80 FR 22744 - License Amendment for United Nuclear Corporation, Church Rock Facility, McKinley County, New Mexico
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 78 (April 23, 2015)
Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 78 (April 23, 2015)
| Page Range | 22744-22746 | |
| FR Document | 2015-09516 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)] [Notices] [Pages 22744-22746] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-09516] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 [[Page 22745]] 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, [[Page 22746]] 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
![22744 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 78 / Thursday, April 23, 2015 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR businesses, and Public Law 112–96, the • evaluate the accuracy of the
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job agency’s estimate of the burden of the
Employment and Training Creation Act of 2012 (Act) expanded the proposed collection of information,
Administration SEA program to provide states the including the validity of the
[OMB 1205–0490] opportunity to allow UI claimants methodology and assumptions used;
receiving Extended Benefits to • enhance the quality, utility, and
Comment Request for Information participate in the SEA program. clarity of the information to be
Collection: Self-Employment Currently, a handful of states use this collected; and
Assistance for Unemployment reemployment program, for which a • minimize the burden of the
Insurance Claimants, Extension With minor amount of information (claimants collection of information on those who
Revisions entering the program, and weeks and are to respond, including through the
amounts of dollars paid) is collected use of appropriate automated,
AGENCY: Employment and Training under OMB Control Number 1205–0010. electronic, mechanical, or other
Administration (ETA), Labor. In accordance with statutory technological collection techniques or
ACTION: Notice. requirements and to assist states in other forms of information technology,
establishing, improving, and e.g., permitting electronic submissions
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor administering SEA programs (section of responses.
(Department), as part of its continuing 2183(a)), the Employment and Training
effort to reduce paperwork and III. Current Actions
Administration (ETA) uses the ETA
respondent burden, conducts a 9161 to collect information specific to Type of Review: Extension with
preclearance consultation program to the SEA program. revision
provide the public and Federal agencies Section 2183(b)(1) of the 2012 Act Title: Self-Employment Assistance for
with an opportunity to comment on directs the Secretary of Labor to UI Claimants, ETA 9161.
proposed and/or continuing collections establish reporting requirements for OMB Number: 1205–0490.
of information in accordance with the States that have established SEA Affected Public: State Workforce
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 programs, which shall include reporting Agencies, SEA participants.
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program on—(A) the total number of individuals Estimated Total Annual Respondents:
helps ensure that requested data can be who received unemployment 1,607.
provided in the desired format, compensation and—(i) were referred to Estimated Total Annual Responses:
reporting burden (time and financial a SEA program; (ii) participated in such 1,607 respondents × 4 quarterly reports
resources) is minimized, collection program; and (iii) received an allowance = 6,428 responses.
instruments are clearly understood, and under such program; (B) the total Estimated Total Annual Burden
the impact of collection requirements on amount of allowances provided to Hours: 6,456 hours.
respondents can be properly assessed. individuals participating in a SEA Total Estimated Annual Other Cost
Currently, ETA is soliciting comments program; (C) the total income (as Burden: There are no other costs
concerning the collection of data about determined by survey or other associated with this collection of
Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) appropriate method) for businesses that information.
activities, expiring October 31, 2015. have been established by individuals We will summarize and/or include in
DATES: Written comments must be participating in a SEA program, as well the request for OMB approval of the
submitted to the office listed in the as the total number of individuals ICR, the comments received in response
addresses section below on or before employed through such businesses; and to this comment request; they will also
June 22, 2015. (D) any additional information, as become a matter of public record.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments determined appropriate by the Portia Wu,
to Lidia Fiore, Office of Unemployment Secretary. ETA currently uses Form Assistant Secretary for Employment and
Insurance, Room S–4524, Employment ETA–9161 as an electronic reporting Training, Labor.
