[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31476-31478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10440]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 040-08968; NRC-2026-1882]
NuFuels Inc.; Crownpoint Uranium Project In-Situ Recovery
Facility; License Renewal Application
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Opportunity to request a hearing and petition for leave to
intervene.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an
application for the renewal of Source and Byproduct Materials License
Number SUA-1580, which authorizes NuFuels, Inc. to operate the
Crownpoint Uranium Project (CUP) In-Situ Recovery Facility--a facility
that has not been constructed. The applicant requests a renewed license
that, if granted, would authorize it to operate the CUP In-Situ
Recovery Facility for 20 years beyond the date of such approval.
DATES: A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene must
be filed by July 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2026-1882 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document.
[[Page 31477]]
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-2026-1882. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Bridget Curran;
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, contact the individual(s) 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 ADAMS Public Search.''
For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room
(PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email
to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each document
referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time
that it is mentioned in this document.
NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Smith, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6103; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC received a license renewal application (LRA) from NuFuels,
Inc., dated January 22, 2025, (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML25022A289)
requesting renewal of Source and Byproduct Materials License Number
SUA-1580. NuFuels, Inc., a subsidiary of Laramide Resources, Ltd.,
proposes to develop in-situ recovery (ISR) operations in McKinley
County, New Mexico. NuFuels, Inc. submitted the application, pursuant
to part 2 and part 40 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR). The CUP In-Situ Recovery Facility will consist of three
separate satellite facilities at the Crownpoint, Unit 1, and Church
Rock Section 8 project areas. Uranium recovered from Church Rock
Section 17 will be processed at the adjacent Section 8 satellite
facility. In addition to the satellite facilities, NuFuels will
construct the currently licensed Crownpoint Central Plant (CCP) within
the Crownpoint project area.
NuFuels proposes to construct and operate wellfields and associated
infrastructure within the project areas to extract uranium from the
Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation. Recovered uranium-
bearing solutions will be processed at satellite facilities located at
the Crownpoint, Unit 1, and Church Rock Section 8 project areas.
These satellite facilities will recover uranium using pressurized
down-flow ion exchange (IX) columns. The loaded resin from the IX
columns will then be transported to the CCP for further processing and
drying. Each satellite facility is designed for a production capacity
of up to 1 million pounds of triuranium
octoxide(U3O8) per year.
The current license authorizes NuFuels, Inc., to operate the CCP,
which is a uranium recovery facility that has not been constructed. The
project involves building and operating an ISR uranium facility near
Church Rock and Crownpoint, New Mexico. ISR (formerly referred to as
in-situ leach or ISL) is a mining method that removes uranium from
underground by circulating a solution through the rock.
The NRC staff has determined that NuFuels, Inc., has submitted
sufficient information to enable the staff to undertake a technical
review of the application and that the application is, therefore,
acceptable for docketing. The current docket number, 040-08968, for
license SUA-1580, will be retained. The determination to accept the LRA
for docketing does not constitute a determination that a renewed
license should be issued and does not preclude the NRC staff from
requesting additional information as the review proceeds.
Before making a licensing decision on the request for a renewed
license, the NRC will make the findings required by the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and
regulations. The NRC may issue a renewed license based on its review if
it finds there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized
by the renewed license will continue to meet the requirements for the
issuance of a license under the Act and the Commission's regulations.
The license SUA-1580 will not be deemed to have expired until the
status of the application has been finally determined.
Additionally, in accordance with part 51 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC will prepare a National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental document for the proposed
license renewal in accordance with the NRC's NEPA-implementing
regulations in 10 CFR part 51.
II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To
Intervene
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any
person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may
file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene
(petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in
accordance with the Commission's ``Agency Rules of Practice and
Procedure'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a
current copy of 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed, the presiding
officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a
hearing will be issued.
Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of
publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions
in the ``Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)'' section of this document.
Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that
are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a
determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates
good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)
through (iii).
A State, local governmental body, federally recognized Indian
Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the
Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later
than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice.
Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized
Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may participate as a non-
party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).
For information about filing a petition and about participation by
a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No.
ML20340A053 (https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website
at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html#participate.
III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including
documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body,
Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that
requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in
accordance with 10 CFR
[[Page 31478]]
2.302. The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve
all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail
copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitting an
alternative filing method, as further discussed, is granted. Detailed
guidance on electronic submissions is located in the ``Guidance for
Electronic Submissions to the NRC'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056),
and on the NRC's public website (https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html).
To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at 301-415-1677, to: (1) request a digital identification
(ID) certificate which allows the participant (or their counsel or
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the
participant, or their counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is
available on the NRC's public website (https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html). After a digital ID certificate is
obtained and a docket is created, the participant must submit
adjudicatory documents in the Portable Document Format. Guidance on
submissions is available on the NRC's public website (https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html). A filing is
considered complete at the time the document is submitted through the
NRC's E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be
submitted to the E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due
date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps
the document and sends the submitter an email confirming receipt of the
document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email that provides
access to the document to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and
any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish
to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the
document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are
filed to obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's
public website (https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html), by
email to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m.
and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper
format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner
are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants.
Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still
meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1),
unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10
CFR 2.302(g)(1).
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available on the
NRC's public website (https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd), unless otherwise
excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not
have an NRC-issued digital ID certificate as previously described,
click ``cancel'' when the link requests certificates and you will be
automatically directed to the NRC's electronic hearing docket where you
will be able to access any publicly available documents in a particular
hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include personal
privacy information such as social security numbers, home addresses, or
personal phone numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or
other law requires submission of such information. With respect to
copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose
of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use
application, participants should not include copyrighted materials in
their submission.
Copies of the application to renew NuFuels' license for the CUP In-
Situ Recovery Facility are available for public inspection at the NRC's
PDR, and on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/materials/uranium-recovery/license-apps, while the application is under review.
The application may be accessed in ADAMS through the NRC Library on the
internet at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under ADAMS
Package Accession No. ML25022A289. As previously stated in this
document, persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS may contact the
NRC's PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-
4737, or by email to [email protected].
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)
Dated: May 21, 2026.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Candace Spore,
Acting Chief, Uranium Recovery and Materials Decommissioning Branch,
Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2026-10440 Filed 5-26-26; 8:45 am]
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