Proposed Generic Communication; Pre-Licensing Construction Activities at Proposed Uranium Recovery Facilities, 13483-13485 [E9-6844]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 58 / Friday, March 27, 2009 / Notices mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Commission’s regulations. Therefore, the exemption is authorized by law. No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety One of the underlying purposes of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R Section III.G is to protect safe shutdown capability. This is done by ensuring that one train of systems necessary to achieve and maintain hot shutdown conditions from either the control room or emergency control station(s) is free of fire damage. III.G.2 provides the following means to ensure that a redundant train of safe shutdown equipment is free of fire damage, where redundant trains are located in the same fire area: a. Separation of cables and equipment by a fire barrier having a 3-hour rating, b. Separation of cables and equipment by a horizontal distance of more than 20 feet with no intervening combustibles or fire hazards and with fire detectors and an automatic fire suppression system in the fire area, or c. Enclosure of cables and equipment in a fire barrier having a 1-hour rating and with fire detectors and an automatic fire suppression system in the fire area. Entergy has indicated that the cable trays will be separated by a minimum distance of 17 feet–7.5 inches for a horizontal distance of approximately 10 feet and that the remaining length of cable trays will be separated by more than 17 feet–7.5 inches. Entergy has also indicated that transient combustibles and hot work controls have been enhanced since the exemption was originally granted. This was accomplished by designating Fire Zone RB–3 as a ‘‘Level 2’’ combustible control area, which limits combustibles to moderate quantities and hot work requires prior review and approval of a fire protection engineer. Additionally, Entergy has stated that a pre-action automatic sprinkler system is provided beneath the lowest level of cable trays and above the top level of cable trays in Fire Zone RB–3 and that manual suppression equipment is provided throughout Fire Zone RB–3 in the form of accessible fire hose stations and portable fire extinguishers. A fire detection system is provided in the form of Ionization-type smoke detectors. According to Entergy, the fire protection systems are functionally unchanged from what was previously included in the December 1, 1986, evaluation. The licensee has indicated that 1-hour 3M Interam fire barriers were installed to protect certain raceways in the northwest corner of elevation 252 feet however; no credit for the barriers has been requested as part of this exemption. VerDate Nov<24>2008 17:13 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 217001 Based on the above, the exemption to allow the reduced minimum separation distance of 17 feet–7.5 inches in lieu of the 20 feet dimension specified in III.G.2 a, b, and c, does not increase the probability of postulated accidents or undue risk. Based on the combination of a lack of combustible fuel loading and ignition sources, room configuration and the separation distance of 17 feet– 7.5 inches, the overall level of protection and defense in depth has been shown to meet or exceed the intent of the requirements included in III.G.2 and equivalent with regard to safe shutdown capability following a fire. Therefore, there is no additional risk to public health and safety. Consistent With Common Defense and Security The proposed exemption would permit a reduced minimum separation distance between cable trays in a select area in lieu of meeting the separation requirements specified in III.G.2. This change has no relation to security issues. Therefore, the common defense and security is not impacted by this exemption. Special Circumstances Special circumstances, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), are present whenever application of the regulation in the particular circumstances is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. Part of the underlying purpose of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R Section III.G is to assure safe shutdown capability. Entergy states that the active and passive fire protection features that were included in the original exemption remain functionally unchanged. This review determined that the reduction in minimum separation distance does not adversely affect the level of safety at the plant given the physical configuration of the cable trays, existing suppression and detection systems and the lack of combustible fuel loading in the area. The combination of these safeguards is sufficient to maintain safe shutdown capability in the event of a fire even at the reduced separation distance of 17 feet–7.5 inches. Since the underlying purpose of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R Section III.G to protect safe shutdown capability is achieved, the special circumstances required by 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii) for the granting of an exemption from 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R Section III.G.2 exist. 4.0 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that special circumstances are present and that, pursuant to 10 CFR PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 13483 50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security levels intended by the rule for Nuclear Power Plants. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Entergy an exemption from the requirements of III.G.2 b of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, which is required by 10 CFR 50.48(b) for plants licensed to operate before January 1, 1979, to VY. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (74 FR 11612). This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of March 2009. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Robert A. Nelson, Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E9–6845 Filed 3–26–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2009–0138] Proposed Generic Communication; Pre-Licensing Construction Activities at Proposed Uranium Recovery Facilities AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public comment. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to issue a regulatory issue summary (RIS) to present its interpretation of the regulations governing the commencement of construction found in 10 CFR 40.32(e). This Federal Register notice is available through the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML083470668. DATES: Comment period expires April 27, 2009. Comments submitted after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given except for comments received on or before this date. ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Chief, Uranium Recovery Licensing Branch, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear E:\FR\FM\27MRN1.SGM 27MRN1 13484 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 58 / Friday, March 27, 2009 / Notices Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T– 8F5, Washington, DC 20555–0001, and cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also be delivered to NRC Headquarters, 11545 Rockville Pike (Room T–8F5), Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen J. Cohen at 301–415–7182 or by e-mail at stephen.cohen@nrc.gov. Draft Regulatory Issue Summary 2009– XX, ‘‘Pre-Licensing Construction Activities at Proposed Uranium Recovery Facilities’’ Addressees All holders of operating licenses for uranium recovery facilities and all companies that have submitted applications to construct new uranium recovery facilities of all types (conventional mills, heap leach, and in situ recovery (ISR) facilities) or letters of intent to submit such applications. Intent The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this regulatory issue summary (RIS) to inform addressees of the NRC’s policy regarding pre-licensing construction activities at proposed uranium recovery facilities. The NRC is issuing this RIS in response to industry inquiries regarding the activities that applicants may undertake prior to receiving a license. Background In relation to the applications for new uranium recovery facilities currently under review and those applications expected over the next several years, the NRC has been queried by the uranium recovery industry about those construction activities that would be permissible at proposed uranium recovery facilities before a license is granted. The industry has requested information on such pre-licensing construction activities, including the potential use of limited work authorizations (LWAs) as provided in the reactor program, in the interest of minimizing the lead time from receipt of a license to the initiation of uranium recovery operations. mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES Summary of Issue The NRC’s regulations in 10 CFR 40.32(e) state that ‘‘commencement of construction’’ of a uranium recovery facility prior to issuance of a license is grounds for license denial. The term ‘‘commencement of construction’’ means ‘‘any clearing of land, excavation, or other substantial action that would VerDate Nov<24>2008 17:13 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 217001 adversely affect the environment of a site.’’ The term does not mean ‘‘site exploration, roads necessary for site exploration, borings to determine foundation conditions, or other preconstruction monitoring or testing to establish background information related to the suitability of the site or the protection of environmental values.’’ Such activities may thus be conducted before a license is granted. In a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM)-M081211, the Commission directed the staff to budget resources to develop a proposed rulemaking to revise 10 CFR 40.32(e) to determine whether a limited work authorization provision is appropriated for in-situ uranium facilities. Information gathered through the process described in this RIS will be used to support development of such a proposed rulemaking. ISR Industry representatives, through their legal counsel, presented their opinions to staff regarding the applicability of 10 CFR 40.32(e) to ISR facilities during a meeting on November 18, 2008. Industry’s position is that 10 CFR 40.32(e) is not applicable to ISR facilities, based on the rulemaking history of this regulation as reflected in the 1980 Federal Register notice publishing the final rule. In a November 18, 2008 White Paper, the ISR industry argues as follows: This 1980 final rule promulgated and finalized a number of UMTRCA-specific regulations, including what the Commission referred to as ‘‘siting and design criteria’’ for newly proposed conventional uranium milling facilities (October 3, 1980; 45 FR 65521). One of these regulations was a newly proposed 10 CFR 40.32(e) that dealt directly with the extent to which a proposed conventional uranium mill project site could be developed and constructed pursuant to these ‘‘siting and design criteria’’ prior to the issuance of a uranium milling license. This new 10 CFR 40.32(e) imposed a requirement on the Director of NRC’s then-named Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) (now Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs) to make ‘‘a positive finding on an applicant’s proposed plans as meeting the requirements and objectives in Appendix A prior to commencement of construction of a mill which produces byproduct material.’’ Industry further stated the following: Based on this requirement, the Commission concluded in the regulation that ‘‘[c]ommencement of construction prior to this conclusion is grounds for denial of a license to possess and use source and byproduct material in the plant or facility.’’ (10 CFR 40.32(e)). Therefore, ‘‘the denial of applications for licenses where construction is started before the appropriate environmental appraisals are completed and documented’’ is required. PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 However, it is crystal-clear from NRC’s accompanying explanatory language that this requirement is to be imposed only on a conventional ‘‘mill which produces byproduct material’’ as tailings, where it states: ‘‘Construction activities are likely to result in significant and long lasting environmental impacts, the propriety of which cannot be ascertained until these environmental appraisals are completed and documented.’’ In addition, to support its claim that 10 CFR 40.32(e) applies only to conventional mills, the ISR industry paper states: Given that each mill tailings pile constitutes a low-level waste burial site containing long lived radioactive materials, * * * prudence requires that specific methods of tailings disposal, mill decontamination, site reclamation, surety arrangements, and arrangements to allow for transfer of site and tailings ownership be worked out and approved before a license is granted. (October 3, 1980; 45 FR 65521). According to industry, ISR applicants, therefore, should be allowed to build out most of the facilities in three tiers. Tier 1 includes activities over which NRC would have no jurisdiction, such as: • Laying foundations and construction of all support structures; • Laying of foundations for processing facilities; • Construction of ancillary facilities (i.e., roads, parking lots, access controls, power lines); • Installation of water and sanitary systems; • Drilling of disposal wells. Tier 2 activities would include those requiring NRC approval, but not a license, such as the following: • Construction of processing facilities; • Drilling of injection and production wells; • Installation of wellfield pipelines. Tier 3 activities would not occur until a license is issued and would include construction of the evaporation ponds and engaging in uranium recovery operations. NRC staff does not agree with industry’s interpretation of 10 CFR 40.32(e). This regulation uses the terms ‘‘uranium milling’’ and ‘‘byproduct material,’’ each of which is specifically defined in 10 CFR 40.4. The term ‘‘uranium milling’’ means ‘‘any activity that results in the production of byproduct material as defined in this part.’’ The term ‘‘byproduct material’’ means ‘‘the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore E:\FR\FM\27MRN1.SGM 27MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 58 / Friday, March 27, 2009 / Notices processed primarily for its source material content, including discrete surface wastes resulting from uranium solution extraction processes.’’ These definitions were added to 10 CFR Part 40 in a 1979 final rulemaking that the ISR industry paper does not discuss. The NRC’s regulations in 10 CFR Part 50 (Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities) include an LWA process that allows the NRC to approve the conduct of certain construction activities in advance of the issuance of a construction permit or combined license. However, there are no similar provisions in 10 CFR Part 40 for the use of LWAs in the licensing of uranium recovery facilities. Therefore, if an applicant wishes to perform prelicensing construction activities apart from those permitted under 10 CFR 40.32(e), an exemption request must be submitted for the staff’s review. The exemption request must specify the particular activity, the purpose and need for the activity, the duration of the activity, and the potential impacts to human health and the environment. The request should include drawings that provide construction details and the location of the proposed activity. Depending on the specific activities included in the exemption request, the staff’s review may include an environmental assessment pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51 (Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions), consistent with the guidance in NUREG–1748 (Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs). Exemption requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the granting of any exemptions does not ensure subsequent approval of a license. As such, any construction activities performed by the applicant under an exemption and prior to the issuance of a license are performed at the applicant’s risk. Voluntary Response Requested mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES All addressees and the public are requested to voluntarily submit comments regarding the pre-licensing policy presented in this RIS. To be of use to the NRC, responses should be submitted within 30 days of the date of this summary. Congressional Review Act This RIS is not a rule as designated in the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801–886) and, therefore, is not subject to the Act. VerDate Nov<24>2008 17:13 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 217001 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement This draft RIS does not contain new or amended information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were approved by the Office of Management and Budget, approval numbers 3150– 0020 and 3150–0021. Public Protection Notification The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for information or an information collection unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB clearance number. Contact This RIS requires no specific action or written response. If you have any questions about this summary, please contact the technical contact listed below. Technical Contact: Stephen J. Cohen, DWMEP/URLB, (301) 415–7182, e-mail: stephen.cohen@nrc.gov. Note: The NRC’s generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site, https://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections. End of Draft Regulatory Issue Summary Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC’s Public Document Room at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/ index.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if you have problems in accessing the documents in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of March 2009. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Keith I. McConnell, Deputy Director, Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing Directorate, Division of Waste Management, and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials, and Environmental Management Programs. [FR Doc. E9–6844 Filed 3–26–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 13485 OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION Submission for OMB Review AGENCY: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). ACTION: Request for comments. SUMMARY: Under the provision of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), agencies are required to publish a Notice in the Federal Register notifying the public, that the Agency is revising an information collection request for OMB review, approval, and request public review and comment on the submission. Comments are being solicited on the need for the information; the accuracy of the Agency’s burden estimate; the quality, practical utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the reporting burden, including automated collection techniques by using other forms of technology. The proposed form under review is summarized below. DATES: Comments must be received within 60 calendar days of publication of this notice. ADDRESSES: Copies of the subject form and the request for review prepared for submission to OMB may be obtained from the Agency submitting officer. Comments on the form should be submitted to the Agency Submitting Officer. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OPIC Agency Submitting Officer: Essie S. Bryant, Records Management Officer, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, 1100 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20527; 202–336– 8563. OMB Contact: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Ms. Wendy Liberante, 725 17th Street, Room 10102, NW., Washington, DC 20503; (202) 395–3647. Summary Form Under Review: Type of Request: Reinstatement, with changes, of a previously approved collection for which approval is expiring. Title: Sponsor Disclosure Report. Form Number: OPIC–129. Frequency of Use: Once per major sponsor, per project. Type of Respondents: Business or other institutions. Standard Industrial Classification Codes: All. Description of Affected Public: U.S. Companies sponsoring projects overseas. E:\FR\FM\27MRN1.SGM 27MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 58 (Friday, March 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13483-13485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6844]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2009-0138]


