[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22744-22746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09516]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-8907; NRC-2013-0036]


License Amendment for United Nuclear Corporation, Church Rock 
Facility, McKinley County, New Mexico

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering 
amending Source Materials License SUA-1475 issued to the United Nuclear 
Corporation (UNC), a subsidiary of

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General Electric (GE), to revise current ground water protection 
standards in License Condition 30.B of SUA-1475. The NRC has prepared 
an environmental assessment (EA) for this proposed action in accordance 
with its regulations. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate with respect to 
the proposed action. The NRC will issue the amended license following 
the publication of this document.

DATES: The Final EA and FONSI are available as of April 23, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID: NRC-2013-0036 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID: NRC-2013-0036. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced in this document 
(if that document is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that a document is referenced. The EA and FONSI can be found under 
ADAMS accession no. ML14339A839.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Waldron, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7317; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    On April 17, 2012, UNC, a subsidiary of GE, submitted to the NRC an 
application to amend Source Materials License SUA-1475 for the former 
Uranium Church Rock Mill Site (the Mill Site) (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12150A146). This proposed amendment would revise current ground water 
protection standards in License Condition 30.B of SUA-1475 for the 
following constituents: Arsenic, Cadmium, Gross Alpha, Lead, Lead-210, 
Nickel, Radium-226 and -228, Selenium, Thorium-230, and Uranium. These 
proposed standards (values) are derived from a re-calculated background 
concentration for each constituent. The Mill Site is located 
approximately 17 miles northeast of Gallup in McKinley County, New 
Mexico.
    The UNC supplemented its request on November 16, 2012, by 
submitting a three-dimensional ground water flow model for the Mill 
Site and adjacent down-gradient areas (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML12334A292; ML12305A320; ML12305A309; ML12305A324). On January 10, 
2013, the NRC accepted the amendment request for formal review (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML13007A069). The NRC issued a Request for Additional 
Information (RAI) on June 4, 2013 (ADAMS Accession No. ML13121A553), 
and the UNC responded on January 10, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML14056A541; ML14059A208). Subsequently, the NRC staff determined that 
all technical deficiencies had been addressed in the RAIs and requested 
the UNC to update the ground water flow model report (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML14063A497). The UNC submitted the revised ground water flow model 
report by letter dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML14161A255; 
ML14161A311).
    In accordance with part 40, appendix A, criterion 5, paragraph 
5B(5) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC 
may establish ground water protection standards at the point of 
compliance (POC) either (1) by reference to the background 
concentrations in the ground water, (2) by assigning the appropriate 
value found in the table given in paragraph 5C, or (3) by using 
alternative concentration limits established by the NRC. The POC is 
defined in appendix A as the site-specific location in the uppermost 
aquifer where the ground water protection standard must be met. In 
addition, criterion 5, paragraph 5B(1) states the objective of the POC 
location is to provide the earliest practicable warning that the 
impoundment is releasing hazardous constituents, with the goal that 
hazardous constituents from a licensed site not exceed the specified 
concentration limits in the uppermost aquifer beyond the POC during the 
compliance period. At the Mill Site, POC wells are located in three 
subsurface hydrostratigraphic units: the Southwest Alluvium, and Zone 1 
and Zone 3 of the Upper Gallup Sandstone. The UNC's proposed license 
amendment would affect ground water protection standards in each of 
these units. Additionally, paragraph 5B(6) of criterion 5 to 10 CFR 
part 40, appendix A states that, ``[c]onceptually, background 
concentrations pose no incremental hazards . . .''
    The NRC staff has prepared an EA in support of its review of the 
proposed license amendment. The staff assessed the potential 
environmental impacts associated with amending the ground water 
protection standards and documented the results of the assessment in 
the EA. The NRC staff performed this assessment in accordance with the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations 
for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions.''
    Uranium mill tailings at the Mill Site are located onsite, within 
the tailings impoundment area comprising three contiguous cells 
differentiated as the North, Central and South Cells (see Figure 1, 
ADAMS Accession No. ML12150A146). The Central Cell also has two borrow 
pits. Borrow Pit No. 1 was used to dispose of tailings and Borrow Pit 
No. 2 was used to retain tailings liquids (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML063630443).
    Seepage from the three tailings disposal cells and the borrow pits, 
as well as infiltration of mine effluent water during dewatering 
operations of the nearby Northeast Church Rock and Quivira mines, have 
contributed to the saturated conditions found in the Southwest Alluvium 
and in Zones 1 and 3 of the Upper Gallup Sandstone (ADAMS Accession 
Nos. ML050070220; ML050070233; ML050070242; ML050070245).

