[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12133-12134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05129]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 040-8964; NRC-2014-0092]
Power Resources, Inc.
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 Power Resources, Inc., doing business as Cameco Resources (Cameco),
in response to its annual financial assurance updates for its Smith
Ranch-Highland In-Situ Recovery (ISR) project and the associated remote
satellite facilities at Ruth and Gas Hills. 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 Cameco
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 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-2014-0092. 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 (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 T. Mandeville, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0724; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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-1601,
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 of the Smith
Ranch-Highland ISR facility and its associated remote satellites
located in Converse, Johnson, Campbell, and Fremont Counties, Wyoming.
By letter dated December 4, 2014, Cameco submitted its annual financial
surety update to the NRC staff for the Ruth remote satellite facility
(Cameco 2014). Additionally, Cameco submitted its annual surety updates
for the Smith Ranch-Highland facility and the Gas Hills remote
satellite facility on July 7, 2015, and August 7, 2015 respectively
(Cameco 2015a and Cameco 2015b). The NRC staff reviewed the annual
financial surety update and found the values reasonable for the
required reclamation activities (ADAMS Accession No. ML15348A074).
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, 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 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 bond or
letter of credit. The purpose of an STA is to provide a separate
account to hold the 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 Cameco 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
[[Page 12134]]
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 upon
request or 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 is issuing an exemption to Cameco from the STA requirements in
10 CFR part 40, appendix A, Criterion 9, for the current surety
arrangement until March 26, 2017, for Ruth, September 30, 2017, for
Smith Ranch-Highland, and November 7, 2017, for Gas Hills 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 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 or an 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 needed 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 State of
Wyoming 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 satisfy the NRC requirement as well.
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 that 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. Conclusion
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 Power Resources, Inc., doing business as
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 March 26, 2017, for
Ruth, on September 30, 2017, for Smith Ranch-Highland, and on November
7, 2017, for Gas Hills.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29 day of February 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Tappert,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and
Environmental Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-05129 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
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