[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2376-2378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00273]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8907; NRC-2019-0026]


United Nuclear Corporation; Church Rock Uranium Mill Site

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental impact statement and programmatic agreement; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), NUREG-2243, ``Environmental 
Impact Statement for the Disposal of Mine Waste at the United Nuclear 
Corporation Mill Site in McKinley County, New Mexico,'' for United 
Nuclear Corporation's (UNC) request for a license amendment to allow 
the disposition of about 1 million cubic yards of mine waste from the 
Northeast Church Rock (NECR) Mine Site at UNC's uranium mill site in 
McKinley County, New Mexico. The NRC is also issuing a final 
Programmatic Agreement (PA) under section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA) that provides requirements for the NRC, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and UNC to follow to ensure that 
cultural resources are protected during project activities.

DATES: The EIS and PA referenced in this document are available on 
January 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0026 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding these documents. 
You may obtain publicly available information related to these 
documents using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0026. 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]. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
     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 
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
     Project Website: Information related to the Church Rock 
project can be accessed on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/uranium/united-nuclear-corporation.html.
     Public Libraries: A copy of the final EIS will be made 
available at each of the following public libraries:

Octavia Fellin Public Library, 115 W Hill Ave., Gallup, NM 87301
Gallup Zollinger Library at the University of New Mexico, 705 Gurley 
Avenue, Gallup, NM 87301


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6789, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC is issuing two documents, a final 
EIS and a final PA. These documents are described in the following 
subsections.

I. Environmental Impact Statement

Background

    In accordance with section 51.118 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Final environmental impact statement--
notice of availability,'' the NRC is making available NUREG-2243, the 
NRC's final EIS for a proposed license amendment that would allow UNC 
to place uranium mine waste into a repository at UNC's NRC-licensed 
uranium mill site and to make certain improvements at the site. Notices 
of availability of the draft EIS were published in the Federal Register 
(FR) on November 13, 2020, by the NRC (85 FR 72706) and the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (85 FR 72649). After granting two 
extensions, the NRC closed the public comment period for the draft EIS 
on May 27, 2021. On June 17, 2021, in response to a request from the 
President of the Navajo Nation, the NRC re-opened the public comment 
period until November 1, 2021 (86 FR 32285). Appendix B of the final 
EIS contains summaries of and responses to the comments received. A 
separate report containing the as-received comments is available in the 
``Availability of Documents'' section. This report follows the 
organization of EIS Appendix B.

Discussion

    The NRC is issuing the final EIS for an application from UNC 
requesting an amendment to license SUA-1475 for the UNC mill tailings 
disposal site in McKinley County, New Mexico. The proposed license 
amendment would allow UNC to transfer and dispose of uranium mine waste 
from the nearby NECR Mine Site, located across New Mexico Highway 566 
from the UNC Mill Site. Approximately 1 million cubic yards of mine-
impacted soil and debris present at the NECR Mine Site (on primarily 
tribal trust lands) would be removed and placed in a repository to be 
constructed at the UNC Mill Site. The

[[Page 2377]]

