[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48461-48463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20793]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8964; NRC-2012-0214]


Cameco Resources; Smith Ranch-Highland Uranium Project

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 
the renewal of NRC source materials license SUA-1548, to authorize 
continued uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) operations at the sites under 
the Smith Ranch-Highland Uranium Project (Smith Ranch Project) (Docket 
No. 40-8964). The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) and 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for this licensing action.

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DATES: The EA referenced in this document is available on September 25, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0214 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 Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0214. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301-287-
9127; 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 ``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 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: James Park, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington 
DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6954; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering the renewal of NRC source materials license 
No. SUA-1548 issued to Power Resources Inc. (doing business as Cameco 
Resources [Cameco]). License SUA-1548 authorizes Cameco to conduct ISR 
operations at the following four sites under the Smith Ranch Project 
located in Wyoming: The Smith Ranch site in Converse County (which 
encompasses the contiguous Smith Ranch, Highland, and Reynolds Ranch 
properties); the North Butte remote satellite site in Campbell County; 
the Ruth remote satellite site in Johnson County; and the Gas Hills 
remote satellite site in Fremont and Natrona Counties. Therefore, as 
required by part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 
CFR part 51), ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic 
Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' the NRC performed an EA. 
Based on the results of the EA, 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 Cameco to continue ISR operations 
at the four sites under the Smith Ranch Project. As proposed, Cameco 
would continue to recover uranium from subsurface uranium deposits 
using the ISR process, open new wellfield areas for additional uranium 
recovery, perform aquifer restoration in wellfields where uranium 
recovery has ended, and conduct decommissioning activities as site-wide 
activities wind down. Additionally, Cameco requested NRC approval of 
increased ground water flowrates at certain project sites and the 
commencement of previously approved uranium recovery at the Reynolds 
Ranch satellite and at the Gas Hills remote satellite site. The 
proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's application dated 
February 1, 2012 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML12234A537 and ML12234A539).

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action would allow Cameco to continue recovering 
uranium at the Smith Ranch Project sites. The licensee would process 
the recovered uranium into yellowcake at the existing central 
processing plant currently located on the Smith Ranch property and at 
the central processing facility located on the Highland property. 
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 
Cameco's continued ISR-related construction, operation, aquifer 
restoration, and decommissioning activities at the Smith Ranch Project 
sites. 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. Impacts to all resources except ground 
water and noise were determined to be SMALL (i.e., not detectable or 
minor); ground water impacts were determined to be SMALL to MODERATE 
and noise impacts MODERATE (i.e., sufficient to alter noticeably, but 
not to destabilize, important attributes of the resource) to onsite 
workers and wildlife. The NRC staff concluded that renewal of source 
materials license SUA-1548 for the Smith Ranch Project would not 
significantly affect the quality of the human 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 staff considered 
denial of the proposed license renewal (i.e., the ``No-Action'' 
alternative). Under the No-Action Alternative, Cameco would transition 
ongoing ISR operations at the Smith Ranch and Highland properties and 
at the North Butte remote satellite site from active uranium recovery 
to aquifer restoration and decommissioning. A much smaller amount of 
yellowcake would be produced, resulting from aquifer restoration 
activities.
    Decommissioning activities also would occur at the Reynolds Ranch 
satellite and the Ruth and Gas Hills remote satellite sites to remove 
existing infrastructure. Cameco would be required by 10 CFR part 
40.42(d) to submit a detailed decommissioning plan to the NRC staff for 
review and approval at least 12 months before the planned commencement 
of final decommissioning. The NRC concluded that environmental impacts 
from the No-Action Alternative would be not significant.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with its stated policy, on August 8, 2018, the staff 
provided the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) and the 
Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office (WY SHPO), with the draft EA 
for review and comment (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML18211A382 and 
ML18215A054). On August 29, 2018, the WDEQ stated that it had no 
comment on the draft EA, but noted one typographical error in the NRC's 
transmittal letter (ADAMS Accession No. ML18247A356). The WY SHPO also

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responded on August 29, 2018, stating that the WY SHPO would not be 
commenting, considering its understanding that Section 106 consultation 
was completed during the original licensing for the project (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML18242A349).
    On August 9, 2018, the NRC staff made sections of the draft EA 
concerning historic and cultural resources available on the NRC public 
web page for the Smith Ranch Project for public comment at https://www.nrc.gov/materials/uranium-recovery/license-apps/smith-ranch/section106-smith-ranch.html. On the same date, the NRC staff also made 
these same sections of the draft EA available to the Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officers (THPOs) from 27 Native American Tribes for their 
review and comment.
    No comments were received from members of the public. In response 
to comments received from the THPO for the Northern Arapaho Tribe 
(ADAMS Accession No. ML18247A228), the NRC staff hosted two conference 
calls, on August 28 and 30, 2018, to discuss the staff's approach 
concerning protection of historic and cultural resources (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML18243A262); no THPOs attended these calls. The NRC 
staff also held a conference call with the Northern Cheyenne THPO on 
August 31, 2018 (ADAMS Accession No. ML18260A046). No written comments 
were received from the Northern Cheyenne THPO. However, the NRC staff 
addressed the Northern Arapaho THPO's comments provided on August 31, 
2018, conference call in the final EA.

Additional Information

    The NRC staff conducted its environmental review in accordance with 
10 CFR part 51, which implements the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) and following the 
NRC staff guidance in NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for 
Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs'' (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML032450279).
    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) (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML15093A368 and ML15093A486). In the GEIS, the NRC staff 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. Smith Ranch Project 
properties are located in two of these four regions.
    Where applicable, this EA incorporates by reference relevant 
portions from the GEIS, and uses site-specific information from 
Cameco's license renewal application and responses to NRC staff 
requests for additional information, and from independent sources to 
fulfill the requirements in 10 CFR 51.20(b)(8).
    License SUA-1548 authorizes Cameco to conduct ISR operations at 
four properties under the Smith Ranch Project located in Wyoming: The 
contiguous Smith Ranch, Highland, and Reynolds Ranch properties in 
Converse County; the North Butte remote satellite site in Campbell 
County; the Ruth remote satellite site in Johnson County; and the Gas 
Hills remote satellite site in Fremont and Natrona Counties.
    In the EA, the NRC staff assessed the potential environmental 
impacts from the continued construction, operation, aquifer 
restoration, and decommissioning of the sites under the Smith Ranch 
Project. 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 addition to the action proposed by the licensee, the NRC staff 
addressed the No-Action Alternative that serves as a baseline for 
comparison of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed 
action. Under the No-Action Alternative, the NRC staff would deny 
renewal of License SUA-1548.
    After weighing the impacts of the proposed license renewal 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 NRC license renewal request for the Smith 
Ranch Project). Unless safety issues mandate otherwise, the NRC staff 
recommendation related to the environmental aspects of the proposed 
action is that a renewed NRC license be issued. The EA for the proposed 
renewal of License SUA-1548 may be accessed at ADAMS Accession No. 
ML18257A071.

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 
renewal of source materials license SUA-1548 for the Smith Ranch 
Project would not significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment. In its license renewal request, Cameco proposed increased 
ground water flowrates at certain of the project properties with 
previously approved uranium recovery to commence at the Reynolds Ranch 
satellite and at the Gas Hills remote satellite site. No other 
significant changes in Cameco's authorized operations for the Smith 
Ranch 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 that, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a FONSI is appropriate.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of September 2018.

    For the 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. 2018-20793 Filed 9-24-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P