[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49352-49353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20228]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2014-0142]
Guidance for Conducting the Section 106 Process of the National
Historic Preservation Act for Uranium Recovery Licensing Actions
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Interim staff guidance; issuance.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Final
Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) NMSS-ISG-02, ``Guidance for Conducting the
Section 106 Process of the National Historic Preservation Act for
Uranium Recovery Licensing Actions.'' The purpose of this final ISG is
to assist the staff in conducting the Section 106 consultation process
of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) for uranium
recovery licensing actions. This ISG is primarily intended for the NRC
staff and does not impose new or changes to regulatory requirements.
The ISG, however, provides useful information to participants in the
Section 106 process of the NHPA for uranium recovery licensing actions.
DATES: This guidance takes effect on October 21, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0142 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 https://regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0142. Address questions about docket
IDs in Regulations.gov 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 https://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].
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: Diana Diaz-Toro, Office of the Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0930 or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC is responsible for regulating the
civilian use of nuclear materials and facilities in a manner that
protects public health and safety from radiological hazards and
protects common defense and security. The NRC has statutory authority
to regulate and license uranium recovery activities through the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and also through the Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, which established programs for
the stabilization and control of mill tailings at uranium or thorium
mill sites. In addition to the NRC staff's safety review of a license
application submittal, the NRC staff conducts an environmental review,
as required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended, and the Section 106 process in accordance with the NHPA.
Section 106 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to take into
account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and
allow the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to
review and comment on the undertaking. Federal agencies carry out the
Section 106 process in consultation with the State Historic
Preservation Officer, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, other
federal, state, and local governmental agencies, tribal governments,
additional consulting parties, and the public. In accordance with the
NHPA-implementing regulations in section 800.1(c) of title 36 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, the NRC must complete the Section 106
process prior to making its decision on the request for the licensing
action.
Between 2007 and 2017, the NRC experienced an increase in the
number of licensing actions for in situ uranium recovery facilities
that resulted in an increase in the NRC staff's efforts and activities
related to the NHPA Section 106 reviews. Several factors contributed to
the increase in the scope and complexity of the Section 106 reviews.
Therefore, the NRC took a number of steps to improve the Section 106
process for uranium recovery licensing actions. One of these steps was
the development of this ISG.
On June 18, 2014 (79 FR 34792), the NRC published the ISG in draft
form for public review and comment. The public
[[Page 49353]]
comment period was extended through November 17, 2014 (79 FR 52374).
The NRC then considered the public comments on the draft ISG in
preparing the final report (ADAMS Accession No. ML19212A753). The
responses to the comments can be found in the comment response appendix
(Appendix B of the ISG; ADAMS Accession No. ML19212A752).
This ISG is not a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act
(5 U.S.C. 801-808).
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of September, 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cinthya I. Rom[aacute]n,
Acting Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and
Environmental Reviews, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2019-20228 Filed 9-18-19; 8:45 am]
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