Proposed Generic Communication; Pre-Licensing Construction 
Activities at Proposed Uranium Recovery Facilities

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to 
issue a regulatory issue summary (RIS) to present its interpretation of 
the regulations governing the commencement of construction found in 10 
CFR 40.32(e). This Federal Register notice is available through the 
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under 
accession number ML083470668.

DATES: Comment period expires April 27, 2009. Comments submitted after 
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance 
of consideration cannot be given except for comments received on or 
before this date.
    ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Chief, Uranium Recovery 
Licensing Branch, Division of Waste Management and Environmental 
Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 
Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear

[[Page 13484]]

Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-8F5, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and 
cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register 
notice. Written comments may also be delivered to NRC Headquarters, 
11545 Rockville Pike (Room T-8F5), Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 
a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen J. Cohen at 301-415-7182 
or by e-mail at stephen.cohen@nrc.gov.

Draft Regulatory Issue Summary 2009-XX, ``Pre-Licensing Construction 
Activities at Proposed Uranium Recovery Facilities''

Addressees

    All holders of operating licenses for uranium recovery facilities 
and all companies that have submitted applications to construct new 
uranium recovery facilities of all types (conventional mills, heap 
leach, and in situ recovery (ISR) facilities) or letters of intent to 
submit such applications.

Intent

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this 
regulatory issue summary (RIS) to inform addressees of the NRC's policy 
regarding pre-licensing construction activities at proposed uranium 
recovery facilities. The NRC is issuing this RIS in response to 
industry inquiries regarding the activities that applicants may 
undertake prior to receiving a license.

