25100 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices

Washington, DC 20037, telephone

number at (202) 634–3273 or (800) 397–

4209. For more information, contact Mr.

Paul W. Harris, Project Manager, NonPower Reactors and Decommissioning

Project Directorate, Division of Reactor

Program Management, Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation, Washington, DC

20555–0001, telephone number at (301)

415–1169.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day

of April 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Marvin M. Mendonca,

(A) Director, Non-Power Reactors and

Decommissioning Project Directorate,

Division of Reactor Program Management,

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.

[FR Doc. 98–11979 Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40–648]

UMETCO Minerals Corporation

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: 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–648

to authorize the licensee, Umetco

Minerals Corporation (Umetco), to

reclaim the commercial heap leach area,

located in Natrona County, Wyoming,

according to the 1996 Reclamation Plan,

as amended. This license currently

authorizes Umetco to receive, acquire,

possess, and transfer uranium at the

Umetco East Gas Hills site, which is

located approximately 50 miles (80

kilometers) southeast of the town of

Riverton, Wyoming. An Environmental

Assessment (EA) was performed by the

NRC staff in support of its review of

Umetco’s license amendment request, 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: Ms.

Elaine Brummett, Uranium Recovery

Branch, Division of Waste Management,

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Mail Stop T7–J9,

Washington, D.C. 20555. Telephone

301/415–6606.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Umetco Mineral Corporation

(Umetco) site is licensed by the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

under Materials License SUA–648 to

possess byproduct material in the form

of uranium waste tailings as well as

other radioactive wastes generated by

past milling operations. The mill has

been dismantled and current site

activities include completion of

reclamation of three disposal areas and

continuation of the ground water

corrective action program.

The commercial heap leach

operations began in March 1980. The

operations were extended in November

1982 as permitted by Amendment No.

17 of the license and operated until

December 1984. Operations were

restarted in May 1987 and finally shut

down in January 1988. In 1992, to

control radon emission, windblown

tailings, and water infiltration, Umetco

placed 2 feet (61 cm) of cover on the

Heap Leach Disposal Area, based on

their 1991 proposed cover design.

Umetco submitted reclamation plans

or modifications to the plan for the

Heap Leach Area in 1991, 1994, and

1996. The 1996 plan also included

reclamation of Evaporation Pond No. 2,

next to the heap leach, by extension of

the Heap Leach Area cover. However,

the data available to date related to the

evaporation pond reclamation was

determined to be insufficient to support

a final design, and thus, the proposed

design for the pond was approved only

as a preliminary design. The pond

reclamation will be addressed in a

separate amendment, but is included in

the area addressed by the EA for this

licensing action. The staff also

determined that additional clarification

and modifications were required for the

Heap Leach Area design, and these

concerns were not completely addressed

until February 1998. The design

includes the earthen cover for the heap

leach area, construction testing and

inspection, stability, erosion protection,

site drainage, and quality control

procedures.

Summary of the Environmental

Assessment

The NRC staff performed an appraisal

of the environmental impacts associated

with the reclamation plan for the Heap

Leach Area, in accordance with 10 CFR

Part 51, Licensing and Regulatory Policy

Procedures for Environmental

Protection. The license amendment

would authorize Umetco to stabilize and

cover the Heap Leach Area as proposed.

In conducting its appraisal, the NRC

staff considered the following

information: (1) Umetco’s 1996 license

amendment request, as amended; (2)

previous environmental evaluations of

the facility; (3) data contained in

required semiannual environmental

monitoring reports; (4) existing license

conditions; (5) results of NRC staff site

visits and inspections of the Umetco

facility; and (6) consultations with the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S.

Bureau of Land Management, and the

Wyoming State Historic Preservation

Officer. The technical aspects of the

reclamation plan are discussed

separately in a Technical Evaluation

Report (TER) that will accompany the

final agency licensing action.

The results of the staff’s appraisal are

documented in an EA placed in the

docket file. Based on its review, the

NRC staff has concluded that there are

no significant environmental impacts

associated with the proposed action.

