[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39116-39117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18687]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2008-0339; Docket No. 40-9067]
Uranerz Energy Corporation; Nichols Ranch In-Situ Recovery
Project; New Source Material License Application; Notice of Intent To
Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).
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SUMMARY: Uranerz Energy Corporation (Uranerz) submitted an application
for a new source material license for the Nichols Ranch In-Situ
Recovery (ISR) Project to be located in Campbell and Johnson Counties,
Wyoming, approximately 46 miles south-southwest of Gillette, Wyoming
and approximately 61 miles north-northeast of Casper, Wyoming. The
application proposes the construction, operation, and decommissioning
of ISR, also known as in-situ leach, facilities and restoration of the
aquifer from which the uranium is being extracted. Uranerz submitted
the application for the new source material license to the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) by a letter dated November 30, 2007. A
notice of receipt and availability of the license application,
including the Environmental Report (ER), and opportunity to request a
hearing was published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2008 (73 FR
34052). The purpose of this notice of intent is to inform the public
that the NRC will be preparing a site-specific Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to the Generic Environmental
Impact Statement for In-Situ Leach Uranium Milling Facilities (ISR
GEIS) for a new source material license for the Nichols Ranch ISR
Project, as required by 10 CFR 51.26(d). In addition, as outlined in 36
CFR 800.8, ``Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act,''
the NRC plans to use the environmental review process as reflected in
10 CFR part 51 to coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the NRC
NEPA or the environmental review process related to the Nichols Ranch
ISR Project application, please contact the NRC Environmental Project
Manager, Irene Yu, at (301) 415-1951 or irene.yu@nrc.gov.
Information and documents associated with the Nichols Ranch ISR
Project, including the license application, are available for public
review through our electronic reading room: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and on the NRC's Nichols Ranch Site Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/materials/uranium/apps-in-review/nichols-ranch-new-app-review.html. Documents may also be obtained from NRC's Public
Document Room at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Headquarters,
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1.0 Background
Uranerz submitted the application for the new source material
license to the NRC for ISR facilities by a letter dated November 30,
2007. A notice of receipt and availability of the license application,
including the ER, and opportunity to request a hearing was published in
the Federal Register on June 16, 2008 (73 FR 34052). No requests for
hearing were submitted.
Based on the anticipated efficiencies gained through the
development of the ISR GEIS, the NRC originally planned to document
this environmental evaluation in draft and final Environmental
Assessments (EAs). However, during the development of the final ISR
GEIS, NRC decided to prepare a SEIS that will tier off of the ISR GEIS
for applications to license new ISR facilities. This environmental
evaluation for the Nichols Ranch ISR Project will now be documented in
draft and final SEISs instead of an EA. While NRC regulations do not
require scoping under 10 CFR part 51 for SEISs, NRC staff met with
Federal (Bureau of Land Management--Cheyenne, Casper, Buffalo; Bureau
of Indian Affairs--Fort Washakie; Fish & Wildlife Service--Buffalo),
State (Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality--Cheyenne, Sheridan;
State Engineer's Office; Governor's Planning Office; State Historic
Preservation Office) and local government agencies (Converse County
Planning Department; Johnson County Commissioners' Office; City of
Casper Planning Office; Town of Wright) and public organizations
(Buffalo Chamber of Commerce; Campbell County Economic Development
Corporation; Wyoming Community Development Authority; Converse Area New
Development Organization) in January of 2009 as part of a site visit to
gather site-specific information to assist in the preparation of the
Nichols Ranch ISR Project environmental review. NRC also contacted
potentially interested tribes and local public interest groups via e-
mail and telephone to gather additional information.
The NRC has begun evaluating the potential environmental impacts
associated with the proposed ISR facility in parallel with the review
of the license application. This environmental evaluation will be
documented in draft and final SEISs in accordance with NRC's NEPA
implementing regulations contained in 10 CFR part 51. The NRC is
required by 10 CFR 51.20 (b)(8) to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) or a supplement to an EIS for the issuance of a license
to possess and use source material for uranium milling. The ISR GEIS
and the site-specific SEIS fulfills this regulatory requirement. The
purpose of the present notice is to inform the public that the NRC
staff will prepare a site-specific supplement to the ISR GEIS (NUREG-
1910) as part of the review of the application.
