[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64524-64525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23113]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8943; NRC-2022-0153]


Crow Butte Resources, Inc.; In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Final finding of no significant impact and environmental 
assessment supplement; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
final finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and accompanying 
supplement to the NRC staff's environmental assessment (EA) for the 
license renewal of the Crow Butte Resources, Inc. (CBR) in situ uranium 
recovery (ISR) facility located Dawes County, Nebraska. Based on the 
analysis in the EA supplement, the NRC staff has concluded that there 
will be no significant impacts to cultural resources from the renewal 
of CBR's license and, therefore, a FONSI remains appropriate.

DATES: The EA supplement referenced in this document is available on 
October 25, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2022-0153 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://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2022-0153. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; 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]. The EA supplement can be found in 
ADAMS under Accession No. ML22278A108.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make 
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
     Project Website: Information related to the CBR project 
can be accessed on

[[Page 64525]]

the NRC's CBR website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/materials/uranium/licensed-facilities/crow-butte.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean Trefethen, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0867; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion

    The NRC is issuing the final FONSI and accompanying supplement to 
the NRC staff's EA for the license renewal of CBR's ISR facility. The 
EA supplement describes the NRC staff's efforts to address the 
deficiencies identified in the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's 
partial initial decision (LBP-16-7), which found that the NRC staff did 
not meet its identification obligations under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA) and was deficient under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ``for failing to take a hard look at 
potential TCPs [traditional cultural properties] within the Crow Butte 
license area[.]'' Specifically, the EA supplement describes the 
methodology, implementation, and results of the 2021 tribal cultural 
survey to identify sites of significance to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. It 
also documents the NRC staff's evaluation of the identified sites 
according to the criteria for listing in the National Register of 
Historic Places (NRHP) and the NRC staff's assessment of potential 
impacts of the license renewal on the identified sites under the NHPA 
(for sites eligible for the NRHP) or NEPA (for other sites of 
significance to the Tribe). Based on these evaluations in the EA 
supplement, the NRC staff concludes that there will be no significant 
impacts to cultural resources identified during the 2021 tribal 
cultural survey. Accordingly, based on the 2014 EA (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML14288A517) and the EA supplement, the NRC staff has concluded that an 
environmental impact statement is not necessary and a FONSI remains 
appropriate.

II. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on its review of the proposed action, in accordance with the 
requirements in part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing 
and Related Regulatory Functions,'' the NRC staff has concluded that 
the proposed action, renewal of NRC Source Materials License No. SUA-
1534 for CBR's ISR facility located in Crawford, Nebraska, will not 
have a significant impact on the cultural resources discussed in the EA 
supplement and will not significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment. Therefore, the NRC staff has determined, pursuant to 10 
CFR 51.31, that preparation of an environmental impact statement is not 
required for the proposed action and a FONSI is appropriate.

III. Additional Information

    The NRC published a notice of the availability of the draft EA 
supplement and draft FONSI in the Federal Register on August 26, 2022 
(87 FR 52597) for a 30-day public comment period. The public comment 
period closed on September 26, 2022. The ADAMS accession numbers for 
the public comments on the draft EA supplement and draft FONSI, and the 
NRC staff's responses to the public comments, are provided in an 
appendix to the final EA supplement.

    Dated: October 19, 2022.
    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John M. Moses,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental and Financial 
Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2022-23113 Filed 10-24-22; 8:45 am]
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