Conclusions

The NRC staff has examined actual

and potential impacts associated with

the reclamation of the Heap Leach Area,

and has determined that the requested

amendment of Source Material License

SUA–648, authorizing implementation

of the reclamation plan, will: (1) Be

consistent with requirements of 10 CFR

Part 40, Appendix A; (2) not be inimical

to the public health and safety; and (3)

not have long-term detrimental impacts

on the environment. The following

statements summarize the conclusions

resulting from the staff’s environmental

assessment, and support the FONSI:

1. An acceptable environmental and

effluent monitoring program is in place

to monitor effluent releases and to

detect if applicable regulatory limits are

exceeded. Radiological effluents from

facility operations have been and are

expected to remain below the regulatory

limits;

2. Present and potential health risks to

the public and risks of environmental

damage from the proposed reclamation

were assessed. Given the remote

location, limited activities requested,

small area of impact, and past activities

on the site, the staff determined that the

risk factors for health and

environmental hazards are insignificant.

Because the staff has determined that

there will be no significant impacts

associated with approval of the license

amendment, there can be no

disproportionally high and adverse

effects or impacts on minority and lowincome populations. Consequently,

further evaluation of Environmental

Justice concerns, as outlined in

Executive Order 12898 and NRC’s Office

of Nuclear Material Safety and
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices 25101

Safeguards Policy and Procedures Letter

1–50, Revision 1, is not warranted.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

The proposed action is to amend NRC

Source Material License SUA–648, for

reclamation of the Heap Leach Area, as

requested by Umetco. Therefore, the

principal alternatives available to NRC

are to:

1. Approve the license amendment

request as submitted; or

2. Amend the license with such

additional conditions as are considered

necessary or appropriate to protect

public health and safety and the

environment; or

3. Deny the amendment request.

Based on its review, the NRC staff has

concluded that the environmental

impacts associated with the proposed

action do not warrant either the limiting

of Umetco’s future operations or the

denial of the license amendment.

Additionally, in the TER prepared for

this action, the staff has reviewed the

licensee’s proposed action with respect

to the criteria for reclamation, specified

in 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A, and has

no basis for denial of the proposed

action. Therefore, the staff considers

that Alternative 1 is the appropriate

alternative for selection.

Finding of No Significant Impact

The NRC staff has prepared an EA for

the proposed renewal of NRC Source

Material License SUA–648. 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 EA 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 Operators Licensing

Proceedings,’’ of the Commission’s

Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing

Proceedings and Issuance of Orders in

10 CFR Part 2 (54 FR 8269). Pursuant to

§ 2.1205(a), any person whose interest

may be affected by this proceeding may

file a request for a hearing. 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 Rulemakings

and Adjudications Staff 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: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff.

Each request for a hearing must also

be served, by delivering it personally or

by mail to:

(1) The applicant, Umetco Mineral

Corporation, P.O. 1029, Grand Junction,

CO 81502;

(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 30th day

of April 1998.

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. 98–11980 Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Biweekly Notice; Applications and

Amendments to Facility Operating

Licenses Involving No Significant

Hazards Considerations

I. Background

Pursuant to Public Law 97–415, the

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

(the Commission or NRC staff) is

publishing this regular biweekly notice.

Pub. L. 97–415 revised section 189 of

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as

amended (the Act), to require the

Commission to publish notice of any

amendments issued, or proposed to be

issued, under a new provision of section

189 of the Act. This provision grants the

Commission the authority to issue and

make immediately effective any

amendment to an operating license

upon a determination by the

Commission that such amendment

involves no significant hazards

consideration, notwithstanding the

pendency before the Commission of a

request for a hearing from any person.

This biweekly notice includes all

notices of amendments issued, or

proposed to be issued from April 10

through April 24, 1998. The last

biweekly notice was published on April

22, 1998 (63 FR 19964).

Notice of Consideration of Issuance of

Amendments to Facility Operating

Licenses, Proposed No Significant

Hazards Consideration Determination,

and Opportunity for a Hearing

The Commission has made a

proposed determination that the

following amendment requests involve

no significant hazards consideration.

Under the Commission’s regulations in

10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation

of the facility in accordance with the

proposed amendment would not (1)

involve a significant increase in the

probability or consequences of an

accident previously evaluated; or (2)

create the possibility of a new or

different kind of accident from any

accident previously evaluated; or (3)

involve a significant reduction in a

margin of safety. The basis for this

proposed determination for each

amendment request is shown below.

The Commission is seeking public

comments on this proposed

determination. Any comments received

within 30 days after the date of

publication of this notice will be

considered in making any final

determination.

Normally, the Commission will not

issue the amendment until the

expiration of the 30-day notice period.