55838 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices

instrumentation), or in the new fuel

vault (unirradiated fuel), or while the

unirradiated fuel is being transferred

from shipping trucks to the spent fuel

pool area to be removed from the Part

71 packaging.

The licensee stated that compliance to

the criticality accident monitoring

system requirements of 10 CFR 70.24(a)

would result in a considerable

expenditure of resources to install,

maintain and operate a criticality

monitoring system for the storage of the

two forms of SNM, and there should be

no concern about criticality ever

occurring with the two forms of SNM as

they are being stored onsite. There is too

small a quantity of SNM, in the form of

very thin coatings, present in the

nuclear instrumentation for criticality,

and unirradiated fuel assemblies would

only be removed from the NRCapproved (i.e., Part 71) packaging before

being stored in the spent fuel pool

where criticality monitors are in use, or

in the new fuel vault where there are no

criticality monitors.

In the new fuel vault, the unirradiated

fuel would be stored in racks which are

designed, as Safety Class 2 and Seismic

Category I, to withstand all credible

loadings to prevent damage and

distortion of the racks, and to keep the

subcriticality margin of at least 0.95

whether the vault is dry or flooded with

water. The new fuel vault is in a

concrete, Seismic Category I building

that is designed to preclude the

deleterious effects on the fuel by natural

phenomena such as earthquakes,

tornados, hurricanes, tornado missiles

and floods.

The Part 71 package design ensures

that a geometrically safe configuration

for the fuel is maintained during

transport, handling, storage and

accident conditions, and precludes

introduction of any moderating agents

due to leak-tight construction, and;

therefore, criticality is precluded due to

the construction of the package and the

storage configuration of the fuel in the

package.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed

Action

The Commission has completed its

evaluation of the proposed action and

concludes that there is no significant

environmental impacts if the exemption

is granted. Inadvertent or accidental

criticality will be precluded through

compliance with the Technical

Specifications (TS), the design of the

fuel storage racks providing geometric

spacing of unirradiated fuel assemblies

in their storage locations, and

administrative controls imposed on fuel

handling procedures and the in-core

nuclear instrumentation. TS

requirements specify reactivity limits

for the fuel storage racks and minimum

spacing between the fuel assemblies in

the storage racks.

The proposed exemption to 10 CFR

70.24(a) does not affect the design or

operation of the plant, does not involve

any modifications to the plant or any

increase in the licensed power for the

plant, and will not create any new or

unreviewed environmental impacts that

were not considered in the Final

Environmental Statement (FES) related

to the operation of GGNS, NUREG–

0777, dated September 1981. The

proposed action will not increase the

probability or consequences of any

accidents. No changes are being made to

any structure, system, or component in

the plant, to how the plant is operated,

in the types or amounts of any effluents

that may be released offsite, and in the

allowable individual or cumulative

occupational radiation exposure for the

plant. The amount of radioactive waste

would not be changed by the proposed

exemption. Accordingly, the

Commission concludes that the

proposed exemption would not result in

any significant radiological impacts.

With regard to potential

nonradiological impacts, the proposed

action involves features located entirely

within the restricted area as defined in

10 CFR Part 20. It does not affect the

nonradiological plant effluents and has

no other environmental impact.

Accordingly, the Commission concludes

that there are no significant

nonradiological environmental impacts

associated with the proposed action.

Alternatives to the Proposed Actions

Since the Commission has concluded

there is no measurable environmental

impact associated with the proposed

action, any alternatives with equal or

greater environmental impact need not

be evaluated.

As an alternative to the proposed

action, the staff considered denial of the

proposed action. Denial of the request

would result in no change in current

environmental impacts. The

environmental impacts of the proposed

action and the alternative action are

similar.

Alternative Use of Resources

This action does not involve the use

of any resources not previously

considered in the FES for the GGNS.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

In accordance with its stated policy,

on October 20, 1997, the staff consulted

with the Mississippi State official,

Robert Goff of the Division of

Radiological Health, State Board of

Health, regarding the environmental

impact of the proposed action. The State

official had no comments.

