[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35431-35432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14411]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2011-0258]


Final Alternative Soils Standards for the Uravan, CO, Uranium 
Mill

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Uranium milling alternative standards.

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SUMMARY: This document announces that on May 18, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) made a determination 
required by Section 274o of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended 
(the Act), for Agreement State proposed alternative standards for 
11e.(2) byproduct material. The Commission has determined that the 
State of Colorado's proposed alternative soils standards will achieve a 
level of stabilization and containment of the sites concerned. It will 
also provide a level of protection for public health, safety, and the 
environment from radiological and nonradiological hazards associated 
with such sites equivalent to or more stringent than the level that 
would be achieved by existing standards and requirements, to the extent 
practicable. Existing standards include those adopted and enforced by 
the Commission for the same purpose and any final standards promulgated 
by the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
in accordance with Section 275 of the Act. This document completes the 
notice and public hearing process required in Section 274o of the Act 
for proposed State alternative soil standards.

DATES: The Commission made a determination on the State of Colorado's 
proposed alternative soils standards on May 18, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2011-0258 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may access information related to this document, which the NRC 
possesses and are publicly available, using the following methods:

[[Page 35432]]

     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2011-0258. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-492-
3668; email: [email protected].
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may access publicly-available documents online in the NRC 
Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the 
search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and then select ``Begin Web-
based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's 
Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number 
for each document referenced in this notice (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis M. Sollenberger, telephone: 
301-415-2819; email: [email protected], or Stephen Poy, 
telephone: 301-415-7135; email: [email protected]. Both serve in the 
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management 
Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since Congress added Section 274 of the Act 
in 1959, the Commission has entered into Agreements with 37 States that 
relinquished Federal authority. Under these Agreements, each State 
assumed regulatory authority under State law to regulate certain 
radioactive materials within the State. The NRC periodically reviews 
the performance of the Agreement States to ensure compliance with the 
provisions of Section 274. Congress further amended the Act In 1978 by 
adding a new subsection, Section 274o, which required Agreement States 
to specifically amend their agreements to regulate uranium mill 
tailings (11e.(2) byproduct material). Six Agreement States have this 
authority as part of their agreements. Under Section 274o of the Act, 
an Agreement State may adopt site-specific alternative standards with 
respect to sites at which ores are processed primarily for their source 
material content or at sites used for the disposal of Section 11e.(2) 
byproduct material. Before a State can adopt alternative standards, the 
Commission must make a determination that the alternative standards 
will achieve a level of stabilization and containment of the site 
concerned, and the alternative standards will provide an equivalent or 
more stringent level of protection for public health, safety, and the 
environment from radiological and nonradiological hazards associated 
with the site. In addition, before making a determination, the NRC must 
provide notice and an opportunity for public hearing before approving 
the site-specific alternative standards.
    The Commission approved a process similar to that specified in 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 2, Subpart H, 
``Rulemaking,'' to fulfill both provisions for notice and for 
opportunity for public hearing required by Section 274o of the Act. 
This document completes the notice and opportunity for public hearing 
provisions of the Act with the notice of the final Commission 
determination. In a memorandum dated August 21, 2011 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML112010137), the NRC's Executive Director for Operations notified 
the Commission of the staff's intention to publish a notice and 
opportunity for public hearing in the Federal Register on the State of 
Colorado's proposed alternative soils standards for a 30-day comment 
period (76 FR 70170; November 10, 2011). The public comment period and 
opportunity for hearing ended on December 12, 2011. The Commission 
received two comment letters on Colorado's alternative soils standards 
proposal (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML11346A586 and ML12033A032).
    The NRC staff prepared an analysis of the comments received on 
Colorado's proposed alternative soils standards (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML120330021). The first of the two commenters wrote in support of 
Colorado's alternative soils standards. The second of the two 
commenters questioned the basis for applying alternative standards and 
requested a clarification regarding the requirements and the use of the 
alternative soils standards in the decommissioning process and in 
transferring the Uravan uranium mill site to the U.S. Department of 
Energy. The NRC staff found no deficiencies in Colorado's proposed 
alternative soils standards but the staff did make changes to its 
assessment to add clarity in response to the comments (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML120330018).
    The Commission considered the comments submitted, the NRC staff's 
analysis of the comments, and the NRC staff's recommendation that the 
Commission approve a final determination that Colorado's proposed 
alternative soils standards meet the requirements in Section 274o of 
the Act. The Commission has determined that the State of Colorado's 
proposed alternative soils standards will achieve a level of 
stabilization and containment of the sites concerned. They also achieve 
a level of protection for public health, safety, and the environment 
from radiological and nonradiological hazards associated with such 
sites that is more stringent than the level that would be achieved by 
existing standards and requirements. Existing standards include those 
promulgated by the Administrator of the EPA in accordance with Section 
275 of the Act.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of June, 2012.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-14411 Filed 6-12-12; 8:45 am]
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