[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2397-2398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00171]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-9092; NRC-2013-0164]


Reno Creek In Situ Uranium Recovery Project in Campbell County, 
Wyoming

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final supplemental environmental impact statement; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the 
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) (NUREG-1910, 
Supplement 6) for the Reno Creek In Situ Uranium Recovery (ISR) 
Project. By letter dated October 3, 2012, AUC LLC submitted an 
application to the NRC for a new source materials license for the 
proposed Reno Creek ISR Project proposed to be located in Campbell 
County, Wyoming. The SEIS is

[[Page 2398]]

Supplement 6 to NUREG-1910, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement 
for In-Situ Leach Uranium Milling Facilities.''

DATES: NUREG-1910, Supplement 6, is available December 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2013-0164 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-2013-0164. 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 access 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 
Final SEIS (NUREG-1910, Supplement 6) is available in ADAMS under 
Accession No. ML16342A973.
     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: Jill Caverly, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7674; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Under the NRC's environmental protection regulations in part 51 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which implement 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or supplement to an EIS (SEIS) is 
required for issuance of a license to possess and use source material 
for uranium milling (see 10 CFR 51.20(b)(8)).
    In May 2009, the NRC staff issued NUREG-1910, ``Generic 
Environmental Impact Statement for In-Situ Leach Uranium Milling 
Facilities'' (herein referred to as the GEIS). In the GEIS, the NRC 
assessed the potential environmental impacts from construction, 
operation, aquifer restoration, and decommissioning of an in situ leach 
uranium milling facility (also known as an ISR facility) located in 
four specific geographic regions of the western United States. The 
proposed Reno Creek ISR Project is located within the Wyoming East 
Uranium Milling Region identified in the GEIS. The final SEIS 
supplements the GEIS and incorporates by reference relevant portions 
from the GEIS, and uses site-specific information from AUC LLC's 
license application and independent sources to fulfill the requirements 
in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(8).
    The final SEIS was prepared in response to an application submitted 
by AUC LLC (the applicant) by letter dated October 3, 2012. The 
applicant proposes the construction, operation, aquifer restoration, 
and decommissioning of an in situ recovery facility to recover uranium.
    The final SEIS was prepared by the NRC and its contractor, the 
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, in compliance with NEPA 
(as amended, and the NRC's regulations for implementing NEPA (10 CFR 
part 51).
    The proposed Reno Creek ISR Project will be located in Campbell 
County between the communities of Wright, Edgerton, and Gillette and 
would encompass approximately 2,451 hectares (6,057 acres).
    The final SEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's process to 
decide whether to issue a license to AUC LLC pursuant to 10 CFR part 
40. In this final SEIS, the NRC staff has assessed the potential 
environmental impacts from the construction, operation, aquifer 
restoration, and decommissioning of the proposed Reno Creek ISR 
Project. The NRC staff assessed the impacts of the proposed action and 
its alternative on land use; historical and cultural resources; visual 
and scenic resources; climatology, meteorology and air quality; 
geology, minerals, and soils; water resources; ecological resources; 
socioeconomics; environmental justice; noise; traffic and 
transportation; public and occupational health and safety; and waste 
management. Additionally, the final SEIS analyzes and compares the 
benefits and costs of the proposed action. In preparing this final 
SEIS, the NRC staff also considered, evaluated, and addressed the 
public comments received on the draft SEIS published on July 7, 2016 
(81 FR 44333). Appendix D of final SEIS captures the public's comments 
and the NRCs responses.
    In doing so, the NRC staff evaluated site-specific data and 
information from the Reno Creek ISR Project to determine if AUC LLC's 
proposed activities and the site characteristics were consistent with 
those evaluated in the GEIS. The NRC then determined which relevant 
sections of, and impact conclusions in, the GEIS could be incorporated 
by reference. The NRC staff also determined if additional data or 
analysis was needed to assess the potential environmental impacts for a 
specific environmental resource area. The NRC documented its 
assessments and conclusions in the final SEIS.
    In addition to the action proposed by AUC LLC, the NRC staff 
addressed the no-action alternative which serves as a baseline for 
comparison of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed 
action.
    After weighing the impacts of the proposed action and comparing the 
alternative, the NRC staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.71(f), sets 
forth its recommendation regarding the proposed action. Unless safety 
issues mandate otherwise, the NRC staff recommends that the proposed 
action be approved (i.e., the NRC should issue a source material 
license for the proposed Reno Creek ISR Project).
    The final SEIS for the proposed Reno Creek ISR Project may be 
accessed on the internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/ by selecting ``NUREG-1910'' and then 
``Supplement 6,'' or on the NRC's Reno Creek ISR Project Web page at 
http://www.nrc.gov/materials/uranium-recovery/license-apps/reno-creek.html. Additionally, a copy of the final SEIS will be available at 
the following public libraries: Campbell County Library, 2101 S 4-J 
Road, Gillette, Wyoming 82718; and Campbell County Library, Wright 
Branch, 105 Wright Boulevard, Wright, Wyoming 82732.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of December, 2016.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental 
Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-00171 Filed 1-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P