Finding of No Significant Impact

Based upon the environmental

assessment, the Commission concludes

that the proposed action will not have

a significant effect on the quality of the

human environment. Accordingly, the

Commission has determined not to

prepare an environmental impact

statement for the proposed action.

For further details with respect to the

proposed action, see the licensee’s

letters dated July 15, 1996, March 7 and

April 29, 1997, which are available for

public inspection at the Commission’s

Public Document Room, The Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC, and at the local public

document room located at the Judge

George W. Armstrong Library, 220 S.

Commerce Street, Natchez, Mississippi

39120.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day

of October, 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

David L. Wigginton,

Acting Director, Project Directorate IV–1,

Division of Reactor Projects III/IV, Office of

Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 97–28531 Filed 10–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION.

[Docket No. 40–1162]

Western Nuclear, Inc.; Final Finding of

No Significant Impact; Notice of

Opportunity for Hearing

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) proposes to amend

NRC Source Material License SUA–56,

issued to Western Nuclear, Inc. (WNI),

by removing reference to the Day Loma

uranium heap leach site. To document

its review of the potential

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed action, the NRC staff

prepared an Environmental Assessment

in accordance with the requirements of

10 CFR Part 51. The conclusion of the

Environmental Assessment is a Finding

of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the

proposed licensing action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Robert D. Carlson of the Uranium

Recovery Branch, Mail Stop TWFN 7–

J9, Division of Waste Management,

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555.

Telephone 301/415–8165.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices 55839

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Day Loma uranium heap leach

site is located approximately 40

kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Jeffrey

City, Wyoming, in an area known as the

Gas Hills Region. This 14,975-hectare

(37,000-acre) region is rich in naturally

occurring deposits of uranium ore, and

widespread uranium mining activity

occurred in the region from the late

1950s until the 1980s.

Source Material License SUA–582,

which covered activities at the Day

Loma site, was originally issued to WNI

in 1962. Operations at the site

terminated in 1972, and in 1976, SUA–

582 was combined with Source Material

License SUA–56 for WNI’s Split Rock

uranium mill. Currently, the Day Loma

site is licensed by the NRC under SUA–

56 for possession only of byproduct

material in the form of heap leach waste

from the processing of uranium ore

generated from past mining operations.

The NRC approved WNI’s reclamation

plan for the Day Loma site in 1981, and

WNI completed reclamation activities at

the site in 1985. The NRC staff

inspected and approved the completion

of the reclamation work in August 1986.

The reclaimed leached material,

consisting of approximately 494,000

tons of low-grade (less than 0.05

percent) uranium-bearing rock, was

placed on an impervious liner that was

constructed on top of existing uranium

spoil materials comprised of overburden

and mine waste. Following

recontouring, a final disposal cell cover

of between 2.4 and 4.0 meters (8 and 13

feet) in thickness was constructed of

clay and random fill material. The 6.3

ha (15.6 acre) reclaimed site is

surrounded by exposed mine spoils

unreclaimed mining lands of the Gas

Hills Region.

By letter dated October 19, 1995, WNI

requested that all reference to the Day

Loma site be removed from SUA–56,

thereby ending current monitoring and

the need for long-term monitoring of the

site. A consequence of granting the

proposal will be to not require transfer

of the Day Loma site to Federal or State

ownership as authorized by Section

83b.(4) of the Atomic Energy Act of

1954, as amended.

The State of Wyoming Department of

Environmental Quality (WDEQ) will be

performing substantial reclamation

operations in the Day Loma site area

over the next five years in an effort to

return this area to its original premining condition. The WDEQ plans to

incorporate the heap leach site into its

reclamation efforts by recontouring the

site into the surrounding landscape.

