[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 208 (Monday, October 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74211-74213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23806]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-1162; NRC-2021-0120]
Split Rock, Wyoming Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
Title II Disposal Site; Jeffrey City, Wyoming
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
[[Page 74212]]
ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact;
issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed a Long-
Term Surveillance Plan (LTSP) for the Split Rock, Wyoming Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) Title II Disposal Site, Jeffrey
City, Wyoming submitted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), by
letter dated April 29, 2020. The NRC staff prepared an environmental
assessment (EA) for this LTSP in accordance with its regulations. Based
on the EA, the NRC concluded that a finding of no significant impact
(FONSI) is appropriate. The NRC is also conducting a safety evaluation
of the proposed license transfer.
DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on
October 30, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0120 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-2021-0120. 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, at 301-415-4737,
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for
each document referenced in this document (if that document is
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is
referenced.
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: Jill Caverly, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7674, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The NRC is evaluating the LTSP for the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA
Title II Disposal Site submitted by the DOE for the long-term care and
custodianship of the former uranium mill tailings site. The DOE
submitted its request by letter dated April 29, 2020, (ADAMS Accession
No. ML20121A280) and amended on August 11, 2023 (ADAMS Package
Accession No. ML23223A152). The LTSP demonstrates the DOE
responsibilities as the long-term custodian of the site, fulfilling its
requirements associated with the general license under part 40 of title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of
Source Material.''
In accordance with 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,''
which implements the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as
amended, the NRC staff's environmental review of the LTSP is documented
in its EA (ADAMS Accession No. ML23236A452). The purpose of the EA is
to assess the potential environmental impacts of the activities
included in the long-term care of the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title
II disposal site. The NRC is also conducting a safety evaluation of the
LTSP, which will be documented in a separate technical evaluation
report (TER).
The long-term surveillance and maintenance program presented in the
LTSP entails performing the following activities at the site: annual
site inspection and reporting, annual ground water and surface water
monitoring and reporting, and minor maintenance. The NRC will approve
transfer of the site to DOE under the general licensing authority of 10
CFR part 40, following publication of the FONSI in the Federal
Register, the EA, and the TER.
II. Final Environmental Assessment Summary
The Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title II disposal site is currently
under a specific license with Western Nuclear Inc. (WNI) for the
possession and storage of source or byproduct material from processing
and extraction activities associated with uranium milling and as
defined in 10 CFR part 40. Past activities include disposal,
decommissioning, and reclamation activities at the site. Once those
activities are complete, the license must be transferred to the long-
term custodian under a general license. Under the UMTRCA Title II, a
general license is issued for the custody and long-term care, including
monitoring, maintenance, emergency measures necessary to protect the
public health and safety, and other actions necessary to comply with
site closure under Title II of UMTRCA. The long-term custodian will be
the DOE.
The purpose of the LTSP is to establish the parameters of the long-
term custodian's maintenance and surveillance of the site, consistent
with 10 CFR 40.28, to demonstrate and ensure that uranium and thorium
mill tailings disposal sites will be cared for in a manner that
protects the public health, safety, and environment after closure. The
DOE proposed an LTSP for the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title II
disposal site and requested NRC review and approval. The NRC considered
the proposed action and the no-action alternative of denying the LTSP
and transfer of the site to a general license. The results of the NRC's
environmental review can be found in the final EA (ADAMS Accession No.
ML23236A452). The NRC staff performed its environmental review in
accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51. In conducting the
environmental review, the NRC contacted the Wyoming State Historic
Preservation office (ADAMS Accession No. ML21056A423), and seventeen
Native American Tribes (ADAMS Accession No. ML20329A081) and ran a
query using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Information for
Planning and Consultation database (ADAMS Accession No. ML21047A315).
If the NRC approves the LTSP and concurs with Wyoming's termination
of WNI's radioactive material license (WYSUA-56), the site will be
transferred to an NRC general license for long-term custody (10 CFR
40.28(b)). Concurrent with this action, the WNI's deed and title to the
site within the long-term site boundary will be transferred to the DOE.
The remaining balance of the property is federally owned or privately
held and under institutional control restrictions. Disposal structures
(i.e., the disposal cell and its associated surface water diversion
structures) are designed to last ``for up to 1,000 years, to the extent
reasonably achievable, and, in any case, for at least 200 years'' (10
CFR part 40, appendix A, ``Criteria Relating to the Operation of
Uranium Mills and the Disposition of Tailings or Wastes
[[Page 74213]]
Produced by the Extraction or Concentration of Source Material from
Ores Processed Primarily for Their Source Material Content,'' Criterion
6), in addition, there is no termination of the general license for the
DOE's long-term custody of the site (10 CFR 40.28(b)). Representatives
of the NRC must be guaranteed permanent right-of-entry for periodic
site inspections. Perpetual access to the site is gained by a local
county road.
To meet the NRC's license requirements at 10 CFR 40.28 and 10 CFR
part 40, appendix A, criterion 12, the DOE as long-term custodian must,
at a minimum, fulfill the following requirements:
annual site inspection,
annual inspection report,
follow-up inspections and reports, as necessary,
site maintenance, as necessary,
emergency measures, and,
environmental monitoring.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Based on its review of the proposed action in the EA, in accordance
with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff determined that
approval of the LTSP for the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title II
disposal site authorizing long-term surveillance activities, will not
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The proposed
action would not result in any new construction or expansion of the
existing footprint beyond the area previously disturbed and approved.
No significant radiological or nonradiological impacts are expected
from the long-term surveillance and maintenance. The proposed action
will not affect potentially eligible historic properties if any are
present. Therefore, the NRC staff determined that pursuant to 10 CFR
51.31, preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required
for the proposed action, and pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a FONSI is
appropriate.
Dated: October 24, 2023.
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. 2023-23806 Filed 10-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P