and Training Administration, U.S. mechanism to collect this required [FR Doc. 2015–09479 Filed 4–22–15; 8:45 am]
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution information. In addition to Public Law BILLING CODE 4510–FW–P
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 112–96, collection of data is used for
Telephone number: 202–693–3029 (this oversight of the program as authorized
is not a toll-free number). Individuals under Section 303(a)(6) of the Social NUCLEAR REGULATORY
with hearing or speech impairments Security Act. COMMISSION
may access the telephone number above Previously such information was
via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal collected for participants eligible for [Docket No. 40–8907; NRC–2013–0036]
Information Relay Service at 1–877– Emergency Unemployment
889–5627 (TTY/TDD). Email: License Amendment for United
Compensation, however that program
Fiore.Lidia@dol.gov. A copy of the Nuclear Corporation, Church Rock
has expired and authorization for that
proposed information collection request Facility, McKinley County, New Mexico
portion of this data collection is no
(ICR), please contact the person above. longer necessary. AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
II. Review Focus Commission.
I. Background ACTION: Environmental assessment and
The Department is particularly
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
finding of no significant impact;
The Noncitizen Benefit Clarification interested in comments which: issuance.
and Other Technical Amendments Act • Evaluate whether the proposed
of 1998 (Public Law 105–306) collection of information is necessary SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
permanently authorized the SEA for the proper performance of the Commission (NRC) is considering
program, which is a reemployment functions of the agency, including amending Source Materials License
program that helps Unemployment whether the information will have SUA–1475 issued to the United Nuclear
Insurance (UI) claimants start their own practical utility; Corporation (UNC), a subsidiary of
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![Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 78 / Thursday, April 23, 2015 / Notices 22745
General Electric (GE), to revise current I. Introduction releasing hazardous constituents, with
ground water protection standards in On April 17, 2012, UNC, a subsidiary the goal that hazardous constituents
License Condition 30.B of SUA–1475. of GE, submitted to the NRC an from a licensed site not exceed the
The NRC has prepared an application to amend Source Materials specified concentration limits in the
environmental assessment (EA) for this License SUA–1475 for the former uppermost aquifer beyond the POC
proposed action in accordance with its Uranium Church Rock Mill Site (the during the compliance period. At the
regulations. Based on the EA, the NRC Mill Site) (ADAMS Accession No. Mill Site, POC wells are located in three
has concluded that a Finding of No ML12150A146). This proposed subsurface hydrostratigraphic units: the
Significant Impact (FONSI) is amendment would revise current Southwest Alluvium, and Zone 1 and
appropriate with respect to the ground water protection standards in Zone 3 of the Upper Gallup Sandstone.
proposed action. The NRC will issue the License Condition 30.B of SUA–1475 for The UNC’s proposed license
amended license following the the following constituents: Arsenic, amendment would affect ground water
publication of this document. Cadmium, Gross Alpha, Lead, Lead-210, protection standards in each of these
DATES: The Final EA and FONSI are Nickel, Radium-226 and -228, Selenium, units. Additionally, paragraph 5B(6) of
available as of April 23, 2015. Thorium-230, and Uranium. These criterion 5 to 10 CFR part 40, appendix
proposed standards (values) are derived A states that, ‘‘[c]onceptually,
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID: background concentrations pose no
from a re-calculated background
NRC–2013–0036 when contacting the incremental hazards . . .’’
concentration for each constituent. The
NRC about the availability of The NRC staff has prepared an EA in
Mill Site is located approximately 17
information regarding this document. support of its review of the proposed
miles northeast of Gallup in McKinley
You may obtain publicly-available license amendment. The staff assessed
County, New Mexico.
information related to this document the potential environmental impacts
The UNC supplemented its request on
using any of the following methods: associated with amending the ground
November 16, 2012, by submitting a
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to three-dimensional ground water flow water protection standards and
http://www.regulations.gov and search model for the Mill Site and adjacent documented the results of the
for Docket ID: NRC–2013–0036. Address down-gradient areas (ADAMS assessment in the EA. The NRC staff
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Accession Nos. ML12334A292; performed this assessment in
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; ML12305A320; ML12305A309; accordance with the requirements of 10
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For ML12305A324). On January 10, 2013, CFR part 51, ‘‘Environmental Protection
technical questions, contact the the NRC accepted the amendment Regulations for Domestic Licensing and
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER request for formal review (ADAMS Related Regulatory Functions.’’
