[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 88 (Friday, May 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26242-26243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11242]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8681]


International Uranium (USA) Corporation

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 March 16, 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 100,000 cubic yards of 
alternate feed material from the Linde Formerly Utililized Sites 
Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) site in Tonawanda, New York.

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 March 16, 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). These sites currently are being remediated by 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under FUSRAP. (See the USACE 
web site at http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/fusrap/linde/index.htm for 
locations, documents, and photographs of the sites).
    IUC proposes to receive contaminated materials from the Linde site 
for processing at its uranium mill. The material consists primarily of 
moist soils containing byproducts from uranium processing operations 
(i.e., ``tailings''), mixed with other site soils. Uranium, thorium, 
and radium are its primary radiological constituents. Based on USACE 
documents, IUC estimates the amount of material for this amendment 
request to be 70,000 to 100,000 yd \3\. Actual amounts removed would be 
determined based on sampling at the time of excavation. The total 
amount could also be less than this range because the USACE has 
selected other contractors to dispose of this material. This 
application will be reviewed using our formal guidance, ``Final 
Position and Guidance on the Use of Uranium Mill Feed Material Other 
Than Natural Ores' and 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.
    The Linde property is one of four properties that comprise the 
Tonawanda site. The NRC has already granted license amendments to IUC 
to process material from two of the other properties within the 
Tonawanda site, Ashland 1 and Ashland 2, which contained uranium 
byproduct material originally generated at the Linde property. The 
primary radioactive contaminants in the soils are Uranium-238 (U-238), 
Radium-226 (Ra-226), Thorium-230 (Th-230), and their respective decay 
products. IUC, based on a review of material, states that the weighted 
average grade of uranium for the Linde site is estimated to be 0.07 
percent, with hot spots up to 0.3 percent.
    The amendment application is available for public inspection and 
copying at the NRC Public Document Room, in the Gelman Building, 2120 L 
Street NW, Washington DC 20555.

[[Page 26243]]

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 28th day of April 2000.

    For the 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. 00-11242 Filed 5-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P