[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 88 (Friday, May 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26243-26244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11243]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8681]


International Uranium (USA) Corporation; Notice of Opportunity 
for Hearing

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of Receipt of Request from International Uranium 
Corporation to Amend Source Material License SUA-1358 to Receive and 
Process Alternate Feed Materials, Notice of Opportunity for Hearing.

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SUMMARY: Notice is herby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission has received, by letter dated April 12, 2000, a request from 
International Uranium (USA) Corporation (IUC) to amend its NRC Source 
Material License SUA-1358, to allow their White Mesa Uranium Mill near 
Blanding, Utah, to receive and process up to 140,000 cubic yards of 
alternate feed material from the W.R. Grace Site located in 
Chattanooga, Tennessee. The W.R. Grace material is being remediated 
under the authority of the State of Tennessee and is licensed by the 
Division of Radiological Health under Source Material License S-3306-
E9.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William von Till, Uranium Recovery 
and Low-Level Waste Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Mail Stop T7-J8, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone (301) 415-
6251.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By its submittal dated April 12, 2000, IUC 
requested that the NRC amend Materials License SUA-1358 to allow the 
receipt and processing of material other than natural uranium ore 
(i.e., alternate feed material) at its White Mesa uranium mill located 
near Blanding, Utah. These materials would be used as an ``alternate 
feed material'' (i.e., matter that is processed in the mill to remove 
the uranium but which is different from natural uranium ores, the 
normal feed material).
    IUC proposes to receive contaminated materials from the W.R. Grace 
Site for processing at its uranium mill. This material consists 
primarily of moist soils containing byproducts (i.e. ``tailings'') as a 
result of thorium and rare earth mineral extraction. The W.R. Grace 
Site is being remediated under the regulatory authority of the State of 
Tennessee and the material is licensed by Tennessee as source material 
under Source Material License S-3306-E9. IUC estimates the amount of 
material for this amendment request to be up to 140,000 yd.\3\ The 
primary radioactive contaminants in the soils are Uranium-238 (U-238), 
Radium-226 (Ra-226), Radium-228 (Ra-228), Thorium-230 (Th-230), Thorium 
232 (Th-232), Potassium-40 (K-40) and their respective decay products. 
IUC, based on a review of material, states that the weighted average 
grade of uranium for the W.R. Grace Site is estimated to range from 0.5 
to approximately 1.1 weight percent, or greater, with an overall 
average grade of 0.74 percent uranium (0.87 percent 
U<INF>3</INF>O<INF>8</INF>). IUC estimates the amount of material for 
this amendment request to be 93,000 to 140,000 yds.\3\ Actual amounts 
removed would be determined based on sampling at the time of 
excavation. W.R. Grace and IUC have determined that no listed hazardous 
wastes numerated in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 part 
261, Subpart D, as amended by the U.S. Federal Register August 6, 1998, 
are contained within this material.
    The material will be shipped by rail in intermodal containers and 
then transferred to truck for the part of the trip to the mill. 
Material would be loaded onto railcars and transported cross-country to 
the final rail destination, where they will be transferred to truck for 
the final leg of the trip to the mill (expected to be either near Grand 
Junction, Colorado; Cisco, Utah; Green River, Utah; or East Carbon, 
Utah). The material will be shipped as radioactive low specific 
activity (LSA) Hazard Class 7 Hazardous Material as defined by 
Department of Transportation regulations.
    This application will be reviewed using NRC formal guidance, 
``Final Position and Guidance on the Use of Uranium Mill Feed Material 
Other Than Natural Ores'' and the guidance

[[Page 26244]]

contained in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Memorandum and Order, 
International Uranium (USA) Corp., CLI-00-01, (February 10, 2000). The 
NRC has approved similar amendment requests in the past for separate 
alternate feed material under this and other licenses.
    The amendment application is available for public inspection and 
copying at the NRC Public Document Room, in the Gelman Building, 2120 L 
Street N.W., Washington D.C. 20555.

Notice of Opportunity for Hearing

    The NRC hereby provides notice of an opportunity for a hearing on 
the license amendment under the provisions of 10 CFR part 2, subpart L, 
``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in Materials and 
Operator Licensing Proceedings.'' Pursuant to Sec. 2.1205(a), any 
person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding may file a 
request for a hearing. In accordance with Sec. 2.1205(d), a request for 
hearing must be filed within 30 days of the publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register. The request for a hearing must be filed with 
the Office of the Secretary, either:
    (1) By delivery to the Docketing and Service Branch of the Office 
of the Secretary at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD 20852; or
    (2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and 
Service Branch.
    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1205(f), each request for a hearing 
must also be served, by delivering it personally or by mail, to:
    (1) The applicant, International Uranium (USA) Corporation, 
Independence Plaza, Suite 950, 1050 Seventeenth Street, Denver, 
Colorado 80265; Attention: Michelle Rehmann; and
    (2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the Executive Director for 
Operations, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852, or by mail addressed to the Executive Director for Operations, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
    In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR part 
2 of the NRC's regulations, a request for a hearing filed by a person 
other than an applicant must describe in detail:
    (1) The interest of the requestor in the proceeding;
    (2) How that interest may be affected by the results of the 
proceeding, including the reasons why the requestor should be permitted 
a hearing, with particular reference to the factors set out in 
Sec. 2.1205(h);
    (3) The requestor's areas of concern about the licensing activity 
that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and
    (4) The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing 
is timely in accordance with Sec. 2.1205(d).
    The request must also set forth the specific aspect or aspects of 
the subject matter of the proceeding as to which petitioner wishes a 
hearing.
    In addition, members of the public may provide comments on the 
subject application within 30 days of the publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. The comments may be provided to David L. Meyer, 
Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Freedom of 
Information and Publications Services, Office of Administration, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of April 2000.

    For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Essig,
Chief, Uranium Recovery and Low Level Waste Branch, Division of Waste 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-11243 Filed 5-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P