proposed license amendment would also authorize certain improvements to 
the existing tailings impoundment. The proposed NRC action would 
facilitate an action by the EPA under the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to remove the mine waste from 
the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site, as documented in a 2013 EPA Record 
of Decision (EPA 2013).
    The final EIS is being issued as part of the NRC's process to 
decide whether to approve the requested license amendment. In this 
final EIS, the NRC staff has assessed the potential environmental 
impacts of the proposed action, two secondary alternatives (options for 
implementing certain aspects of the proposed action), and the no action 
alternative on land use, transportation, geology and soils, water 
resources, ecological resources, air quality, noise, historic and 
cultural resources, visual and scenic resources, socioeconomics, 
environmental justice, public and occupational health, and waste 
management. The NRC staff determined that the potential impacts from 
the proposed action and two secondary alternatives would range from 
``small'' to ``small to moderate'' for the analyzed environmental 
resource areas. The NRC staff also concludes that local Navajo Nation 
communities, namely the Red Water Pond Road, Pipeline Road, and 
Pinedale communities, are closer than any other community to the 
proposed project area, and these communities have experienced a range 
of significant impacts because of historical uranium mining and milling 
activities over many decades. The staff concludes that the activities 
of the proposed action, which would occur primarily within a three to 
four year period, would likewise affect these communities 
disproportionately with regard to traffic and transportation, air 
quality, noise levels, and visual disturbances.
    The NRC staff also considered the no-action alternative, under 
which the NRC would not approve UNC's license amendment request. A key 
distinction between the proposed action (including secondary 
alternatives) and the no-action alternative is the timing of impacts 
associated with the cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site. If 
the NRC does not approve the license amendment request, the mine waste 
would not be transferred to the UNC mill site and the EPA would need to 
evaluate or reevaluate other options for disposing of the mine waste.
    During the comment period on the draft EIS, the NRC received 100 
comment submittals resulting in 1,300 unique comments. Comments were 
submitted by individuals, organizations, and government agencies, 
including Navajo Nation government agencies. Because the proposed 
project would be conducted on and near Navajo Nation land and 
communities, Sections 1.4.2 and B.2.1.1 of the EIS provide descriptions 
of the topics and concerns raised by Navajo individuals and the Navajo 
government about the proposal and past uranium mining and milling 
activities.
    After evaluating the impacts of the proposed action and two 
secondary alternatives, and comparing them to the no-action 
alternative, the NRC staff, in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, sets 
forth its National Environmental Policy Act recommendation. The 
potential adverse environmental impacts of the proposed action and the 
two secondary alternatives do not preclude issuing a license amendment. 
This recommendation is based on (i) the license application, which 
includes the environmental report and supplemental documents and the 
licensee's responses to the NRC staff's requests for additional 
information; (ii) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
agencies and input from other stakeholders, including all comments 
received on the draft EIS; and (iii) independent NRC staff review as 
set forth in this EIS. The NRC staff concludes that removal of mine 
wastes from the former Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and 
consolidation of the mine materials over existing mill tailings on 
private property would minimize the footprint of waste disposal 
facilities and make the land available again for unrestricted use by 
the Navajo Nation.

II. NHPA Section 106 Programmatic Agreement

Background

    The NRC is issuing a final PA to ensure compliance with Section 106 
of the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR 
800). The NRC published a notice of availability of the draft PA on 
December 6, 2021 (86 FR 69103) and closed the comment period on January 
20, 2022. The NRC staff received and addressed two substantive comments 
on the draft PA.

Discussion

    The PA describes the measures that UNC would follow to mitigate or 
eliminate the potential for adverse impacts to cultural resources 
during the implementation of the proposed action, if approved. The NRC, 
EPA, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, the New 
Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer, the Navajo Nation 
President, Navajo Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, and UNC 
are signatories to the PA. The EPA is the lead agency for implementing 
the PA, which was executed on the date of the last signature, June 13, 
2022. Sections 3.9 and 4.9 of the EIS contain information about the PA 
and cultural resources in the project area.

III. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as 
indicated.

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                Document                   ADAMS accession No./web link
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Final EIS: ``NUREG-2243, Environmental   ML22356A145, https://
 Impact Statement for the Disposal of     www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2235/
 Mine Waste at the United Nuclear         ML22356A145.pdf.
 Corporation Mill Site in McKinley
 County, New Mexico''.
Report of Comments on the Draft EIS:     ML22110A106, https://
 ``Public Comments on the Draft           www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2211/
 Environmental Impact Statement for the   ML22110A106.pdf.
 Disposal of Mine Waste at the United
 Nuclear Corporation Mill Site in
 McKinley County, New Mexico''.
Draft EIS: ``NUREG-2243, Environmental   ML20289A621, https://
 Impact Statement for the Disposal of     www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2028/
 Mine Waste at the United Nuclear         ML20289A621.pdf.
 Corporation Mill Site in McKinley
 County, New Mexico''.
Programmatic Agreement for UNC Church    ML22074A047, https://
 Rock Mill Site License Amendment and     www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2207/
 Northeast Church Rock Mine Site          ML22074A047.pdf.
 Cleanup.
EPA Record of Decision: ``United         ML13095A352, https://
 Nuclear Corporation Site, McKinley       www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1309/
 County, New Mexico. USEPA ID             ML13095A352.pdf.
 NMD030443303; Operable Unit: OU 02,
 Surface Soil Operable Unit,'' dated
 March 2013.
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[[Page 2378]]

    Dated: January 5, 2022.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher M. Regan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, 
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-00273 Filed 1-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P