Background

    In relation to the applications for new uranium recovery facilities 
currently under review and those applications expected over the next 
several years, the NRC has been queried by the uranium recovery 
industry about those construction activities that would be permissible 
at proposed uranium recovery facilities before a license is granted. 
The industry has requested information on such pre-licensing 
construction activities, including the potential use of limited work 
authorizations (LWAs) as provided in the reactor program, in the 
interest of minimizing the lead time from receipt of a license to the 
initiation of uranium recovery operations.

Summary of Issue

    The NRC's regulations in 10 CFR 40.32(e) state that ``commencement 
of construction'' of a uranium recovery facility prior to issuance of a 
license is grounds for license denial. The term ``commencement of 
construction'' means ``any clearing of land, excavation, or other 
substantial action that would adversely affect the environment of a 
site.'' The term does not mean ``site exploration, roads necessary for 
site exploration, borings to determine foundation conditions, or other 
preconstruction monitoring or testing to establish background 
information related to the suitability of the site or the protection of 
environmental values.'' Such activities may thus be conducted before a 
license is granted.
    In a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM)-M081211, the Commission 
directed the staff to budget resources to develop a proposed rulemaking 
to revise 10 CFR 40.32(e) to determine whether a limited work 
authorization provision is appropriated for in-situ uranium facilities. 
Information gathered through the process described in this RIS will be 
used to support development of such a proposed rulemaking.
    ISR Industry representatives, through their legal counsel, 
presented their opinions to staff regarding the applicability of 10 CFR 
40.32(e) to ISR facilities during a meeting on November 18, 2008. 
Industry's position is that 10 CFR 40.32(e) is not applicable to ISR 
facilities, based on the rulemaking history of this regulation as 
reflected in the 1980 Federal Register notice publishing the final 
rule. In a November 18, 2008 White Paper, the ISR industry argues as 
follows:

    This 1980 final rule promulgated and finalized a number of 
UMTRCA-specific regulations, including what the Commission referred 
to as ``siting and design criteria'' for newly proposed conventional 
uranium milling facilities (October 3, 1980; 45 FR 65521). One of 
these regulations was a newly proposed 10 CFR 40.32(e) that dealt 
directly with the extent to which a proposed conventional uranium 
mill project site could be developed and constructed pursuant to 
these ``siting and design criteria'' prior to the issuance of a 
uranium milling license. This new 10 CFR 40.32(e) imposed a 
requirement on the Director of NRC's then-named Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) (now Office of Federal and 
State Materials and Environmental Management Programs) to make ``a 
positive finding on an applicant's proposed plans as meeting the 
requirements and objectives in Appendix A prior to commencement of 
construction of a mill which produces byproduct material.''

    Industry further stated the following:

    Based on this requirement, the Commission concluded in the 
regulation that ``[c]ommencement of construction prior to this 
conclusion is grounds for denial of a license to possess and use 
source and byproduct material in the plant or facility.'' (10 CFR 
40.32(e)). Therefore, ``the denial of applications for licenses 
where construction is started before the appropriate environmental 
appraisals are completed and documented'' is required.
    However, it is crystal-clear from NRC's accompanying explanatory 
language that this requirement is to be imposed only on a conventional 
``mill which produces byproduct material'' as tailings, where it 
states: ``Construction activities are likely to result in significant 
and long lasting environmental impacts, the propriety of which cannot 
be ascertained until these environmental appraisals are completed and 
documented.''

    In addition, to support its claim that 10 CFR 40.32(e) applies only 
to conventional mills, the ISR industry paper states:

    Given that each mill tailings pile constitutes a low-level waste 
burial site containing long lived radioactive materials, * * * 
prudence requires that specific methods of tailings disposal, mill 
decontamination, site reclamation, surety arrangements, and 
arrangements to allow for transfer of site and tailings ownership be 
worked out and approved before a license is granted.
(October 3, 1980; 45 FR 65521).

