[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14759-14760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05691]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-9067; NRC-2015-0199]
Uranerz Energy Corporation; Jane Dough Unit
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 an
amendment of License SUA-1597, to expand operations to the Jane Dough
Unit at Uranerz Energy Corporation (Uranerz) Nichols Ranch In Situ
Recovery (ISR) Facility (Docket No. 40-9067). The NRC has prepared an
environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) for this licensing action.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document is available on
March 22, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0199 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-2015-0199. 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 via email to [email protected]. The
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this
document.
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
The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment of License SUA-1597
issued to Uranerz, for operation of the Jane Dough Unit, located in
Wyoming, Johnson and Campbell Counties. Therefore, as required by part
51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC
performed an EA. Based on the results of the EA that follows, the NRC
has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the amendment, and is issuing a FONSI.
II. Environmental Assessment
Description of the Proposed Action
The proposed action would allow Uranerz to construct, operate,
perform aquifer restoration, and decommissioning activities at the Jane
Dough Unit. The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's
application dated May 8, 2014 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14164A274), as
supplemented by letter dated April 13, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No.
ML15118A122).
Need for the Proposed Action
The proposed action allows Uranerz to recover uranium within the
proposed Jane Dough Unit. The licensee would process the recovered
uranium into yellowcake at the existing central processing plant
currently located on the Nichols Ranch Unit. Yellowcake is the uranium
oxide product of the ISR milling process that is used to produce
various products, including fuel for commercially-operated nuclear
power reactors.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action
The NRC staff has assessed the potential environmental impacts from
the construction, operation, aquifer restoration, and decommissioning
of the proposed Jane Dough Unit. The NRC staff assessed the impacts of
the proposed action 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; noise; traffic and transportation; public and
occupational health and safety; and waste management. All impacts were
determined to be SMALL. The NRC staff concluded that license amendment
for the Nichols Ranch ISR project license authorizing the construction
and operation of the Jane Dough Unit would not significantly affect the
quality of the human health, safety, and environment. Approval of the
proposed action would not result in an increased radiological risk to
public health or the environment.
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).
The No-Action Alternative would mean that the NRC would not approve the
addition of the Jane Dough Unit to the existing Nichols Ranch licensed
permit area. In-situ recovery activities would not occur within the
Jane Dough Unit and the associated environmental impacts also would not
occur.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
In accordance with its stated policy, on December 20, 2016, the NRC
staff consulted with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality,
regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The state
official concurred with the EA and FONSI on January 25, 2017.
Additional Information
The NRC received an application from Uranerz to amend its NRC
source materials license SUA-1597. This application requests
authorization for Uranerz to construct and operate ISR activities at
the Jane Dough unit in Campbell County and Johnson County, Wyoming. The
NRC staff is conducting an environmental review in accordance with part
51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which
implements the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA). Based on the results of the EA that follows,
the NRC
[[Page 14760]]
staff has determined not to prepare an EIS for the Jane Dough amendment
and is issuing a FONSI.
Under the NRC's environmental protection regulations in 10 CFR part
51, an EA was prepared.
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. In
January 2011, the NRC staff prepared Supplement 2 to the GEIS for the
Nichols Ranch ISR facility, the Jane Dough amendment is an expansion to
that facility.
This EA incorporates by reference relevant portions from the
Nichols Ranch Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and
GEIS, and uses site-specific information from Uranerz license
application and independent sources to fulfill the requirements in 10
CFR 51.20(b)(8).
The final EA 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 Jane Dough Unit would be located in Johnson and
Campbell Counties, Wyoming, and would encompass approximately 1489
hectares (3,680 acres).
In this final EA, the NRC staff has assessed the potential
environmental impacts from the construction, operation, aquifer
restoration, and decommissioning of the proposed Jane Dough Unit. The
NRC staff assessed the impacts of the proposed action 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; noise; traffic
and transportation; public and occupational health and safety; and
waste management.
In doing so, the NRC staff evaluated site-specific data and
information from the Jane Dough Unit to determine if Uranerz proposed
activities and the site characteristics were consistent with those
evaluated in the Nichols Ranch SEIS. The NRC then determined which
relevant sections of, and impact conclusions in, the SEIS 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 EA.
In addition to the action proposed by the licensee, 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 license amendment and
comparing to the No-Action Alternative, the NRC staff, in accordance
with 10 CFR 51.91(d), sets forth its NEPA recommendation regarding the
proposed action (granting the request for an NRC license amendment for
the proposed Jane Dough Unit). Unless safety issues mandate otherwise,
the NRC staff recommendation related to the environmental aspects of
the proposed action is that an NRC license amendment be issued.
The final EA for the proposed Jane Dough Unit is available in ADAMS
under Accession No. ML17047A666.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on its review of the proposed action, and in accordance with
the requirements in 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has determined that
license amendment for the Nichols Ranch ISR project license authorizing
the construction and operation of the Jane Dough Unit would not
significantly affect the quality of the human health, safety, and
environment. In its license amendment request, Uranerz has proposed the
addition of two production units on the Jane Dough Unit, which is
contiguous with the Nichols Ranch Unit. No significant changes in
Uranerz's authorized operations for the Nichols Ranch ISR Project were
requested. Approval of the proposed action would not result in an
increased radiological risk to public health or the environment. The
NRC staff has determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, preparation of
an EIS is not required for the proposed action and, pursuant to 10 CFR
51.32, a FONSI is appropriate.
On the basis of the EA, the NRC concludes that the proposed action
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human
environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to prepare an EIS
for the proposed action.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of March 2017.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brian W. Smith,
Deputy Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2017-05691 Filed 3-21-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P