2.0 Nichols Ranch ISR Facilities
The facilities, if licensed, would include a central processing
plant, satellite facility, accompanying wellfields, and ion exchange
columns. The process involves the dissolution of the water-soluble
uranium from the mineralized host sandstone rock by pumping oxidants
(oxygen or hydrogen peroxide) and chemical compounds (sodium
bicarbonate) through a series of production and extraction wells. The
uranium-rich solution is transferred from the production wells to
either the central processing plant or satellite facility for uranium
concentration using ion exchange columns. Final processing is conducted
in the central processing plant process to produce yellowcake for use
in manufacturing commercial nuclear fuel for use in power reactors.
3.0 Alternatives To Be Evaluated
No-Action--The no-action alternative would be not to issue the
license. Under this alternative, the NRC would not approve the license
application for the proposed ISR facilities. This serves as a baseline
for comparison.
Proposed Action--The proposed Federal action is to issue a license
to use
[[Page 39117]]
or process source material at the proposed ISR facilities. The license
review process analyzes the construction, operation, and
decommissioning of ISR facilities and restoration of the aquifer from
which the uranium is being extracted. The ISR facilities would be
located in Campbell and Johnson Counties, Wyoming, approximately 46
miles south-southwest of Gillette, Wyoming and approximately 61 miles
north-northeast of Casper, Wyoming. The applicant would be issued an
NRC license under the provisions of 10 CFR part 40.
Other alternatives not listed here may be identified through the
environmental review process.
4.0 Environmental Impact Areas To Be Analyzed
The following areas have been tentatively identified for analysis
in the SEIS:
Land Use: Plans, policies, and controls;
Transportation: Transportation modes, routes, quantities,
and risk estimates;
Geology and Soils: Physical geography, topography,
geology, and soil characteristics;
Water Resources: Surface and groundwater hydrology, water
use and quality, and the potential for degradation;
Ecology: Wetlands, aquatic, terrestrial, economically and
recreationally important species, and threatened and endangered
species;
Air Quality: Meteorological conditions, ambient
background, pollutant sources, and the potential for degradation;
Noise: Ambient, sources, and sensitive receptors;
Historical and Cultural Resources: Historical,
archaeological, and traditional cultural resources;
Visual and Scenic Resources: Landscape characteristics,
manmade features and viewshed;
Socioeconomics: Demography, economic base, labor pool,
housing, transportation, utilities, public services/facilities, and
education;
Environmental Justice: Potential disproportionately high
and adverse impacts to minority and low-income populations;
Public and Occupational Health: Potential public and
occupational consequences from construction, routine operation,
transportation, and credible accident scenarios (including natural
events);
Waste Management: Types of wastes expected to be
generated, handled, and stored; and
Cumulative Effects: Impacts from past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable actions at and near the site(s).
This list is not intended to be all inclusive, nor is it a
predetermination of potential environmental impacts.
5.0 The NEPA Process
The SEIS for the Nichols Ranch ISR Project will be prepared
pursuant to the NRC's NEPA Regulations at 10 CFR part 51. The NRC will
continue its environmental review of the application and as soon as
practicable, the NRC and its contractor will prepare and publish a
draft SEIS. NRC currently plans to have a 45-day public comment period
for the draft SEIS. Availability of the draft SEIS and the dates of the
public comment period will be announced in the Federal Register and the
NRC Web site: http://www.nrc.gov. The final SEIS will include responses
to public comments received on the draft SEIS.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of July 2009.
For The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrice M. Bubar,
Deputy Director, Environmental Protection and Performance Assessment
Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection,
Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management
Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-18687 Filed 8-4-09; 8:45 am]
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