Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2011 / Notices 18807 

Facility Operating License Nos. NPF– 

68 and NPF–81: Amendments revised 

the licenses and the technical 

specifications. 

Date of initial notice in Federal 

Register: January 4, 2011 (76 FR 388). 

The Commission’s related evaluation 

of the amendments is contained in a 

Safety Evaluation dated March 14, 2011. 

No significant hazards consideration 

comments received: No. 

STP Nuclear Operating Company, 

Docket Nos. 50–498 and 50–499, South 

Texas Project, Units 1 and 2, Matagorda 

County, Texas 

Date of amendment request: May 18, 

2010, as supplemented by letter dated 

October 5, 2010. 

Brief description of amendments: The 

amendments eliminated the Residual 

Heat Removal (RHR) system design 

criterion for diversity among the three 

Reactor Coolant System pressure 

transmitters that generate interlocks for 

three series-pairs of RHR suction 

isolation valves. The change allows 

similarly qualified pressure transmitters 

to be used in more than one RHR train 

as necessary regardless of manufacturer 

of the transmitters. The revision is 

incorporated in the Updated Final 

Safety Analysis Report for South Texas 

Project, Units 1 and 2. 

Date of issuance: March 22, 2011. 

Effective date: As of the date of 

issuance and shall be implemented 

within 60 days of issuance. 

Amendment Nos.: Unit 1–194; Unit 

2–182. 

Facility Operating License Nos. NPF– 

76 and NPF–80: The amendments 

revised the Facility Operating Licenses 

and Updated Final Safety Analysis 

Report. 

Date of initial notice in Federal 

Register: September 21, 2010 (75 FR 

57528). The supplemental letter dated 

October 5, 2010, provided additional 

information that clarified the 

application, did not expand the scope of 

the application as originally noticed, 

and did not change the staff’s original 

proposed no significant hazards 

consideration determination as 

published in the Federal Register. 

The Commission’s related evaluation 

of the amendments is contained in a 

Safety Evaluation dated March 22, 2011. 

No significant hazards consideration 

comments received: No. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day 

of March 2011. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Joseph G. Giitter, 

Director, Division of Operating Reactor 

Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor 

Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7740 Filed 4–4–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2010–0073] 

Proposed Generic Communication; 

Licensee Justification of Long-Term 

Surveillance Charge 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is proposing to issue 

a regulatory issue summary (RIS) to reaffirm its existing interpretation of the 

regulatory policy regarding the scope 

and corresponding dollar amount of the 

long-term surveillance charge (LTSC) to 

be paid to the general treasury of the 

United States, or to an appropriate State 

agency. This LTSC is paid prior to the 

transfer of title to a uranium mill, 

covered by Title II of the Uranium Mill 

Tailings Radiation Control Act 

(UMTRCA) of 1978 (UMTRCA Title II 

site), to the long-term custodian for 

long-term care and license termination. 

This Federal Register notice is available 

through the NRC’s Agencywide 

Documents Access and Management 

System (ADAMS) under accession 

number ML102080569. 

DATES: Comment period expires May 5, 

2011. Comments submitted after this 

date will be considered if it is practical 

to do so, but assurance of consideration 

cannot be given except for comments 

received on or before this date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any one of the following methods. 

Please include Docket ID NRC–2011– 

0073 in the subject line of your 

comments. Comments submitted in 

writing or in electronic form will be 

posted on the NRC website and on the 

Federal rulemaking website 

Regulations.gov. Because your 

comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information, 

the NRC cautions you against including 

any information in your submission that 

you do not want to be publicly 

disclosed. 

The NRC requests that any party 

soliciting or aggregating comments 

received from other persons for 

submission to the NRC inform those 

persons that the NRC will not edit their 

comments to remove any identifying or 

contact information, and therefore, they 

should not include any information in 

their comments that they do not want 

publicly disclosed. 

Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

NRC–2011–0073. Address questions 

about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 

301–492–3668; e-mail 

Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 

Mail comments to: Cindy Bladey, 

Chief, Rules, Announcements, and 

Directives Branch (RADB), Office of 

Administration, Mail Stop: TWB–05– 

B01M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001, or by fax to RADB at 301–492– 

3446. 

You can access publicly available 

documents related to this notice using 

the following methods: 

NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR): 

The public may examine and have 

copied for a fee publicly available 

documents at the NRC’s PDR, Room O1 

F21, One White Flint North, 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852. 

NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): Publicly available documents 

created or received at the NRC are 

available electronically at the NRC’s 

Electronic Reading Room at http:// 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

From this page, the public can gain 

entry into ADAMS, which provides text 

and image files of NRC’s public 

documents. If you do not have access to 

ADAMS or if there are problems in 

accessing the documents located in 

ADAMS, contact the NRC’s PDR 

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301– 

415–4737, or by e-mail to 

pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 

Federal Rulemaking Web site: Public 

comments and supporting materials 

related to this notice can be found at 

http://www.regulations.gov by searching 

on Docket ID: NRC–2011–0073. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Roman A. Przygodzki at 301–415–5143 

or by e-mail at 

roman.przygodzki@nrc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Draft Regulatory Issue Summary 2010– 

XX, ‘‘Licensee Justification of LongTerm Surveillance Charge’’ 

Addressees 

All holders of operating licenses for 

conventional or heap leach uranium 

recovery facilities, all holders of 

licenses for conventional or heap leach 

uranium recovery facilities in 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
18808 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2011 / Notices 

decommissioning, and all companies 

that have submitted applications to 

construct new conventional or heap 

leach uranium recovery facilities or 

letters of intent to submit such 

applications, and all UMTRCA Title II 

sites. 

Intent 

NRC is issuing this RIS to reiterate its 

policy regarding the Long-Term 

Surveillance Charge (LTSC) for the 

applicable uranium recovery facilities. 

This RIS, among other things, discusses 

NRC’s existing policy regarding the 

scope and corresponding dollar amount 

of the LTSC to be paid to the General 

Treasury of the United States, or to an 

appropriate State agency, prior to the 

transfer of title to the long-term 

custodian for long-term care and license 

termination. No specific action or 

written response is required. 

Background 

Both conventional and heap leach 

uranium milling processes generate mill 

tailings, which are primarily a sandy 

waste material containing the 

radioactive decay products from the 

uranium chains (mainly the Uranium238 chain) and heavy metals. During 

operations, the tailings are deposited in 

a tailings impoundment or disposal cell. 

The goal of the tailings impoundment or 

disposal cell is to provide long-term 

protection of human health and safety, 

to protect the environment, and to 

isolate the tailings without ongoing 

maintenance. Specifically, Criterion 1 to 

Appendix A of Title 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 40 (10 

CFR 40) states that: 

The general goal or broad objective in 

siting and design decisions is permanent 

isolation of tailings and associated 

contaminants by minimizing disturbance and 

dispersion by natural forces, and to do so 

without ongoing maintenance. 

Criterion 6 to Appendix A of 10 CFR 

Part 40 states that licensees are required 

to place a cover over the tailings or 

wastes ‘‘...which provides reasonable 

assurance of control of radiological 

hazards...for 1,000 years, to the extent 

reasonably achievable, and, in any case, 

for at least 200 years.’’ 

Prior to license termination, a LongTerm Surveillance Plan (LTSP) is 

submitted to NRC for review. According 

to 10 CFR 40.28(b)(2) and 10 CFR 

40.28(b)(3), cited below, groundwater 

monitoring must be considered in the 

LTSP, if required: 

(b)(2) A detailed description, which can be 

in the form of a reference of the final disposal 

site conditions, including existing ground 

water characterization. This description must 

be detailed enough so that future inspectors 

will have a baseline to determine changes to 

the site and when these changes are serious 

enough to require maintenance or repairs. 

(b)(3) A description of the long-term 

surveillance program, including proposed 

inspection frequency and reporting to the 

Commission (as specified in appendix A, 

Criterion 12 of this part), frequency and 

extent of ground water monitoring if 

required, appropriate constituent 

concentration limits for ground water, 

inspection personnel qualifications, 

inspection procedures, recordkeeping and 

quality assurance procedures. (emphasis 

added) 

Additionally, prior to license 

termination, all operators of uranium 

mills are required to pay an appropriate 

LTSC to the General Treasury of the 

United States, or the appropriate State 

agency, as stated in the following 

excerpt from Criterion 10 to Appendix 

A of 10 CFR Part 40: 

A minimum charge of $250,000 (1978 

dollars) to cover the costs of long-term 

surveillance must be paid by each mill 

operator to the general treasury of the United 

States or to an appropriate State agency prior 

to the termination of a uranium or thorium 

mill license. 

The LTSC is a one-time charge, in an 

amount such that an assumed 1 percent 

annual real interest rate would provide 

interest income sufficient to cover the 

annual costs of site surveillance 

incurred by the long-term custodian. 

