[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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