12962 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 41 / Thursday, March 1, 2001 / Notices

payment has not been made by that

time, the matter may be referred to the

Attorney General for collection.

In the event the Licensee requests a

hearing as provided above, the issues to

be considered at such hearing shall be

whether, on the basis of the findings

made by the staff, this Order should be

sustained.

Dated this 20th day of February 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

R.W. Borchardt,

Director, Office of Enforcement.

[FR Doc. 01–4960 Filed 2–28–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40–0299]

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

decommission the contaminated land

associated with the operation of the

uranium mill facility according to the

Revised Soil Decommissioning Plan

submitted September 15, 2000, as

amended. The Umetco East Gas Hills

site, is located in Natrona County,

Wyoming, approximately 50 miles (80

kilometers) southeast of the town of

Riverton, Wyoming. The mill operated

from 1960 to 1979 and was dismantled

in 1992. During operation, wind-blown

tailings and tailings-solution from the

Above-Grade Impoundment

contaminated areas north of the

Impoundment. A portion of the land

contaminated with byproduct material

was remediated (excavated) in 1993.

Several changes and improvements have

been proposed in the revised

decommissioning plan.

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, Fuel Cycle Licensing

Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety

and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail

Stop T7–C6, Washington, DC 20555.

Telephone 301/415–6606.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Umetco Minerals Corporation

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

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

under Source 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 original soil decommissioning

plan was approved with additional

requirements as documented in License

Condition (LC) 30. The major proposed

modifications in the revised plan

include:

1. An improved method of gamma

scanning;

2. A detailed plan for providing

documentation that the regulations have

been met;

3. A revised radium background value

for compliance in the wind-blown area;

and

4. Alternate criteria for the residual

byproduct material in the channel of

East Canyon Creek.

Summary of the Environmental

Assessment

The NRC staff performed an appraisal

of the environmental impacts associated

with the revised soil decommissioning

plan, in accordance with 10 CFR part

51, Environmental Protection

Regulations for Domestic Licensing and

Related Regulatory Functions. The

license amendment would authorize

Umetco to complete soil cleanup in the

wind-blown area north of the AboveGrade Impoundment and to leave small

amounts of residual byproduct material

in the channel of East Canyon Creek as

proposed. In conducting its appraisal,

the NRC staff considered the following

information: (1) Umetco’s 1999 and

2000 submittals supporting the license

amendment request, including a risk

assessment for East Canyon Creek; (2)

previous environmental evaluations of

the facility; (3) data contained in

required 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 revised

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 revised decommissioning plan, and

has determined that the requested

amendment of Source Material License

SUA–648, authorizing implementation

of the revised soil decommissioning

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

decommissioning 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.

3. Potential risks to the public and the

environment from the byproduct

material proposed to remain in the

channel of East Canyon Creek (an

ephemeral stream) were evaluated. Data

on radionuclides and heavy metals in

soil, water, vegetation, and animals

were reviewed. Also, staff considered

the contributions of these constituents

from the near-by uranium mining

activities and from natural uranium

deposits in the creek bank. The staff

determined that the current and longterm hazards from byproduct material in

the creek channel are insignificant. The

cost of remediation, risks to remediation

workers, and the environmental harm

(erosion, affect on wildlife including

endangered species, etc) that would

result from excavation of soil in the

creek channel far out-weigh any slight

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 41 / Thursday, March 1, 2001 / Notices 12963

health benefit that might arise as a result

of remediation in this area. Also, the

level of protection would be equivalent

to meeting the soil radium standard, to

the extent practicable.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

The proposed action is to amend NRC

Source Material License SUA–648, for

decommissioning of the windblown

tailings area and application of

alternative criteria (no remediation) for

the residual byproduct material in a

portion of the East Canyon Creek

channel, 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, One

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.

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 10 CFR part 2,

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. 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(d), 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.

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, Umetco Minerals

Corporation, PO 1029, Grand Junction,

CO 81502;

(2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the

General counsel, One White Flint North,

11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD

20852, or

(3) By mail addressed to the General

Counsel, 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(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 § 2.1205(d).

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 23rd day

of February 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Philip Ting,

Chief, Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Division

of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office

of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 01–4959 Filed 2–28–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Advisory Committee on Nuclear

Waste; Notice of Meeting

The Advisory Committee on Nuclear

Waste (ACNW) will hold its 125th

meeting on March 21–23, 2001, at 11545

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland,

Room T–2B3. The entire meeting will be

open to public attendance. The schedule

for this meeting is as follows:

Wednesday, March 21, 2001

A. 8:30–10 a.m.: Opening Statement/

Planning and Procedures (Open)—The

Chairman will open the meeting with

brief opening remarks. The Committee

will then review items under

consideration at this meeting and

consider topics proposed for future

ACNW meetings.

B. 10:15–10:35 a.m.: DOE’s Status

Report on Key Technical Issue (KTI)

Resolution (Open)—The Committee will

receive an update by a DOE

representative as to the current status of

the KTI resolution.

C. 10:35–12 Noon: Key Technical

Issues—Vertical Slice Report (Open)—

The Committee members will present a

report on their assigned KTIs.

D. 1–2 p.m.: Partial Release of a

Reactor Facility or Site for Unrestricted

Use (Open)—The Committee will hear

presentations by and hold discussions

with representatives of the NRC staff

regarding the partial release of a reactor

facility or site for unrestricted use.

E. 2–3 p.m.: License Termination Plan

Review—Lessons Learned (Open)—The

Committee will hear presentations by

and hold discussions with

representatives of the NRC staff

regarding lessons learned from

experience with the License

Termination Plan.

F. 3:15–5 p.m.: Commission Meeting

Preparation (Open)—The Committee

will discuss the topics scheduled for its

March 22, 2001 meeting with the

Commission.

G. 5–7 p.m.: Discussion of Proposed

ACNW Reports (Open)—The Committee

will discuss proposed ACNW reports on

Entombment, Partial Release of Reactor

Facility or Site for Unrestricted Use,

Lessons Learned from Experience with

the License