80 FR 29101 - Western Nuclear, Inc.; Split Rock Conventional Uranium Mill Site

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 97 (May 20, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the indirect transfer of control of Western Nuclear, Inc. (WNI) and Materials License No. SUA-56 from Phelps Dodge Corporation (PDC) to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. (Freeport). License No. SUA-56 is for WNI's former Split Rock Conventional Uranium Mill Site near Jeffrey City, Wyoming. The WNI's parent company, PDC (currently named Freeport- McMoRan Corporation), was previously acquired in a reverse triangular merger by Freeport. On March 12, 2007, WNI informed the NRC that PDC would be acquired by Freeport. On March 19, 2007, Freeport acquired the entire interest in PDC, and Freeport now owns 100 percent of PDC. On July 22, 2009, WNI requested NRC approval of an indirect transfer of control with respect to its Materials License No. SUA-56. The NRC has determined that, although the licensee was required to obtain NRC consent prior to the indirect transfer of control, the indirect transfer of control of the license is otherwise consistent with applicable provisions of law and NRC regulations. Therefore, the NRC has approved the indirect transfer of control.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29101-29102]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12266]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-1162, NRC-2009-0434]


Western Nuclear, Inc.; Split Rock Conventional Uranium Mill Site

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Approval of indirect transfer of control.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the 
indirect transfer of control of Western Nuclear, Inc. (WNI) and 
Materials License No. SUA-56 from Phelps Dodge Corporation (PDC) to 
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. (Freeport). License No. SUA-56 is 
for WNI's former Split Rock Conventional Uranium Mill Site near Jeffrey 
City, Wyoming. The WNI's parent company, PDC (currently named Freeport-
McMoRan Corporation), was previously acquired in a reverse triangular 
merger by Freeport. On March 12, 2007, WNI informed the NRC that PDC 
would be acquired by Freeport. On March 19, 2007, Freeport acquired the 
entire interest in PDC, and Freeport now owns 100 percent of PDC. On 
July 22, 2009, WNI requested NRC approval of an indirect transfer of 
control with respect to its Materials License No. SUA-56. The NRC has 
determined that, although the licensee was required to obtain NRC 
consent prior to the indirect transfer of control, the indirect 
transfer of control of the license is otherwise consistent with 
applicable provisions of law and NRC regulations. Therefore, the NRC 
has approved the indirect transfer of control.

DATES: May 20, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2009-0434 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-2009-0434. 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 (if it available in 
ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is referenced.

[[Page 29102]]

     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: Dominick Orlando, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6749, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The WNI is the holder of NRC Materials 
License No. SUA-56 for its former Split Rock Conventional Uranium Mill 
Site near Jeffrey City, Wyoming. The WNI has been an NRC licensee since 
1958. The Split Rock Site ceased active uranium recovery operations in 
1987 and has been engaging in final site reclamation activities since 
then. In 1971, WNI became a wholly owned subsidiary of PDC.
    On March 12, 2007, WNI informed the NRC that the PDC would be 
acquired by Freeport (ADAMS Accession No. ML071080087). On September 5, 
2007, WNI informed the NRC that the acquisition of WNI by Freeport had 
occurred (ADAMS Accession No. ML072710031). By letter dated July 22, 
2009, WNI submitted a request to the NRC for Consent to Indirect 
License Transfer of NRC Materials License No. SUA-56 (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML092100247). On October 13, 2009, the NRC issued a notice of 
application for indirect change of control and provided interested 
individuals an opportunity to request a hearing (74 FR 52510).
    On December 30, 2009, the NRC requested additional information from 
WNI on the indirect change of control (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML093480467 
and ML093480453). The WNI responded on May 7, 2010 (the NRC staff was 
unable to locate this response in ADAMS and a copy was provided by WNI 
on January 13, 2015 (ADAMS Accession No. ML15036A423)). On July 27, 
2010, the NRC requested additional information from WNI on the indirect 
change of control (ADAMS Accession No. ML102040700). On June 24, 2011, 
WNI provided information in response to the request for additional 
information (ADAMS Accession No. ML111860086). On December 2, 2014, the 
NRC requested additional information from WNI on the indirect change of 
control (ADAMS Accession No. ML14301A290). The WNI responded to the 
NRC's request on January 13, 2015 (ADAMS Package Accession No. 
ML15036A423).
    The WNI's Materials License No. SUA-56 was issued under part 40 of 
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic 
Licensing of Source Material.'' The Commission is required by 10 CFR 
40.46 to determine if the change of control is in accordance with the 
provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended and to give its 
consent in writing.
    The NRC staff reviews requests for license transfers using the 
guidance in NUREG 1556, Volume 15, ``Consolidated Guidance About 
Materials Licenses-Guidance About Changes of Control and About 
Bankruptcy Involving Byproduct, Source, or Special Nuclear Materials 
Licenses,'' dated November 2000 (NUREG 1556, Vol. 15) (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML003778305). The purpose of the review is to determine whether the 
licensee, under the transaction, would continue to meet the regulatory 
requirements necessary to establish adequate financial assurance for 
decommissioning as required by 10 CFR part 40. As discussed in NUREG-
1556, Volume 15, the NRC uses the term ``change of control'' rather 
than the statutory term ``transfer'' to describe the variety of events 
that could require prior notification and written consent of the NRC. 
The central issue is whether the authority over the license has 
changed. The WNI's request for consent to indirect change of control 
describes an indirect change of control resulting from a merger between 
PDC, WNI's former parent company, and Freeport. Following the merger, 
WNI became a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport and, as such, the 
transfer requires NRC consent.
    The NRC staff reviewed WNI's request for consent to an indirect 
change in control of its 10 CFR part 40 license using the guidance in 
NUREG 1556, Vol. 15. The NRC staff finds that the information submitted 
by WNI sufficiently describes and documents the commitments made by 
Freeport is consistent with the guidance in NUREG-1556, Vol. 15. An 
environmental assessment for this action is not required because this 
action is categorically excluded under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(21).
    Based on the review summarized above, the NRC has approved the 
indirect change of control, although the licensee was required to 
obtain NRC consent prior to the indirect change of control occurring. 
The licensee has further committed in its next parent company guarantee 
submission to provide a parent company guarantee issued by Freeport to 
cover the remaining site reclamation costs. The WNI's request meets the 
requirements of 10 CFR 40.46(b)(1) and (2) as the request includes the 
identity and technical and financial qualifications of the proposed 
transferee, and WNI has committed to provide revised financial 
assurance for decommissioning, during the next parent company guarantee 
submittal, naming Freeport as parent company guarantor for the 
reclamation costs at the Split Rock Site.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of May 2015.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Larry W. Camper,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste 
Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-12266 Filed 5-19-15; 8:45 am]
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