[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22744-22746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09516]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-8907; NRC-2013-0036]
License Amendment for United Nuclear Corporation, Church Rock
Facility, McKinley County, New Mexico
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
amending Source Materials License SUA-1475 issued to the United Nuclear
Corporation (UNC), a subsidiary of
[[Page 22745]]
General Electric (GE), to revise current ground water protection
standards in License Condition 30.B of SUA-1475. The NRC has prepared
an environmental assessment (EA) for this proposed action in accordance
with its regulations. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate with respect to
the proposed action. The NRC will issue the amended license following
the publication of this document.
DATES: The Final EA and FONSI are available as of April 23, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID: NRC-2013-0036 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You
may obtain 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-2013-0036. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; 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 obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection 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. The EA and FONSI can be found under
ADAMS accession no. ML14339A839.
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: Ashley Waldron, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7317; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On April 17, 2012, UNC, a subsidiary of GE, submitted to the NRC an
application to amend Source Materials License SUA-1475 for the former
Uranium Church Rock Mill Site (the Mill Site) (ADAMS Accession No.
ML12150A146). This proposed amendment would revise current ground water
protection standards in License Condition 30.B of SUA-1475 for the
following constituents: Arsenic, Cadmium, Gross Alpha, Lead, Lead-210,
Nickel, Radium-226 and -228, Selenium, Thorium-230, and Uranium. These
proposed standards (values) are derived from a re-calculated background
concentration for each constituent. The Mill Site is located
approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup in McKinley County, New
Mexico.
The UNC supplemented its request on November 16, 2012, by
submitting a three-dimensional ground water flow model for the Mill
Site and adjacent down-gradient areas (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML12334A292; ML12305A320; ML12305A309; ML12305A324). On January 10,
2013, the NRC accepted the amendment request for formal review (ADAMS
Accession No. ML13007A069). The NRC issued a Request for Additional
Information (RAI) on June 4, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13121A553),
and the UNC responded on January 10, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML14056A541; ML14059A208). Subsequently, the NRC staff determined that
all technical deficiencies had been addressed in the RAIs and requested
the UNC to update the ground water flow model report (ADAMS Accession
No. ML14063A497). The UNC submitted the revised ground water flow model
report by letter dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14161A255;
ML14161A311).
In accordance with part 40, appendix A, criterion 5, paragraph
5B(5) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC
may establish ground water protection standards at the point of
compliance (POC) either (1) by reference to the background
concentrations in the ground water, (2) by assigning the appropriate
value found in the table given in paragraph 5C, or (3) by using
alternative concentration limits established by the NRC. The POC is
defined in appendix A as the site-specific location in the uppermost
aquifer where the ground water protection standard must be met. In
addition, criterion 5, paragraph 5B(1) states the objective of the POC
location is to provide the earliest practicable warning that the
impoundment is releasing hazardous constituents, with the goal that
hazardous constituents from a licensed site not exceed the specified
concentration limits in the uppermost aquifer beyond the POC during the
compliance period. At the Mill Site, POC wells are located in three
subsurface hydrostratigraphic units: the Southwest Alluvium, and Zone 1
and Zone 3 of the Upper Gallup Sandstone. The UNC's proposed license
amendment would affect ground water protection standards in each of
these units. Additionally, paragraph 5B(6) of criterion 5 to 10 CFR
part 40, appendix A states that, ``[c]onceptually, background
concentrations pose no incremental hazards . . .''
The NRC staff has prepared an EA in support of its review of the
proposed license amendment. The staff assessed the potential
environmental impacts associated with amending the ground water
protection standards and documented the results of the assessment in
the EA. The NRC staff performed this assessment in accordance with the
requirements of 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations
for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions.''
Uranium mill tailings at the Mill Site are located onsite, within
the tailings impoundment area comprising three contiguous cells
differentiated as the North, Central and South Cells (see Figure 1,
ADAMS Accession No. ML12150A146). The Central Cell also has two borrow
pits. Borrow Pit No. 1 was used to dispose of tailings and Borrow Pit
No. 2 was used to retain tailings liquids (ADAMS Accession No.
