[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]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P