81 FR 12133 - Power Resources, Inc.

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 45 (March 8, 2016)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a temporary exemption from certain NRC financial assurance requirements to Power Resources, Inc., doing business as Cameco Resources (Cameco), in response to its annual financial assurance updates for its Smith Ranch-Highland In-Situ Recovery (ISR) project and the associated remote satellite facilities at Ruth and Gas Hills. Issuance of this temporary exemption will not remove the requirement for Cameco to provide adequate financial assurance through an approved mechanism but will allow the NRC staff to further evaluate whether the State of Wyoming's separate account provision for financial assurance instruments Cameco holds is consistent with the NRC's requirement for a standby trust agreement.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12133-12134]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05129]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 040-8964; NRC-2014-0092]


Power Resources, Inc.

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Temporary exemption; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
temporary exemption from certain NRC financial assurance requirements 
to Power Resources, Inc., doing business as Cameco Resources (Cameco), 
in response to its annual financial assurance updates for its Smith 
Ranch-Highland In-Situ Recovery (ISR) project and the associated remote 
satellite facilities at Ruth and Gas Hills. Issuance of this temporary 
exemption will not remove the requirement for Cameco to provide 
adequate financial assurance through an approved mechanism but will 
allow the NRC staff to further evaluate whether the State of Wyoming's 
separate account provision for financial assurance instruments Cameco 
holds is consistent with the NRC's requirement for a standby trust 
agreement.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2014-0092 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-2014-0092. 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 that document 
is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     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: Douglas T. Mandeville, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-0724; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Pursuant to part 40 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR), appendix A, Criterion 9 and NRC Materials License SUA-1601, 
License Condition 9.5, Cameco is required to submit to the NRC for 
review and approval an annual update of the financial surety to cover 
third-party costs for decommissioning and decontamination of the Smith 
Ranch-Highland ISR facility and its associated remote satellites 
located in Converse, Johnson, Campbell, and Fremont Counties, Wyoming. 
By letter dated December 4, 2014, Cameco submitted its annual financial 
surety update to the NRC staff for the Ruth remote satellite facility 
(Cameco 2014). Additionally, Cameco submitted its annual surety updates 
for the Smith Ranch-Highland facility and the Gas Hills remote 
satellite facility on July 7, 2015, and August 7, 2015 respectively 
(Cameco 2015a and Cameco 2015b). The NRC staff reviewed the annual 
financial surety update and found the values reasonable for the 
required reclamation activities (ADAMS Accession No. ML15348A074). 
Cameco maintains approved financial assurance instruments in favor of 
the State of Wyoming; however, it does not have a standby trust 
agreement (STA) in place, as required by 10 CFR part 40, appendix A, 
Criterion 9.

II. Description of Action

    As of December 17, 2012, NRC's uranium milling licensees, which are 
regulated, in part, under 10 CFR part 40, appendix A, Criterion 9, are 
required to have an STA in place. Criterion 9 provides that if a 
licensee does not use a trust as its financial assurance mechanism, 
then the licensee is required to establish a standby trust fund to 
receive funds in the event the Commission or State regulatory agency 
exercises its right to collect the funds provided for by surety bond or 
letter of credit. The purpose of an STA is to provide a separate 
account to hold the decommissioning funds in the event of a default.
    Consistent with the provisions of 10 CFR part 40, appendix A, 
Criterion 9(d), Cameco has consolidated its NRC financial assurance 
sureties with those Cameco is required to obtain by the State of 
Wyoming, and the financial instrument is held by the State of Wyoming. 
Cameco has not established an STA, nor has it requested an exemption 
from the requirement to do so.
    Wyoming law requires that a separate account be set up to receive 
forfeited decommissioning funds but does not specifically require an 
STA. Section 35-11-424(a) of the Code of Wyoming states that ``[a]ll 
forfeitures collected

[[Page 12134]]

under the provisions of this act shall be deposited with the State 
treasurer in a separate account for reclamation purposes.'' Under 
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) financial assurance 
requirements, WDEQ holds permit bonds in a fiduciary fund called an 
agency fund. If a bond is forfeited, the forfeited funds are moved to a 
special revenue account. Although the Wyoming special revenue account 
is not an STA, the special revenue account serves a similar purpose in 
that forfeited funds are not deposited into the State treasury for 
general fund use but instead are set aside in the special revenue 
account to be used exclusively for reclamation (i.e., decommissioning 
purposes).
    The NRC has the discretion, under 10 CFR 40.14(a), to grant an 
exemption from the requirements of a regulation in 10 CFR part 40 upon 
request or on its own initiative, if the NRC determines the exemption 
is authorized by law and will not endanger life or property or the 
common defense and security and is otherwise in the public interest. 
The NRC is issuing an exemption to Cameco from the STA requirements in 
10 CFR part 40, appendix A, Criterion 9, for the current surety 
arrangement until March 26, 2017, for Ruth, September 30, 2017, for 
Smith Ranch-Highland, and November 7, 2017, for Gas Hills to allow the 
NRC an opportunity to evaluate whether the State of Wyoming's separate 
account requirements for financial assurance instruments it holds is 
consistent with the NRC's STA requirements.