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Accession No. ML13007A069). The NRC Uranium mill tailings at the Mill Site
document. issued a Request for Additional are located onsite, within the tailings
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents Information (RAI) on June 4, 2013 impoundment area comprising three
Access and Management System (ADAMS Accession No. ML13121A553), contiguous cells differentiated as the
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly and the UNC responded on January 10, North, Central and South Cells (see
available documents online in the 2014 (ADAMS Accession Nos. Figure 1, ADAMS Accession No.
ADAMS Public Documents collection at ML14056A541; ML14059A208). ML12150A146). The Central Cell also
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ Subsequently, the NRC staff determined has two borrow pits. Borrow Pit No. 1
adams.html. To begin the search, select that all technical deficiencies had been was used to dispose of tailings and
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then addressed in the RAIs and requested the Borrow Pit No. 2 was used to retain
select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS UNC to update the ground water flow tailings liquids (ADAMS Accession No.
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS, model report (ADAMS Accession No. ML063630443).
please contact the NRC’s Public ML14063A497). The UNC submitted the Seepage from the three tailings
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at revised ground water flow model report disposal cells and the borrow pits, as
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by by letter dated June 3, 2014 (ADAMS well as infiltration of mine effluent
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The Accession Nos. ML14161A255; water during dewatering operations of
ADAMS accession number for each ML14161A311). the nearby Northeast Church Rock and
document referenced in this document In accordance with part 40, appendix Quivira mines, have contributed to the
(if that document is available in A, criterion 5, paragraph 5B(5) of Title saturated conditions found in the
ADAMS) is provided the first time that 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Southwest Alluvium and in Zones 1 and
a document is referenced. The EA and (10 CFR), the NRC may establish ground 3 of the Upper Gallup Sandstone
FONSI can be found under ADAMS water protection standards at the point (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML050070220;
accession no. ML14339A839. of compliance (POC) either (1) by ML050070233; ML050070242;
ML050070245).
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and reference to the background
purchase copies of public documents at concentrations in the ground water, (2) II. Environmental Assessment
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One by assigning the appropriate value Summary
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville found in the table given in paragraph
5C, or (3) by using alternative Description of the Proposed Action
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
concentration limits established by the The UNC is requesting a license
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
NRC. The POC is defined in appendix amendment for the Mill Site to revise
Ashley Waldron, Office of Nuclear A as the site-specific location in the License Condition 30.B of Source
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. uppermost aquifer where the ground Materials License SUA–1475. The UNC
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, water protection standard must be met. requests revisions to the current ground
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone: In addition, criterion 5, paragraph 5B(1) water protection standards in the
301–415–7317; email: Ashley.Waldron@ states the objective of the POC location license condition for the following
nrc.gov. is to provide the earliest practicable constituents: Arsenic, Cadmium, Gross
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: warning that the impoundment is Alpha, Lead and Lead-210, Nickel,
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![22746 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 78 / Thursday, April 23, 2015 / Notices
Radium-226 and -228, Selenium, Environmental Impacts of the For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thorium-230, and Uranium for the Alternatives to the Proposed Action Craig G. Erlanger,
Southwest Alluvium, Zone 1, and Zone Deputy Director, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety,
3. No changes are proposed for the other As an alternative to the proposed Safeguards and Environmental Review, Office
constituents in License Condition 30.B action, the NRC staff considered denial of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
(i.e., Beryllium, Total Trihalomethanes, of the proposed action (i.e., the ‘‘no- [FR Doc. 2015–09516 Filed 4–22–15; 8:45 am]
and Vanadium). action alternative’’). Denial of the BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
proposed license amendment would
Need for the Proposed Action result in no change in the currently
The proposed action is needed to approved ground water protection NUCLEAR REGULATORY
provide ground water protection standards. The proposed action is COMMISSION
standards for the Mill Site that are needed to revise the ground water [Docket Nos. 52–012 and 52–013; NRC–
consistent with 10 CFR part 40, protection standards to more accurately 2008–0091]
appendix A, paragraph 5B(1) and reflect current background conditions.
background ground water quality that is Both the No-Action alternative and the Nuclear Innovation North America
protective of public health and safety. Proposed Action for the Mill Site are LLC; South Texas Project, Units 3
consistent with appendix A, criterion 5, and 4
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed
paragraph 5B(1) and background ground AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory
Action
water quality that is protective of public Commission.