Specifically, the intent of the minimum 

LTSC is to cover costs of a ‘‘passive 

monitoring’’ approach to site 

surveillance, whose assumptions are 

described in NUREG–0706, Vol. I, ‘‘Final 

Generic Environmental Impact 

Statement of Uranium Milling Project 

M–25,’’ dated September 1980 

(Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System [ADAMS] 

accession number ML032751663); 

Appendix R, ‘‘Costs of Post-Operational 

Site Surveillance’’ of NUREG–0706, Vol. 

III, ‘‘Final Generic Environmental 

Impact Statement of Uranium Milling 

Project M–25—Appendices G–V,’’ dated 

September 1980 (ADAMS accession 

number ML032751669); and ‘‘[NRC] 

Staff Guidance on the License 

Termination Process for Conventional 

Uranium Mill Licensees,’’ dated 

November 27, 1996 (ADAMS accession 

number ML100840671). 

Recently, the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) raised an issue to the NRC 

regarding the minimum LTSC amount 

paid. Specifically, DOE inquired as to 

what long-term care activities would 

merit an increase in the LTSC above the 

minimum amount. DOE stated that, 

based on actual costs of site surveillance 

and control activities, the minimum 

amount paid as the LTSC may not be 

sufficient to cover the costs for the 

needed site surveillance and control 

activities, in certain cases. For instance, 

sites with alternate concentration limits 

(ACLs) may require increased 

groundwater monitoring not covered by 

the ‘‘passive monitoring’’ approach 

assumed in the development of the 

minimum LTSC. 

In a letter dated June 17, 2010, NRC 

responded to DOE’s query with regard 

to what long-term care activities would 

merit an increase in the LTSC (ADAMS 

accession number ML100670337). It is 

the intent of this RIS to further clarify 

the matters discussed in that letter, as 

well as state NRC’s intent with regard to 

the review of proposed LTSCs and 

financial assurance. 

Summary of Issue 

Pursuant to Criterion 10 to Appendix 

A of 10 CFR 40, an escalation in the 

LTSC from the minimum charge amount 

is within NRC’s regulatory authority: 

If site surveillance or control requirements 

at a particular site are determined, on the 

basis of a site-specific evaluation, to be 

significantly greater than those specified in 

Criterion 12...variance in funding 

requirements may be specified by the 

Commission. (emphasis added) 

The NRC’s position on the LTSC— 

described in ‘‘[NRC] Staff Guidance on 

the License Termination Process for 

Conventional Uranium Mill Licensees,’’ 

(ADAMS accession number 

ML100840671)—is well established and 

goes back over 13 years. Escalation of 

the LTSC is consistent with NRC’s 

historical practice. The LTSC of the 

Atlantic Richfield Company’s (ARCO’s) 

Bluewater Uranium Mill and Tailings 

site was escalated for sampling of 

groundwater (ML103410026). At the 

Sohio Western Mining Company’s L– 

Bar uranium mill tailings site, the LTSC 

was escalated for the maintenance 

required to address of future 

accumulation of sedimentation in the 

diversion channels (ADAMS accession 

numbers ML042580467 and 

ML042580457). 

Provided that there is a nexus to 

radiological health and safety, the NRC 

may consider escalating the LTSC above 

the minimum amount, adjusted to 

current year dollars. The increased 

LTSC would address long-term 

maintenance and control activities if 

site surveillance or control requirements 

are expected to be greater than those 

specified in Criterion 12 to Appendix A 

of 10 CFR 40 to cover such measures 

relied on for the performance of the 

tailings impoundment. The NRC may 

consider escalating the LTSC for longterm maintenance and control activities 

undertaken to ensure maintenance of 

radiological health and safety such as, 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2011 / Notices 18809 

but not limited to: (1) Groundwater 

monitoring; (2), rip-rap, erosion or other 

cover repair; (3) fencing; and (4) 

vegetation control. 

Consistent with past practice, on a 

site-specific basis, NRC staff will 

continue to work with the custodial 

agency and the licensee to address the 

LTSC, with any final variances in the 

funding requirements to be determined 

solely by the NRC. If the custodial 

agency desires to have commitments in 

the LTSP that exceed the requirements 

set forth in Appendix A of 10 CFR 40 

and do not have a nexus to radiological 

health and safety (e.g., fencing that is 

not necessary to ensure maintenance of 

radiological health and safety), the 

custodial agency would need to identify 

a funding mechanism to meet these 

desired commitments. 

