NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, DC 20555-001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA

No. 00-099 June 26, 2000

NRC REQUESTS COMMENTS ON DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

FOR PROPOSED SPENT FUEL STORAGE FACILITY IN UTAH;

SCHEDULES MEETINGS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requesting comments on its “Draft Environmental

Impact Statement for the Construction and Operation of an Independent Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage

Installation on the Reservation of the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians and the Related

Transportation Facility in Tooele County, Utah,” NUREG-1714. The reservation is located about 85

miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

The agency also has scheduled two public meetings for July 27 and 28, to describe the draft

environmental impact statement, and to provide an opportunity for interested members of the public to

comment. The meetings will be held in the Arizona Room of the Little America Inn, at 500 South

Main Street in Salt Lake City on July 27, and at the Grantsville Middle School, at 318 South Hale

Street in Grantsville, Utah on July 28. Both meetings are scheduled for 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

In June, 1997, Private Fuel Storage, L.L.C. (PFS) submitted an application for a license to store

spent fuel from nuclear reactors in dry storage cask systems within an independent spent fuel storage

installation to be constructed and operated on the reservation. Under NRC’s regulations, the initial

term of such a license would be twenty years.

The draft environmental impact statement evaluates the potential impacts of the PFS proposal,

including its effect on minerals, soils, water resources, air quality, ecological resources, socioeconomic and community resources, cultural resources, human health, noise and environmental justice.

The statement also discusses the impact of a proposed rail line to be built to the site, describes a

potential alternate site and transportation method, and identifies mitigation measures that could

eliminate or lessen certain impacts on the surrounding community and the environment. It also

discusses the option of not building the facility at Skull Valley.

The proposed PFS facility requires approval from three other federal agencies, which have

cooperated in the preparation of the draft environmental impact statement, namely : the Bureau of

Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Surface Transportation Board.
The draft statement is available for public inspection and duplication at the NRC’s Public

Document Room at 2120 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC, and will be available on the agency’s web

site, at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NUREGS/indexnum.html . To the extent supply is available, a free

copy of the statement can be obtained by writing to the Office of the Chief Information Officer,

Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555-0001.

Any interested party may submit written comments on the proposed action and on the draft

statement for consideration by the staffs of the four cooperating agencies. To be certain

of consideration, comments must be received by September 21. Comments received after the due date

will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the staffs of the cooperating agencies are able to assure

consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

Comments should be submitted to the Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of

Freedom of Information and Publications Services, Office of Administration, Mail Stop T-6D-59, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001. Comments may also be submitted

electronically on the NRC’s web site.