United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 97-047 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Friday, March 21, 1997)

NRC, BLM AND BIA ISSUE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

ON PROPOSED NEW MEXICO MINING PROJECT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff, in cooperation

with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Bureau of

Indian Affairs, has issued a final environmental impact statement

in a report on the proposal by Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI) to

construct and operate the Crownpoint Uranium Solution Mining

Project in New Mexico.

The report concludes that, with the imposition of certain

conditions, the appropriate action is to issue the requested

license and leases authorizing Hydro Resources to proceed with

the project. In July the NRC expects to issue its safety

evaluation report, which will describe the staff's review of

radiological safety aspects of the proposed project and present

the staff's conlusions as to whether, from a safety perspective,

the license should be issued to Hydro Resources.

The project would be located near the towns of Church Rock

and Crownpoint, in McKinley County northeast of Gallup. It would

involve a process known as in-situ leach uranium mining, or

solution mining.

In the in-situ mining process, wells are drilled into rock

formations containing uranium ore. Water, with added oxygen and

sodium bicarbonate, is injected down the wells to mobilize the

uranium in the rock so that it is picked up and pumped to the

surface, where a processing plant separates the uranium from the

solution. Once it is dried, the resulting uranium, known as

"yellowcake," is packaged in drums and transported off-site to

processing plants for conversion into fuel for nuclear reactors.

Hydro Resources, which plans to use a complex pattern of

injection and recovery wells drilled into the ore zone, would

have to conduct its operations in compliance with a license

issued by the NRC and minerals operating leases issued for

Federal and Indian lands by the Bureau of Land Management and

Bureau of Indian Affairs. The NRC license would contain any
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conditions that the NRC decides are necessary to govern the

applicant's operations.

A draft environmental impact statement on Crownpoint was

published for public comment in October 1994. The final report

reflects consideration of comments received, as well as

additional information obtained from the applicant.

The NRC also offered an opportunity for a public hearing on

the proposed project. Eight petitioners requested a hearing:

Zuni Mountain Coalition, Bernadine Martin, Water Information

Network, Dine' CARE, Southwest Research and Information Center,

Mervyn Tilden, Grace and Marilyn Sam, and Eastern Navaho Dine'

Against Uranium Mining, Inc.

An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) Panel

member, B. Paul Cotter, Jr., was appointed to rule on the

petitions and serve as presiding officer if a hearing is held.

Both the environmental impact statement and the safety evaluation

report would be considered in the proceeding.

In September 1995, Judge Cotter indicated that he will not

decide whether to grant the petitions for a hearing until the NRC

technical staff completes its review of HRI's license

application, issues the final environmental impact statement and

safety evaluation report, and decides whether it supports

granting or denying the license application.

Copies of the final environmental impact statement may be

obtained by writing to the NRC Publications Section, Attention:

Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20013-7082. A copy is also

available for copying at the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L

Street, N.W., Washington, DC.

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