Annual updates to financial assurance 

for decommissioning submitted to NRC 

should contain a detailed basis (e.g., 

unit cost and units) and justification for 

the LTSC calculated by the licensee or 

license applicant. The licensee should 

consider all activities for site 

surveillance and control as specified in 

Criterion 12 to Appendix A of 10 CFR 

40, including groundwater monitoring. 

For groundwater monitoring, the 

licensee or applicant should specify, 

with a sufficient basis, the number of 

wells to be sampled; the frequency of 

sampling; the duration of sampling; and 

the constituents analyzed during longterm site surveillance and control. If site 

surveillance or control requirements, 

including groundwater monitoring, are 

expected to be greater than those 

specified in Criterion 12 to Appendix A 

of 10 CFR 40, the licensee should fully 

describe the activities needed with a 

basis for their costs, propose an 

escalation in the LTSC, and provide an 

overall bottom-line amount, 

corresponding to the proposed, 

escalated LTSC. 

Federal Register Notification 

To be done after the public comment 

period. 

Congressional Review Act 

This RIS is not a rule as designated in 

the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 

801–886) and, therefore, is not subject to 

the Act. 

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

This RIS contains and references 

information collection requirements that 

are subject to the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Existing information collection 

requirements were approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget, 

approval number 3150–0020. 

Public Protection Notification 

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, a request for information or an 

information collection requirement 

unless the requesting document 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Contact 

This RIS requires no specific action or 

written response. If you have any 

questions about this summary, please 

contact the technical contact listed 

below. 

Technical Contact: Roman A. 

Przygodzki, DWMEP/SPB, (301) 415– 

5143, E-mail: 

roman.przygodzki@nrc.gov. 

Note: The NRC’s generic communications 

may be found on the NRC public Web site, 

http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic 

Reading Room/Document Collections. 

End of Draft Regulatory Issue Summary 

Documents may be examined, and/or 

copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public 

Document Room at One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), 

Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 

records will be accessible electronically 

from the Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading 

Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 

site, http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/ 

index.html. If you do not have access to 

ADAMS or if you have problems in 

accessing the documents in ADAMS, 

contact the NRC Public Document Room 

(PDR) reference staff at 1–800–397–4209 

or 301–415–4737 or by e-mail to 

pdr@nrc.gov. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day 

of March 2011. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Keith I. McConnell, 

Deputy Director, Decommissioning and 

Uranium Recovery Licensing Directorate, 

Division of Waste Management and 

Environmental Protection, Office of Federal 

and State Materials and Environmental 

Management Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2011–8009 Filed 4–4–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2011–0006] 

Sunshine Federal Register Notice 

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETINGS: Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission. 

DATE: Weeks of April 4, 11, 18, 25, May 

2, 9, 16, 23, 30, June 6, 13, 2011. 

PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference 

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. 

STATUS: Public and Closed. 

Week of April 4, 2011 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of April 4, 2011. 

Week of April 11, 2011—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of April 11, 2011. 

Week of April 18, 2011—Tentative 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 

9 a.m. 

Briefing on Source Security—Part 37 

Rulemaking—Physical Protection of 

Byproduct Material (Public 

Meeting). (Contact: Merri Horn, 

301–415–8126.) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov. 

Week of April 25, 2011—Tentative 

Thursday, April 28, 2011 

9:30 a.m. 

Briefing on the Status of NRC 

Response to Events in Japan and 

Briefing on Station Blackout (Public 

Meeting). (Contact: George Wilson, 

301–415–1711.) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov. 

Week of May 2, 2011—Tentative 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 

9 a.m. 

Information Briefing on Emergency 

Preparedness (Public Meeting). 

(Contact: Robert Kahler, 301–415– 

7528.) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov. 

Week of May 9, 2011—Tentative 

Thursday, May 12, 2011 

9:30 a.m. 

Briefing on the Progress of the Task 

Force Review of NRC Processes and 

Regulations Following the Events in 

Japan (Public Meeting). (Contact: 

Nathan Sanfilippo, 301–415–3951.) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov. 

Week of May 16, 2011—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of May 16, 2011. 

Week of May 23, 2011—Tentative 

Friday, May 27, 2011 

9 a.m. 

Briefing on Results of the Agency 

Action Review Meeting (AARM) 

(Public Meeting). (Contact: Rani 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES