Power Resources, Inc., 12133-12134 [2016-05129]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2016 / Notices
change in current environmental
impacts. The environmental impacts of
the proposed exemption and the ‘‘no
action’’ alternative are similar.
Alternative Use of Resources
The action does not involve the use of
any different resources than those
previously considered in the ‘‘Final
Environmental Statement Related to the
Operation of William B. McGuire
Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2,’’ dated
January, 1981, and NUREG–1437,
Supplement 8, ‘‘Generic Environmental
Impact Statement for License Renewal
of Nuclear Plants, Regarding McGuire
Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, Final
Report,’’ dated December 2002 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML030020184).
Agencies and Persons Consulted
The staff did not enter into
consultation with any other Federal
Agency or with the State of North
Carolina regarding the environmental
impact of the proposed action.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
On the basis of the environmental
assessment, the NRC concludes that the
proposed exemption will not have a
significant effect on the quality of the
human environment. Accordingly, the
NRC has determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement for the
proposed action. Other than the
licensee’s letter dated August 17, 2015,
and supplemented October 6, 2015,
there are no other environmental
documents associated with this review.
This document is available for public
inspection as indicated above.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day
of February 2016.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
G. Edward Miller,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch II–
1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2016–05134 Filed 3–7–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 040–8964; NRC–2014–0092]
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Power Resources, Inc.
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Temporary exemption; issuance.
AGENCY:
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
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:02 Mar 07, 2016
Jkt 238001
response to its annual financial
assurance updates for its Smith RanchHighland 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
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2014–0092. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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:
Douglas.Mandeville@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Pursuant to part 40 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
PO 00000
Frm 00069
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12133
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 RanchHighland 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
E:\FR\FM\08MRN1.SGM
08MRN1
12134
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2016 / Notices
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.
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:02 Mar 07, 2016
Jkt 238001
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
PO 00000
Frm 00070
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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]
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[Docket Nos. 52–025 and 52–026; NRC–
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AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\08MRN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12133-12134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05129]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 040-8964; NRC-2014-0092]
Power Resources, Inc.
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Temporary exemption; issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2014-0092. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 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 https://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 pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 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:
Douglas.Mandeville@nrc.gov.
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