Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Gas Hills In Situ Recovery Uranium Project, Fremont and Natrona Counties, WY, 65698-65700 [2013-25923]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 212 (Friday, November 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65698-65700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25923]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYR05000.L51100000.GN0000.LVEMK10CW370-WYW-140590]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Gas Hills In Situ Recovery Uranium Project, Fremont 
and Natrona Counties, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gas Hills In Situ 
Recovery (ISR) Uranium Project and by this notice is announcing a 30-
day availability period prior to preparing a Record of Decision (ROD).

DATES: The Gas Hills ISR Uranium Project Final EIS will be available 
until December 2, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS and other documents pertinent to 
this proposal may be examined at the following BLM offices:
     Lander Field Office, 1335 Main Street, Lander, WY 82520;
     High Plains District Office, 2987 Prospector Drive, 
Casper, WY 82604;

[[Page 65699]]

     Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Office, 101 South 23rd, 
Worland, WY 82401; and
     Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 
82009.
    Interested persons may also view and download the documents online 
at: www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/lfo/gashills.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Sunderland, Project Manager, 
telephone: 307-332-8400; mailing address: 1335 Main Street, Lander, WY 
82520; email: Gas_Hills_Uranium_EIS_WY@blm.gov. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above 
individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours 
a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question with the above 
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, Power Resources Inc., a 
wholly owned subsidiary of Cameco US Holdings, Inc., doing business as 
Cameco Resources, has filed a Plan of Operations pursuant to 43 CFR 
subpart 3809 regulations to construct uranium recovery facilities 
including: Waste water disposal facilities; access roads; pipelines and 
utility lines; delineation, injection and production wells; and 
improving one existing and constructing one new equipment-housing 
satellite facility used in the ISR process. The project would be 
located in eastern Fremont and western Natrona counties, approximately 
45 road miles east of Riverton, Wyoming, and approximately 65 road 
miles west of Casper, Wyoming.
    The boundary of the Gas Hills Project Area (GHPA) encompasses 
approximately 8,500 acres, including approximately 1,300 acres of 
surface disturbance from the proposed project. Approximately 15 percent 
of the surface within the GHPA historically was disturbed by previous 
mining and exploration activities. This disturbance includes an 
existing warehouse structure (the Carol Shop) and access road (the AML 
Road).
    If the proposed mining operation is not approved, existing 
reclamation responsibilities under the No-Action alternative would 
require Cameco to remove and reclaim the existing disturbance once 
ongoing exploratory activities are concluded. This reclamation would 
include a minimum of 26.7 acres for the removal of the Carol Shop. If 
no other use for the existing 1.8 miles of road were identified, it 
would be removed and reclaimed, for an additional 10.9 acres. 
Additional notice-level activities would need to be reclaimed as well 
for a total of 40.2 acres. Existing reclamation responsibilities and 
notice-level exploration activities allow the current use of the road 
and Carol Shop.
    The Plan of Operations identifies five production areas, or mine 
units, with subsurface ore bodies within the Wind River Formation for 
ISR extraction. Construction, operation, groundwater restoration, and 
surface reclamation of five mine units would occur during an estimated 
period of approximately 25 years. At the end of the project, all 
surface structures would be removed, and all disturbances would be re-
contoured and reclaimed. In accordance with Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) regulations, any radiological contaminated wastes, 
including any processing pipe and equipment as well as solid residue or 
liners from evaporation ponds, would be removed from the Project Area 
and disposed.
    The Final EIS addresses the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts 
of the Proposed Action and three alternatives including the No Action 
Alternative, the Resource Protection Alternative and the BLM-Preferred 
Alternative.
    The Proposed Action Alternative is the project proposed by Cameco 
as identified by the Plan of Operations, the NRC license application, 
and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Land Quality 
Division's (WDEQ-LQD) Mine Permit Application 687.
    In January 2004, the NRC approved the amendment of Cameco's license 
SUA-1548 to include operation of the proposed Gas Hills project as a 
satellite to the Smith-Ranch Highland facility. The WDEQ-LQD approved 
Cameco's Mine Permit 687 August 2001. Under the Resource 
Protection Alternative, the project would utilize the same ISR process 
occurring over the same time period as the Proposed Action, but 
modifications to the project would reduce surface disturbance and heavy 
truck transportation. Modifications would include on-site resin 
processing to produce slurry, submitting an annual development plan, 
construction timing constraints, a disturbance offset for an additional 
satellite facility, enhanced reclamation, and power line burial.
    The BLM-Preferred Alternative, developed in response to comments 
received on the Draft EIS, would utilize the same ISR process over the 
same time period as the Proposed Action with the addition of several 
elements designed to reduce environmental impacts. These additions 
would include annual planning and reporting, site-specific reclamation 
planning and success criteria, construction timing constraints and 
additional on-site processing.
    The Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal 
Register on September 7, 2010 (75 FR 54384). The scoping comments 
received in response to this Notice were used while preparing the Draft 
EIS to help in developing alternatives and to identify issues to be 
analyzed in the impact analysis. The Notice of Availability of the 
Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2012 
(77 FR 68814). A 45-day public comment period for the Draft EIS was 
held from November 16, 2012, to December 31, 2012, and then extended by 
the BLM to January 31, 2013, in response to requests from the public.
    Notable changes to the EIS based on comments received include the 
following:
     Clarify and update the description of specific aspects of 
the Proposed Action, including evaporation pond use, size and methods 
to exclude wildlife; disposal methods for waste water and radioactive 
waste; status and results of exploratory drilling for wastewater 
disposal wells; and water use and consumption.
     Revise specific aspects of the Project Alternatives, 
including adding a BLM-Preferred Alternative; eliminating the 
alternative to reduce the number of evaporation ponds; eliminating 
burial of overhead power lines from the BLM-Preferred Alternative.
     Revise the air quality analysis to reflect changes to the 
proponent's transportation plan (i.e., increase in waste hauling trips) 
and recently updated ambient air quality limits.
     Add newly identified Greater Sage-Grouse lek locations to 
the impacts analysis.
     Update revegetation rates and success criteria.
     Clarify transportation routes and frequency.
     Clarify permitting through agencies other than the BLM.
     Add a comparative table for Operator-committed Mitigation 
Measures and BLM-Proposed Mitigation Measures that might be chosen in 
order to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation.
     Include all comments received on the Draft EIS along with 
the BLM's responses.
    Upon conclusion of the 30-day public availability period following 
the date EPA publishes the NOA in the Federal Register, BLM will 
prepare and sign the ROD to announce the BLM's final decision on 
Cameco's application as described in the Plan of Operations and

[[Page 65700]]

any project Conditions of Approval. Availability of the ROD will be 
announced through local media and the project mailing list, and will be 
posted on the project Web site.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)

Donald A. Simpson,
State Director, Wyoming.
[FR Doc. 2013-25923 Filed 10-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P