surface 
runoff. The staff has determined that these potential direct impacts 
would be sufficiently mitigated, and the potential impacts at the 
tailings cell area would be small as the area is already disturbed from 
site reclamation activities.
    Three alternatives to the proposed action were considered and 
rejected, including: no action, increasing the capacity of disposal 
area 2, or selecting another disposal area at the facility.

II. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on the analysis contained in this EA, the staff concluded 
that there are no significant environmental impacts from the proposed 
action, and that the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement 
is not warranted. Accordingly, the NRC determined that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact is appropriate.

III. 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

[[Page 63519]]

documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to 
this notice are: the Licensee's license amendment request and 
environmental evaluation dated April 26, 2010 (ADAMS ML101190534); the 
October 1, 2010, EA for License Amendment No. 61 (the alternate on-site 
disposal cell location) (ADAMS ML102220253); Approval for License 
Amendment No. 58 (ADAMS ML073050328); and the November 2007, EA for 
Tailings Pond 2 (ADAMS ML072670278). 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, Maryland, 20852. The PDR reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of October, 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. 2010-25996 Filed 10-14-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P