Conclusions

The NRC staff has evaluated the

environmental impacts associated with

the removal of reference to the Day

Loma site from Source Material License

SUA–56, and has determined that

approval of the proposed action (1) will

be consistent with requirements of 10

CFR Part 40, (2) will not be deleterious

to public health and safety, and (3) will

not have long-term detrimental impacts

on the environment. The following

statements support the FONSI and

summarize the conclusions resulting

from the staff’s environmental

assessment:

1. The Gas Hills Region is sparsely

populated and likely to remain so

indefinitely, as the climate is harsh, the

land is relatively barren, and the

groundwater in the region is considered

of such poor quality that it is deemed

unsuitable for either domestic or

agricultural use;

2. Using conservative assumptions in

which the Day Loma heap leach

material was assumed to have no radon

cover, the NRC staff showed that

potential doses to members of the public

from the heap leach site and associated

risk factors for public health and the

environment are much less (0.34 mrem/

yr) than the 10 CFR Part 20 public dose

limit of 100 mrem/yr and those resulting

from the naturally occurring uranium

ore deposits which surround the site (34

mrem/yr);

3. The WDEQ will incorporate the

heap leach site in its efforts to further

reclaim existing mine spoils in the Day

Loma area over the next five years; and

4. The staff has determined there will

be no significant impacts associated

with approval of the amendment

request, and accordingly no

disproportionately high and adverse

effects or impacts on minority and lowincome populations. Except in special

cases, these impacts need not be

addressed for Environmental

Assessments in which a FONSI is made.

Special cases may include regulatory

actions that have substantial public

interest, decommissioning involving onsite disposal in accordance with 10 CFR

20.2002, decommissioning/

decontamination cases which allow

residual radioactivity in excess of

release criteria, or cases where

environmental justice issues have been

raised previously. Consequently, further

evaluation of ‘Environmental Justice’

concerns, as outlined in Executive

Order 12898 and NRC’s Office of

Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Policy and Procedures Letter 1–50,

Rev.1, is not warranted.

In conducting its evaluation, the NRC

staff considered the following: (1)

information and analyses provided by

WNI as part of its license amendment

request; (2) additional analyses

conducted by the NRC staff; and (3)

information derived from NRC staff

communications with the WDEQ.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

The proposed action is to amend NRC

Source Material License SUA–56, by

removing reference to the Day Loma

uranium heap leach site, as requested by

WNI. Therefore, the alternatives

available to NRC are to:

(1) Approve the license amendment

request as submitted by WNI;

(2) Approve the license amendment

request with such conditions as are

considered necessary or appropriate to

protect public health and safety and the

environment; or

(3) Deny the license amendment

request.

Based on its review, the NRC staff has

concluded that there are no significant

environmental impacts associated with

the proposed action; therefore, any

alternatives with equal or greater

environmental impacts need not be

evaluated. Since the environmental

impacts of the proposed action and the

other two alternatives are similar, there

is no need to further evaluate

alternatives to the proposed action.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The NRC staff has prepared an

Environmental Assessment for the

proposed amendment of NRC Source

Material License SUA–56. On the basis

of this assessment, the NRC staff has

concluded that the environmental

impacts that may result from the

proposed action would not be

significant, and therefore, preparation of

an Environmental Impact Statement is

not warranted.

The Environmental Assessment and

other documents related to this

proposed action are available for public

inspection and copying at the NRC

Public Document Room, in the Gelman

Building, 2120 L Street N.W.,

Washington, DC 20555.

Notice of Opportunity for Hearing

The Commission hereby provides

notice that this is a proceeding on an

application for a licensing action falling

within the scope of Subpart L, ‘‘Informal

Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in

Materials and Operator Licensing

Proceedings,’’ of the Commission’s

Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing

Proceedings in 10 CFR Part 2 (54 FR

8269). Pursuant to § 2.1205(a), any

person whose interest may be affected
55840 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices

by this proceeding may file a request for

a hearing with respect to the technical

evaluation and the Environmental

Assessment performed by the NRC staff

that forms the basis for the decision to

amend the license and remove reference

to the Day Loma heap leach site from

Source Material License SUA–56. In

accordance with § 2.1205(c), a request

for a hearing must be filed within thirty

(30) days from the date of publication of

this Federal Register notice. 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.

