SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The NRC received a license renewal application (LRA) from NuFuels, Inc., dated January 22, 2025, (ADAMS Package Accession No. ML25022A289) requesting renewal of Source and Byproduct Materials License Number SUA-1580. NuFuels, Inc., a subsidiary of Laramide Resources, Ltd., proposes to develop in-situ recovery (ISR) operations in McKinley County, New Mexico. NuFuels, Inc. submitted the application, pursuant to part 2 and part 40 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The CUP In-Situ Recovery Facility will consist of three separate satellite facilities at the Crownpoint, Unit 1, and Church Rock Section 8 project areas. Uranium recovered from Church Rock Section 17 will be processed at the adjacent Section 8 satellite facility. In addition to the satellite facilities, NuFuels will construct the currently licensed Crownpoint Central Plant (CCP) within the Crownpoint project area.

NuFuels proposes to construct and operate wellfields and associated infrastructure within the project areas to extract uranium from the Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation. Recovered uranium-bearing solutions will be processed at satellite facilities located at the Crownpoint, Unit 1, and Church Rock Section 8 project areas.

These satellite facilities will recover uranium using pressurized down-flow ion exchange (IX) columns. The loaded resin from the IX columns will then be transported to the CCP for further processing and drying. Each satellite facility is designed for a production capacity of up to 1 million pounds of triuranium octoxide(U₃ O₈) per year.

The current license authorizes NuFuels, Inc., to operate the CCP, which is a uranium recovery facility that has not been constructed. The project involves building and operating an ISR uranium facility near Church Rock and Crownpoint, New Mexico. ISR (formerly referred to as in-situ leach or ISL) is a mining method that removes uranium from underground by circulating a solution through the rock.

The NRC staff has determined that NuFuels, Inc., has submitted sufficient information to enable the staff to undertake a technical review of the application and that the application is, therefore, acceptable for docketing. The current docket number, 040-08968, for license SUA-1580, will be retained. The determination to accept the LRA for docketing does not constitute a determination that a renewed license should be issued and does not preclude the NRC staff from requesting additional information as the review proceeds.

Before making a licensing decision on the request for a renewed license, the NRC will make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The NRC may issue a renewed license based on its review if it finds there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by the renewed license will continue to meet the requirements for the issuance of a license under the Act and the Commission's regulations. The license SUA-1580 will not be deemed to have expired until the status of the application has been finally determined.

Additionally, in accordance with part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), the NRC will prepare a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental document for the proposed license renewal in accordance with the NRC's NEPA-implementing regulations in 10 CFR part 51.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing and Petition for Leave To Intervene

Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, any person (petitioner) whose interest may be affected by this action may file a request for a hearing and petition for leave to intervene (petition) with respect to the action. Petitions shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's “Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure” in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309. If a petition is filed, the presiding officer will rule on the petition and, if appropriate, a notice of a hearing will be issued.

Petitions must be filed no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice in accordance with the filing instructions in the “Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)” section of this document. Petitions and motions for leave to file new or amended contentions that are filed after the deadline will not be entertained absent a determination by the presiding officer that the filing demonstrates good cause by satisfying the three factors in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i) through (iii).

A State, local governmental body, federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may submit a petition to the Commission to participate as a party under 10 CFR 2.309(h) no later than 60 days from the date of publication of this notice. Alternatively, a State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof, may participate as a non-party under 10 CFR 2.315(c).

For information about filing a petition and about participation by a person not a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS Accession No. ML20340A053 ( https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/​webSearch2/​main.jsp?​AccessionNumber=​ML20340A053) and on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/​about-nrc/​regulatory/​adjudicatory/​hearing.html#participate.

III. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing)

All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including documents filed by an interested State, local governmental body, Federally recognized Indian Tribe, or designated agency thereof that requests to participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with 10 CFR ( printed page 31478) 2.302. The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some cases, to mail copies on electronic storage media, unless an exemption permitting an alternative filing method, as further discussed, is granted. Detailed guidance on electronic submissions is located in the “Guidance for Electronic Submissions to the NRC” (ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056), and on the NRC's public website ( https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html).

To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the Office of the Secretary by email at Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to: (1) request a digital identification (ID) certificate which allows the participant (or their counsel or representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the participant, or their counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.

Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on the NRC's public website ( https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals/​getting-started.html). After a digital ID certificate is obtained and a docket is created, the participant must submit adjudicatory documents in the Portable Document Format. Guidance on submissions is available on the NRC's public website ( https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​electronic-sub-ref-mat.html). A filing is considered complete at the time the document is submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an email confirming receipt of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email that provides access to the document to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are filed to obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing system.

A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic Filing Help Desk through the “Contact Us” link located on the NRC's public website ( https://www.nrc.gov/​site-help/​e-submittals.html), by email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Participants who believe that they have good cause for not submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such filings must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(b)-(d). Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this manner are responsible for serving their documents on all other participants. Participants granted an exemption under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still meet the electronic formatting requirement in 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the participant also seeks and is granted an exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1).

Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is publicly available on the NRC's public website ( https://adams.nrc.gov/​ehd), unless otherwise excluded pursuant to an order of the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued digital ID certificate as previously described, click “cancel” when the link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the NRC's electronic hearing docket where you will be able to access any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone numbers in their filings unless an NRC regulation or other law requires submission of such information. With respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants should not include copyrighted materials in their submission.

Copies of the application to renew NuFuels' license for the CUP In-Situ Recovery Facility are available for public inspection at the NRC's PDR, and on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/​materials/​uranium-recovery/​license-apps, while the application is under review. The application may be accessed in ADAMS through the NRC Library on the internet at https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html under ADAMS Package Accession No. ML25022A289. As previously stated in this document, persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS may contact the NRC's PDR reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email to PDR.Resources@nrc.gov.

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)

91 FR 31476