II. Environmental Assessment Summary

Description of the Proposed Action

    The UNC is requesting a license amendment for the Mill Site to 
revise License Condition 30.B of Source Materials License SUA-1475. The 
UNC requests revisions to the current ground water protection standards 
in the license condition for the following constituents: Arsenic, 
Cadmium, Gross Alpha, Lead and Lead-210, Nickel,

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Radium-226 and -228, Selenium, Thorium-230, and Uranium for the 
Southwest Alluvium, Zone 1, and Zone 3. No changes are proposed for the 
other constituents in License Condition 30.B (i.e., Beryllium, Total 
Trihalomethanes, and Vanadium).

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed action is needed to provide ground water protection 
standards for the Mill Site that are consistent with 10 CFR part 40, 
appendix A, paragraph 5B(1) and background ground water quality that is 
protective of public health and safety.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff determined that, due to the nature of the proposed 
action, environmental impacts would be limited to subsurface ground 
water resources, and that such impacts would be small and not 
significant. Staff expects no impacts to public health and safety, 
ecological resources, or historical and cultural resources. Therefore, 
the NRC staff does not expect significant impacts to result from the 
proposed modification to the ground water protection standards in SUA-
1475 and considers that impacts from the proposed action would be 
protective of public health and safety and the environment.
    In conducting its assessment, the NRC staff considered the 
following:
     Information in the license application and supporting 
documentation;
     Information in modeling reports and NRC staff review 
reports;
     Information in land use and environmental monitoring 
reports;
     Information from NRC staff site visits and inspections;
     10 CFR part 40, appendix A, ``Criteria Relating to the 
Operation of Uranium Mills and the Disposition of Tailings or Wastes 
Produced by the Extraction or Concentration of Source Material From 
Ores Processed Primarily for Their Source Material Content;''
     NUREG-1620, Rev. 1, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review 
of a Reclamation Plan for Mill Tailings Sites Under Title II of the 
Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978'' (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML031550522); and
     NUREG-1748, ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing 
Actions Associated with NMSS Programs, Final Report'' (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML032540811).

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action alternative''). 
Denial of the proposed license amendment would result in no change in 
the currently approved ground water protection standards. The proposed 
action is needed to revise the ground water protection standards to 
more accurately reflect current background conditions. Both the No-
Action alternative and the Proposed Action for the Mill Site are 
consistent with appendix A, criterion 5, paragraph 5B(1) and background 
ground water quality that is protective of public health and safety.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    The NRC staff determined that the proposed action would be limited 
to impacts to subsurface ground water resources and therefore is not 
expected to affect listed endangered and threatened species or their 
critical habitat. As well, the proposed action is not expected to 
impact potential or identified cultural or historical resources. 
Therefore, no further consultation was completed under Section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act or under Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act.
    During preparation of the EA, the NRC staff consulted with the 
following federal, tribal, and state agencies: the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) Regions 6 and 9, the U.S. Department of Energy, 
the Navajo Nation EPA, and the New Mexico Environment Department. The 
purpose of this consultation was to request comments on the proposed 
action; however, none of the agencies identified concerns with the 
proposed action.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on its review of the UNC's license amendment request to 
revise License Condition 30.B of SUA-1475, the NRC staff expects there 
to be no significant environmental impacts in connection with the 
proposed action as the proposed ground water protection standard 
values, conceptually, pose no incremental hazards to public health and 
safety. Therefore, a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is 
appropriate and preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not 
warranted.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of April 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Craig G. Erlanger,
Deputy Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards and 
Environmental Review, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-09516 Filed 4-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P