[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 109 (Friday, June 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32773-32775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13214]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 04008964; NRC-2014-0092]
Cameco Resources
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Temporary exemption; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
temporary exemption from certain NRC financial assurance requirements
to Cameco Resources (Cameco) in response to its annual financial
assurance update for the North Butte satellite to the Smith Ranch
Highland Uranium In-Situ Recovery (ISR) project. Issuance of this
temporary exemption will not remove the requirement for Cameco to
provide adequate financial assurance through an approved mechanism, but
will allow the NRC staff to further evaluate whether the State of
Wyoming's separate account provision for financial assurance
instruments it holds is consistent with the NRC's requirement for a
standby trust agreement.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0092 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may access publicly-available information related to this document
using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0092. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-287-
3422; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
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 document (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: Douglas Mandeville, Office of Federal
and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs; U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-
0724; email: [email protected].
I. Background
Pursuant to Part 40 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), Appendix A, Criterion 9 and NRC materials license SUA-1548,
License Condition 9.5, Cameco is required to submit to the NRC for
review and approval an annual update of the financial surety to cover
third-party costs for decommissioning and decontamination for the Smith
Ranch Highland ISR project and its related satellite facilities at Gas
Hills, North Butte, and Ruth. Smith Ranch Highland is located in
Converse County, Wyoming and its related satellite facilities are
located in Natrona and Fremont; Campbell; and Johnson Counties,
Wyoming, respectively. By letter dated January 30, 2014, Cameco
submitted to the NRC its North Butte annual surety update for 2014-2015
(ADAMS Accession No. ML14043A218). The NRC's staff reviewed the annual
financial surety updates and found the values reasonable for the
required reclamation activities (ADAMS Accession No. ML14115A219).
Cameco maintains approved financial assurance instruments in favor of
the State of Wyoming; however, it does not have a standby trust
agreement (STA) in place, as required by 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A,
Criterion 9.
II. Description of Action
As of December 17, 2012, the NRC's uranium milling licensees, which
are regulated, in part, under 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 9,
are required to have an STA in place. Criterion 9 provides that if a
licensee does not use a trust as its financial assurance mechanism,
then the licensee is
[[Page 32774]]
required to establish a standby trust fund to receive funds in the
event the Commission or State regulatory agency exercises its right to
collect the funds provided for by surety or letter of credit. The
purpose of an STA is to provide a separate account to hold
decommissioning funds in the event of a default. Consistent with the
provisions of 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 9(d), Cameco has
consolidated its NRC financial assurance sureties with those it is
required to obtain by the State of Wyoming, and the financial
instrument is held by the State of Wyoming. Cameco has not established
an STA, nor has it requested an exemption from the requirement to do
so.
Wyoming law requires that a separate account be set up to receive
forfeited decommissioning funds, but does not specifically require an
STA. Section 35-11-424(a) of the Code of Wyoming states that ``[a]ll
forfeitures collected under the provisions of this act shall be
deposited with the State treasurer in a separate account for
reclamation purposes.'' Under Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality (WDEQ) financial assurance requirements, WDEQ holds permit
bonds in a fiduciary fund called an agency fund. If a bond is
forfeited, the forfeited funds are moved to a special revenue account.
Although the Wyoming special revenue account is not an STA, the special
revenue account serves a similar purpose in that forfeited funds are
not deposited into the State treasury for general fund use, but instead
are set aside in the special revenue account to be used exclusively for
reclamation, i.e., decommissioning, purposes.
The NRC has the discretion, under 10 CFR 40.14(a), to grant an
exemption from the requirements of a regulation in 10 CFR Part 40 on
its own initiative, if the NRC determines the exemption is authorized
by law and will not endanger life or property or the common defense and
security and is otherwise in the public interest. The NRC has elected
to grant Cameco an exemption to the STA requirements in 10 CFR Part 40,
Appendix A, Criterion 9, for the current surety arrangement until the
2016 review cycle to allow the NRC an opportunity to evaluate whether
the State of Wyoming's separate account requirements for financial
assurance instruments it holds is consistent with the NRC's STA
requirements.
III. Discussion
A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law
The NRC staff concluded that the proposed exemption is authorized
by law as 10 CFR 40.14(a) expressly allows for an exemption to the
requirements in 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 9, and the
proposed exemption would not be contrary to any provision of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety
The exemption is related to the financial surety. The requirement
that the licensee provide adequate financial assurance through an
approved mechanism (e.g., a surety bond, irrevocable letter of credit)
would remain unaffected by the exemption. Rather, the exemption would
only pertain to the establishment of a dedicated trust in which funds
could be deposited in the event that the financial assurance mechanism
would be need to be liquidated. The requirement in 10 CFR Part 40,
Appendix A, Criterion 9(d), allows for the financial or surety
arrangements to be consolidated within a State's similar financial
assurance instrument. The NRC has determined that while the WDEQ does
not require an STA, the special revenue account may serve a similar
purpose in that forfeited funds are not deposited into the State
treasury for general fund use, but instead are set aside in the special
revenue account to be used exclusively for site-specific reclamation,
i.e., decommissioning, purposes. Because the licensee remains obligated
to establish an adequate financial assurance mechanism for its licensed
sites, and the NRC has approved such a mechanism, sufficient funds are
available in the event that the site would need to be decommissioned. A
temporary delay in establishing an STA does not impact the present
availability and adequacy of the actual financial assurance mechanism.
Therefore, the limited exemption being issued by the NRC herein
presents no undue risk to public health and safety.
C. The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security
The proposed exemption would not involve or implicate the common
defense or security. Therefore, granting the exemption will have no
effect on the common defense and security.
D. The Exemption Is in the Public Interest
The proposed exemption would enable the NRC staff to evaluate the
State of Wyoming's separate account provision and the NRC's STA
requirement to determine if they are comparable. The evaluation process
will allow the NRC to determine whether the licensee's compliance with
the state law provision will sufficiently address the NRC requirement
as well, and therefore provide clarity on the implementation of the NRC
regulation in this instance. Therefore, granting the exemption is in
the public interest.
E. Environmental Considerations
The NRC staff has determined that granting of an exemption from the
requirements of 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 9 belongs to a
category of regulatory actions which the NRC, by regulation, has
determined do not individually or cumulatively have a significant
effect on the environment, and as such do not require an environmental
assessment. The exemption from the requirement to have an STA in place
is eligible for categorical exclusion under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(H),
which provides that exemptions from surety, insurance, or
indemnification requirements are categorically excluded if the
exemption would not result in any significant hazards consideration;
change or increase in the amount of any offsite effluents; increase in
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure;
construction impacts; or increase in the potential for or consequence
from radiological accidents. The NRC staff finds that the STA exemption
involves surety, insurance and/or indemnity requirements and that
granting Cameco this temporary exemption from the requirement of
establishing a standby trust arrangement would not result in any
significant hazards or increases in offsite effluents, radiation
exposure, construction impacts, or potential radiological accidents.
Therefore, an environmental assessment is not required.
IV. Conclusions
Accordingly, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR
40.14(a), the proposed temporary exemption is authorized by law, will
not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, is
consistent with the common defense and security, and is in the public
interest. NRC hereby grants Cameco Resources an exemption from the
requirement in 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 9 to set up a
standby trust to receive funds in the event the NRC or the State
regulatory agency exercises is right to collect the surety. This
exemption will expire on January 30, 2016, for North Butte satellite to
the Smith Ranch Highland Uranium Project. At that time, Cameco
Resources will be required to ensure compliance with the STA
requirements.
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Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of May 2014.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew Persinko,
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. 2014-13214 Filed 6-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P