[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44471-44472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18051]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-9091-MLA; ASLBP No. 12-915-01-MLA-BD01]
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel; In the Matter of Strata
Energy, Inc. (Ross In Situ Recovery Uranium Project); Before the
Licensing Board: G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Chairman, Dr. Richard F. Cole,
Dr. Craig M. White; Notice of Hearing (Notice of Evidentiary Hearing
and Opportunity To Provide Oral and Written Limited Appearance
Statements)
July 25, 2014.
The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hereby gives notice that it
will convene an evidentiary hearing to receive testimony and exhibits
in this proceeding regarding the January 2011 application of Strata
Energy, Inc., (SEI) for authorization to possess and use Atomic Energy
Act section 11.z source and AEA section 11.e(2) byproduct materials
pursuant to 10 CFR part 40 in the operation of SEI's proposed Ross In
Situ Recovery Uranium Project site in Crook County, Wyoming.\1\ The
evidentiary hearing will concern environmental matters relating to the
proposed issuance of the requested license. In addition, the Board
gives notice that, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.315(a), it will
entertain oral and written limited appearance statements from members
of the public in connection with this proceeding.
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\1\ As outlined by the Commission in its decision in Sequoyah
Fuels Corp. (Gore, Oklahoma Site), CLI-03-15, 58 NRC 349 (2003),
section 11.e(2) byproduct material is that material, as defined by
AEA section 11.e(2), 42 U.S.C. 2014e(2), that is ``the tailings or
wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or
thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material
content.'' This byproduct material category was created in 1978 by
the Uranium Mill Tailings and Reclamation Act to afford the NRC
regulatory jurisdiction over mill tailings at active and inactive
uranium milling sites. See Sequoyah Fuels, CLI-03-15, 58 NRC at 353-
54.
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A. Matters To Be Considered
As set forth by the Licensing Board in its May 2014 issuance ruling
on a motion by the Joint Intervenors \2\ to admit new and amended
contentions following the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff's
February 2014 issuance of its final supplement to the agency's generic
environmental impact statement (FEIS) on in situ recovery (ISR)
projects intended to provide the staff's National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA)-mandated assessment of the SEI license application,\3\ the
three contentions currently admitted in this proceeding are as follows:
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\2\ Joint Intervenors are the Natural Resources Defense Council
and the Powder River Basin Resource Council.
\3\ See Licensing Board Memorandum and Order (Ruling on Motion
to Migrate/Amend Existing Contentions and Admit New Contentions
Regarding Final Supplement to Generic Environmental Impact
Statement) (May 23, 2014) (unpublished); see also Office of Federal
and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, NRC,
[EIS] for the Ross ISR Project in Crook County, Wyoming; Supplement
to the Generic [EIS] for In-Situ Leach Uranium Milling Facilities,
NUREG-1910 (supp. 5 Feb. 2014) (ADAMS Accession No. ML14056A096).
Environmental Contention 1: The FSEIS fails to adequately
characterize baseline (i.e., original or pre-mining) groundwater
quality.
Environmental Contention 2: The FSEIS fails to analyze the
environmental impacts that will occur if the applicant cannot
restore groundwater to primary or secondary limits.
Environmental Contention 3: The FSEIS fails to include adequate
hydrological information to demonstrate SEI's ability to contain
groundwater fluid migration.
Subject to the outcome of a pending party dispositive motion
regarding environmental contention 1,\4\ these issue statements will be
the subject matter of the evidentiary hearing and should be the focus
of any limited appearance statements.\5\
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\4\ [Joint Intervenors'] Motion for Summary Disposition on
Environmental Contention 1 (June 13, 2014).
\5\ Although a fourth issue statement, environmental contention
4/5A, was admitted into this proceeding, in a July 25, 2014 ruling
the Board dismissed that contention. See Licensing Board Memorandum
and Order (Ruling on Summary Disposition Motion Regarding
Environmental Contention 4/5A) (July 25, 2014) at 2 (unpublished).
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B. Date, Time, and Location of Evidentiary Hearing
The Board will convene a simplified evidentiary hearing conducted
in accord with the procedures set forth in 10 CFR part 2, Subpart L,
regarding the environmental matters set specified in section A above on
the following date at the specified location and time:
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014.
Time: 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time (MT).
Location: Wyoming Meeting Room, Energy Hall, Cam-Plex Multi-Event
Facilities, 1635 Reata Dr., Gillette, Wyoming.
The hearing will continue from day-to-day until concluded. SEI, the NRC
staff, and Joint Intervenors will be parties to the hearing and will
sponsor witnesses and evidentiary material.
Any member of the public who plans to attend the hearing is advised
that security measures may be employed at the entrance to the room
housing the hearing, including searches of hand-carried items such as
briefcases or backpacks, and is reminded to arrive in sufficient time
to allow for security screening. Items that could readily be used as
weapons will not be permitted in the room where the evidentiary hearing
sessions will be held. Also, during the evidentiary hearing sessions,
no signs will be permitted in the hearing room.