    According to industry, ISR applicants, therefore, should be allowed 
to build out most of the facilities in three tiers. Tier 1 includes 
activities over which NRC would have no jurisdiction, such as:
     Laying foundations and construction of all support 
structures;
     Laying of foundations for processing facilities;
     Construction of ancillary facilities (i.e., roads, parking 
lots, access controls, power lines);
     Installation of water and sanitary systems;
     Drilling of disposal wells.
    Tier 2 activities would include those requiring NRC approval, but 
not a license, such as the following:
     Construction of processing facilities;
     Drilling of injection and production wells;
     Installation of wellfield pipelines.
    Tier 3 activities would not occur until a license is issued and 
would include construction of the evaporation ponds and engaging in 
uranium recovery operations.
    NRC staff does not agree with industry's interpretation of 10 CFR 
40.32(e). This regulation uses the terms ``uranium milling'' and 
``byproduct material,'' each of which is specifically defined in 10 CFR 
40.4. The term ``uranium milling'' means ``any activity that results in 
the production of byproduct material as defined in this part.'' The 
term ``byproduct material'' means ``the tailings or wastes produced by 
the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore

[[Page 13485]]

processed primarily for its source material content, including discrete 
surface wastes resulting from uranium solution extraction processes.'' 
These definitions were added to 10 CFR Part 40 in a 1979 final 
rulemaking that the ISR industry paper does not discuss.
    The NRC's regulations in 10 CFR Part 50 (Domestic Licensing of 
Production and Utilization Facilities) include an LWA process that 
allows the NRC to approve the conduct of certain construction 
activities in advance of the issuance of a construction permit or 
combined license. However, there are no similar provisions in 10 CFR 
Part 40 for the use of LWAs in the licensing of uranium recovery 
facilities. Therefore, if an applicant wishes to perform pre-licensing 
construction activities apart from those permitted under 10 CFR 
40.32(e), an exemption request must be submitted for the staff's 
review. The exemption request must specify the particular activity, the 
purpose and need for the activity, the duration of the activity, and 
the potential impacts to human health and the environment. The request 
should include drawings that provide construction details and the 
location of the proposed activity.
    Depending on the specific activities included in the exemption 
request, the staff's review may include an environmental assessment 
pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51 (Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory 
Functions), consistent with the guidance in NUREG-1748 (Environmental 
Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs). 
Exemption requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the 
granting of any exemptions does not ensure subsequent approval of a 
license. As such, any construction activities performed by the 
applicant under an exemption and prior to the issuance of a license are 
performed at the applicant's risk.

Voluntary Response Requested

    All addressees and the public are requested to voluntarily submit 
comments regarding the pre-licensing policy presented in this RIS. To 
be of use to the NRC, responses should be submitted within 30 days of 
the date of this summary.

Congressional Review Act

    This RIS is not a rule as designated in the Congressional Review 
Act (5 U.S.C. 801-886) and, therefore, is not subject to the Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    This draft RIS does not contain new or amended information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Existing requirements were approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget, approval numbers 3150-0020 and 3150-
0021.

Public Protection Notification

    The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a request for information or an information collection 
unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB clearance 
number.

Contact

    This RIS requires no specific action or written response. If you 
have any questions about this summary, please contact the technical 
contact listed below.
    Technical Contact: Stephen J. Cohen, DWMEP/URLB, (301) 415-7182, e-
mail: stephen.cohen@nrc.gov.

    Note: The NRC's generic communications may be found on the NRC 
public Web site, https://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/
Document Collections.

End of Draft Regulatory Issue Summary

    Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's 
Public Document Room at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be 
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at the NRC Web site, https://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADAMS/. 
If you do not have access to ADAMS or if you have problems in accessing 
the documents in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) 
reference staff at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to 
pdr@nrc.gov.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of March 2009.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Keith I. McConnell, Deputy Director,
Decommissioning and Uranium Recovery Licensing Directorate, Division of 
Waste Management, and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and 
State Materials, and Environmental Management Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-6844 Filed 3-26-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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