ML063630443).
Seepage from the three tailings disposal cells and the borrow pits,
as well as infiltration of mine effluent water during dewatering
operations of the nearby Northeast Church Rock and Quivira mines, have
contributed to the saturated conditions found in the Southwest Alluvium
and in Zones 1 and 3 of the Upper Gallup Sandstone (ADAMS Accession
Nos. ML050070220; ML050070233; ML050070242; ML050070245).
II. Environmental Assessment Summary
Description of the Proposed Action
The UNC is requesting a license amendment for the Mill Site to
revise License Condition 30.B of Source Materials License SUA-1475. The
UNC requests revisions to the current ground water protection standards
in the license condition for the following constituents: Arsenic,
Cadmium, Gross Alpha, Lead and Lead-210, Nickel,
[[Page 22746]]
Radium-226 and -228, Selenium, Thorium-230, and Uranium for the
Southwest Alluvium, Zone 1, and Zone 3. No changes are proposed for the
other constituents in License Condition 30.B (i.e., Beryllium, Total
Trihalomethanes, and Vanadium).
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action is needed to provide ground water protection
standards for the Mill Site that are consistent with 10 CFR part 40,
appendix A, paragraph 5B(1) and background ground water quality that is
protective of public health and safety.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff determined that, due to the nature of the proposed
action, environmental impacts would be limited to subsurface ground
water resources, and that such impacts would be small and not
significant. Staff expects no impacts to public health and safety,
ecological resources, or historical and cultural resources. Therefore,
the NRC staff does not expect significant impacts to result from the
proposed modification to the ground water protection standards in SUA-
1475 and considers that impacts from the proposed action would be
protective of public health and safety and the environment.
In conducting its assessment, the NRC staff considered the
following:
Information in the license application and supporting
documentation;
Information in modeling reports and NRC staff review
reports;
Information in land use and environmental monitoring
reports;
Information from NRC staff site visits and inspections;
10 CFR part 40, appendix A, ``Criteria Relating to the
Operation of Uranium Mills and the Disposition of Tailings or Wastes
Produced by the Extraction or Concentration of Source Material From
Ores Processed Primarily for Their Source Material Content;''
NUREG-1620, Rev. 1, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review
of a Reclamation Plan for Mill Tailings Sites Under Title II of the
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978'' (ADAMS Accession
No. ML031550522); and
NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing
Actions Associated with NMSS Programs, Final Report'' (ADAMS Accession
No. ML032540811).
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action
As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action alternative'').
Denial of the proposed license amendment would result in no change in
the currently approved ground water protection standards. The proposed
action is needed to revise the ground water protection standards to
more accurately reflect current background conditions. Both the No-
Action alternative and the Proposed Action for the Mill Site are
consistent with appendix A, criterion 5, paragraph 5B(1) and background
ground water quality that is protective of public health and safety.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The NRC staff determined that the proposed action would be limited
to impacts to subsurface ground water resources and therefore is not
expected to affect listed endangered and threatened species or their
critical habitat. As well, the proposed action is not expected to
impact potential or identified cultural or historical resources.
Therefore, no further consultation was completed under Section 7 of the
Endangered Species Act or under Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act.
During preparation of the EA, the NRC staff consulted with the
following federal, tribal, and state agencies: the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Regions 6 and 9, the U.S. Department of Energy,
the Navajo Nation EPA, and the New Mexico Environment Department. The
purpose of this consultation was to request comments on the proposed
action; however, none of the agencies identified concerns with the
proposed action.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on its review of the UNC's license amendment request to
revise License Condition 30.B of SUA-1475, the NRC staff expects there
to be no significant environmental impacts in connection with the
proposed action as the proposed ground water protection standard
values, conceptually, pose no incremental hazards to public health and
safety. Therefore, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate and preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not
warranted.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of April 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Deputy Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards and
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-09516 Filed 4-22-15; 8:45 am]
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