C. Date, Time, and Location of Oral Limited Appearance Statement
Session
A 10 CFR 2.315(a) oral limited appearance session regarding the
Ross ISR facility proceeding will be held on the following date at the
specified location and time:
Date: Sunday, September 28, 2014 (if there is sufficient interest).
Time: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. MT.
Location: Sundance Community Meeting Room, Crook County Courthouse
Basement, 309 Cleveland St., Sundance, Wyoming.
D. Participation Guidelines for Oral Limited Appearance Statements
Any person not a party, or the representative of a party, to this
proceeding will be permitted to make an oral statement setting forth
his or her position on matters of concern relating to the proceeding.
Although these statements do not constitute testimony or evidence, they
nonetheless may help the Licensing Board and/or the parties in their
consideration of the issues in this proceeding.
Oral limited appearance statements will be entertained during the
hours specified in section C above, or such lesser time as may be
necessary to accommodate the speakers who are present. In this regard,
if all scheduled and unscheduled speakers present at a session have
made a presentation, the Licensing Board reserves the right to
terminate the session before the ending time listed in section C above.
The Board also reserves the right to cancel the Sunday afternoon
session scheduled above if there has not been a sufficient showing of
public interest as reflected by the number of preregistered speakers.
Any member of the public who plans to attend the limited appearance
session is strongly advised to arrive early to allow time to pass
through any security measures that may be employed. Attendees are also
requested not to
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bring any unnecessary hand-carried items, such as packages, briefcases,
backpacks, or other items that might need to be examined individually.
Items that could readily be used as weapons will not be permitted in
the room where this session will be held. Also, during the oral limited
appearance session, signs no larger than 18 inches by 18 inches will be
permitted, but may not be attached to sticks, held over one's head, or
moved about in the room.
The time allotted for each limited appearance statement normally
will be no more than five minutes, but to ensure everyone will have an
opportunity to speak, may be further limited depending on the number of
written requests to make an oral statement that are submitted in
accordance with section E below and/or the number of persons present at
the designated times.
E. Submitting a Request To Make an Oral Limited Appearance Statement
A person wishing to make an oral statement who has submitted a
timely written request to do so will be given priority over those who
have not filed such a request. To be considered timely, a written
request to make an oral statement must either be mailed, faxed, or sent
by email so as to be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Friday,
September 5, 2014. Based on its review of the requests received by
September 5, the Licensing Board may decide that the Sunday afternoon
session will not be held due to a lack of adequate interest in that
session.
Written requests to make an oral statement should be submitted to:
Mail: Administrative Judge G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3F23, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Fax: (301) 415-5599 (verification (301) 415-6094).
Email: [email protected] and [email protected].
F. Submitting Written Limited Appearance Statements
As provided in 10 CFR 2.315(a), any person not a party, or the
representative of a party, to the proceeding may submit a written
statement setting forth his or her position on matters of concern
relating to this proceeding. Although these statements do not
constitute testimony or evidence, they nonetheless may help the Board
or the parties in their consideration of the issues in this proceeding.
A written limited appearance statement may be submitted at any time
and should be sent to the Office of the Secretary using one of the
methods prescribed below:
Mail: Office of the Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Fax: (301) 415-1101 (verification (301) 415-1966).
Email: [email protected].
In addition, using the same method of service, a copy of the
written limited appearance statement should be sent to the Chairman of
this Licensing Board as follows:
Mail: Administrative Judge G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3F23, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Fax: (301) 415-5599 (verification (301) 415-6094).
Email: [email protected].
G. Availability of Documentary Information Regarding the Proceeding
The SEI license \6\ and various staff documents relating to the
application are available on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/materials/uranium/licensed-facilities/ross.html. These and
other documents relating to this proceeding are available for public
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at
One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland, or electronically from the publicly-available records
component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from
the NRC Web site at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public
Electronic Reading Room). Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or
who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS
should contact the NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at (800) 397-
4209 or (301) 415-4737 (available between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., ET,
Monday through Friday except federal holidays), or by email to
[email protected].
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\6\ On April 25, 2014, the staff notified the Board that, in
accord with 10 CFR 2.1202(a), the SEI license had been issued,
effective immediately. See Letter from Christopher C. Hair, NRC
Staff Counsel, to Licensing Board (Apr. 25, 2014) at 1-2. Although
section 2.1213(a) afforded Joint Intervenors the opportunity to seek
a stay of this staff action, no such request was filed. Nonetheless,
the SEI license is subject to any merits determination the Board
might make relative to each of Joint Intervenors' pending
contentions.
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H. Information Updates to Schedule
Any updates or revisions to the evidentiary hearing schedule or the
schedule for limited appearance sessions can be found on the NRC Web
site at www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm, or by
calling (800) 368-5642, extension 5036 (available between 7:00 a.m. and
9:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays), or by
calling (301) 415-5036 (available seven days a week, twenty-four hours
a day).
It is so ordered.
For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
Rockville, Maryland.
Dated: July 25, 2014.
G. Paul Bollwerk, III,
Chairman, Administrative Judge.
[FR Doc. 2014-18051 Filed 7-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P