III. Discussion

A. The Exemption Is Authorized by Law

    The proposed exemption is authorized by law as 10 CFR 40.14(a) 
expressly allows for an exemption to the requirements in 10 CFR part 
40, Appendix A, Criterion 9, and the proposed exemption would not be 
contrary to any provision of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

B. The Exemption Presents No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety

    The exemption is related to the financial surety. The requirement 
that the licensee provide adequate financial assurance through an 
approved mechanism (e.g., a surety bond or an irrevocable letter of 
credit) would remain unaffected by the exemption. Rather, the exemption 
would only pertain to the establishment of a dedicated trust in which 
funds could be deposited in the event that the financial assurance 
mechanism needed to be liquidated. The requirement in 10 CFR part 40, 
Appendix A, Criterion 9(d), allows for the financial or surety 
arrangements to be consolidated within a State's similar financial 
assurance instrument. The NRC has determined that while the State of 
Wyoming does not require an STA, the special revenue account may serve 
a similar purpose in that forfeited funds are not deposited into the 
State treasury for general fund use but, instead, are set aside in the 
special revenue account to be used exclusively for site-specific 
reclamation (i.e., decommissioning purposes). Because the licensee 
remains obligated to establish an adequate financial assurance 
mechanism for its licensed sites, and the NRC has approved such a 
mechanism, sufficient funds are available in the event that the site 
would need to be decommissioned. A temporary delay in establishing an 
STA does not impact the present availability and adequacy of the actual 
financial assurance mechanism. Therefore, the limited exemption being 
issued by the NRC herein presents no undue risk to public health and 
safety.

C. The Exemption Is Consistent With the Common Defense and Security

    The proposed exemption would not involve or implicate the common 
defense or security. Therefore, granting the exemption will have no 
effect on the common defense and security.

D. The Exemption Is in the Public Interest

    The proposed exemption would enable the NRC staff to evaluate the 
State of Wyoming's separate account provision and the NRC's STA 
requirement to determine if they are comparable. The evaluation process 
will allow the NRC to determine whether the licensee's compliance with 
the state law provision will satisfy the NRC requirement as well. 
Therefore, granting the exemption is in the public interest.

E. Environmental Considerations

    The NRC staff has determined that granting of an exemption from the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 9 belongs to a 
category of regulatory actions that the NRC, by regulation, has 
determined do not individually or cumulatively have a significant 
effect on the environment and, as such, do not require an environmental 
assessment. The exemption from the requirement to have an STA in place 
is eligible for categorical exclusion under 10 CFR 51.22(c)(25)(vi)(H), 
which provides that exemptions from surety, insurance, or 
indemnification requirements are categorically excluded if the 
exemption would not result in any significant hazards consideration, 
change or increase in the amount of any offsite effluents, increase in 
individual or cumulative public or occupational radiation exposure, 
construction impacts, or increase in the potential for or consequence 
from radiological accidents. The NRC staff finds that the STA exemption 
involves surety, insurance, and/or indemnity requirements and that 
granting Cameco this temporary exemption from the requirement of 
establishing a standby trust arrangement would not result in any 
significant hazards or increases in offsite effluents, radiation 
exposure, construction impacts, or potential radiological accidents. 
Therefore, an environmental assessment is not required.

IV. Conclusion

    Accordingly, the NRC has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 
40.14(a), the proposed temporary exemption is authorized by law, will 
not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, is 
consistent with the common defense and security, and is in the public 
interest. NRC hereby grants Power Resources, Inc., doing business as 
Cameco Resources, an exemption from the requirement in 10 CFR part 40, 
Appendix A, Criterion 9 to set up a standby trust to receive funds in 
the event the NRC or the State regulatory agency exercises is right to 
collect the surety. This exemption will expire on March 26, 2017, for 
Ruth, on September 30, 2017, for Smith Ranch-Highland, and on November 
7, 2017, for Gas Hills.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29 day of February 2016.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Tappert,
Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and 
Environmental Programs, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2016-05129 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P