[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71082-71083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29566]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-9091; NRC-2011-0148]


Strata Energy, Inc., Ross Uranium Recovery Project; New Source 
Material License Application; Notice of Intent To Prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Strata Energy, Inc. (Strata) submitted an application for a 
new source material license for the Ross Uranium Recovery Project to be 
located in Crook County, Wyoming, 32 miles northeast of Gillette, 
Wyoming and 30 miles northwest of Sundance, Wyoming. The application 
proposes the construction, operation, and decommissioning of uranium 
in-situ recovery (ISR), also known as in-situ leach, facilities and 
restoration of the aquifer from which the uranium is being extracted. 
Strata submitted the application for the new source material license to 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by a letter dated January 
4, 2011. A notice of receipt and availability of the license 
application, including the Environmental Report (ER), and opportunity 
to request a hearing was published in the Federal Register on July 13, 
2011 (76 FR 41308). The purpose of this notice of intent is to inform 
the public that the NRC will be preparing a site-specific Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to the Generic Environmental 
Impact Statement for In-Situ Leach Uranium Milling Facilities (ISR 
GEIS) for a new source material license for the Ross Uranium Recovery 
Project, as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR) 51.26. In addition, as outlined in 36 CFR 800.8, ``Coordination 
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),'' the NRC plans to 
use the environmental review process as reflected in 10 CFR part 51 to 
coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the NRC 
NEPA process or the environmental review process related to the Ross 
Uranium Recovery Project application, please contact the NRC 
Environmental Project Manager, Alan Bjornsen, at (301) 415-1195 or 
[email protected].
    Information and documents associated with the Ross Uranium Project, 
including the license application, are available for public review 
through the NRC electronic reading room: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and on the NRC's Ross Uranium Recovery Project Web page: 
http://www.nrc.gov/materials/uranium-recovery/license-apps/ross.html. 
Documents may also be obtained from NRC's Public Document Room at the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1.0 Background

    Strata submitted the application for a new source material license 
to the NRC for ISR facilities by a letter dated January 4, 2011. A 
notice of receipt and availability of the license application, 
including the ER, and opportunity to request a hearing was published in 
the Federal Register on July 13, 2011 (76 FR 41308). One request for 
hearing was received on October 27, 2011.
    The NRC is preparing a draft SEIS that will tier off the ISR GEIS 
(NUREG-1910). While NRC's Part 51 regulations do not require scoping 
for SEISs, the NRC staff is planning to place ads in newspapers serving 
communities near the proposed site, requesting information and comments 
from the public regarding the proposed action. Also, NRC staff met 
with, and gathered information from, Federal, State, and local agencies 
as well as with public interest groups in conjunction with a visit to 
the proposed site. NRC staff may also use relevant information gathered 
during scoping for the GEIS to define the scope of the SEIS. In 
preparing the SEIS, the NRC staff is consulting with Bureau of Land 
Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming State Historic 
Preservation Office, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Wyoming Game 
and Fish Department, National Park Service, and the Crook County 
Natural Resource District in preparing the SEIS. The Bureau of Land 
Management is a cooperating agency with the NRC, under the Memorandum 
of Understanding, signed on November 30, 2009.
    The NRC has begun evaluating the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed ISR facility in parallel with the review 
of the license application. This environmental evaluation will be 
documented in draft and final SEISs in accordance with NEPA and NRC's 
implementing regulations contained in 10 CFR part 51. The NRC is 
required by 10 CFR 51.20(b)(8) to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS), or supplement to an EIS, for the issuance of a new 
license to possess and use source material for uranium milling. The ISR 
GEIS and the site-specific SEIS fulfill this regulatory requirement. 
The purpose of the present notice is to inform the public that the NRC 
staff will prepare a site-specific supplement to the ISR GEIS as part 
of the review of the application.

2.0 Ross ISR Facilities

    The proposed ISR facilities, if licensed, would include a central 
processing plant and appurtenant features, accompanying wellfields, and 
wastewater retention (storage) ponds. The ISR process involves the 
dissolution of the water-soluble uranium from the mineralized host 
sandstone rock by pumping oxidants (oxygen or hydrogen peroxide) and 
chemical compounds (sodium

[[Page 71083]]

bicarbonate) through a series of injection wells. The uranium-rich 
solution is transferred from production wells to either the central 
processing plant or satellite facility for uranium concentration using 
ion exchange columns. Final processing is conducted in the central 
processing plant to produce yellowcake, which would be sold to offsite 
facilities for further processing and eventual use as commercial fuel 
for use in nuclear power reactors.

3.0 Alternatives To Be Evaluated

    No-Action--The no-action alternative would be to deny the license 
application. Under this alternative, the NRC would not issue the 
license. This serves as a baseline for comparison.
    Proposed action--The proposed Federal action is to issue a license 
to use or process source material at the proposed ISR facilities. The 
license review process analyzes the construction, operation, and 
decommissioning of ISR facilities and restoration of the aquifer from 
which the uranium is being extracted. The ISR facilities would be 
located in Crook County, Wyoming, 32 miles northeast of Gillette, 
Wyoming and 30 miles northwest of Sundance, Wyoming. The applicant 
would be issued an NRC license under the provisions of 10 CFR part 40. 
Other alternatives not listed here may be identified through the 
environmental review process.

4.0 Environmental Impact Areas To Be Analyzed

    The following areas have been tentatively identified for analysis 
in the SEIS:
     Land Use: Plans, policies, and controls;
     Transportation: Transportation modes, routes, quantities, 
and risk estimates;
     Geology and Soils: Physical geography, topography, 
geology, and soil characteristics;
     Water Resources: Surface and groundwater hydrology, water 
use and quality, and the potential for degradation;
     Ecology: Wetlands, aquatic, terrestrial, economically and 
recreationally important species, threatened and endangered species;
     Air Quality: Meteorological conditions, ambient 
background, pollutant sources, and the potential for degradation;
     Noise: Ambient, sources, and sensitive receptors;
     Historical and Cultural Resources: Historical, 
archaeological, and traditional cultural resources;
     Visual and Scenic Resources: Landscape characteristics, 
manmade features and viewshed;
     Socioeconomics: Demography, economic base, labor pool, 
housing, transportation, utilities, public services/facilities, and 
education;
     Environmental Justice: Potential disproportionately high 
and adverse impacts to minority and low-income populations;
     Public and Occupational Health: Potential public and 
occupational consequences from construction, routine operation, 
transportation, and credible accident scenarios (including natural 
events);
     Waste Management: Types of wastes expected to be 
generated, handled, stored and disposed of; and
     Cumulative Effects: Impacts from past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions at and near the site(s).
    This list is not intended to be all inclusive, nor is it a 
predetermination of potential environmental impacts.

5.0 The NEPA Process

    The SEIS for the Ross Uranium Recovery Project will be prepared 
pursuant to the NRC's NEPA Regulations at 10 CFR part 51. The NRC will 
continue its environmental review of the application and as soon as 
practicable, the NRC and its contractor will prepare and publish a 
draft SEIS. The NRC currently plans to have a 45-day public comment 
period for the draft SEIS. Availability of the draft SEIS and the dates 
of the public comment period will be announced in the Federal Register 
and the NRC Web site: http://www.nrc.gov. The final SEIS will include 
responses to public comments received on the draft SEIS.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of November, 2011.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gregory Suber,
Acting Deputy Director, Environmental Protection and Performance 
Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental 
Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 
Management Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-29566 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
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