NRC SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON DRAFT GENERIC ENVIRONMENTAL 

STUDY OF IN-SITU LEACH URANIUM RECOVERY OPERATIONS 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft 

Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for in-situ leach uranium recovery 

operations in the western United States. 

 The draft GEIS, developed with the cooperation of the Wyoming Department of 

Environmental Quality, identifies and evaluates potential environmental impacts common 

to the construction, operation, aquifer restoration and decommissioning of in-situ leach 

facilities in Western states. In-situ leach is a process in which local non-potable 

groundwater with added oxygen and sodium carbonate or bicarbonate is injected into an 

underground ore deposit to leach out (or dissolve) uranium, which is then pumped to the 

surface for additional processing. 

 The NRC currently expects to receive 20 applications for new uranium recovery 

operations and 10 applications for expansion or restart of existing facilities through 2011. 

About 75 percent of these are expected to be for in-situ leach operations. By addressing 

common issues associated with environmental reviews of these facilities, the NRC staff 

will use the GEIS as a starting point for its site-specific environmental analyses of 

individual license applications or as a supplement to previous environmental analyses of 

existing sites. 

 The draft GEIS is available on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1910/. Public comments will be accepted on the GEIS 

through Oct. 7. They may be addressed to the Chief, Rules Review and Directives 

Branch, Mailstop T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 

20555-0001. Comments may also be submitted by electronic mail to 

NRCREP.Resource@nrc.gov. Please include “Uranium Recovery GEIS” in the subject 

line. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 08-139 July 28, 2008
 The NRC staff will hold a series of public meetings in Wyoming, South Dakota, 

Nebraska and New Mexico, the four states where uranium milling companies have 

indicated interest in applying for new NRC licenses. Staff members will present the 

findings of the draft GEIS and accept oral and written comments. 

The meetings will be held Aug. 25 in Spearfish, S.D.; Aug. 27 in Chadron, Neb.; 

Aug. 29 in Newcastle, Wyo.; Sept. 8 in Gallup, N.M.; Sept. 9 in Grants, N.M.; Sept. 11 in 

Albuquerque, N.M.; Sept. 23 in Gillette, Wyo.; and Sept. 25 in Casper, Wyo. Details of 

the meetings were published today in the Federal Register. (NOTE: The Federal Register

notice mistakenly reverses the locales of the last two meetings.) The meetings will also 

be publicized on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov under Public Meetings. 

### 

 News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: 

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a 

SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's 

Web site.