Each request for a hearing must also

be served by delivering it personally or

by mail to:

(1) The applicant, Western Nuclear,

Inc., 200 Union Blvd., Suite 300,

Lakewood, Colorado, 80228;

(2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the

Executive Director of Operations, One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852; or

(3) 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 Commission’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 § 2.1205(g);

(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 § 2.1205(c).

Any hearing that is requested and

granted will be held in accordance with

the Commission’s ‘‘Informal Hearing

Procedures for Adjudications in

Materials and Operator Licensing

Proceedings’’ in 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart

L.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd

day of October 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Joseph J. Holonich,

Chief, Uranium Recovery Branch, Division

of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear

Material, Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 97–28530 Filed 10–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Nuclear

Regulatory Commission.

DATE: Weeks of October 27, November 3,

10, and 17, 1997.

PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,

Maryland.

STATUS: Public and Closed.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

Week of October 27

Wednesday, October 29

11:30 a.m. Affirmation Session (PUBLIC

MEETING) (if needed)

2:00 p.m. Briefing on Site

Decommissioning Management

Plan (SDMP) (PUBLIC MEETING)

(Contact: John Hickey—301–415–

7234)

Thursday, October 30

10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. All Employees

meetings (PUBLIC MEETING) on

‘‘The Green’’ Plaza Area between

buildings at White Flint (Contact:

Bill Hill—301–415–1661)

Week of November 3

Tuesday, November 4

10:00 a.m. Briefing by the Executive

Branch (Closed—Ex. 1)

2:00 p.m. Meeting with Commonwealth

Edison (PUBLIC MEETING)

(Contact: Bob Capra—301–415–

1395)

Wednesday, November 5

9:30 a.m. Briefing on Staff’s Plans for

50.59 Regulatory Process

Improvements (PUBLIC MEETING)

(Contact: Eileen McKenna—301–

415–2189)

11:00 a.m. Affirmation Session (PUBLIC

MEETING) (if needed)

Week of November 10—Tentative

There are no meetings the week of

November 10.

Week of November 17—Tentative

Friday, November 21

11:30 a.m. Affirmation Session (PUBLIC

MEETING) (If needed)

Note: The Schedule for commission

meetings is subject to change on short notice.

To verify the status of meeting call

(Recording)—(301) 415–1292.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bill Hill (301) 415–1661.

The NRC Commission Meeting

Schedule can be found on the Internet

at: http://www.nrcgov/SECY/smj/

schedule.htm.

This notice is distributed by mail to

several hundred subscribers; if you no

longer wish to receive it, or would like

to be added to it, please contact the

Office of the Secretary, Attn: Operations

Branch, Washington, D.C. 20555 (301–

415–1661).

In addition, distribution of this

meeting notice over the Internet system

is available. If you are interested in

receiving this Commission meeting

schedule electronically, please send an

electronic message to wmhnrc.gov or

dkwnrc.gov.

Dated: October 24, 1997.

William M. Hill, Jr.,

Secy Tracking Officer, Office of the Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–28681 Filed 10–24–97; 2:45 pm]

BILLING CODE 2590–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 72–18]

Prairie Island Offsite Independent

Spent Fuel Storage Installation;

Closing of Temporary Local Public

Document Room

Notice is hereby given that the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

will consider the temporary local public

document room (LPDR) set up for

records pertaining to Northern States

Power Company’s proposed Prairie

Island Offsite Independent Spent Fuel

Storage Installation (ISFSI), located at

the Red Wing Public Library, Red Wing,

Minnesota, officially closed effective

October 31, 1997. The NRC’s official full

service LPDR for the Prairie Island

Nuclear Station, located at the

Minneapolis Public Library, 300

Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota,

will remain operational.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22 day

of October, 1997.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Russell A. Powell,

Chief, Freedom of Information/Local, Public

Document Room Branch, Office of

Information Resources Management.

[FR Doc. 97–28528 Filed 10–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P