[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 239 (Friday, December 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80194-80195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27296]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-9075; NRC-2012-0277]


Updated Record of Decision for Powertech (USA) Inc.; Dewey-
Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Record of Decision; update.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has issued 
an updated Record of Decision (ROD) related to the license for 
Powertech (USA) Inc. (Powertech), Dewey-Burdock in situ uranium 
recovery (ISR) facility in Custer and Fall River Counties, South 
Dakota. Powertech's request for a source and byproduct materials 
license to construct and operate the Dewey-Burdock ISR facility was 
contested through the NRC's adjudicatory process. On October 8, 2020, 
the Commission denied a petition for review of the Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board Panel's (ASLBP) Final Initial Decision issued on 
December 12, 2019, and two interlocutory orders, thus terminating the 
adjudicatory proceeding. The ROD has been updated to account for the 
ASLBP's decision and the Commission's ruling.

DATES: The ROD was updated on December 3, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2012-0277 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 website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2012-0277. 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/

[[Page 80195]]

adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' The updated ROD can be found by searching for ADAMS Accession 
No. ML20321A051. 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].
     Attention: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of public documents, is currently closed. You may submit your request 
to the PDR via email at [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Diaz-Toro, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC,
    20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0930; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC staff issued a license to Powertech for the construction 
and operation of its Dewey-Burdock ISR facility in Custer and Fall 
River Counties, in South Dakota in April 2014. Along with the issuance 
of the license, the NRC staff published a ROD in April 2014 that 
supported its decision to approve Powertech's license application for 
the Dewey-Burdock ISR facility.
    During the NRC staff's licensing review, the NRC's ASLBP, an 
independent, trial-level adjudicatory body, granted a hearing request 
from the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Consolidated Intervenors (consisting of 
a group of individuals and organizations). The ASLBP held an 
evidentiary hearing in Rapid City, South Dakota, from August 19-21, 
2014, on seven admitted contentions. On April 30, 2015, the ASLBP 
issued a Partial Initial Decision (LBP-15-16) resolving all but two of 
the admitted contentions in favor of the NRC staff: Contentions 1A and 
1B, regarding historic and cultural resources, were resolved in favor 
of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Consolidated Intervenors. Subsequently, 
on October 19, 2017, the ASLBP granted the NRC staff's motion for 
summary disposition of Contention 1B and determined that the NRC 
staff's efforts satisfied the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) 
requirement that the NRC staff consult with the Oglala Sioux Tribe. On 
April 29, 2019, the ASLBP granted the NRC staff's motion to set a 
schedule for an evidentiary hearing. The hearing was held on August 28 
and 29, 2019, in Rapid City, South Dakota. On December 12, 2019, the 
ASLBP issued the Final Initial Decision (LBP-19-10) finding that the 
staff satisfied its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) obligation 
to take a reasonable hard look at potential impacts to cultural 
resources. The ASLBP also found that, consistent with the Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations at section 1502.22 of the title 40 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations, the information necessary to complete 
the NEPA review is effectively unavailable and that no further 
supplemental environmental impact statement is necessary in this case. 
The ASLBP also included a new condition to Powertech's license. It 
provides that, prior to appointing a Tribal Monitor pursuant to 
Stipulation 13(c) of the NHPA Programmatic Agreement, Powertech shall 
notify the NRC of the identity of the Monitor, and the NRC will in turn 
distribute that information to the signatories and consulting Tribes to 
the Programmatic Agreement for a 30-day review and comment period. On 
October 8, 2020, the Commission denied a petition for review (CLI-20-
09) of the ASLBP's final initial decision in LBP-19-10 and two 
interlocutory ASLBP orders, which terminated the adjudicatory 
proceeding. The updated ROD accounts for the ASLBP's decisions and the 
Commission's ruling.

II. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons as indicated.

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             Document description                 ADAMS Accession No.
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Powertech Dewey-Burdock Application, February  ML091200014 (package).
 28, 2009.
Generic Environmental Impact Statement for In  ML091530075 (package).
 Situ Leach Uranium Milling Facilities, May
 2009.
Resubmission of Application, August 10, 2009.  ML092870160 (package).
Response to Request for Additional             ML102380530 (package).
 Information, August 12, 2010.
Revised Response to Request for Additional     ML112071064 (package).
 Information, June 28, 2011.
Ground Water Model, February 27, 2012........  ML120620195 (package).
Clarification of Oxidation-Reduction           ML121030013.
 Potential Measurement, April 11, 2012.
Clarification of Regional Meteorological       ML12173A038.
 Data, June 13, 2012.
Clarification of Response to Request for       ML12179A534.
 Additional Information, June 27, 2012.
Supplemental Sampling Plan and Responses to    ML12305A056.
 Comments Regarding Draft License, October
 19, 2012.
Comments on Draft Supplemental Environment     ML13022A386.
 Impact Statement, January 8, 2013.
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement    ML14024A477
 for the Dewey-Burdock ISR Facility in Fall    ML14024A478.
 River and Custer Counties, South Dakota
 (NUREG[dash]1910, Supplement 4, Volumes 1
 and 2), January 31, 2014.
NHPA Programmatic Agreement for Protection of  ML14066A344 (package).
 Cultural Resources, Executed April 7, 2014.
NRC Safety Evaluation Report, April 8, 2014..  ML14043A347 (package).
Source Materials License for Dewey-Burdock,    ML14043A392.
 April 8, 2014.
NRC Record of Decision, April 8, 2014........  ML14066A466.
NRC Updated Record of Decision, December 3,    ML20321A051.
 2020.
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    Dated: December 8, 2020.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jessie M. Quintero,
Chief, Environmental Review Materials Branch, Division of Rulemaking, 
Environmental and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, 
and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-27296 Filed 12-10-20; 8:45 am]
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