[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7078-7079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2797]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-8968]


Hydro Resources, Inc.

AGENCY: Nulear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), in cooperation 
with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), will conduct three public meetings for the purpose of 
receiving comments on the recently published Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) regarding the proposed construction and operation of 
an in-situ leach (ISL) project in McKinley County, New Mexico. This 
DEIS describes and evaluates the potential environmental impacts of 
granting Hydro Resources, Inc. a combined source and byproduct material 
license and minerals operating leases for Federal and Indian lands for 
the ISL project. Comments received on the DEIS will be addressed in the 
Final Environmental Impact Statement, to be published at a future date.
    Two public meetings will be held on February 22, 1995, at the 
Crownpoint Chapter House, Crownpoint, New Mexico from 10 a.m. to 12 
noon and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. One public meeting will be held on 
February 23, 1995, at the Church Rock Chapter House, Church Rock, New 
Mexico from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

DATES: Public meetings for the purpose of receiving comments on the 
DEIS will be held on February 22, 1995 at the Crownpoint Chapter House, 
Crownpoint, New Mexico from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 6 p.m. to 8 
p.m., and on February 23, 1995 at the Church Rock Chapter House, Church 
Rock, New Mexico from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Written comments on the DEIS 
should be received on or before February 28, 1995, at the address 
listed below.

ADDRESSES: A free single copy of this DEIS (NUREG-1508 may be requested 
by those considering public comment by writing to the NRC Publications 
Section, ATTN: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Office, 
P.O. Box [[Page 7079]] 37082, Washington, DC 20013-7082. A copy is also 
available for inspection and/or copying in the NRC Public Document 
Room, 2120 L St. NW, Washington, DC.
    Any interested party may submit comments on this document for 
consideration by the staff. To be certain of consideration, comments on 
this report must be received by February 28, 1995. Comments received 
after the due date will be considered to the extent practical. Comments 
on the DEIS should be sent to Chief, High-Level Waste and Uranium 
Recovery Projects Branch, Mail Stop TWFN 7-J9, Division of Waste 
Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael C. Layton, High-Level 
Waste and Uranium Recovery Projects Branch, Mail Stop TWFN 7-J9, 
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. 
Telephone 301/415-6676.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC, in cooperation with the BLM and the 
BIA, has prepared a DEIS regarding the administrative action of 
authorizing Hydro Resources, Inc. (HRI), to conduct in-situ leach 
uranium mining, also known as solution mining, in compliance with a 
combined source and byproduct material license issued by the NRC, and 
minerals operating leases issued for Federal and Indian lands by the 
BLM and BIA. The license and leases would provide programmatic and 
regulatory oversight in administrative matters; impose operating 
restrictions and license conditions, as appropriate; and specify 
environmental monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. 
The DEIS describes the evaluation by the interagency review group 
concerning (1) the purpose of and need for the proposed action, 
evaluated under NEPA and the agencies' implementing regulations, (2) 
alternatives considered, (3) existing environmental conditions, and (4) 
environmental consequences of the proposed action and proposed 
mitigating measures. This DEIS concludes, after weighing the 
environmental, and other benefits of the proposed project against the 
environmental and other costs, that the appropriate action is to issue 
the requested license and leases authorizing the applicant to proceed 
with the project as discussed in this DEIS.

    A Notice of Availability and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing were 
published previously (59 FR 56557, November 14, 1994). The notice 
offered members of the public an opportunity to comment upon the DEIS 
and to request an adjudicatory hearing on the licensing application. 
The closing date for requesting an Opportunity for Hearing on the 
pending licensing action expired on December 14, 1994; the date for 
submitting public comments on the DEIS originally expired on January 7, 
1995. Several requests were received by the NRC to extend the 60-day 
public comment period. The NRC acceded to these requests and extended 
the comment period from January 7, 1995 to February 28, 1995.
    The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that three 
public meetings will be held at the Chapter Houses in Crownpoint and 
Church Rock, New Mexico for the purpose of receiving comments on this 
DEIS. Written comments must be received by February 28, 1995. Comments 
received after this date will be considered to the extent practical. 
Any interested party may submit comments on this document for 
consideration by the staff.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of January 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
John O. Thoma,
Acting Chief, High-Level Waste and Uranium, Recovery Projects Branch, 
Division of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 94-2797 Filed 2-3-95; 8:45 am]
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