The NRC staff determined that, due to health and safety. ACTION: Combined license application;
the nature of the proposed action, availability.
Agencies and Persons Consulted
environmental impacts would be
limited to subsurface ground water The NRC staff determined that the SUMMARY: On September 20, 2007,
resources, and that such impacts would proposed action would be limited to South Texas Project Nuclear Operating
be small and not significant. Staff impacts to subsurface ground water Company (STPNOC) submitted to the
expects no impacts to public health and resources and therefore is not expected U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
safety, ecological resources, or historical to affect listed endangered and (NRC) an application for combined
and cultural resources. Therefore, the licenses (COLs) for two additional units
threatened species or their critical
NRC staff does not expect significant (Units 3 and 4) at the South Texas
habitat. As well, the proposed action is
impacts to result from the proposed Project (STP) Electric Generating Station
not expected to impact potential or
modification to the ground water site in Matagorda County near Bay City,
identified cultural or historical
protection standards in SUA–1475 and Texas. The NRC published a notice of
resources. Therefore, no further
considers that impacts from the receipt and availability for this COL
consultation was completed under application in the Federal Register on
proposed action would be protective of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
public health and safety and the December 5, 2007. In a letter dated
or under Section 106 of the National January 19, 2011, STPNOC notified the
environment.
Historic Preservation Act. NRC that, effective January 24, 2011,
In conducting its assessment, the NRC
During preparation of the EA, the Nuclear Innovation North America LLC
staff considered the following:
NRC staff consulted with the following (NINA) became the lead applicant for
• Information in the license federal, tribal, and state agencies: the STP, Units 3 and 4. This notice is being
application and supporting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published to notify the public of the
documentation; (EPA) Regions 6 and 9, the U.S. availability of the COL application for
• Information in modeling reports Department of Energy, the Navajo STP, Units 3 and 4.
and NRC staff review reports; Nation EPA, and the New Mexico DATES: The COL application is available
• Information in land use and Environment Department. The purpose on April 23, 2015.
environmental monitoring reports; of this consultation was to request ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
• Information from NRC staff site comments on the proposed action; NRC–2008–0091 when contacting the
visits and inspections; however, none of the agencies identified NRC about the availability of
• 10 CFR part 40, appendix A, concerns with the proposed action. information regarding this document.
‘‘Criteria Relating to the Operation of You may obtain publicly-available
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Uranium Mills and the Disposition of information related to this document
Tailings or Wastes Produced by the Based on its review of the UNC’s using any of the following methods:
Extraction or Concentration of Source license amendment request to revise • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
Material From Ores Processed Primarily License Condition 30.B of SUA–1475, http://www.regulations.gov and search
for Their Source Material Content;’’ the NRC staff expects there to be no for Docket ID NRC–2008–0091. Address
significant environmental impacts in questions about NRC dockets to Carol
• NUREG–1620, Rev. 1, ‘‘Standard Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
Review Plan for the Review of a connection with the proposed action as
the proposed ground water protection email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
Reclamation Plan for Mill Tailings Sites technical questions, contact the
Under Title II of the Uranium Mill standard values, conceptually, pose no
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978’’ incremental hazards to public health
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
(ADAMS Accession No. ML031550522); and safety. Therefore, a Finding of No
document.
and Significant Impact (FONSI) is • NRC’s Agencywide Documents
• NUREG–1748, ‘‘Environmental appropriate and preparation of an Access and Management System
Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Environmental Impact Statement is not (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly
Associated with NMSS Programs, Final warranted. available documents online in the
Report’’ (ADAMS Accession No. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day ADAMS Public Documents collection at
ML032540811). of April 2015. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
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Document Created: 2015-12-16 08:41:19
Document Modified: 2015-12-16 08:41:19
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Notices | |
| Action | Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; issuance. | |
| Dates | The Final EA and FONSI are available as of April 23, 2015. | |
| 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] | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 22744 |
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